Proving Your Native American Heritage.

[nativewarrior4v]

Proving Your Native American Heritage



Many American families carry oral histories of Native American heritage. Most often, we think of either the Western tribes who still reside in or near their indigenous homes, or the Cherokee who were displaced in the 1830s, forced to march from Appalachia to Oklahoma in the dead of winter, an event subsequently known as the Trail of Tears.


In truth, the history of Native American heritage in North America is much, much more complex. It is probable that many of the people who carry oral history of “Cherokee heritage are actually descended from a tribe other than the Cherokee initially. The Cherokee were well known for accepting remnants of other tribes whose members and numbers had been decimated by disease or war. Sometimes these alliances were created for mutual protection.


The Cherokees were not the only tribe in the Eastern United States. The Eastern seaboard was widely populated by varying tribes, some related and affiliated, and some not. There were in fact three major language groupings, Algonquin, Souian and Iroquoian scattered throughout the Eastern seaboard northward into Canada, westward to Appalachia and south to the Gulf of Mexico.


People from Africa were also imported very early, often, but not always, as slaves. Jamestown shows evidence of individuals of African heritage. Those who were later brought specifically as slaves sometimes ran away, escaping into the Native population. Conversely, Indians were often taken or sold by defeating tribes into slavery as well.


In the early years of settlement, European women were scarce. Some men immigrated with wives and families, but most did not, and few women came alone. Therefore, with nature taking its course, it is not unreasonable to surmise that many of the early settlers traded with, worked alongside and married into indigenous families, especially immigrants who were not wealthy. Wealthy individuals traveled back and forth across the Atlantic and could bring a bride on a subsequent journey.


Further complicating matters, there were numerous “lost individuals of varying ethnicity in the very early years of colonization. Specifically, Juan Pardo established forts in many southern states from Florida to Mexico beginning in 1566. The Spanish settled Florida and explored the interior beginning in 1521, settling Santa Elena Island in present day South Carolina from 1566-1576. Their forays extended as far North as present day East Tennessee. In 1569, 3 English men arrived in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia having set out on foot with 100 men 4000 miles earlier in Tampico, Mexico. These individuals are in addition to the well-known Lost Colony of Roanoke, and the less well-known earlier military expeditions on which several individuals were “lost or left behind.


What does this mean to the family historian who is trying to prove their genealogy and understand better just who they are and where they come from?


If your family has a long-standing oral history of Native American heritage, it is probably true. Historically, Native people were classified as “non-white which severely limited (and sometimes prevented) their ability to function as free, white, people with equal rights. This means that free “people of color often could not vote, could not own land, and could not attend schools along with white people, if at all.


Furthermore, laws varied and how much non-white heritage constituting “people of color ranged from the infamous “one drop rule to lesser admixture, sometimes much more liberal, to only the third generation. In essence, as soon as individuals could become or pass for “white they did. It was socially and financially advantageous. It is not unusual to find a family who moved from one location to another, often westward, and while they were classified as mulatto in their old home, they were white in their new location.


Often there were only three or sometimes four classifications available, white, negro or black, mulatto and Indian. Sometimes Indian was a good thing to be, because in some colonial states, Indians werent taxed. However, this also means their existence in a particular area often went unrecorded.


Any classification other than white meant in terms of social and legal status that these people were lesser citizens. Therefore, Native American or other heritage that was not visually obvious was hidden and whispered about, sometimes renamed to much less emotionally and socially charged monikers, such as Black Dutch, Black Irish and possibly also Portuguese.


For genalogists who are lucky, there are records confirming their genealogy, such as the Dawes Rolls and other legal documents. More often, there are only hints, if even that, such as a census where an ancestor is listed as mulatto, or some other document that hints at their heritage. Most often though, the stories are very vague, and were whispered or hidden for generations. References may be oral or found in old letters or documents. Supporting documentation is often missing.


Many times, it was the woman of the couple who was admixed initially, of course leading to admixed children, but with 50% less admixture than their mixed parent. It was much more common for a male of European stock to intermarry with Native or admixed women, rather than the other way around.


This means to genetic genealogists today, that they are likely to meet with frustration when attempting to document Native heritage in a male line.


