Nel - I do not know the sources of your other respondents but I wanted to give to you the explanation I received in the early 1970s.  I worked in the Virginia Bureau of Vital Records then, in the city of Richmond.  At that time a number of native Virginians needed their birth records and those of their parents and grandparents to prove lineage in one of the several Virginia tribes.  ALL OF THEIR RECORDS were listed as "colored".  I was told by the older employees that prior to the 1950s if you were not specifically white, you were listed as Colored.  This included ALL other groups, Asians, American Indians, African-Americans.  I hope this is helpful.

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