"Racial Integrity" and the Tribes of King William

Virginia’s “Act to Preserve Racial Integrity,” adopted in 1924 to protect White “purity,” reinforced centuries of racial discrimination against Indigenous peoples, including the Mattaponi, Pamunkey, and Upper Mattaponi of King William Co. State officials used the law to effectively define Virginians as “White” or “Colored,” denying most Native people the right to identify as “Indian” on official documents. Referred to as a “paper genocide,” this erasure hindered tribes’ efforts to gain state and federal recognition and led many tribal members to leave VA. The tribes protested these policies and continued to practice cultural traditions. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the act unconstitutional in 1967.

Department of Historic Resources, 2025