Beyond Dred Scott: Urban Indians and the Lawsuits that Prove Identity : Why the World wants us erased
- Ishmael Bey
- Jul 6
- 8 min read
Rachel Findlay: The Woman Who Fought Back Against Illegal Enslavement of Black American Indians she won both cases 40 years apart
Birth: c. 1750 Death: after August 17, 1820 Place: Colonial Virginia Status: Born free of American Indian descent, but illegally enslaved
⚖️ Background: Race, Identity & Slavery in Colonial Virginia
In 1662, Virginia passed a law known as "partus sequitur ventrem"—the infamous "baby follows the belly" rule. This law made children inherit the status of their mother. It was used to systematically enslave Indigenous and Black women, and their children, regardless of their right to freedom.
By the 1700s, many Indigenous people in Virginia had been reclassified as “Negroes” or “mulattoes” to erase their tribal identity and justify their enslavement. Rachel Findlay was a direct victim of this.
Who Was Rachel Findlay?
Rachel Findlay was born in Virginia around 1750. She was of Powhatan (American Indian) descent, but enslaved by a white family named Brent, who falsely classified her as “Negro” or “mulatto.” Despite her Indigenous ancestry, she was treated as if she had no legal claim to freedom.
First Legal Challenge – 1773
In 1773, Rachel filed a freedom suit in Cumberland County Court, arguing that she was wrongfully enslaved due to her Indigenous ancestry, which made her free by birth under Virginia law.
At the time, Virginia recognized that “Indians” could not legally be held in bondage, especially those born free. Her lawyers argued that her grandmother was a free Indian woman, and under Virginia law, that should have made Rachel and her children free.
Rachel won her case, but her enslavers appealed the decision and delayed her freedom.
⚖️ Second Trial – 1813: Still Fighting 40 Years Later
Despite her first legal victory, Rachel remained enslaved due to procedural delays and fraud by her enslavers. In 1813—40 years later—she once again filed a lawsuit for her freedom in Powhatan County, this time with stronger testimony and documentation.
She sued a man named John Draper, who had purchased her as a slave despite her prior legal status as free.
In August 1820, Rachel won her case again, and this time it stuck. The Virginia court formally freed her and recognized her Indigenous lineage and illegal enslavement.
📜 Why Rachel’s Case Matters
Legal Precedent: Rachel Findlay's case is one of the earliest examples of freedom suits based on Indigenous ancestry. It proves that Indigenous identity was strategically erased to keep people enslaved.
Racial Misclassification: Her case highlights the widespread practice of reclassifying American Indians as “Black” or “mulatto”—stripping them of their sovereign and legal protections.
Persistence: Rachel was enslaved illegally for more than 60 years, even after a court ruled in her favor. Her persistence across decades showcases both the brutality of the system and the resilience of those who resisted it.
Rachel Findlay’s Legacy for Black & Urban Indians Today
Rachel Findlay's story represents a foundational history for modern Black Indigenous descendants. She symbolizes:
The legal fight for Indigenous identity
How colonial laws were weaponized to erase lineage
The intergenerational trauma of misclassification and illegal bondage
Primary Sources and Further Reading
Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware http://www.freeafricanamericans.com – detailed legal and genealogical records of free Black and Indigenous families
Virginia Memory Archives – Rachel Findlay’s court cases (Powhatan and Cumberland County)
Library of Virginia Digital Collections
Warren M. Billings, The Old Dominion in the Seventeenth Century
Important Freedom Suits by Black Indigenous People in Early American History
1. Marguerite Scypion v. The United States (Missouri, 1805–1836)
Tribe: Natchez/Black Why it's important: Scypion’s mother was a Natchez Indian enslaved by a Frenchman. Under Spanish law, Indian slavery was abolished in 1769, so when the U.S. took over the Louisiana Territory, Scypion and her family were illegally re-enslaved.