Let's take a look at why this is and how we can build a DNA pedigree chart to track our ancestry.


#Continued from Blog

DNA Tests

[/url]

[iroquoiswarrior (deleted)]

`i think you know if your native or not. if i grew up somewhere and i had parents with blond hair and blue eyes but my mom said her grandmother was i little cherokee then that doesnt mean your indin,so why would you wanna go back and try to "trace your roots" you have none! just give it up people it's ok an all if you support us and feel some kind of connection but thats all it is. I WAS INDIAN BEFORE BEING INDIAN WAS COOL

[loveworks13]

`We all came from the same 2 people,made in the likeness of our creator,like it or not we all are related.

[(deleted)]

iroquoiswarrior wrote: `i think you know if your native or not. if i grew up somewhere and i had parents with blond hair and blue eyes but my mom said her grandmother was i little cherokee then that doesnt mean your indin,so why would you wanna go back and try to "trace your roots" you have none! just give it up people it's ok an all if you support us and feel some kind of connection but thats all it is. I WAS INDIAN BEFORE BEING INDIAN WAS COOL

Every one has roots, Native or not..If someone wants to trace their roots that's their choice, and not all people know who are what their ancestors were, some of us were adopted, some of us grew up in foster homes.Not all grew up tradition on a rez.Remarks like this makes me sad to be Native as it makes us look bad..

As for being 21 how can you say you were "INDIAN BEFORE INDIAN WAS COOL" You are not old enough to know what "Indians" went through back in the day.

N.W.A.A.

[(deleted)]

loveworks13 wrote: `We all came from the same 2 people,made in the likeness of our creator,like it or not we all are related.

you are absolutely correct my friend we are all related we come from the human race.

[blackfootedgirl]

`It was cool to be Indian in the 80's , having had cousins that were on the Colville rez, I wondered what the big deal was about. I was bummed that I did not have enough native blood to get my card like they had due to my moms side of the family. But having cool cousins more than made up for it in that they taught me traditional ways as did my dad.
Physical appearance is not a dependable way to judge a persons genealogy because I have seen other natives with blue eyes, it depends on how the genetic cards fall at conception.
My ex-husband was Peruvian and his mother was Quechua Indian, his dads father had blue eyes, so my son with both South American Native blood and from my side a bit of Blackfoot and Mohawk, he turned out very light skinned with blue eyes but he has his fathers features. Proving the adage "You can't judge a book by it's cover".
I agree with both huggeroftrees and loveworks13 regarding their comments.
Everyone has some sort of heritage or roots and in tracing your roots you would be surprised at the amount of surprises that can surface.

[iroquoiswarrior (deleted)]

`lol it does not make me look bad, (and the blond hair blue eyes comment i made was just a figure of speech, so don't take it to the heart blackfootedgirl.
and i do know what indians went through,age is just a number you do not know me hugger.That was a bad call on your behalf. But anyway NYA WENHA
for your opinion ONE:EH

[(deleted)]

iroquoiswarrior wrote: `
and i do know what indians went through,age is just a number you do not know me hugger.That was a bad call on your behalf. But anyway NYA WENHA
for your opinion ONE:EH

And you do not know me, but I came from a time when they had signs no Indians and dogs allowed. I was in an orphanage, and foster homes and was told it wasn't proper to be Indian. I had my hair cut short so I would not were braids and look Indian. I have a right to my opinions as you do. No harm intended.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, BUT I THINK I'LL TURN THE PAGE!!
N.W.A.A.

[piecrust]

`I remember my old high school classmate. He was a mixed blood. His heritage is Wampanoag and Narrangansetts from his mother's side of the family. They are both sister tribes belonging to the Lenni Lenape Nation related by the same mother tongue, Algonquin.

My classmate was born with brown eyes and dark brown hair and chicken's breast bone. His parents and one sister all had blue eyes. They owned a gas station business.

Later, I learned that chicken breast bone and lazy eyes are common among the Eastern seaboard tribes. Native physical traits can disappear through intermarriages and skip a few generations and then pop back out of blue. That's what happened to my classmate's family.

