[stumpyacres]

how do I officaly document my childrens heritage - my dh is appache and cherokee - how do I find "proof" both of his parents are dead and the grandparents were the "true" native americans.

 

[Mudwoman]

Verify if the grandparents were on the Dawes records. The US Govt made it the "official" record of Native Americans. If they are not on the Dawes record, you can't document the heritage.

 

[molly_clover]

Interesting. I never knew there was a database. However, our family descends from the Blackfoot tribe. I see no listing on the Dawes for that. I am wondering if that is because it came out of Canada?

 

[blhmabbott]

My DH is also of Blackfoot descent. His grandmother lived on the reservation in Montana and married a white man. We contacted the reservation and were told that since she married a white man, they didn't keep the records for her. I don't know if this is standard procedure, or if it's true, but we can't find any documentation of her anywhere except for the information DH's mother has told us...which is limited to say the least. We've come to a road block and don't know where to go next. Good luck in your search!
Heather

 

[Hears The Water]

recently I have been trying to trace my husband's ancestry too. I called the local Quapaw tribal headquaters and they gave me a form to fill out and some realy good advice as to where to find out the info I needed. It turns out that his mother's death certificate will have info on it as to who her parents are and that info should be on the "roll". I was a bit flabbergasted, as I thought it would need to be on her birth certificate. Anyway, you might try to contact the tribal headquaters for the tibes you are looking for and they may have some ideas for you. Also you may be able to find a book or two from your local library as to how to trace your Native American Heritage. And your local library may have a geneology (sp?) dept that may be able to help you. Hope these suggestions help.
God Bless you and yours
Debbie

 

[Guest]

According to family I too have descendants who are Blackfoot.
Howver, my research showed that the United States government never recognized Blackfoot as an Indian nation.

My DH is also of Blackfoot descent. His grandmother lived on the reservation in Montana and married a white man. We contacted the reservation and were told that since she married a white man, they didn't keep the records for her. I don't know if this is standard procedure, or if it's true, but we can't find any documentation of her anywhere except for the information DH's mother has told us...which is limited to say the least. We've come to a road block and don't know where to go next. Good luck in your search!
Heather

 

[molly_clover]

I did at one time contact the tribal nation in Canada. The lady I spoke with in Canada said that everyone is trying to get in on the *tribal monies*, and therefore would not give me any information unless I had proof.

Plus I guess and may be wrong, that you have to be a certain percentage to gain money. I think 25%.

According to the family story, I am 1/16th. My grt. grt. grandmother was full blooded.

My husband descends from Elder William Brewster that came on the Mayflower. Our children are blessed with a rich heritage.

 

[All country]

I'm decended from the Cherokee, Miami, and Blackfoot. I didn't know that our government didn't recognize the Blackfoot. I do know that they don't recognize the Miami. I took my children to a museum where there were a large collection from the Miami's. Children found it amazing that our government refused to reconize a whole group of people as if they never existed. My oldest daughter(20) looked at at painting of a beautiful Miami woman that looked amazingly like my daughter.(daughter looks like my Grandmother) She was upset, it was like she felt they were trying to deny her existance. She was the only one of my children that was so bothered by it. My oldest is dark haired, dark eyed, darker complected. They younger 4 are all fair golden skinned,fair haired,& blue eyed. People can tell by looking at me or oldest daughter of our N.A. heritage, but can't tell at all by looking at our other children. They show the Swede & Scott/Irish side of family.
We can trace some of our tree back to the 1500's, but come to a dead end with our N.A. roots.

 

[TedH71]

In most Indian nations you have to be, at least, 1/4 blood to be listed. If your grandmother was full blooded and it was most likely she was registered at birth. Her children should have been registered as half bloods then her grand children.be registered as 1/4 blood if their parents didn't marry back into the nation. Only Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma recognizes anybody (that I know of)whose ancestors can be proven to be from the Dawes rolls...the other Cherokee Nation only recognizes either half bloods or 1/4 bloods. If you have proof that your grandma was registered then her kids and grandkids should've been registered. I know of a blond haired blue eyed Blackfoot child there...1/4 blood if I recall correctly. Keep in mind, that the Indian nations were the least racist of all nations so they've pretty much intermarried into different races nowdays.

