Welcome to the Stolen Relations Explore page!

Two quick words of caution:

  1. Archival documents often contain terms, phrases, and biases that reduce, minimize, or alter Native identities and views of the world.
  2. This project is not “complete” — numbers shown represent only what has been entered into this database, not the total number of Natives who were enslaved or unfree in any given area.

Essays

Essays

Below are some shorter, mostly non-academic essays on topics related to Indigenous slavery, history, and culture.

Essays and Reflections Written Specifically for This Project (More Coming Soon)

A Brief History of Indigenous Enslavement and Servitude

A Brief History of Indigenous Enslavement and Servitude
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Indigenous Freedom Suits and the Problem of the Law

Indigenous Freedom Suits and the Problem of the Law
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Broad Overviews Written for the Public about Native American Slavery

Perspective: The Other Slavery

Perspective: The Other Slavery
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Andrés Reséndez in Smithsonian Magazine

America's Other Original Sin

America’s Other Original Sin
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Rebecca Onion in Slate

What Slavery Looked like in the West

What Slavery Looked like in the West
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Kevin Waite in The Atlantic

Indian Slavery in the Americas

Indian Slavery in the Americas
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Alan Gallay for Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Perspective: The Other Slavery

Perspective: The Other Slavery
read

Andrés Reséndez in Smithsonian Magazine

America's Other Original Sin

America’s Other Original Sin
read

Rebecca Onion in Slate

What Slavery Looked like in the West

What Slavery Looked like in the West
read

Kevin Waite in The Atlantic

Indian Slavery in the Americas

Indian Slavery in the Americas
read

Alan Gallay for Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Essays Related to Specific Kinds of Unfreedom, Stealing, and Servitude

The Native American Boarding School System

The Native American Boarding School System
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New York Times

Colonizing the Children: Indian Youngsters in Servitude in Early Rhode Island

Colonizing the Children: Indian Youngsters in Servitude in Early Rhode Island
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Ruth Wallis Herndon and Ella Wilcox Sekatau

Ink didn't end New Mexico's history of peonage

Ink didn’t end New Mexico’s history of peonage
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Santa Fe New Mexican

Native American mothers whose children have been separated from them experience a raw and ongoing grief that has no end

Native American mothers whose children have been separated from them experience a raw and ongoing grief that has no end
read

Mass Incarceration Since 1492: Native American Encounters With Criminal Injustice

Mass Incarceration Since 1492: Native American Encounters With Criminal Injustice
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Truthout

The Native American Boarding School System

The Native American Boarding School System
read

New York Times

Colonizing the Children: Indian Youngsters in Servitude in Early Rhode Island

Colonizing the Children: Indian Youngsters in Servitude in Early Rhode Island
read

Ruth Wallis Herndon and Ella Wilcox Sekatau

Ink didn't end New Mexico's history of peonage

Ink didn’t end New Mexico’s history of peonage
read

Santa Fe New Mexican

Native American mothers whose children have been separated from them experience a raw and ongoing grief that has no end

Native American mothers whose children have been separated from them experience a raw and ongoing grief that has no end
read

Mass Incarceration Since 1492: Native American Encounters With Criminal Injustice

Mass Incarceration Since 1492: Native American Encounters With Criminal Injustice
read

Truthout

Freedom and Emancipation

"hundreds of the descendants of Indians have obtained their freedom:" Freedom Suits in 18th & 19th Century Virginia

“hundreds of the descendants of Indians have obtained their freedom:” Freedom Suits in 18th & 19th Century Virginia
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Library of Virginia

Freeing Eral Lonnon: a Mashpee Indian Presumed a Fugitive Slave in Louisiana, and the Role of Native People in the History of Judicial Abolition in Massachusetts

Freeing Eral Lonnon: a Mashpee Indian Presumed a Fugitive Slave in Louisiana, and the Role of Native People in the History of Judicial Abolition in Massachusetts
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Edward L. Bell

“Descendants of a Woman of Indian Extraction”: The Story of Rachel Findley

“Descendants of a Woman of Indian Extraction”: The Story of Rachel Findley

"hundreds of the descendants of Indians have obtained their freedom:" Freedom Suits in 18th & 19th Century Virginia

“hundreds of the descendants of Indians have obtained their freedom:” Freedom Suits in 18th & 19th Century Virginia
read

Library of Virginia

Freeing Eral Lonnon: a Mashpee Indian Presumed a Fugitive Slave in Louisiana, and the Role of Native People in the History of Judicial Abolition in Massachusetts

Freeing Eral Lonnon: a Mashpee Indian Presumed a Fugitive Slave in Louisiana, and the Role of Native People in the History of Judicial Abolition in Massachusetts
read

Edward L. Bell

“Descendants of a Woman of Indian Extraction”: The Story of Rachel Findley

“Descendants of a Woman of Indian Extraction”: The Story of Rachel Findley

Reconnection and Resilience

The path to reconnection marked by gaps, mysteries

The path to reconnection marked by gaps, mysteries
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Paula Peters, Cape Cod Times, 2002

Bermuda Powwow returns to St David’s in June

Bermuda Powwow returns to St David’s in June

Her Ancestor Was a Slave to Cherokee Indians. Now She’s Applying to Be a Citizen of the Tribe

Her Ancestor Was a Slave to Cherokee Indians. Now She’s Applying to Be a Citizen of the Tribe
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The path to reconnection marked by gaps, mysteries

The path to reconnection marked by gaps, mysteries
read

Paula Peters, Cape Cod Times, 2002

Bermuda Powwow returns to St David’s in June

Bermuda Powwow returns to St David’s in June

Her Ancestor Was a Slave to Cherokee Indians. Now She’s Applying to Be a Citizen of the Tribe

Her Ancestor Was a Slave to Cherokee Indians. Now She’s Applying to Be a Citizen of the Tribe
read