Katya dancing the “Khaleegi” dance from the Gulf Region

Katya’s Beautiful Mother, Becky

Throughout her career Katya has been asked the questions:  “What are you?  What heritage is your family?  Certainly you are Arabic/Turkish/Persian?!”  It thrills Katya when people think that she is Arabic because they think her dancing is authentic, but the answer is no, Katya is not any of these backgrounds, but a mix of many cultures.   Katya is a true American in that she has a little of everything, but the element that stands out as “ethnic looking” is the BlackDutch heritage.  Here is her ethnic breakdown:

-1/2 Scots/Irish (northern Irish, Protestant)

-1/4 Black Dutch (Native American + Germany Romani “Gypsy”; Cherokee and Choctaw tribes)

-1/8 English

-1/8 Dutch

     The Black Dutch are a group of people that came out of the Tennessee hills that combined Cherokee blood with German Romani “Gypsy” blood.  They received their name upon entry into this country; when asked what they were, they answered, “Deutsch”, or “German”, and it got misunderstood as “Dutch”.  There are indeed “Black Dutch” people from the Caribbean who can claim both heritages, Black and Dutch, but this is not the case for the Black Dutch we are concerned with here.  How did this happen?  In the 17th century many Romani men where shipped out of Germany and sent to America as slaves; hardly any women came that were reported.   They did not want to reveal their true identity, because of prejudice, so they came up with this “code name”.

     Because of their slave status when they moved here they could only marry “non-white” and “non-black” women.  Who did that leave?  The Native Americans!  As people of slave status were not “free” they had to move inland away from the East Coast where there was more of a  European society that was difficult for them to navigate; hence, they gravitated towards the states of Pennsylvania down to Tennesse.  Native Americans have been historically kind to the African-American slaves, and now as we see, the Romani slaves.  Your enemy’s enemy is your friend, and the “colored” people of that day had to bond together to survive against the white settlers invasion, even though technically they were competition for camp sites with the Native Americans.

     Pre-civil war America was rife with racism; the only “colored” free persons were the Native Americans who were allowed to own property or hold a job.  Therefore, by the Romani men marrying the Native American women they automatically became “free persons of color”.  However, they had to keep their identity secret to avoid persecution by society until the Civil War.  Many families have kept this family history hidden to this day, but things are changing, and more and more people are asking about their Black Dutch heritage.  A famous Black Dutch entertainer was Elvis Presley.  His characteristic olive complexion, black hair, and dark “oriental-looking” eyes signify the typical “look” of the Black Dutch; many people consider it “ethnically ambiguous” as the features could be a mix of many cultures.  Also, Romani people have historically been entertainers, and so it is no wonder that Elvis was a singer.  Katya’s mother was a jazz singer, and many Black Dutch people that Katya has talked with state that music has been a large part of their family. 

     Katya is very proud of her heritage, and feels that more people need to know the story of the Black Dutch, as they are one of America’s forgotten Native American peoples.  Many Native American tribes are not aware of or do not claim the Black Dutch, as they did not get stationed on reservations, as many others did.  Katya’s mother is from Oklahoma, where many Black Dutch are from as a result of the “Trail of Tears” removal of Native Americans.  These people were part of the Western Tennessee Cherokee who were displaced from their homes and moved into the Oklahoma Territory.  This historical and tragic trek was marred by blankets filled with smallpox, and food rations full of vermin.  Many people died on the journey.  Her mother’s maiden name is Walker, and indeed, that is a common Cherokee name.  Her great grandparents came from Arkansas, got married in Waksahatchee, Texas, and then settled in Norman, OK, where they owned a large ranch and raised 9 children.  Katya’s grandfather moved to Tulsa and became an accountant, and married a woman from Kansas City, MO, with Scottish and English heritage.

Here are some websites for more info about the Black Dutch:

Part One at foclark.tripod.com/gypsy/Patrin1.htm
Part Two at foclark.tripod.com/gypsy/Patrin2.htm.

http://www.geocities.com/~Patrin/melungeon.htm

http://www.imninalu.net/Gypsies.htm

     There is a very good listserve on Yahoo! Groups that Katya is a member of where she has met many others with the same heritage wondering the same questions:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Black_Dutch/

    Katya’s maiden name is Faris; for her it is Irish, but it is also Lebanese.  It means the same thing in Arabic as it does in Gaelic, “knight”, or “horse specialist”.  One can only wonder how that happened, but I can only speculate that these two cultures are linked somehow through this name.  There are romantic reports of the Knights Templar settling in Scotland after their demise, and that would make sense as the name implies.