Reclaiming the Lineage : The Great Works of the Urban Indian Heritage Society (UIHS)

In a world where history has too often been written by those in power, the Urban Indian Heritage Society (UIHS) stands as a force of truth-telling, cultural restoration, and identity reclamation. Founded to challenge the centuries-old erasure and misclassification of American Indian descendants particularly those whose families were misclassified as “Negro” or “Black” during the colonial and post-slavery periods UIHS is not just a community organization; it is a cultural movement an actual Tribe

 Exposing Historical Misclassification

One of the most powerful achievements of UIHS has been its work in exposing how census takers, state officials, and federal agencies deliberately misclassified thousands of Indigenous families as African American, Colored, Negro, or Mulatto throughout the 18th to 20th centuries.

Using meticulous genealogical research, archival documentation, and oral history collection, UIHS helps families trace their true tribal origins, reconnect with their kin, and reassert their right to be recognized not by imposed racial labels but by their ancestral nations.

“We are not rediscovering our heritage we are recovering what was stolen,” as stated in one of the UIHS foundational principles.

 🔥 The Power of the People: Over 10,000 Signatures for Truth & Recognition

In a monumental act of unity and activism, UIHS launched and promoted a national petition signed by over 10,000 registered voters and counting demanding truth in historical classification, tribal inclusion, and federal accountability for misidentifying Indigenous peoples as "Colored" or "Negro."

This petition wasn’t just a grassroots effort it became a national rallying cry, thanks to high-profile endorsements from:

• NBA Superstar Kyrie Irving, whose family roots are also tied to American Indian ancestry

• Hollywood Actor Hawthorne James (noted for The Five Heartbeats and Speed)

• Former U.S. Presidential Candidate Dr. Cynthia McKinney, known for championing civil rights and anti-corruption

• Queen Chief Warhorse, a fierce cultural preservationist and matriarch Queen of Tchefuncta Nation and the Chief of the Chahta Tribe

These respected voices amplified the petition across sports, entertainment, academia, and Indigenous political circles proving that reclaiming Indigenous identity is not a niche issue, but a national reckoning.

Building Educational Tools & Archives

UIHS has developed online archives, webinars, workshops, and resource guides to assist individuals and families who suspect their lineage may lie in Indigenous nations that were forcibly renamed, relocated, or erased from official records. These tools are especially crucial for descendants of:

• Southeastern tribes (like the Catawba, Yamassee, Saponi, and Nottoway),

• Muscogee Creek and Cherokee freedmen, and

• Urban Indian populations who were displaced during the 20th-century Indian Relocation Acts.

Many of their workshops demystify how to read historic census documents, plantation records, Dawes Rolls, and other bureaucratic tools of erasure. These are lifelines for those who’ve been told their family history is lost.

A Key Role in the Muscogee (Creek) Freedmen Victory

In a historic win for justice, the Muscogee (Creek) Freedmen descendants of African and American Indian ancestry recently secured their long-denied right to tribal citizenship.

UIHS played a critical behind-the-scenes and public-facing role in this legal and cultural victory:

• 📜 Assisted with federal and tribal legislative research

• ✍️ Led and organized mass letter drives, with thousands of signatures sent to lawmakers

• 🧑🏽‍⚖️ Attended Washington D.C. congressional hearings in solidarity with disenfranchised Freedmen

• 🫱🏽‍🫲🏿 Helped bridge the gap between Freedmen advocates and tribal representatives, emphasizing truth and reconciliation over division

This wasn’t just a one-time show of support UIHS has consistently advocated for the inclusion of Freedmen as Indigenous kin, not outsiders, and worked to expose how U.S. policy intentionally severed tribal ties to those of mixed heritage.

🧬 DNA Is Not the Answer: Advocating for Paper Trails

Unlike many mainstream organizations that overemphasize DNA testing, UIHS warns about the misleading and non-specific nature of commercial ancestry tests. Instead, the organization promotes document-based evidence, family bibles, legal affidavits, land records, and court testimonies to establish American Indian descent.

This shift is not just practical it’s political. It directly challenges federal recognition processes and genealogical assumptions that prioritize biology over sovereignty, lived experience, and lineage.

Legislative Wins in Louisiana: Restoring Indigenous Names and Rights

UIHS’s advocacy work has also borne fruit in the Louisiana State Legislature, where members and allies led by Chief Warhorse helped support legislation aimed at:

• 🧾 Restoring the correct ethnic classification of historical populations / landmarks

• 🏹 Acknowledging tribes and lineages that were absorbed, erased, or renamed under colonial regimes

• 🤝 Supporting community-led documentation of American Indian ancestry and land claims

This success, backed by mass public engagement, written testimonies, and community organizing, was a direct challenge to the colonial archive that sought to rename and reclassify entire nations into extinction.

UIHS’s ability to mobilize voters, researchers, artists, and legal minds across the country has shown how powerful the Urban Indian voice truly is especially when unified around a shared ancestral truth.

Beyond family history, UIHS is active in legislative spaces, pushing for recognition of Urban Indians who do not live on reservations, and those from tribes that were terminated, absorbed, or left off the federally recognized list due to administrative maneuvering.

They also challenge the racist logic embedded in systems like:

• The Blood Quantum system,

• The Freedmen Exclusion policies of some tribes,

And the colonial renaming of tribes and individuals.

Through public forums, educational campaigns, and coalition-building with other grassroots Indigenous movements, UIHS is amplifying the voice of the Urban Indian, a group too often ignored by mainstream media and tribal politics alike.

🪶 Reclaiming Identity, Restoring Nations

What UIHS ultimately represents is a sovereign reclamation of identity. They affirm that being Indian is not defined by enrollment, phenotype, or colonial categories, but by lineage, kinship, and community responsibility.

In cities across America from New York to New Orleans, Los Angeles to Las Vegas members of UIHS are piecing together broken records, rebuilding families, and reviving suppressed tribal memories.

They are not waiting for permission. They are taking their place in the circle of nations by right.

Learn More & Join the Movement

➡️ Website: https://www.urbanindianheritagesociety.org 🗳️ Petition: Available online with over 10,000 signatures and counting 📅 Workshops & Events: Research, reclassification, and resistance in action 📬 Contact: Join letter drives, legislation campaigns, or submit your family story

History didn’t erase the Urban Indian.

It mislabeled us.

Now, we write our own names and the next chapter.

FIRST TRIBE