1943
The Plecker letter
A letter and a list, mailed to Virginia's local registrars and clerks in December 1943.
The letter
There does not exist today a descendant of Virginia ancestors claiming to be an Indian who is unmixed with negro blood.Walter A. Plecker, State Registrar of Vital Statistics, December 1943
The letter was addressed to local registrars, clerks and legislators "responsible for, and interested in, the prevention of racial intermixture." Attached was a list of surnames by county.
The list
Caroline County
The heading wording is Plecker's own, from 1943. It is not ours. It is shown because it is the evidence of what was done.
The full page
What it means
In 1943 the head of Virginia's vital records told every county registrar that no Virginia Indian descendant existed who was not, in his words, mixed with "negro blood," and gave them surnames to flag.
The National Park Service describes the result as a mass erasure of Virginia Indian identity, and notes that it still makes it hard for Virginia tribes to prove unbroken lineage.
Sources
Full letter and scan: Encyclopedia Virginia, Letter from Walter A. Plecker to Local Registrars, et al. (December 1943)
Library of Virginia, Walter Plecker Asserted that Virginia Indians No Longer Exist, December 1943
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