Afro-Indigenous and Melanated Indigenous Peoples of the Americas
Indigenous peoples of the Americas have never been one complexion. Records that sorted people by appearance often wrote melanated Indigenous families out of their own history.
Afro-Indigenous and melanated Indigenous peoples are Indigenous peoples of the Americas whose heritage and appearance include African as well as Indigenous American ancestry, or who were simply darker than a clerk expected. Their indigeneity does not depend on complexion, and both ADRIP and UNDRIP make self-identification and a people’s own customs the basis of membership.
One continent, many peoples
Indigenous peoples of the Americas built nations, civilizations and governance systems long before colonization, and they have always varied in language, custom and appearance. Over centuries, Indigenous and African peoples also lived, married and built communities together across the hemisphere. The result is a living heritage that no single picture of what a Native person looks like can capture.
An example: the Garifuna
The Garifuna descend from African and Carib populations of the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. In 1797, British authorities transported thousands of Garifuna from St. Vincent and left them on the island of Roatán, off the coast of Honduras. Today Garifuna communities live along the Caribbean coast of Central America, from Belize to Nicaragua, and in the United States. UNESCO proclaimed Garifuna language, dance and music a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001. The Garifuna are recognized as an Indigenous people, and their history shows that African and Indigenous heritage can be one people’s story.
How records erased people
When officials recorded race by looking at a person, melanated Indigenous families were often written down as something else. Public health researchers have documented that American Indians are frequently misclassified in official records, including findings that one registry linkage study uncovered a 97% increase in cancer cases among American Indians and Alaska Natives previously recorded as non-Native (Haozous et al., 2014). Misclassification in a record does not change who a person’s ancestors were. It changes what the paperwork says, and paperwork is what jurisdiction relies on. See Indigenous Misclassification.
Restoring the record
The Xi-Amaru people are rebuilding from denationalization, and much of that work is restoring records: documenting who the people are in the nation’s own registry, under the nation’s own jurisdiction. The Republic is grateful for every family that comes forward with its history, whatever the old records said.
“Self-identification as indigenous peoples will be a fundamental criterion for determining to whom this Declaration applies.”
“Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an indigenous community or nation, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the community or nation concerned. No discrimination of any kind may arise from the exercise of such a right.”
See if Tribal Screening fits your family
For individuals and families with Indigenous lineage connected to the Americas.
Questions people ask
What does Afro-Indigenous mean?
It describes Indigenous people of the Americas whose heritage includes African ancestry. Indigeneity is a matter of a people and its customs, not of complexion.
Who are the Garifuna?
An Indigenous people descended from African and Carib populations of St. Vincent, deported by the British in 1797 to Roatán, Honduras, and now living along the Caribbean coast of Central America and in the United States.
Can records misclassify Indigenous people?
Yes. Researchers have documented widespread racial misclassification of American Indians and Alaska Natives in official records.
Sources: Minority Rights Group International, Garifuna in Honduras; UNESCO; Haozous EA et al., J Environ Public Health, 2014. Declaration text checked word for word against the primary sources: ADRIP, AG/RES. 2888 (XLVI-O/16) and UNDRIP, A/RES/61/295. This article is general education, not legal, tax or financial advice.
