Reunite
Bring Black Indians back to the tribes they come from, through proof that holds up.
A Beautifully Noir Enterprises project
Reuniting Black Indians with their rightful tribes.
One verified family line at a time, starting with ours.
Join the listWhat we do
Many Black families carry Native ancestry and a family story to match. Records often say something else, because someone else decided what to write down. We trace each line through the paper trail, check every link, and show our work.
The goal is a documented line a tribe can review. Not a guess, not a rumor, not a DNA percentage.
Bridge
Black and Indigenous communities were pushed apart on purpose. Splitting people is an old playbook. We build the connection back.
Verify
Every claim gets a source. If a link in the chain isn't proven, we say so.
The archive
The proof is public. Look at it.
These are real records from our founder's own research. Tap any one to open it full size and read it yourself. Old handwriting is hard, so each record comes with a plain note on what it shows.
Public Law 115-121 · 132 Stat. 40 · January 29, 2018
Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2017
Sec. 403(a)(1). Federal recognition is extended to the Tribe.
Sec. 402(3)(A). The term “Tribe” means the organization possessing the legal name Rappahannock Tribe, Inc.
Sec. 401, finding (30). In 1819 and 1820, Edward Bird, John Bird (and his wife), Carter Nelson, Edmund Nelson, and Carter Spurlock (all Rappahannock ancestors) were listed on the tax roles of King and Queen County and taxed at the county poor rate.
These records sit side by side because the names and the place line up. Whether every person is the same family is something we check, one link at a time. Spelling changes between Byrd and Bird. That is normal, and it is not proof either way.
The book
The Rappahannock Indians of Virginia
Frank G. Speck, 1925. Published by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. It names Rappahannock families and lists the tribe's members as they stood in 1921. Public domain, scanned by the Internet Archive.
Read the full book (PDF)The vision
A growing library of verified family lines, and a path for any family to follow the same steps. We start with one line, the founder's own, and build the method in the open.
Follow the work
Leave your email. We'll write when there's something real to share.