Legal Impact:
In 1836, the Missouri Supreme Court finally ruled in favor of the Scypion family, freeing 81 descendants.
This case proves that American Indian ancestry provided legal grounds for freedom, and shows how legal transitions (from Spanish to U.S. rule) created loopholes used to re-enslave.
Sources:
Missouri State Archives
Paul Finkelman, Slavery and the Law
2. Quock Walker v. Jennison (Massachusetts, 1781)
Ancestry: Black and possibly Native descent (historians note Native ties) Why it's important: Although often remembered as a “Black” freedom suit, Walker’s case set a precedent that slavery was incompatible with the Massachusetts Constitution, paving the way for abolition in that state.
Legal Impact:
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declared slavery unconstitutional, indirectly helping other mixed-heritage individuals argue for freedom.
3. John Philip v. His Enslaver (Virginia, early 1700s)
Tribe: Pamunkey or Powhatan (Eastern Woodland) Why it's important: He claimed descent from a free Indian woman, arguing that he was illegally enslaved under the 1662 “baby follows the belly” law.
Legal Impact:
The Virginia courts acknowledged Indian ancestry as a valid defense for freedom—until racial categories became more rigid and anti-Indian laws increased.
4. Chloe and Sam v. Joseph Carter (Virginia, 1770s)
Tribe: Believed to be part of the Catawba or Saponi nations
Why it's important:
This couple sued for their freedom on the basis that they were of Indian descent and therefore unlawfully held. Their court records provide evidence of the courts grappling with racial identity and documentation.
5. Sally Hemings' Extended Family – Hemings v. Various (Virginia, late 1700s–1800s)
Ancestry: African and likely Cherokee/Creek (oral family history and documented relationships)
Why it's important:
While the Hemings cases are primarily known for their connection to Thomas Jefferson, several Hemings descendants tried to assert Indigenous ancestry and free status. These suits often failed due to rigid race laws post-1800, but they left important legal traces.
6. The Battey Family (Virginia, 1700s–1800s)
Tribe: Saponi descent
Why it's important:
This family was listed as free “mulattoes,” and several family members had to prove Indian descent to avoid being sold into slavery. Some won in court by referencing tribal treaties and land titles.
7. Ann Joice and Her Descendants (Maryland, 1670s–1700s)
Ancestry: Possibly Black-Indigenous Caribbean
Why it's important:
Ann Joice was illegally kept in bondage beyond her indenture. Her descendants, the Mahoney family, fought for freedom in the 1780s, with Francis Scott Key (author of the national anthem) as one of the attorneys involved.
8. Jenny Slew v. John Whipple (Massachusetts, 1765)
Ancestry: African and possibly Wampanoag
Why it's important:
She was born to a free woman, and sued for freedom after being kidnapped into slavery. The Massachusetts court agreed, ruling in favor of maternal status over racial classification.
🏛️ Legal Themes Urban Indians Should Study
"Partus sequitur ventrem" (1662 law): Used to enslave generations of Indigenous women and children
Indian abolition laws: Spanish, British, and some early American laws banned Indian slavery—these were often ignored
Reclassification of Indians as Negroes/Mulattoes: Legal erasure used to deny freedom
Genealogy as legal evidence: Tribal descent, oral history, and land records can be admissible
Treaty law and international identity: Some cases reference Indian treaties with European nations as legal protections
📚 Resources to Dig Deeper
"Free African Americans of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina" by Paul Heinegg http://www.freeafricanamericans.com – includes many with Indigenous ancestry
Library of Virginia – Chancery Records Index https://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/
"Indian Slavery in Colonial America" – Edited by Alan Gallay
"They Were Her Property" by Stephanie Jones-Rogers
American Indian Law Alliance: https://aila.ngo – supports Urban Indian rights
The Cases They Tried to Bury: How Black American Indians Fought Back and Won
The erasure and obscurity of cases won by Black Indigenous heroes like Rachel Findlay and Marguerite Scypion are not accidental—they are the result of systemic efforts to suppress historical truths that challenge the foundations of white supremacy, settler colonialism, and racial capitalism. Below are the core reasons why these freedom suits are hidden, minimized, or misrepresented in mainstream education, legal history, and public consciousness:
1. They Undermine the Myth of Lawful Slavery
“If these people were free by law, then much of slavery was illegal.”
