Finding Indian heritage easier said than done

Friday, June 15, 2012

Susan Doak Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society

Growing up in the 50s, no doubt all of us at one time thought that we might just have a relative that was a real "Indian" as in the Cowboys and Indians style! I remember my relatives pulling out a picture of a "great-great" grandmother and saying that she looked like an Indian....something that my research has proven to be untrue!

The problem with researching native roots is that even the US Census did not count any of the tribes members until 1860 and the only Indians counted were "Indians not in tribal relations, whether full or half-breeds, who are found mingled with the white population....." Those Native Americans who still lived free on the prairie or on reservations were considered to be "Indians not-taxed" and therefore not to be counted. Funny isn't it how we all thought the government was counting people, not tax base people! In 1860 there isn't even a box to choose under "Color" which would indicate this population, tax based or not! According to the government there were 44,021 "taxed" Native Americans and 295,000 (an estimate) "non-taxed" in 1860 so over a quarter of a million US residents of Native American ancestry weren't even counted. To further complicate the matter, the enumerators often were puzzled as to how to translate a Native American name into English and noted only "Indian" as a first name with no last name listed.

Even reminiscence of relatives doesn't help! Families carry stories through the generations that by nature change with each rendition. A perfect example can be found in a family I was tracing that was quite certain of their Native American heritage and the first person I interviewed said the line came down through the Blackfoot tribe. Further investigation found that the reference to Blackfoot was due to the fact that ancestor rarely wore shoes, consequently the nickname "black foot", while the true lineage was Cherokee.

The State of Nebraska Historical Society has a gentleman that specializes in tracing Native American Roots and SWNGS is working to bring him to Southwest Nebraska for a Genealogy workshop in the near future. As one who has disproved a great-great grandmother as being Native American but is now working on the genealogy history of a granddaughter who is definitely 1/16th Cherokee through her paternal grandmother's side, I look forward to having an expert help me trace those roots. Watch the Gazette for further announcements concerning this workshop because Native American heritage will be only part of the offerings.