Are you interested in finally searching out the truth behind that old family story about a Native American ancestor? Or perhaps you already know that the story is true, but you’re not quite sure where to go next.
Luckily, there are many online guides, records collections and specialized resources that can help you on your journey. Here’s where to get started.
Uncovering the Truth Behind Family Stories
If you’re just beginning your research based on a family story, the first and most important step to take is to determine what aspects of your family’s tale may be accurate.
Determining Native American ancestry should be done genealogically, by examining each line of your family tree for plausible connections.
Although there are several genetic tests that can tell you if you have measurable Native American DNA, these tests cannot tell you what tribe (nation), band or even specific location this DNA is from and, furthermore, these tests may miss Native American ancestry that appears several generations in the past (depending on your ancestors’ percentages and how much of their DNA you inherited). These tests can be used as a helpful tool, but should not be used as the only tool for determining whether or not you have Native American ancestry.
The easiest way to begin your genealogical journey is to record as many details as you can about your family’s Native American story, and then carefully cross-reference those details to known individuals in each line of your established family tree.
If you are unsure which family line to explore, or have few family history lines established, choose one that seems the most plausible and begin filling out the individuals. As you work your way back look for clues that may suggest a Native American individual. There is a wonderful resource with details for doing this from the American Indian Council.
Before you go any further, consider reading through this guide from the Dept. of the Interior for help deciphering Native American family history and associated research.
Please remember that Native Americans did not always have or use ‘traditional’ Native American names, may have used both traditional names and English, French or Spanish language names, their names may have been anglicized for or by records keepers, and that they may have been spelled incorrectly and/or differently from record to record. Because traditional Native American names are oftentimes structured in a way that is unfamiliar to many family history researchers, you may need to take extra time to learn about these structures and consider that many variants are likely to exist when doing online searches.
Try this book for help: A Genealogist’s Guide to Native American Names: A Reference for Native American First Names
Where Do I Look for Records Once I Find a Native American Ancestor?
If and when you are able to locate a person or persons you feel may have been Native American, there are a variety of records to explore to increase your knowledge.
Native American persons often appear in standard record collections, such as the US census or in government or church birth, marriage and death records, depending on their tribal and religious affiliation, geographic location, birth and death dates and lifestyle. Start there as you would with any ancestor.
If the person was a fairly recent ancestor, the next best place to look for information may be with the tribe or band your ancestor belonged to. The tribe may have a list of resources available for researching members and likely has many established genealogies in place. Please note that many of these documents are private or will only be available to you once you have proven a connection to the individual named. Contact the tribe to understand policies regarding such requests and always wait until you have strong evidence of a recent connection before asking for assistance.
Please do not pursue research into Native American ancestry with the sole hope of gaining tribal enrollment. Individuals who qualify for such enrollment have recent and well-established ancestry, not a distant family relationship.
There are many smaller collections and books that may pertain to individuals in your ancestors’ location, and your local historical society or library are both great places to look for help finding those. This method is often one of the best ways to uncover details about known Native American ancestors. Many even have the information available on their websites.
There are also a variety of large record collections specific to Native Americans, most from the 19th and 20th centuries, and many are now found online. The most commonly recognized collection are the Dawes Rolls and we have explored it in detail below. Despite the popularity of this resource to researchers, the rolls won’t apply to many individuals since this collection was limited by tribal association and location. There are many other wonderful resources to explore, however, and we have provided helpful links for finding them below.
The Dawes Rolls
On February 8th 1887 the Dawes Act, also known as the General Allotment Act, gave authorization to the President of the United States to survey Native American lands for allotment to individuals.
The stated objective of the Dawes Act was to stimulate assimilation of Indians into American society. Individual ownership of land was seen as an essential step. The act also provided that the government would purchase Indian land “excess” to that needed for allotment and open it up for settlement by non-Indians. Read more.
In 1893 a new Indian Office appropriation bill organized the Dawes commission, named for proponent Senator Henry Laurens Dawes, and began to collect applications from members of five southeastern tribes: Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole.
Tribe members were entitled to an allotment of land, in return for abolishing their tribal governments and recognizing Federal laws. In order to receive the land, individual tribal members first had to apply and be deemed eligible by the Commission. Read more.
Between 1886 and 1914 more than 250,000 Native Americans applied, with more than 100,000 being accepted between the years of 1898 and 1914.
The applications taken during this time were compiled into the Dawes Rolls (Dawes Commission Enrollment Records) and are still used today as a basis for tribal membership into the five named tribes.
The Dawes rolls are vital to family historians because they contain critical information for discovering details about Native American ancestors in a time when such records were scarce.
Enrollment cards (also called census cards) include residence, roll numbers, names of family members, relationships, ages, sex, degree of Indian blood, enrollment date, place and number, parents and their enrollment date or place, spouses, divorces, children or grandchildren.
Applications for enrollment include affidavits, vital records, letters, questionnaires, and decisions mentioning relatives, dates, and places.
Letter logs include name, address, date of the letter, file number, date received, subject, and action taken. Letters are with the applications.
