Native Americans and Alaskan Natives are the descendants of the original inhabitants of what is currently the United States. Today there are a total of 584 federally-recognized tribal entities[1] in the United States; that is 347 tribes/nations in the lower 48 states and 227 Alaskan Native villages. Each of these entities are sovereign states[2] with their own laws, rules, and regulations. They have established their own policies for enrollment and have determined who is and who is not a citizen of their respective nation. Some of these tribes/nations have blood-quantum requirements[3] and some do not. Each of these tribes/nations have their own unique cultures, languages, and histories, although some share commonalities. In addition to federally-recognized tribes there are 63 state-recognized tribes in 11 different states - Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.[4]
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Challenges with Native genealogy
There are many challenges and limitations to Native genealogy. As mentioned above, every tribe/nation is different and because they are different what records are available will vary by tribe/nation. It isn't just the records that vary, but the available resources vary, as well. The tribes/nations that exist today are not the same tribes/nations that existed yesterday. Prior to colonialism and throughout colonialism many tribes disintegrated with some becoming extinct, some merging with much larger tribes/nations, and some coming together to form a new tribe/nation altogether. The history, the language, the culture was all preserved orally and passed down using storytelling. The first written Native language did not arrive until 1821 with Sequoyah's Cherokee Syllabary.[5] There are records that do exist prior to this time that contain some information regarding Native peoples and their cultures such as traders' and explorers' journals or diaries, but these items are sporadic. For most people, this means they are only going to be able to trace their Native ancestry to some time between the year 1800 and the 1850s, depending upon the tribe/nation.
Where to start
Prior to delving into the world of Native genealogy, answer the question, "do you know what tribe/nation your family is from?" The answer to that question is going to determine how you begin.
Researching Native American ancestors from a known tribe or nation
If you know what tribe/nation your family belongs to, then begin your genealogical endeavor as you would any other genealogical project: start with yourself and work your way backwards. Where your research differs is going to begin with the final roll of your tribe/nation and for every tribe/nation that is going to vary. If you're a member of the Five Tribes - Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), or Seminole, that roll is going to be the 1907 Final Dawes Roll, but if you're a member of the Kaw Nation, that roll is going to be the 1902 Kaw Indian Allotment Roll.
Determining the final roll
To determine the final roll, contact your tribe/nation, or you can look it up on FamilySearch by searching for the specific tribe/nation on their FamilySearch Wiki page. The information gained from the final roll of your tribe/nation is going to vary. The 1902 Kaw Roll for example is going to list the person's name and their relationship to the head of household, their sex, and their age. Some of these individuals lists simply an Indian name and others it is going to list both an English name and an Indian name.
Other rolls will include such things as blood quantum. The 1907 Final Dawes Roll, which can be found in a number of different locations online, such as genealogy websites, includes two parts: the Enrollment Card and the Jacket. The Enrollment Card is going to provide the Card number, the individual enrollment number of the Indian enrolling, their age, blood quantum, their post office, and possibly the parents' names and districts they belonged to, if they knew them. These enrollment cards can contain additional information, such as death dates, notes about additional marriages and children, or the original name of the family. The jackets can include more information, but don't always. Additional information included could include interviews with that enrollee, their family members or neighbors, birth, death, or marriage affidavits, and more.
Other records
Any records prior to your tribe/nation's final rolls will depend upon the tribe/nation. It is best to contact your tribe/nation for additional information or check out FamilySearch's Wiki page. Many tribes/nations are going to have additional rolls prior to the final rolls, but the years and number of rolls are going to vary by tribe, as is the location of these documents. The individual tribes/nations do not have these records on file. They are going to be on file in some records collection somewhere in the United States. That could mean they are stored by one of the National Archives branches throughout the United States or they could be held at a repository like the Oklahoma Historical Society.
