It is sincere hope this letter finds you in good spirits and positive vibrations.  As a member of the American Indian/ Indigenous American population, it is with deep concern that your assistance is being sought.  Through multiple facets of seeking personalized, self-identification as an American Indian/Indigenous American on official documents and presented forms; these concerns continue to arise where the situation remains up for debate or questioning from parties on the receiving end.

  It is the American Indian/ Indigenous American who has faced unfortunate misnomers of false labeling, inaccurate identities associated with our communities and family members, in addition to governmental tactics to strategically present wrong terms of identification; purposefully placed upon our ancestors and ourselves. This action was presented to the public with activation of The Racial Integrity Act in Virginia, following a chartered document under the direction of Walter Plecker; who petitioned to label all persons who are non-white as Colored.  In legal and public arenas, these implications, inaccurate labels, and misclassifications such as Negro, mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, colored, Black, and now African American, continue to affect and effect many American Indians/Indigenous Americans.   

In duress of such circumstances, there are several persons whom have suffered from misguided information about their lineages, have not been fortunate to benefit from opportunities based on heritages, and wrongful cultural assumptions, via other parties, within their interactions, organization participation, as well as governmental entities.  At this time, as an American Indian/Indigenous American, I am presenting this petition to you with demand that the misnomer of African American or Black either cease from presentations on document options, or be presented on documents with the following disclaimer:

African American/ Black--- not American Indian/Indigenous American

All the while, when this option is presented, those parties in receipt of such documentation labels do not assumptively identify presenting parties as African American/ Black based on their visual phenotype.  Not only is that assumption based on prejudice and racist tactics, but it is also degrading to the heritages of those facing this assumption.  Those whom facing such notions are descendants of those who are an American aboriginal and indigenous to the  Americas, predating Colonial Times. 

According to standards from the United Nations, being a descendant of American Indians/ Indigenous Americans and those indigenous to the American lands are protected to be able to, not only self-identify, but are also regarded and respected for the recognition of personal identification.  The United Nations presented the necessity to recognize this urgent need to respect and promote the inherent rights of indigenous peoples which derive from their political, economic and social structures; further extending recognition to their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies, particularly their rights to their lands, territories and natural resources.

The following articles are presented within 61/295. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted into circulation on 13 September 2007:

Article 1

Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all 8 human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights4 and international human rights law.

Article 2

Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity.

Article 3

Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

From “American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”, adopted June 15, 2016.

Article XIII.

Right to cultural identity and integrity

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to their own cultural identity and integrity and to their cultural heritage, whether tangible or intangible, including historic and ancestral heritage; and to the protection, preservation, maintenance, and development of that cultural heritage for their collective continuity and that of their members and so as to transmit that heritage to future generations.

2. States shall provide redress through effective mechanisms, which may include restitution, developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples, with respect to their cultural, intellectual, religious, and spiritual property taken without their free, prior, and informed consent or in violation of their laws, traditions, and customs.

3. Indigenous people have the right to recognition and respect for all their ways of life, cosmovisions, spirituality, uses, customs, norms, traditions, forms of social, economic, and political organization; forms of transmission of knowledge, institutions, practices, beliefs, values, dress, and languages, recognizing their inter-relationship as established in this Declaration.

In accordance of the Civil Rights Act of 1968:

            Assumption by the State of Civil Jurisdiction SEC. 402.

(a) The consent of the United States is hereby given to any State not having jurisdiction over civil causes of action between Indians or to which Indians are parties which arise in the areas of Indian country situated within such State to assume, with the consent of the tribe occupying the particular Indian country or part thereof which would be affected by such assumption, such measure of jurisdiction over any or all such civil causes of action arising within such Indian country or any part thereof as may be determined by such State to the same extent that such State has jurisdiction over other civil causes of action, and those civil laws of such State that are of general application to private persons or private property shall have the same force and effect within such Indian country or part thereof as they have elsewhere within that State.

(b) Nothing in this section shall authorize the alienation, encumbrance, or taxation of any real or personal property, including water rights, belonging to any Indian or any Indian tribe, band, or community that is held in trust by the United States or is subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States; or shall authorize regulation of the use of such property in a manner inconsistent with any Federal treaty, agreement, or statute, or with any regulation made pursuant thereto; or shall confer jurisdiction upon the State to adjudicate, in probate proceedings or otherwise, the ownership or right to possession of such property or any interest therein.

SEC. 814A. Incentives for Self-Testing and Self-Correction.

(a) Privileged Information.

 (1) Conditions for Privilege.—A report or result of a self-test (as that term is defined by regulation of the Secretary) shall be considered to be privileged under paragraph (2) if any person— (A) conducts, or authorizes an independent third party to conduct, a self-test of any aspect of a residential real estate related lending transaction of that person, or any part of that transaction, in order to determine the level or effectiveness of compliance with this title by that person; and (B) has identified any possible violation of this title by that person and has taken, or is taking, appropriate corrective action to address any such possible violation.

(2) Privilege for Self-Test.—If a person meets the conditions specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) with respect to a self-test described in that paragraph, any report or results of that self-test— (A) shall be privileged; and (B) may not be obtained or used by any applicant, department, or agency in any— (i) proceeding or civil action in which one or more violations of this title are alleged; or (ii) examination or investigation relating to compliance with this title.

(b) Results of Self-Testing

 (1) In General.— —No provision of this section may be construed to prevent an aggrieved person, complainant, department, or agency from obtaining or using a report or results of any self-test in any proceeding or civil action in which a violation of this title is alleged, or in any examination or investigation of compliance with this title if

 (A) the person to whom the self-test relates or any person with lawful access to the report or the results— (i) voluntarily releases or discloses all, or any part of, the report or results to the aggrieved person, complainant, department, or agency, or to the general public; or (ii) refers to or describes the report or results as a defense to charges of violations of this title against the person to whom the self-test relates

(B) the report or results are sought in conjunction with an adjudication or admission of a violation of this title for the sole purpose of determining an appropriate penalty or remedy. Any report or results of a self-test that are disclosed for the purpose specified:

 (A) shall be used only for the particular proceeding in which the adjudication or admission referred to in paragraph

 (B) may not be used in any other action or proceeding.

(c) Adjudication .—An aggrieved person, complainant, department, or agency that challenges a privilege asserted under this section may seek a determination of the existence and application of that privilege in— (1) a court of competent jurisdiction; or (2) an administrative law proceeding with appropriate jurisdiction

The Secretary may make rules (including rules for the collection, maintenance, and analysis of appropriate data) to carry out this title. The Secretary shall give public notice and opportunity for comment with respect to all rules made under this section. 

42 U.S.C. 3614a

In conclusion, the purpose of this petition is to cease presenting misnomers and fictitious labels placed upon American Indians and those whom are descendants to those indigenous to the Americas, based on physical appearance and phenotype.   

 

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