Paper Genocide Pronunciation: /ˈpeɪ.pər dʒɛˈnəʊ.saɪd/ (PAY-per jen-uh-syde)
Paper genocide is the deliberate erasure, reclassification, or denial of a group’s identity using official records or documents. Black Americans and Indigenous people were often mislabeled as “colored,” “mulatto,” or “Negro” in these documents and policies. This process erased Native heritage and hid multiracial backgrounds within official records and legal documents. Such systematic practices caused loss of cultural recognition, land, legal rights, and disrupted the transmission of generational knowledge.
Synonyms: Ethnic erasure, identity erasure, bureaucratic genocide
Example: During the Jim Crow era, many families lost tribal identities when birth certificates or census forms removed their Indigenous status.