In addition, some tribes/nations maintain museums and genealogy departments/offices/buildings. The rolls within each tribe/nation are different. For example, the Genealogy Department of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma will only tell you whether your family is on the 1907 Final Dawes Roll or not. To submit a request, you'll need to know all of the information about your family, birth/death dates, and places. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma maintains the Cherokee National Research Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma that has a dedicated staff that assists with your research endeavors. The Chickasaw Nation has the Holisso: The Center for Study of Chickasaw History and Culture that maintains an archive of Chickasaw records on the grounds of the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma. The Osage Nation, on the other hand, will provide a copy of one's family tree going back to 1906, and possibly further, upon request from the Membership Department. Again, every tribe/nation is different and the services provided by your tribe/nation will vary and it is best to contact them directly to find out what services are available to you and your family.
Researching Native American ancestors from an unknown tribe or nation
Not knowing what tribe/nation your family belongs to represents its own challenge. Do you have a story of there merely being Native American ancestry or have you heard from family members that your grandmother/great-grandmother, or further back, was part Native American?
Finding a known Native American ancestor
If you know the exact relative that is supposed to have been Native American, then that's a little bit easier. As with other genealogical endeavors, start with yourself and work your way backwards, keeping careful documentation of all of the information until you get to that relative. Learn everything you can about that relative who was supposed to have been Native American. If they were alive during the 1900 or 1910 US Census, then pay special attention to them because they included special addendums relating to Native Americans that inquired about tribal affiliation, Indian names, blood quantum, and real estate. If that was before their time, then compile as much information as you can about their parents and look for their parents. If they had passed away prior to that time, then try to identify the area of the United States to determine where the family was from originally. Just because Grandma Sue was born and raised around the Cherokee doesn't mean she is Cherokee. It could have been that the family moved to the Cherokee lands just prior to her birth, but her family was originally from Virginia and had lived there for 150 years prior. Narrow down where in Virginia the family was from and start looking at the Native peoples in that area. If those Native peoples no longer exist, start looking to see if any historical records exist relating to those people and where they are located. If those Native peoples no longer exist, but merged with another tribe/nation, contact them to see if any records might exist that might help prove your case.
Finding an unknown Native American ancestor
If you do know the exact relative and only have a story about their Native American ancestry, then contact the person that told you that you have Native American ancestry and probe them for more clues and details. They may not be able to tell you the exact tribe, but they can provide you with more details that will help you in your research. Keep very careful documentation and gather as much information about your family as possible. Check the 1900 and 1910 censuses for those special addendums relating to Native Americans. Follow the migrations of your family across the United States: do they follow any of the movements, whether by choice or force, of any of the different tribes/nations? If your family has lived in the same area for the last 100, or 150 years, then start researching what Native peoples lived in the area, including those who were native to the area and those who had been relocated. With that list, contact those tribes/nations and inquire about the records that might be available. Your family may not be on their final rolls, but if the story does hold true, it could be they are an older roll and decided to separate from the tribe for one reason or another.
See more
Explore more about Native American genealogy
- How to Research Your Ethnicity with Genealogy on the MyHeritage Genealogy Hub
- American Indian and Alaska Native Records at National Archives
- Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Part 1 at MyHeritage
- Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Part 2 at MyHeritage
- How to Research Your Ethnicity with Genealogy on the MyHeritage Genealogy Hub
- Native American at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- 10 Ways to Find Your Native American Ancestor Using Y, Mitochondrial and Autosomal DNA at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Was Great Grandmother Really Native American? at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Native American History and Genealogy at AccessGenealogy
- Native American Online Genealogical Records at FamilySearch Wiki
References
- ↑ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-01-12/pdf/2023-00504.pdf
- ↑ https://www.ncai.org/policy-issues/tribal-governance#:~:text=The%20US%20Constitution%20recognizes%20that,the%20authority%20to%20self%2Dgovern.
- ↑ https://nativegov.org/resources/blood-quantum-and-sovereignty-a-guide/#:~:text=Many%20Native%20nations%20currently%20use,blood%20quantum%20from%20Lower%20Brule.
- ↑ https://www.ncsl.org/quad-caucus/state-recognition-of-american-indian-tribes#:~:text=State%20Action,formal%20process%20for%20recognizing%20tribes.
- ↑ https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/blog/how-sequoyah-who-did-not-read-or-write-created-a-written-language-for-the-cherokee-nation-from-scratch/#:~:text=Written%20Cherokee%20would%20be%20the,writing%20for%20the%20first%20time.