Redbone (ethnicity)
Encyclopedia
Redbone is a term historically used in much of the southern United States
, particularly in Louisiana
, to refer to a Métis or Mestee
ethnic group of mixed racial heritage.
. The racial mix is usually referred to as Tri-racial and may be any combination of the following: Native American, European Caucasian (i.e. English, French, Irish, Welsh), Asians, or Portuguese, Spanish, Moor, Turk, and any of the various African sub-groups.
or Sabine Free State
, when no US state exercised jurisdiction over the area from the Calcasieu River
on the east to the Sabine River on the west.
Families ancestral to the Louisiana Redbones came primarily from South Carolina
(where they faced legal classification as "other free persons", in other words, non-white) to the hills and prairies of western Louisiana, following the Louisiana Purchase
by the United States in 1803. In this area, the settlers successfully resisted categorization as non-white. Enough discrimination existed so they typically established their own communities with churches, stores, and schools. Though their descendants now number over 20,000 individuals and are dispersed to other states, especially eastern Texas
, academically the group has been termed "largely unstudied."
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, particularly in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, to refer to a Métis or Mestee
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
ethnic group of mixed racial heritage.
Definition
It had various meanings according to locality, most implying race mixture or miscegenationMiscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
. The racial mix is usually referred to as Tri-racial and may be any combination of the following: Native American, European Caucasian (i.e. English, French, Irish, Welsh), Asians, or Portuguese, Spanish, Moor, Turk, and any of the various African sub-groups.
Redbones
The term Redbone became disfavored in the late 1960s, as it was a pejorative nickname applied by others to the geographically and socially isolated light-complexioned populations in most western Louisiana parishes, from Sabine Parish in the northwest and Rapides Parish near the center of the state down to Calcasieu Parish in the southwest. This area is roughly coextensive with what was once known as the Neutral GroundNeutral ground
Neutral Ground may refer to:* A No Man's Land* The 30-mile-wide stretch of land between the British troops occupying New York City during the American Revolution and American-held territory in northern Westchester County, New York;...
or Sabine Free State
Sabine Free State
The Neutral Ground was a disputed area between Spanish Texas and the United States' newly acquired Louisiana Purchase...
, when no US state exercised jurisdiction over the area from the Calcasieu River
Calcasieu River
The Calcasieu River is a river on the Gulf Coast of southwestern Louisiana, U.S.A.. Approximately long, it drains a largely rural area of forests and bayou country, meandering southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The name "Calcasieu" comes from the Native American Atakapa language katkosh, for...
on the east to the Sabine River on the west.
Families ancestral to the Louisiana Redbones came primarily from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
(where they faced legal classification as "other free persons", in other words, non-white) to the hills and prairies of western Louisiana, following the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
by the United States in 1803. In this area, the settlers successfully resisted categorization as non-white. Enough discrimination existed so they typically established their own communities with churches, stores, and schools. Though their descendants now number over 20,000 individuals and are dispersed to other states, especially eastern Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, academically the group has been termed "largely unstudied."
See also
- Martha RedboneMartha RedboneMartha Redbone is a musician of part Shawnee, Choctaw and African-American descent. She has won awards for her contemporary Native American music. Her music is a mix of rhythm and blues, and soul music influences, fused with elements of traditional Native American music...
- Melungeons
- Sabine Free StateSabine Free StateThe Neutral Ground was a disputed area between Spanish Texas and the United States' newly acquired Louisiana Purchase...
- Adams-Onís TreatyAdams-Onís TreatyThe Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty or the Purchase of Florida, was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that gave Florida to the U.S. and set out a boundary between the U.S. and New Spain . It settled a standing border dispute between the two...
- Regulator-Moderator WarRegulator-Moderator WarThe Regulator–Moderator War was a nineteenth century feud in East Texas during the Republic of Texas years. It was called the Regulator-Moderator war, for the two sides: the Regulators wanted to "regulate" the activities of rivals and the Moderators wanted to "moderate" being...
- Brass AnklesBrass AnklesThe Brass Ankles of South Carolina were a "tri-racial isolate" group that lived in the area of Orangeburg County, Berkeley County, and Charleston County in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. They were a mixture of African, Native American, and European descent. Although they were of mixed...
- MétisMétisA Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
External links
- Gilmer, Jason A., Selected Works Free People in a Slave Country,http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=jason_gillmer&sei-redir=1#search=%22Free%20People%20slave%20country%22, March, 2010.
- Redbone Heritage Foundation
- Melungeon Heritage Association
- Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware, 2005.
- DeMarce, Virginia. National Genealogical Society Quarterly, March 1992.
- Taukchiray, Wes; Alice Bee Kasikoff, and Gene Crediford. Indians of the Southeastern United States in the Late Twentieth Century, ed. J. Anthony Paredes, 1992.
- Marler, D. C. Louisiana Redbones, presented at the First Union, a meeting of Melungeons, at Clinch Valley College in Wise, Virginia, July 1997. (anecdotal history)
- Marler, D. C. Redbones of Louisiana, Dogwood Press.