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Freedmen News
Community-Based Attachment and the Freedmen Nation Verification Process
Reclaiming Identity Beyond the Tribal Roll For centuries, government records have defined “American Indian” narrowly—usually limited to citizens of federally recognized tribes. But U.S. federal definitions include another, often-overlooked pathway: community attachment. The Freedmen Nation was built on that principle. Under the Office of Management and Budget’s Directive No. 15, which sets racial and ethnic standards for the Census and federal agencies, an American Indian o
Freedmen Nation
Nov 53 min read
Why Freedmen Status Cannot Be Defined by Commercial DNA or “Sub-Saharan” Labels
The Core Distinction: Status, Not Lineage Freedmen identity is a matter of legal status , not genetic lineage. It was established through U.S. emancipation law, federal documentation, and post-1865 government records that identified and recorded the formerly enslaved and their lawful descendants. No algorithm, genome project, or consumer DNA company can redefine that standing. The Freedmen classification exists within U.S. jurisdictional history — as a legal category , not a
Freedmen Nation
Nov 42 min read
Lansing Doubles Down: Still No Policy, Still No Accountability
When we last reported on the Lansing School District’s treatment of an 11-year-old student who disarmed a firearm, the district had already admitted that no policy exists on how to handle students who intervene in weapons threats. Now, they’ve responded to our FOIA appeal — and they’ve doubled down. Their answer? Not only do they still claim no records exist, but they now refuse to even process our appeal — claiming we used “different wording.” No New Information. No Acknowl
Freedmen Nation
Oct 312 min read
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