Heritage Album - Can I prove that I am Cherokee Indian?

Can I prove that I am Cherokee Indian?

I have always been told that I am Cherokee on both sides of my family and even have a picture of a great grandmother who is OBVIOUSLY indian. My parents/grandparents told me that they do not believe that anyone was registered. I have had no luck on the Dawes Roll, but have only just started doing research. Ancestry.com has been help filling in the names of family members that my mother didn't know, but I am still not finding names on the official roll. Can anyone tell me if there is a better way to go about this process? For the critics...I am in NO way wanting to gain anything from this information besides learning more about my heritage. I already have 2 college degrees and don't plan to start another, therefore this information won't help me on a college admission application! :) Basically, I lost my mother 2 years ago and am just interested in taking over where she left off with the genealogy of our family. I am proud that I am of American Indian decent (which is pretty obvious when you look at me) and want to know as much about my family's history as possible! Thank you for any help. It will be appreciated! If there isn't a way to find out if I am "officially" an American Indian I will just have to be proud of the picture of my great grandmother...she looks like she was one cool lady! :)

Public Comments

It is very frustrating and honestly, you may never prove or disprove past that picture. The problem is a very small number of Native Americans had their genetics taken and some were banned because the "white" people weren't happy with them. Part of those that were geneticly registered were done so because they were involved in certain jobs. No, not like " I am an Iron Smith". They worked for very specific people, programs, companies that were involved in this. Ironicly, it looks like to me that some of the people that were registered as Native Americans by them were not 100% Native American ( some cases perhaps even adopted/brought in without any Native American blood). There are more things to consider. Some things won't bother with you if you are not already part of a Native American community. Basically, if you aren't living like it's the 17-hundreds they don't see any point in wasting time with you. There is some attention they are seeking. It's not fair, really. You will also have to be proven by the test to be a percentage Native American or they just won't say you are. Some junk wants you to be 80% a match to those employees way back then that entered their blood. Then the last thing is you will need samples from your brothers, father, and maybe grandfather to help them with testing. They prefer to go with certain strands that are only on the male side. So they would prefer looking at your close relatives blood to fill in some blanks, especially the rapidly forming blanks on the male side. You may additionally need your mother as a sample. You should be so happy you know so much about your relatives and still have contact with so many. Many people do not get any information from their family. You should also note times that you have Jewish in your ancestry, as Jewish people pretended to be Native American at points in time but more commonly the Native Americans had to pretend to be Jewish to save their lives. Added: If you are planning to do DNA Test. Here's alot of reading since people don't know/understand DNA testing. It will repeat what I said. Most people trying to find out your heritage and/or trying to determine your heritage will obviously include this in the steps. I'm just posting completely random sites mixed with sites I know are important or official. http://www.bia.gov/WhereIsMy/index.htm http://www.native-languages.org/blood.htm http://www.dnacenter.com/native-american/ http://genealogy.suite101.com/article.cfm/genealogical_dna
You have to research the same as everyone else does, as you say if ancestors were not registered it will make the research difficult for you. Here is a website which may help you, gives you some website links etc http://www.indian-affairs.org/resources/aaia_research_ancestry.htm
There are over 30 rolls (lists) of Cherokee people. The only way to prove you descend from a Cherokee person is to genealogically trace yourself to at least one of those enrolled people. Contrary to popular myth, the rolls, especially the earlier ones, were not ones people "hid out" from. They were payout lists - lists of Cherokee people who were owed either money or land for land taken either by the United States or state governments. In fact, Many nonCherokee people applied to be enrolled for these payouts and were rejected because they were not Cherokee. Now, if you're speaking of the Dawes Roll exclusively, a person had to be living in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) for a continuous time and up to the closing of the roll. The Dawes Roll documented Cherokee people, their nonCherokee spouses (called Intermarried Whites) and their freed slaves (called Freedmen) among others. There were those who were Cherokee-by-blood but did not make the Dawes Roll because they relinquished their Cherokee citizenship to become American citizens. The Dawes Roll today functions as the base roll for the Cherokee Nation. If you are seeking citizenship in the Cherokee Nation then you must descend from a citizen listed on the Dawes Roll. If your ancestor was not a citizen then you cannot be a citizen. However, if your presumed Cherokee ancestor was not listed on the Dawes Roll, they or their ancestors should appear on one of the earlier rolls. Again, tracing yourself to an enrolled person is the ONLY way to prove your Cherokee ancestry. DNA doesn't count and please do not listen to sailortinkitty who is promoting some crazy stuff that I never even heard of. ETA: Just wanted to say that you've received some really great advise (and some not so great advice). Put it all together and this is probably the best answered (by various sources) How Can I prove I'm Cherokee questions that I've seen in 3 years on YA!
