Urban Indians demand accountability from The Urban League ** Groundbreaking Lawsuit **
- Ishmael Bey
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Request for Accountability and Restoration Regarding Urban Indigenous Misclassification
FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLIC RELEASE
In newly assembled archival records from 1966, references to “Indigenous citizens” in urban communities were replaced with the racial term “Negro” during policy discussions associated with the National Urban League’s national convention.
That language shift coincided with federal and private funding frameworks that relied on consolidated racial categories. Indigenous-descended urban communities were not consulted about the change and were subsequently excluded from recognition, consultation, and access to resources effects that continue today.
The Urban Indian Heritage Society (UIHS) has completed a multi-year review of primary source records newspapers, organizational publications, convention materials, and contemporaneous commentary concerning identity language and representational practices adopted by the National Urban League (NUL) during the mid-1960s.
The review focuses in particular on decisions and public positioning surrounding the 56th National Urban League Convention (Philadelphia, August 1–3, 1966) and examines how those decisions have continued to shape identity classification, funding eligibility, and representation to the present day.
What the Record Shows
Documented language changes during the 1966 period in which references to Indigenous or Indigenous citizens in urban contexts were replaced or collapsed into the racial category “Negro.”
Contemporaneous objections and critiques reported in the press at the time, including concerns about imprecise or “weasel-worded” terminology.
Alignment with federal and philanthropic frameworks that relied on consolidated racial categories for program design and funding, creating incentives to simplify identity rather than recognize plural political and ancestral distinctions.
Continuity over time, including modern interventions by the National Urban League in federal administrative processes related to race and ethnicity classification.
Why This Matters
UIHS’s review concludes that these practices had material consequences for Indigenous-descended urban populations, including loss of visibility, exclusion from consultation, and foregone access to resources tied to identity-based programs. Importantly, the organization’s findings emphasize structural and administrative impacts, not personal animus, and focus on ongoing effects rather than isolated historical moments.
What UIHS Is Seeking
UIHS is pursuing accountability through established, lawful processes, including:
Transparency and disclosure of relevant records;
Public clarification regarding representational authority and scope;
Prospective safeguards to prevent continued exclusion;
Equitable, restorative remedies that address unjust enrichment and ensure future inclusion of Indigenous Urban communities in funding and policy processes where they were historically present but erased.
UIHS has prepared a professional legal memorandum and a formal demand for engagement. These steps are designed to invite good-faith resolution while preserving rights and remedies should further action become necessary.
Public Support and Petition
This effort is supported by a growing public petition titled “Remedy for the Misclassified People of North America”, which has over 11,000 verified signatures to date.
Signatories include scholars, community members, and notable public figures who have chosen to lend their names in support of transparency, dialogue, and repair among them:
NBA Superstar Kyrie Irving “Chief Hélà”
Dr. Cynthia McKinney
Queen Chief Elwin “Warhorse” Gillum
Actor Hawthorne James
and many others from across the United States and beyond.
Signing the petition does not initiate litigation. It registers support for transparency, inclusion, and participation in future consultations and any restorative processes that may follow.
Call for Dialogue
UIHS publicly invites respectful, structured discussions forums, workshops, and recorded conversations with affected communities, scholars, and institutions to address these findings and chart a constructive path forward for future generations.
This request is made in the spirit of truth, accountability, and repair with the goal of ensuring that no community is erased or excluded through administrative language again.
About UIHS
The Urban Indian Heritage Society is a research and advocacy organization dedicated to documenting Indigenous continuity in urban contexts and advancing lawful remedies for historical misclassification and exclusion.
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