Summary

In Part 3, Chapter 1, Jerkins addresses the fact that many Black Americans claim to have some Native American ancestry. Jerkins theorizes that, if such claims are true, then there may have been intermingling among Black and Native people during their respective migrations. In the 1800s, the United States forcibly relocated about 100,000 Native Americans to the Oklahoma territory. This brutal forced relocation was called the Trail of Tears. Jerkins found that many free and enslaved Black people were relocated along with Native people on the Trail of Tears. Many Black Americans with Native ancestry have attempted to apply for membership in the relevant Native communities, but they have generally been denied. Jerkins writes about how laws, societal pressures, and migrations may have driven wedges between groups of people with both Black and Native ancestry.

In Part 3, Chapter 2, Jerkins discusses the fact that many...