America has been considered the melting pot of the world; some call us the fruit salad of the world. It's one's own personal preference. This is a country that consists of people from every part of the world. A very integral potion of this population is the Southern American Indian tribes, which include the Choctaws, Cherokees, and Seminoles. It is of interest that these tribes are now trying to exclude the history of African American Indians in their Indian family trees.

In addition, these tribes are selling tribal lands back to the United States government and to individual citizens of the United States. Black Indians now have to prove they are native Americans, while their white Indian counterparts upon returning to their roots are selling the land on the old reservations without any inquiries. It is obvious that the history of the Black American Indian and the Native American Indian is now at the historical crossroads. Black Indians want to be a part of the American Indian Heritage, but there is a segregationist attitude in the Native American Communities; will this segregationist attitude remain in the Native American Communities?

The Bureau of is now refusing to recognize Black tribal members.

Two hundred years ago the federal government did a dis-service to Black Indians when they created the BLOOD LIST, a segregated tribal rolls in 1890. The Federal Dawes Commission created three different rolls, one for Black Indians, one for White Indians, and another one for Native Indians. This list was created to enable the government and the tribes to distinguish and discriminate against certain tribal members. The list is now being used to exclude Black Indians from the daily operations of any tribal affairs.

Native American Indians are now claiming sovereign rights; Black Indians are claiming civil rights violations, and the Bush Administration has tried to keep its distance in this new legal battle, but it appears the United States Attorney General is leaning towards the Native American Indian side of this conflict.

Native American tribes have been denying membership of Black Indians to tribal voting conferences. The different tribal conferences have also denied the rights of Black Indians to the profits of the tribal lands. All of this is being accomplished with the blessings of the Bush Administration. President Bush and the Tribal councils are now using sovereign nation rights--this enables the tribal to do whatever the tribal councils want. This action is a typical Republican political .

All of these sound like another state rights issues even though it is unjust. An interesting note to consider is that Native American elders are dying with each passing year. This mortality rate results in the history of the Black Indians to be slowly erased. Most Americans are aware that Indian history is told through stories of the elders. Then it is passed on from one generation to the next. Consequently, Black Indians were being left out of stories with each passing generation. Many Indian children never get to hear the stories of their forefathers--stories of how they helped Black slaves from the Confederate south. Some of these stories date back over one hundred years. Many African Americans are unaware of their linkage to the American Indian, and they do not know how to obtain the information they need to bridge the gap between one generation to another.

My family had to resister to find out if the New Jersey Lenape Tribe was indeed part of our heritage. Ten years has elapsed since the inquiry, and we are still waiting for a reply.

It is important that African Americans support our Black Native American brothers and sisters who are caught in this dilemma. Our Black Native Americans need to know that we support them. This can be done by writing your Congressperson and telling them that what is happening to the Black Native American is neither fair nor just. Black Indians have the right to profit from the selling off these tribal lands. They should also have the right to be equal partners with the Native American Indians.

Then too the Black Indian needs to be a permanent part of Native American history.

THAT IS THE GRAYLINE