Ted

 

[countrygrrrl]

Not every tribe goes by the Dawes Rolls.

For the Apache, depending on *which* Apache, your best bet would probably be to call their offices. Fort Sill Apache, for example, is a fairly small bunch and whoever answers the phone would likely be able to tell you themselves. Other Apache groups are much larger. You'd still need to contact tribal offices to find out the process.

The Cherokee seems easier but may be even more problematic. You need to contact Cherokee Nation Genealogy Services. They'll run the searches for you, if you like. If your husband is not a direct descendant of Dawes enrollees, however, you are likely out of luck, no matter what documentation you have.

If you are looking for enrollment through the Eastern Band, their requirements are different. They don't go by the Dawes Rolls. There is another federally recognized Cherokee group, the United Keetoowah Band, but you have to have very high blood to enroll there and their enrollment requirements are even more stringent than most other tribes. All other so-called Cherokee tribes are not fedrally recognized, are composed primarily of Whites and should be approached with extreme skepticism - there's a lot of wannabes out there, unfortunately.

 

[countrygrrrl]

BTW, be mindful that Cherokee requires direct descendancy from a Dawes enrollee because that proves residency and citizenship IN the Cherokee Nation.

All others, no matter what documentation you have, are considered to be like --- say --- okay, an example. You are at this moment an American. You decide to move to Ireland. You establish rsidency in ireland, raise your children there and die there. You cannot expect your great-grandchildren to show up 90-100 years later in America and insist they're American citizens with full rights just because their great grandmother was an American citizen. That's why Dawes enrollment is required for the Cherokee Nation and how it works.

 

[wr]

The Blackfoot are recognized as Canadian and the Blackfeet in Montana are pretty well considered just a US division of the Canadian tribe. The reason that most people get stonewalled or put off when the call to research ancestry is because it's a very wealthy band with a lot of money at stake. With oil and gas revenues and other investments, it would not be unreasonable to realize as much as $100,000 in income for a middle aged adult that had not been paid regularly. If one is just interested in finding history and not looking at making any claims with any tribe, it might be best to contact the band offices, explain that you have no financial, just hisorical interest. That opens a lot of doors then it's simply a matter of asking for permission to contact an elder. Even if you don't find what you're looking for, a day with an elder is absolutely fascinating, if you can get them to share. Please remember that if you're making a request from an elder, the tables turn in your favor if you show up with a gift. The traditional gift and most common is a pouch or tine of tobacco but do some research, not any old brand will do. Elders adhere to the traditional ways and in the case of tobacco, they prefer more pure brands. Another option to consider, if you're looking for information involving the Canadian side of the Blackfoot tribe is to contact the Catholic church. Their records were very good and usually have both names (given native and accepted white names) within their records, making tracing a lot easier. It's important to understand that the loss of traditional rights when a woman married a white man had more to do with governments than it did with social issues. Both Canadian and US governments accepted certain responsabilities for natives, according to treaties and if they could avoid paying for those obligations, they were quite happy. You'll find little resistance from most tribes to share information on any history they might have on women who married whites. Good luck with your individual searches.

 

[Bernadette]

What a fascinating thread!! I, too, am searching for a Native American, but I have very little to go on. I have no idea what tribe - maybe someone here can help.

Here's the story. A pioneer family by the name of Gilchrist was living in a soddy in Nebraska. There was a very hard winter, and if it wasn't for an Native by the name of Itaska (some in the family argue he was a Chief) the family would have starved. He brought them food and supplies, and helped them through the winter. When their next child was born in November of 1882, they named her Mona Itaska Gilchrist. The family eventually settled in Arcadia, Nebraska, and I believe that's where Mona was born. As you can see, there is no potential for financial gain here, nor is there even a blood tie. I'd just like to be able to document any information about this wonderfully generous person (Extremely so considering that the relations between the settlers and the natives were not very good in this area in this time period!) Does anyone have any idea what tribe I'm looking for? Or how I would go about looking? Mona and her husband George Washington Warne moved to Toronto, Ontario in February of 1913. They were my husband's grandparents.

