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Indian Genealogy
We receive many emails a day asking if Smith, Tucker, Akee and many more are
Indian names. My first answer "how would I know," then I stop and think they are
probably newbies just beginning to explore their ancestry. Then the ones saying
"my grandmother was an Indian Princess." Other than a Hollywood movie, I am not
sure I even heard an Indian women called a Princess on the screen, they used
"Squaw". Webster, defines a Princess as a member of a royal family, the consort
of a Prince." Was there an Indian Prince? Lastly, we have a picture of great
grandmother and she looks just like an Indian. I am not sure I know what an
Indian looks like, many tribes have many different features, you can't lump them
all together.
Researching your Indian Genealogy is no different then researching your other
ancestry. Start with your self and work you way back, no short cuts! Meaning
someone in the family said you were related to Sacagawea, so start with her and
work you way forward. Then you are using someone else's work and how do you know
they were correct?
People do genealogy for several reasons, myself it's just because I want to know
who came before me. Please try Beginning Genealogy, very basic steps to get you
started. Keep in mind, along the way you will find information you don't like,
none of our families were and are perfect. These stories of my ancestors makes
the search more interesting. In the process of your search you will also learn
about your country's history.
There are some additional facts you need to know in researching your Indian
Ancestry:
- Name of the person
- Name of the person's federally-recognized tribe
- Approximately when the person lived
- What state or territory the person lived in
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Name: |
Today we don't
think about our
name, our
parents gave it
to us. Many of
our Indian
ancestors had
only one name.
Their surname
name was given
to them, by
agents of the US
Government or
chosen from a
list.
Unlike the
immigrants to
Ellis Island,
they were given
little choice in
their names. If
you look at the
1817
Reservation Roll,
you will see
that many people
on that list
did not have
two names. It
would be
difficult to
prove
relationship to
anyone on this
roll unless your
family provided
well documented
information.
Most of the
tribes only had
an oral history.
I am not saying
you can't find
them or don't
try, but we are
talking about
188 years of
research. |
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Tribe: |
There are 500
plus Indian
Tribes today,
years ago there
were more.
If you know
approximately
where the
ancestor lived,
you can consult
The Indian
Tribes of North
America
by John R.
Swanton. It
provides
information
about the
tribes,
sub-tribes,
bands, etc.
which lived in
each state.
Handbook of
American Indians
by
Frederick W.
Hodge describes
over 800 tribes
of the United
States, many no
longer in
existence.
A
Google
search will find
many good books
written on
individual
tribes. |
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Timeline: |
Determining when
your ancestor
lived has always
been difficult
to answer.
As a general
rule subtract 20
years to your
birth date to
determine that
of your parents.
Using the year
1941 as your
birth year, your
parents would be
around 1921,
grandparents
1901, and
gggrandparents
1881. Future
generations will
find this more
difficult with
the number of
people who are
waiting until
later in life to
start a family.
Likewise many of
our ancestors
were married at
a much younger
age. Using
the above dates,
I would read the
1930, 1920, 1900
and 1880 census
looking for
ancestors.
The
1900 Indian
Territory Census
is available for
searching, the
first year
Indians were
clearly listed.
For one reason
or another many
Indian ancestors
hid from the
census takers.
Census Rules
are some
instructions
given to census
takers, please
read the
interesting
instructions.
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Residence: |
Indian tribes
moved freely
across the
United States,
Canada and
Mexico.
Many had winter
and summer
residences.
More were
removed by the
US Government to
lands far away
from their
homes.
Indian Tribes of
North America
is an
outstanding
source of
information for
determining
where many
tribes lived.
Books on Indian
Movement:
-
Southern
Contacts of
the Indians
North of the
Gulf of
Mexico
provides
information
on tribes of
Mexico.
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Villages of
the
Algonquian,
Siouan and
Caddoan
Tribes West
of the
Mississippi,
life on the
prairies or
mountains
with the
best built
house had to
be hard for
our
ancestors,
but consider
the Indians
of
the1800's.
-
Tribal
Migrations
East of the
Mississippi,
the tribal
movements
east of the
Mississippi
in
prehistoric
times.
-
History of
Indian
Missions in
the United
States,
the areas of
California,
Southern
States,
Middle
Atlantic
States, New
England
States,
Interior
States, The
Columbia
Region, New
Mexico,
Arizona,
California
and Alaska.
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Kansas and
Kansans
(History
of many of
the tribes
of Kansas)
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Notes on the
Creek
Porter was
at one time
head chief
of the Creek
Nation and
Perryman
probably
accompanied
him as his
"interpreter",
though both
appear to
have been
able to
speak and
write
English, and
most of
these notes
were
originally
written down
by them.
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Indian
Reservations,
1908 A
listing by
state of
Indian
Reservations
of the US. -
Southeastern
United
States
Indian
Research
by Jackie
Matte,
researching
your Indian
Ancestors in
the
Southeastern
US. -
How to
Search,
These pages
are meant as
a guide for
researching
you
Cherokee,
Choctaw,
Chickasaw,
Creek and
Seminole
ancestors,
also known
as the Five
Civilized
Tribes.
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Last of all the Rolls and Census Records,
when you have finally put all your other
family information together, it will then be
time to look at the rolls. Reading the
history of each roll
will help you better understand how to use
the rolls.
Rolls and census presently available on Native
American Genealogy:
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