Cultural Genocide by Paperwork

Jeanette Campbell – no Scots-Irishwoman
In US history, it’s called “genocide by paperwork”.
An Indigenous woman becomes consort to a frontier settler or wealthy planter.
She is given a “Christian” name – maybe that of a neighbor or local preacher.
Her husband/partner calls her “white” in census records to protect the rights of his mixed-ethnic children.
Later historians scan records, see the surname “Campbell”, and see the entire household enumerated as “white”.
And just like that, another piece of Cherokee, Pamunkey, Catawba, Tuscarora, Choctaw, or Shawnee history is “disappeared”, tallied as yet another “white Scots-Irish pioneer woman” of the American frontier.
Most Americans today have no comprehension of the society-induced shame and self-loathing which led generations of people to destroy photos attesting to their “non-white” family’s past.
Unambiguous, testifying photos are treasures, scarce as hen’s teeth.
Loss of language and customs, changing of name and religion, inaccurate census descriptions, destruction of photographs, and non-inclusion in the official story of “white” settlers.
Cultural genocide by paperwork is real.
Image: attributed as Jeanette Campbell, born 1817
#papergenocide #indigenouswomen #history #appalachia
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!