"Indian intermarriage with blacks and whites" used as proof of no tribe (Mashpee trial, 1977–78)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet proven
Year: 1977 · Places: Northeast, Africa
SUMMARY"Indian intermarriage with blacks and whites" used as proof of no tribe (Mashpee trial, 1977–78) [Connections: Northeast & Mid-Atlantic, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDA Harvard Crimson editorial reported that St. Clair, counsel for the town, "specified cultural assimilation, especially Indian intermarriage with blacks and whites, as one example of the Indians' failure to comprise a tribe." The editorial said this "appealed to whatever prejudices the jury may have entertained against blacks or against intermarriage between races" and called it "subtly racist." St. Clair also questioned witnesses about how often they wore Indian dress and how many Algonquin words they knew
PATTERNIn 1898 in Rhode Island and in 1977 in Massachusetts, African intermarriage was used in court against Native nationhood
LENS (WW9)The argument was still being used in a courtroom in 1977, which is within living memory
OPENThe editorial is unsigned. Confirm St. Clair's full name and his exact words in the trial transcript (Jack Campisi's The Mashpee Indians: Tribe on Trial covers the trial)
SOURCEHarvard Crimson, "Courtroom Cultural Arrogance," Jan. 13, 1978.