Reclaiming Our True Heritage
IAMBAA (Indigenous Americans Misclassified as Black/African-American) is dedicated to helping our people reclaim their true heritage. Scientific evidence from DNA, archaeology, and linguistics shows that so-called black/African-Americans are Indigenous to the Americas, descending from copper-toned, wooly-haired tribes such as the Powhatan, Cherokee, Creek, Lenape, Yamassee, Seminole, and Choctaw, who are direct descendants of the Xi (Olmec) of Me-Xi-Co. IAMBAA empowers us to nationalize, embrace our 338,000-year legacy, and stand as the original people of this land.
Empowering IAMBAA Identity
IAMBAA Voices speak loud. We will not continue to be dehumanized
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Heritage Reclamation
Who Are the Indigenous Americans Misclassified as “Black”?
According to Webster’s Dictionary of 1828, the word American was originally defined as: "A native of America; originally applied to the aboriginals, or copper-colored races, found here by the Europeans: but now applied to the descendants of Europeans born in America.” This definition shows that the first Americans were the copper-toned, woolly-haired peoples already living here before European colonization.By the 1900s, laws and policies deliberately erased this identity. In Virginia during the 1920s, state registrar Walter Plecker reclassified thousands of Indigenous Americans as “Negro,” stripping entire families and tribes of their recorded identity.
Walter Plecker Re-classified Indians to Negros
By the 1900s, laws and policies deliberately erased this identity. In Virginia during the 1920s, state registrar Walter Plecker reclassified thousands of Indigenous Americans as “Negro,” stripping entire families and tribes of their recorded identity.
At least 19 Early Explorers of America Admitted it.
Even earlier, at least 19 prominent men—historians, officials, and lawmakers—openly declared that the Indigenous Americans were “Black.” This was not an accident but part of a systemic reclassification project meant to separate our people from our land, heritage, and legal standing.
We are builders of Civilization
According to the book Exposing the Expositions by Howdie Mickoski, the colonizers could not have built the massive buildings shown at the American World Fairs. There is strong evidence that these structures were remnants of the Xi Empire and Atlantis.
Historical records reveal that colonizers hired 122 IAMBAA men to construct what were labeled “Roman-style” buildings. These were not enslaved laborers—they were skilled Indigenous builders performing carpentry, stonecutting, and bricklaying. This proves that our people already knew how to design and construct monumental Xi architecture.
"Stop Reporting that these are black Nations"
The same skilled IAMBAA builders who constructed “Roman-style” halls also built the White House—not as slaves, but as paid laborers. Yet colonizers sought to erase this truth. They painted our ancestors as naked, savage, or inferior in their art—a process known as othering.
Even private letters tell the story. During the Seminole Wars, European soldiers in Florida described Indigenous American Indians as “black people.” Their superiors ordered them to stop reporting this to families back home, deliberately hiding the truth of who we are.
Testimonials!
John Smith (1607, Jamestown): Described the Powhatan Confederacy as having complex societies, political structures, and large agricultural systems. He noted that they had dark skin and curly hair,
William Strachey (1612): An English writer who lived in Virginia, Strachey documented that the Indigenous people had "tawny or brown" skin and features resembling Berbers or Moors.
Theodor de Bry (1590s, Roanoke Colony Illustrations): An artist who created depictions of Indigenous people in the Carolinas. His images, though somewhat Europeanized, still show figures with dark brown skin and IAMBAA-like features.
Adriaen van der Donck (1655): A Dutch settler in New Netherland (New York), he wrote about the Lenape and other tribes, mentioning that their skin tone was dark, with some resembling the Moors of Spain.
Jonathan Carver (1766): A British explorer in the Great Lakes region, he recorded tribes like the Fox and Sauk who had "dark complexion, full lips, and broad noses."
Erasing Our Heritage
In the late 1800s, White supremacist in the U.S. government and church institutions began forcing Indigenous children into boarding schools. This system expanded throughout the early 1900s and lasted well into the 1970s. The purpose was not only to separate us from our families but to erase our identity as Indigenous Americans, descendants of the Xi (Olmec). These schools taught us to abandon our language, culture, and traditions—and to stay away from our true spiritual science.
At the heart of that science was our ancient knowledge system encoded in the 52-card deck, a sacred tool our ancestors used to track time, cycles, and destiny. By cutting us off from it, the institutions sought to sever our connection to the wisdom and identity that had guided us for thousands of years. 1879 – First Major Federal School was the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania was founded by Richard Henry Pratt. Motto: “Kill the Indian, Save the Man
After we lost the "Indian wars" Thousands of our children were forcibly removed from homes and placed in boarding schools. Families were often threatened with jail or loss of food rations if they didn’t comply. Children were beaten for speaking their language, renamed, and trained for domestic or agricultural labor.
Why we Must Use Prisoner-of-War instead of Slave
Why “Prisoner of War” Speaks More Truth for IAMBAA
1. It acknowledges an active war — not passive victimhood. “Slave” makes it seem like IAMBAA people were naturally born to be owned, when in fact, they were freedom fighters, farmers, sovereign people, and nation-builders who were targeted and captured through military and economic warfare. “Prisoner of War” frames colonization as what it truly was: a war for land, resources, and identity. IAMBAA weren’t just “enslaved,” they were forcibly removed from their PROPERTY and families by foreign invaders — much like POWs in international conflicts today.
2. It restores political identity. “Slave” strips people of their national origin. But IAMBAA were part of sovereign Indigenous nations with governance, law, agriculture, trade, and diplomacy. Calling them POWs highlights that they were Indigenous nationals captured during the colonization of the Americas, not stateless people to be rebranded as property.
3. It reframes how others treat our legacy. When people hear “slave,” they often associate it with helplessness or shame — even though our ancestors showed unbelievable strength. “Prisoner of War” demands respect. It tells the world: “We were warriors, not property. What happened was a war crime — not a labor arrangement.”
4. It opens legal and historical doors. In international law, POWs have rights. If IAMBAA are framed as POWs, it strengthens the case for: Land repatriation, Restoration of tribal status, Cultural reparations. “Slave” closes those doors because it implies economic exploitation rather than military conquest.
Heritage
IAMBAA (Indigenous Americans Misclassified as Black or African-American) is a program of Tzulukin, Inc. that empowers people to reclaim their true heritage. Our mission is to encourage individuals not to fear undenationalizing themselves by standing boldly in their Indigenous American identity rather than remaining denationalized under mislabels.
Contrary to mainstream narratives, Africa is a continent of 54 nations, none of which recognize so-called African-Americans as citizens or descendants of their lineages. Meanwhile, a growing body of evidence from ancient DNA, archaeology, and linguistics confirms that those misclassified as “Black” or “African-American” are in fact Indigenous to the Americas.
We descend from the copper-toned, wooly-haired tribes of the Cherokee, Creek, Lenape (Delaware), Yamasee, Seminole, Choctaw, and others—peoples directly connected to the Xi (Olmec) ancestors of Me-Xi-Co. Our lineage in the Americas stretches back over 338,000 years, rooted in the original nations and civilizations of this land.
IAMBAA exists to help our people reconnect with this truth, restore their national identity, and stand once again as heirs of the soil we have always called home.
Join us
Reach out to reclaim your true heritage with us.