How to Research Native American Ancestry

Any professional that works in a tribal museum or a museum with a Native American collection will tell you that the most common question is, "How Do I Research My Native American Ancestry?" It's complicated, and full of family mythology, hard to find documentation, and dead-ends. But here's some advice to help you on your way.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• As much documented family history you can find
• Tape Recorder or Video Camera
• Internet Connection
• Patience
• Access to a Library

1. Talk to every family member you can about your family history. Start with the oldest family member and tape record your conversation. Ask lots of open questions such as "Who is the oldest family member you knew?" Take notes, listen to your tape-recorded conversation, and write it all down.
2. Look at family birth records, death records, and any land ownership. Also check U.S. Census Records. These documents will have maiden names, the location of where these relatives lived, and possibly their racial background. Check Local, State, and the National Archives will have access to these records. Contact the librarian at these locations for help.
3. If you know what region your family is from, but don't know which tribe, do your local research. Know what tribes may have been there and in what year. This can be difficult on the east coast because tribes were moved west over time. The tribe that was in Ohio in 1770 would have been moved further west after the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.
4. If you believe your are from one of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole), these tribes had the most detailed records when they were forced from their homelands during the Trail of Tears. The names of these people can be found in the Dawes Rolls. There are several rolls you can research to find names of relatives in the 19th century, and they can be found at the National Archives.
5. If you are of African-American ancestry, you also may have a Native American relative. It is a common misconception that people did not marry outside their race, but many did. European-American married Native people, as did African-Americans. This was common on the east coast and it made it difficult for Census takers who were told to assign a race to the children of these marriages.
6. If you know what tribe your family is, contact the tribe directly to see if there is a link between the information you have and the information they have. The tribe may have a historian or genealogist that you can contact.

Tips & Warnings

• Do genealogy research for the right reasons. Learning your family history can be fun and exciting.
• Know that genealogy research can take many hours with many deadends.
• Use your librarian! They have knowledge of databases, hard to find books, and resources you never knew existed.
• Your library may have access to Ancestry.com or Genealogy.com so you don't have to pay for it.
• Consider hiring a professional genealogist if you have the money, but not the time.
• If you do make a connection to a tribe, learn the history, traditions, and language (if possible). Get to know the community and respect the elders.
• Don't do genealogy research thinking it will help you get college scholarships
• Don't think that every tribe has lots of casino money to share. They don't.
• Don't base your research on family myths. Have documentation for everything!
• Learn about the blood quantum factor in Native cultures. Just because you have a Kiowa ancestor, you may be too distant of a relative to be an enrolled member.