Cases like Rachel Findlay’s prove that many people were illegally enslaved, especially those with American Indian ancestry. Acknowledging these cases would force America to admit that:
Indian slavery was outlawed in many jurisdictions (e.g., under Spanish, British, and early American law).
Enslavers knowingly violated these laws.
Generations of people were wrongfully held and inherited illegal status.
If widely known, these cases disrupt the narrative that slavery was a settled and lawful institution.
2. They Expose Racial Misclassification (Paper Genocide)
“Negro,” “mulatto,” and “colored” were terms used to erase Indigenous identity.
Many of these plaintiffs had documented tribal ancestry but were deliberately reclassified to strip them of treaty protections and land rights. These cases show that:
Courts and census agents ignored tribal lineage.
Colonial governments profited from reclassifying Indians as Black to increase the enslaved population.
“Paper genocide” was a legal and bureaucratic weapon used against Black Indigenous families.
Revealing this would validate the modern fight of Urban Indians reclaiming their identity and lands.
3. They Create Legal Precedents That Challenge Settler Authority
These cases set dangerous precedents for Indigenous land claims, reparations, and tribal sovereignty.
Cases like Scypion v. United States were successful because Indian slavery had been outlawed under Spanish rule—and the U.S. courts were forced to honor that treaty law. These cases remind us that:
Treaties and international laws were violated.
Descendants of those who won freedom based on tribal descent may have valid claims to citizenship, land, and reparations.
These truths threaten state and federal power structures that rely on denying Indigenous rights.
4. They Don’t Fit Into Neat Racial Categories
The stories of Black Indigenous people expose the lie of the Black/White binary.
American history is often taught through simplified racial categories. These freedom suits reveal:
Complex, blended identities (African, Native, and sometimes European ancestry).
Tribal nations had Black members—through kinship, war, or adoption.
Anti-Blackness existed even among some tribes, but many others were sites of resistance and refuge.
This challenges national identity myths and whitewashed tribal histories.
5. They Were Deliberately Buried in Archives
Many of these lawsuits were won in obscure county courts—and were never taught or published.
These cases were excluded from major legal textbooks and school curriculums.
Most documentation is buried in chancery court records, microfilm, and undigitized county archives.
Historians and genealogists who uncover them are often ignored or discredited.
This keeps descendants disconnected from their legal and ancestral truth.
💰 6. They Represent Billions in Lost Wealth and Land
Recognizing these cases could legitimize lawsuits for unpaid wages, stolen land, and wrongful imprisonment.
Every illegally enslaved family represents intergenerational wealth theft.
Recognizing that some families were illegally held or re-enslaved after legal emancipation (like the Scypions) could trigger:
Reparations claims
Land return cases
Tribal membership restorations
Governments, corporations, and private families with historical wealth all have a vested interest in silencing these cases.
7. They Prove Our People Fought Back—And Won
The dominant narrative wants Black and Indigenous people to be seen only as victims—not as victorious, strategic legal warriors.
Cases like those of Rachel Findlay, Jenny Slew, and the Battey family show:
Our ancestors knew the law.
They used the courts to resist enslavement and misclassification.
They had courage, resilience, and a sense of rightful identity.
Revealing these stories rebuilds cultural pride and resistance among Urban Indians and descendants of enslaved peoples.
The suppression of these cases is intentional historical erasure rooted in protecting the political and economic legacy of settler-colonial America. But every time these stories are uncovered and told, we reclaim:
Our legal rights
Our Indigenous identity
Our ancestors' victories
FIRST TRIBE