 

[Guest]

Well I just checked the bottom of my feet, it don't look like I have any blackfeet in me!

I just wanted to let some of you know that a lot of the smaller tribes were inducted into bigger tribes when they were placed on reservations. They became one tribe. Such as the Cherokee tribe is made up also of several smaller tribes. Some are trying to break away so they can have their own government and recognition. So you might want to check into the history of bigger tribes cause that maybe where your ancestors are located if they were from a smaller tribe.

From your half-breed ***** friend. R.H. in okla.

 

[molly_clover]

Here's the story. A pioneer family by the name of Gilchrist was living in a soddy in Nebraska. There was a very hard winter, and if it wasn't for an Native by the name of Itaska (some in the family argue he was a Chief) .

It is highly possible that the Nebraskan tribe was Sioux. There is also a Winnebago tribe in Eastern Nebraska. There is a Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota that is the headwater for the Mississippi River. So the Itaska you mention might actually be Itasca.

 

[townmouse]

I don't believe it.

i just googled on 'dawes enrollment cherokee' and found some sort of home page...let me look thru online databases.

I found my great-grandpa's whole family ! I was really surprised. There's no denying the heritage of the family, but the anecdotal stuff is fairly sketchy. Both grandparents are dead, and my uncle went nuts during the years that he was doing the genealogy.

But I grew up hearing their names and when they lived, and there they all were in the rolls. So that's something. I don't know how it all worked, but it is surprising that anybody in my family would bother reporting anything to anybody.

Part of the reason Grandpa wouldn't talk much about it...his dad was a bootleg whisky runner and Grandpa got in the habit, during childhood, of refusing to say anything about his dad :haha:

My grandma was Apache, but she got Alzheimers when I was just a little kid. She'd run away from home to marry Grandpa, and nobody ever even found out her mother's maiden name. I'll never be able to trace that family.

 

[swamptiger]

Bernadette:

The small lake at the headwaters of the Mississippi is named Lake Itasca - named by Henry Schoolcraft, an early Indian agent in northern Minnesota. The name Itasca has been applied to a variety of things - counties, schools, hospitals, etc. in northern Minnesota. I believe it may be a French name or word, but it could also have been applied to an Indian person or to a chief by early explorers in northern Minnesota. As I understand it, Schoolcraft was sent to the area to help settle a dispute between the Chippewa and the Sioux. The Sioux were subsequently driven from the area by the Chippewa, and may very well have migrated south to Nebraska.

http://search.ancestry.com/db-lhbum08794/P20.aspx

Actually, according to this information, the word Itasca was actually coined by Henry Schoolcraft, and derived from a Latin word meaning true source.

http://www.schoolcraft.org/html/faq_pages/why.html

 

[Mullers Lane Farm]

I was really surprised. There's no denying the heritage of the family, but the anecdotal stuff is fairly sketchy. Both grandparents are dead, and my uncle went nuts during the years that he was doing the genealogy.

But I grew up hearing their names and when they lived, and there they all were in the rolls. So that's something. I don't know how it all worked, but it is surprising that anybody in my family would bother reporting anything to anybody.

Part of the reason Grandpa wouldn't talk much about it...his dad was a bootleg whisky runner and Grandpa got in the habit, during childhood, of refusing to say anything about his dad :haha:

There may be another reason .... Carlisle Indian School or other such schools that would kidnap NA children and force them into being white. Sometimes it was just easier to pass as white.

 

[stumpyacres]

my dh's family suppressed it - tried to be white - jobs the reason - i think. Last I heard that there are still some NA relatives on a reservation in KS - HOW DO i FIND OUT??

 

[Bernadette]

I just LOVE genealogy. Thanks for the 'leads' all. History is a wonderful thing - there are so many answers to why we are the way we are. Take pride in your heritage and keep looking. The world's a quilt and we're the patches...