If you think you may have an ancestor that could be found in the Dawes Rolls you can access them for free through the National Archives. The archives offers a free tutorial that will walk you step by step through the process of finding your ancestors in this resource.
Find the tutorial and access to the records here.
Other Important Collections for Researching Native American Ancestors
The Dawes Rolls apply only to ancestors that may have been part of one of the five named tribes above. To research ancestors from other tribes and locations please take a look at this excellent directory from FamilySearch that lists the many available collections. There are too many to name here — but this page includes direct links to these free and paid research resources.
If you’re going to pick one to start with, consider the Indian Census Rolls of 1885-1940. Read more about this resource on the National Archives and discover how how to access the records here.
The National Indian Law Library also has a long list of resources on determining and researching Native American roots. Don’t miss it.
Consider also Access Genealogy and NativeWeb, two free online resources for researching Native American ancestors.
Don’t give up hope if you come up short after some initial searching. Many family stories have inaccuracies but also contain some element of truth. If you don’t find a Native American great (or ggggg) grandparent consider looking for clues with great aunts, uncles and cousins — or consider that the story may have been borrowed from a more distant relative or that records simply may not exist to prove or disprove it. In the end, uncovering the truth (or part of it), no matter what the result, is well worth the effort for any family historian.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended as a comprehensive guide to Native American genealogy research. There is simply too much information to include in one article. We have tried to detail the most important points and the best resources, but we suggest that you take the time to search out and read some of the numerous other guides, books and articles available online if you are interested in expanding your knowledge on the subject.
By Melanie Mayo, Family History Daily Editor
Image: “Three Native American women, standing, full-length, facing front, holding beaded(?) bags, Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Wasco County, Oregon.” c1902 Library of Congress
I have always been told that 4 0f my male ancestors married Cherokee women. I cannot find any proof of this. Name variations were Juillineau, Juneau, Gellineau, Gelinas, Geno. If anyone has information, I would love to know.
Bummer!
Well it seems that my Ancestry may link up with chief Double Head, daughter princes married Big Jake Troxel, this seems to come through Possible both sides of my families. I ask my Grand mother if we had any Indian in our family. her statement to me was, when I was young it was worse to be a Half Bread then it was to be black. Then she said that is all she would say about it. My Great Uncle said once that he had to consult with the chief or the medicine Man, his uncle when he was getting married. I asked him once about our native American history He stated that he had promised my Grandmother never to talk about.
How can I find out anything about my great- grandfather, I was told he was taken by Mexicans as a little boy and sold to someone in Mexico. And my dad would not talk about any of it, just told my niece that they were Comanche. Everyone that would know has passed.
I did a my heritage dna test last year and a few months ago discovered by dna matches that my Irish father has some Mohawk tribe ancestry as the cousin who contacted me in Arkanses said that someone in her family was kidnaped by the tribe in the 1800s and went on to have many children with them, She showed me some fantastic old photos of about 15 native Indians standing with about 3 white men which were probably family too. I also found some dna matches with women with very Indian sounding names such as Rose Standing Bear and Flying sea otters. These cousins share about 32 CM with me which makes them quite a good match, I knew I had Indian on my mothers side as her father was from Cashmir in the North of India but I had no idea that my Irish father had Native American somewhere down the line.One of them I found on google and his name was Chief Hashanash or Red Legs.
I was told my Great Grandmother swore in Cree but my DNA show no Native American background at all.
Is there any way to find out if this is true? Great Grandma and Great Grandpa came from Canada.
good day i had my dna done showed no native results but i was told we have mikmac in are family just like to get answers my maiden name cormier,my grandma lapoint, and lemay, leblanc iam just curious thank you.
My dad’s grandmother was a Native American I’m just not sure what tribe she’s from. So ancestry will be a very great help and be helping me find my roots.
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Rumors say Indian in Family somewhere. From Adirondacks..family names. Plouffe, McComber. Family lived all over Adirondacks NY stateincluding St. RegisFalls
On my mother side of the family my 3rd great grandmother was Mourning/Morning Dove Born 1799 in N.C Died 1855 in Van Buren, Tn. Her husband was Joseph Medley Born 1782 in Patrick, Tn. Died 1842 in Salene District Eastern, Tn. They were married 18 Oct 1812 in Van Buren Co. Tn. Joseph Medley was my mother’s (Melva Medley Cogar) great great grandfather. I have tried just about every place I can thing of but have not been about to find anything out about her. I’ve told she was on the Trail of Tears till she got into Tennessee and then her husbands brother came and got her and the children. Later on in life she remarried Larkin Talley. Some records show her father having the name Chief Whitesides put I don’t think that is right. If you can help me I would be very thankful. Thank you Joyce Cogar
My grandma told me that we have Native American in are blood and also Irish I have very straight shiny hair such as Indians I have a beauty mark in the middle of my forehead and over my lip
Wth is a “cousin daddy”?
If you can find a “court intermediary ” to work with – that person can look at the court records and contact any remaining family and IF that person(s) is willing to have contact with you the intermediary can set that up. I know this as I’m am adoptee and that is how I’ve found my remaining birth family.