I remember a Ute lady who married a Yankton Sioux man not knowing about his French ancestry. They had a baby girl who was born white with light brown hair. Her parents had black hair and brown skin. The girl was called Salt and her cousin was called Pepper.

Salt later went to BIA school and one of the Sioux boys got her pregnant. She gave birth to a baby girl with dark blue eyes and snow white skin.
Is that something?

I know 3 white girls who have African ancestry. They have straight hair, white skin, and small cute European noses. There is no hint of African ancestry. They are predominantly white. African people disappeared through repeated intermarriages. One African man did that in 17th century Russia.

[yonausdimisha]

nativewarrior4v wrote: Proving Your Native American Heritage

Thank you for your effort to share and give valid reasons why we all should stop looking down or fight over....but stand together as ONE. I am rather tired of reading on most native sites a lot about unity, but than looking down on each other for one or another reaon. May I add that since 1827 and long before our native brothers of Cherokee, Hopi, Navaho, Iroquoise and Sioux Nations have also come to Europe, specialy Spain, and mingled with the local population, not as slaves but out of their nown free will to see what was going on in the countries of the conqueros, just like still now I do know pure and mixed natives here in Spain roaming around or doing our task of healing, guiding and teaching. As for one, my Cherokee dad came to Munich,Germany, not only being on base, where he met my mom, but many times after and he was far from being the only one. My dad´s people were not shephearded to Oklahoma, but escaped and lived free in the mountains. No matter my skin is white, my eyes are as blue as Father Sky, no matter my german mother tried to beat my native ways out of me and never managed, since early childhood my ancestors have been guiding and teaching me in dreams and vision. I do know who and what I am, not test will change that, nor any % of that and another heritage will change my way of being. There is nothing easy about being native or having a native heart in this white men´s world, but that is the only heart I do have....peope like it or not, that´s their business. AHO


Many American families carry oral histories of Native American heritage. Most often, we think of either the Western tribes who still reside in or near their indigenous homes, or the Cherokee who were displaced in the 1830s, forced to march from Appalachia to Oklahoma in the dead of winter, an event subsequently known as the Trail of Tears.


In truth, the history of Native American heritage in North America is much, much more complex. It is probable that many of the people who carry oral history of “Cherokee heritage are actually descended from a tribe other than the Cherokee initially. The Cherokee were well known for accepting remnants of other tribes whose members and numbers had been decimated by disease or war. Sometimes these alliances were created for mutual protection.


The Cherokees were not the only tribe in the Eastern United States. The Eastern seaboard was widely populated by varying tribes, some related and affiliated, and some not. There were in fact three major language groupings, Algonquin, Souian and Iroquoian scattered throughout the Eastern seaboard northward into Canada, westward to Appalachia and south to the Gulf of Mexico.


People from Africa were also imported very early, often, but not always, as slaves. Jamestown shows evidence of individuals of African heritage. Those who were later brought specifically as slaves sometimes ran away, escaping into the Native population. Conversely, Indians were often taken or sold by defeating tribes into slavery as well.


In the early years of settlement, European women were scarce. Some men immigrated with wives and families, but most did not, and few women came alone. Therefore, with nature taking its course, it is not unreasonable to surmise that many of the early settlers traded with, worked alongside and married into indigenous families, especially immigrants who were not wealthy. Wealthy individuals traveled back and forth across the Atlantic and could bring a bride on a subsequent journey.


Further complicating matters, there were numerous “lost individuals of varying ethnicity in the very early years of colonization. Specifically, Juan Pardo established forts in many southern states from Florida to Mexico beginning in 1566. The Spanish settled Florida and explored the interior beginning in 1521, settling Santa Elena Island in present day South Carolina from 1566-1576. Their forays extended as far North as present day East Tennessee. In 1569, 3 English men arrived in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia having set out on foot with 100 men 4000 miles earlier in Tampico, Mexico. These individuals are in addition to the well-known Lost Colony of Roanoke, and the less well-known earlier military expeditions on which several individuals were “lost or left behind.


What does this mean to the family historian who is trying to prove their genealogy and understand better just who they are and where they come from?


If your family has a long-standing oral history of Native American heritage, it is probably true. Historically, Native people were classified as “non-white which severely limited (and sometimes prevented) their ability to function as free, white, people with equal rights. This means that free “people of color often could not vote, could not own land, and could not attend schools along with white people, if at all.


