"Colored" written on the back of "Indian" birth certificates, and a trace to 1830 "free Negroes" (Virginia, 1912–1946)

SUMMARY"Colored" written on the back of "Indian" birth certificates, and a trace to 1830 "free Negroes" (Virginia, 1912–1946) [Connections: Virginia & Eastern Shore, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORDEncyclopedia Virginia's biography says that on certificates made before 1924 that listed "Indian," Plecker "handwrote 'colored' on the back," and later used typed warnings. In a 1945 Washington Post statement, he said officials had traced people claiming to be Indian to 1830 census records listing their ancestors as free Negroes. He also said: "there are no descendants of Virginia Indians claiming or reputed to be Indians who are unmixed with Negro blood." Pamunkey Chief William P. Miles told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2000 that Plecker "came very close to committing statistical genocide on Native Americans in Virginia." VPM (2026) quotes Rountree: Plecker allowed only "W" and "C" in the race box and scratched out "I."

PATTERNThis is Plecker himself describing his method. He found Native families listed as "free Negro" in early census records and used that entry to deny they were Indian

LENS (WW9)His evidence that people were not Indian was an earlier misclassification

OPENPull the 1945 Washington Post article itself

SOURCEEncyclopedia Virginia, "Plecker, Walter Ashby"; VPM, "Jim Crow you may not know".