Proving Cherokee or Indian ancestry is just like proving any genealogical family tie. Many people who make the "Cherokee/Indian Blood" claim fail to acknowledge the reality of tribal history and biology. Meaning, heavy blooded Indians don't just magically appear in your family tree, your ancestor also had parents...with real names and locations where they lived. If they were outside of the tribal territory or showing up consistently as White/Black...well, chances are they were not Indian. However, the Indian Blood Myths die hard. To be a tribal member is to be affiliated with your tribe. If your ancestors are not showing up on tribal rolls...there is an obvious problem. Indians are the most well-tracked group of people in this country. The main problem with Indian ancestry research is that people work backwards...assuming that the story or the claimed ancestry is a *fact and thinking that it is just a matter of "missing" documentation. Healthy skepticism is always in order. It is very uncommon for a heavy blooded Indian to be standing as an aberration in your family tree...heavy blooded Indians come from other heavy blooded Indians...this requires a GROUP (or TRIBE!) of Indians. Most claims can be debunked with dispassionate research, but if you cling to an "Indian-looking" picture you may not recognize this reality...Many mixed-Africans "passed" as Indian...this could be a family myth born of a family secret...you never know. Or an old dark photo could just show a skewed sense of contrast/tint...and enhances a so-called "Indian look." (I'm not downing it...since I obviously haven't seen it...I'm just stating that it is a possibility). You have to ask yourself: What are the historical facts of your ancestor? Where was she born? What time frame? If she was heavy-blooded why didn't any of the family enroll? Was family found outside of Oklahoma or NC area? (what are the chances of heavy blood being passed along from someone born outside of these two communities???) Remember the time frame we are talking about - the Trail of Tears was in the 1840s. If great-gramma was born in late 1800s (to early 1900s, depending on your age), how could OBVIOUS high blood quantum be passed along - her parents also had to have heavy blood. There were no "secret" Cherokee communities that remained intact to pass along a high blood quantum and "hidden heritage." Finally, this is the critical question: Are you finding the family group listed in the greater society as White/Black? The only way to PROVE your Cherokee blood is by finding official documentation that identifies the family as such. There is no other way. Also, to be able to enroll with Cherokee Nation...the family must have been enumerated on the DAWES ROLLS. I would say that it is possible to find plenty of other sources of documentation that would indicate Indian blood...and would probably provide you with that "proof"...at least for yourself. Check other rolls (Even Guion Miller reject files have valuable family info). Definitely check the 1900 and 1910 census in particular - is the family listed as "I" [Indian] under race category? If you family is in, say, IT or OK during these times...and listed as White/Black...there is a good chance that this is an accurate designation and they are not Indian. During this time it wasn't common to "downplay" Indian heritage as people were just getting on the rolls and moving onto their allotments. The "whitewashing" of Oklahoma census records came a little bit later... Good luck with your search.
It could be as simple as you are just not Cherokee. I am not saying that you do not have Indigenous blood, but most peope are unaware that there are over 500 tribal nations today. You will have to do the legwork to discover your origins; it may be that your ancestor was Catawba or Seminole or PeeDee or Monacan or Oneida.
I would love to know what "obviously" indian means. I can tell you that you will probably never be able to "prove" that your ancestors were Native American. If you are Cherokee, You may have blue to dark brown eyes and dark to light brown hair. I wish that everyone who thought they were "Indian" could understand what it feels like being called that it is a slur, and not better that the "N" word. It it totally offensive to Native Americans who were born and raised on reservations and have always known the history of their tribe. If you had no luck on the Dawes that means she was not registered with the Government. It is good that you are not looking for the fabled funds for Native American Education because there is really little that is given to people who have not been members of the tribes and who are well know with in the council for their traditional act ivies. If you seriously want to pursue the being Native American there is a DNA test called SMGF you can find out about it on the Sorenson Data Base site. It costs about $50.00 to have it done and it different the two DNA tests that have been in use.
First of all, have you checked ALL of the Rolls? * US Census Rolls recorded between 1817-1924 (East of the Mississippi River) * 1817 Reservations Rolls - Cherokees wanting a 640 acre tract in the East. * 1817-1835 Emigration Rolls - Cherokees whom filed to emigrate to Arkansas. * 1835 Henderson Roll - Cherokee Census for ALA, GA, TN, NC. * 1848 Mullay Roll - Census for NC Cherokee remaining after removal. * 1851 Siler Roll - Eastern Cherokee Payment Roll. * 1852 Chapman Roll - Payment Roll based on Siler Roll. * 1869 Swetland Roll - Authorizition of Payment for NC Cherokee * 1883 Hester Roll - Eastern Cherokee Roll. * 1908 Churchill Roll - Eastern Band Cherokee (Rejections etc.) * 1909 Guion Miller East Roll - Eastern Cherokee Roll. * 1924 Baker Roll - Current Membership Roll for Eastern Cherokee. * US Census Rolls recorded between 1851-1909 (West of the Mississippi River) * 1851 Old Settlers Rolls - Cherokee Old Settlers living West prior to 1839. * 1852 Drennan Roll - First Census after Trail of Tears. * 1898-1914 Dawes Roll - Final Allotment Rolls. * 1909 Guion Miller Roll - Entitlement Rolls for Allotments. Next step would be to have your DNA done, as suggested by others who've answered. If your Grandmother WAS Native American and you are the daughter of HER daughter, then having a Mitochondrial DNA test done will show that you have Native American blood in you. My father-in-law got his DNA testing done through http://www.familytreedna.com/ and they were thorough, helpful and reasonable - he was adopted and wanted to find his biological father. You might run into something along the same lines as he did: although he matched many, many, MANY markers with People of the Chippewa Nation and even though many members of that Nation have been helpful in trying to help him track down his family, so far none of them have found a common ancestor despite the fact that their DNA matches. The person who told you not to get fixed on the idea of Cherokee is very correct. At the time of the Dawes Enrollment, many People put off enrolling until the last minute while others figured they might as well get it over with, so the bloodlines of many People on the Dawes are pretty mixed up. There were Cherokee who enrolled as Choctaw, Seminole who enrolled as Muskogee, Chickasaw who enrolled as Cherokee, etc. There were even people who enrolled though they were not one of the Five at all ~ desperate times called for desperate measures. People did a lot of things to survive and keep their children safe, even if it sometimes meant losing their heritage. Those were sad times. All in all, if you're the daughter of the daughter of the woman you feel positive was Native American, start with a Mitochondrial DNA. If the blood is there, it WILL show up. If it's not there, you are wasting your time with the genealogical research unless you just enjoy it for the sake of it.