Heritage Album

Where do I go from here? (Native American genealogy)?

Okay, so my family is trying to prove our Indian heritage (no, we are not just in it for the benefits) and we need some help. My great-grandma is a Cherokee whose maiden name is Barrett. We checked the Dawes rolls and found 20 results for that last name. Now what we need to do is see if my Grandma is related to them in any way. What's the best way to go about it? There are a lot of genealogy sites out there, but which one is the best and easiest to use? Wado!

Public Comments

1. The best resource is the Mormon Geneology Research Center in Salt Lake City, UT. You may find some information online, but a trip there is truly warranted if you want to discover your ancestry. All searches are free of charge. Ancestry.com does charge a fee, but it has a good reputation. Check with the Cherokee Nation, too. There is information online, but the central headquarters does have quite a bit of data about present day descendents of the tribe.
2. My last name is the same as a professional football player but we are in no way related. The same type of scenario applies to many people searching for their heritage by looking for their last name(s) on the Dawes or other rolls. You need to start with yourself, link yourself to your parents, to your grandparents, to your great grandparents, etc. Unless your ancestor was living in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in 1906 it is highly improbable that the person with your same last name listed on the Dawes Rolls is your relative.
3. Try this website for advice. http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/proving-indian-ancestry.htm Accessgenealogy is allowing free access to 1930 census for the month of Aug according to website. When was your great grandmother born? Do you know parents names? You need to start ordering, if you don't already have them, birth, marriage and death certificates for a paper trail back to Native American ancestor. You will also benefit from census records to find where your family lived and if they were included in any "Indian" censuses, or listed race as Native American or Indian. See if your local library has any subscription genealogy programs for patrons use. The LDS (Mormon) Records Pilot Search website has some censuses for free. http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start http://familysearch.org (Regular LDS family search website.)
4. You need to have the names and vital information on her parents and Grandparents. If she did not appear on the rolls, it is most likely that you will never be able to "prove" the connection. I have talked to several Cherokee in West Virginia and Tennessee, one had a picture of a grandmother and we look so much alike we could be twins, but I cannot prove that any of my ancestors were Native American because we cannot prove that the people listed on the Dawes Roll are related to us, although there are several men listed who had the same name as my Great Grandmother, we cannot connect any of them to her. I know the truth as have been accepted by the people who matter to me. That is enough for now. My Grandson's Maternal Grandfather is also Cherokee, from Oklahoma, but we cannot find his family listed on the rolls either. He is a member of the California Cherokee group, but there is apparently a lot of confusion with regard to the different bands. Good luck with you search, I hope you meet someone like I did.
5. Footnote.com has a number of different Native American Collections including the Dawes Packet. Try searching the site, you may find some important records. The Mormon Family History Centers are another place to look and receive free help. Call your local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and they will direct you to the one nearest you. Many of the people that go there are not members of the church. Good Hunting The History Man http://wwwhistoryman.blogspot.com/
6. Cherokee dropout were very common in the 1800. An Indian could not own land in Missouri and several other states. The Eastern Cherokee elected a white man as their Chief, so they could buy their land back. Many families have stories, a cherokee middle name. The lists where made of people who lived on Cherokee lands. If your ancestor chose not to follow the trail of tears to Oklahoma, you may never prove it legal like. But history tells us that thousands of part cherokees hid their ancestry and live like white men.