Furthermore, laws varied and how much non-white heritage constituting “people of color ranged from the infamous “one drop rule to lesser admixture, sometimes much more liberal, to only the third generation. In essence, as soon as individuals could become or pass for “white they did. It was socially and financially advantageous. It is not unusual to find a family who moved from one location to another, often westward, and while they were classified as mulatto in their old home, they were white in their new location.


Often there were only three or sometimes four classifications available, white, negro or black, mulatto and Indian. Sometimes Indian was a good thing to be, because in some colonial states, Indians werent taxed. However, this also means their existence in a particular area often went unrecorded.


Any classification other than white meant in terms of social and legal status that these people were lesser citizens. Therefore, Native American or other heritage that was not visually obvious was hidden and whispered about, sometimes renamed to much less emotionally and socially charged monikers, such as Black Dutch, Black Irish and possibly also Portuguese.


For genalogists who are lucky, there are records confirming their genealogy, such as the Dawes Rolls and other legal documents. More often, there are only hints, if even that, such as a census where an ancestor is listed as mulatto, or some other document that hints at their heritage. Most often though, the stories are very vague, and were whispered or hidden for generations. References may be oral or found in old letters or documents. Supporting documentation is often missing.


Many times, it was the woman of the couple who was admixed initially, of course leading to admixed children, but with 50% less admixture than their mixed parent. It was much more common for a male of European stock to intermarry with Native or admixed women, rather than the other way around.


This means to genetic genealogists today, that they are likely to meet with frustration when attempting to document Native heritage in a male line.


Let's take a look at why this is and how we can build a DNA pedigree chart to track our ancestry.


#Continued from Blog

DNA Tests

[/url]

[loveworks13]

`what do you say,we all quit putting a color on the problems,and pronounce what drives this country and they way things are,its not the color of a mans face.Its greed,pure and simple,and it comes from all.Selfishness.Surely anybody can recognize this.

[piecrust]

I remember hearing a little bit about some Italian individuals who are what I call "purists" and they were dead against intermarriages between Italians and outsiders in Italy. They wanted to keep their race pure.

Even some black people do not like the idea of mixing with other races because they fear that their unique identity might disappear. Every race has individuals who do have purist views. It's really interesting.

The point is, Native Americans are not the only people that are worried about losing culture, language, beliefs through intermarriages or foster system or alcoholism.

On the other hand, many intermarriages took place because love is more powerful than war. Physical attraction is the reason intermarriages are on the rise. I don't think it is our place to tell people who they can mix with and who they should not mix with. Be happy for them.

The mixing of the earth peoples seem to be building an utopia society (rainbow peaceful society that native elders mentioned in their visions many decades ago?) Crazy Horse did had a vision about it during his Quest fasting long time ago. This is mentioned in the book written by Vinson Brown. It's awesome! Read it!

So it's not our business to tell people what to do because doing that is the sign of disrespect. So respect them and leave them alone. Also, do not talk about them. They have the right to pursue their happiness and the U.S. contitution guarantee that here in America. Yes, the world we live is getting very complicated but it's best to leave them alone.

I heard that human race was the product of race-mixing between aliens and hairy creatures (apes, bigfoot, etc). The author mentioned that. I had never thought of that until I read his book. You should check it out. His book title is "We Are All related" by A. C. Ross. Matrilineally, he is Sioux. He was raised among the Sioux on his mother's side of the family.

According to his book, the Hopi people have stories about their ancestors who were from other stars and the highly intelligent compassionate humane aliens relocated them to new lands on Earth planet and placed them there and gave them a covenant to follow and care for the earth. Other tribes had similar stories. Check it out.

Windy

[loveworks13]

`On that note,I believe the good book says,we were to keep to our own kind,but its a little late for that,because that didnt happen,so were all related.Their were laws and rules,that nobody paid any attention too,this is the result,but the good news is,there was a man who gave his life for all men,regardless of their color,and his only commands were to Love one another,and to do unto others as you would have them do to you.Seems pretty simple to me.What a beautiful world it would be.

[piecrust]

`Hats off to you! *S*