It depends on the test. Some tests measure only the maternal line and some measure only the paternal line; others measure both. Your own gender isn’t really a factor in terms of measuring both lines. Ancestry.com’s DNA test measure both lines.
From what I understand of genetics, and I’m not an expert in any way, is that we don’t inherent all of the genes.
There are only so many genes that we have, from both sides of the family. I have never heard that you only inherit maternal genes is you are a woman. That show “Discover your roots,” says that we inherent genes from both sides. In one of the episodes, they explain this and how we inherit genes. I have Native American blood from my father’s side of the family. It is not on my mother’s side, as her side was traced back to the 1600’s. My Mom’s side is confirmed Irish and Scottish. Sure enough , I showed native american blood from my father’s side. I have a cousin on my father’s side who second in command of a Native American nation. I would suggest researching more about genetics and how we inherit genes, in order to understand why some people don’t inherit the Native American gene. Watching that show really helps too. My DNA has a few surprises. I discovered I had 12 Native American tribes in my bloodline,! Best wishes with your research.
Marva, I just sent my DNA in, are you saying a woman’s DNA will only show her Mother’s linkage?
Diana, you are female, and your DNA probably just traces your female linage. (Mother, grandmother, g-grandmother, etc.) Do you have a full brother? If so, do his DNA, because his DNA will show much more than maternal line DNA. Someday, I hope we can use female DNA to get a full picture of our lineage. (Come on, Science!)
I had my dna done & it said nothing about native American . BUT I’ve always been told my dad was full blooded chipawau Indian. I had a cousin daddy said he looked just like his dad. He had the hair, eyes, nose, cheekbones & complexion. I have them too but not as much or as dark as he was. I’m a little confused & upset with the testing.
My grand dad told me his grand mother was Nancy Haney. A full blood cherokee. She had a sister named Sarah. Nancy born in 1824. I think in Tennessee.
Do you find people? I have 3 names and I am visually impaired.
We know my mother-in-law was one quarter Cree. We have the genealogy Census Records to prove this. However, my husband’s DNA test came back no Native American background at all. All DNA tests are not alike. We’re pretty upset with our Family Tree DNA test results.
My Mother’s Great Great Grand Father was a Indian Chief or a Leader. Because I remember seeing a picture of him with a full feather head dress when I was little. I have researched my mothers mother side of the family all the way back to the 1500’s. I know I am missing something. Should I go to the Michigan Indian Affairs or do I have to dig deeper on my own.
Help Please!
I came from Lee co VA,born and raised.
Most have been automatically sealed primarily from you the adoptee. The gov’t swears they will never allow any of them to be unsealed either.
The Dawes Rolls were written by the U.S. Gov’t and were never put into any semblance that could aid anyone in looking anyone up. You see, it’s not alphabetized or numbered and the gov’t is not of a mind to do so in the foreseeable future either, according to their own statements. There are indians who claim to have and sell books based on the Dawes Rolls but it’s not the only rolls that were made. These books are priced so far out of anyone’s range that it’s not funny. So, looking up your native ancestors for free is a lie. You have to pay whether it’s the gov’t or some private citizen who’s got the records.
Are from Pennsylvania ??
How do I look up my back ground family to see if my family is on the list because my grandmother told all my life her mother was a full blood so I like to know. If you can like my know how,I can look it up. I would be thankful.
Would this include Canadian First Nation members as well?
How can a person whose grandmother (now deceased) refused to disclose the identity father’s father but strongly suspects Northern Michigan Native American blood? Is DNA the only way to confirm this?
Where would you look for adoptoin records for Indian child that were adopted by non Indian family?
my grand parents where Jimmy and Ilene Campbell.. I know that my dad, Junior Ray Lee Campbell got his Indian card. I know I have native American in me, but not sure what all I have in me..
If ur ancestors did not go to the reservations but are native american how do u search for them? I believe mine are the North Texas Cherokees that never left.
This only works for people whose ancestors were sent to reservations. In the East, post-contact Native history predates the reservations and different research techniques are required.
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I am 76 yrs old and my line goes through the Acadians and it is said that if you are Acadian you are part native american with this I also have my fammily history saying we have native american in our DNA. I am having a DNA test, will this show, if not will it mean I dont have nattive ameriican or should I question the test ?
I am 76 yrs old and my line goes through the Acadians and it is said that if you are Acadian you are part native american with this I also have my fammily history saying we have native american in our DNA. I am having a DNA test, will this show, if not will it mean I dont have nattive ameriican or should I question the test ?
It would have been nice if the link to the database on Family Search actually linked to the database described and not to the home page. Since you don’t actually name the resource, how are we supposed to find it?
love to know if any Indian Ancestry….
what if you had DNA done and it say none, but you have relatives that say they have saw your Great Grand Mother and they say she looked like one and spoke like one, she was half Cherokee , her mother was American and father was Cherokee, what do you do then, se did not speak English very good. what do you do, my mom Grand Parents were Brother and Sister, so does she not get most of her DNA then from her Fathers side mostly? Please help,
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