Unnamed: Because They Were Indian

By Susan Lorraine Kadera

Unnamed: Because They Were Indian is my devotional offering to the ancestors whose names were erased by ink but remembered by spirit. Through census records, oral history, and ancestral intuition, I trace the lives of Indigenous family members who were misclassified, unnamed, or reduced to racial codes. They were Cherokee, Lumbee, Monacan-women who stirred cedar smoke into prayer, men who carried tribal memory in their hands, children who braided stories into silence.

This book is not just a record-it's a ritual. A reclamation. A resurrection. I name the ones who were listed only as "mulatto," "free person of color," or left blank. I restore their dignity through symbolic naming, spiritual reflection, and historical context. From the Indian Removal Act to tribal enrollment debates, I explore how federal systems obscured Indigenous identity and how ancestral truth still rises.

Featuring a timeline of erasure and resistance, a glossary of racial classifications, and research tips for genealogical seekers, Unnamed: Because They Were Indian is both a legacy memoir and a guide for those who carry unnamed ancestors in their bones. Every page is a drumbeat. Every silence is now a song.

This book is their name now. This breath is their blessing. This story is their return.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0G3HX6BP1
• ISBN13: 9798232103132
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Susan Lorraine Kadera
• Length: 46 Pages
• Weight: 0.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"