HOW TO SEARCH FOR NATIVE AMERICAN ANCESTORS
by
Dee Clem
(NOTE: This article is being shared for
personal use only. No part of it can be
reproduced
or published without written permission from
the Nevada State Genealogical Society or the author.)
Years ago, when I began learning how to search for my
Indian ancestor, one of the most pleasant surprises was how many records are
available for Native American research.
These records exist from the early 1500's to the present. I’d like to share some of those sources and
suggest some guidelines on how to find the records.
Four major things I would like to tell you about are:
I.
Fundamental steps in searching for a Native American ancestor;
II. The ten
basic types of records for Indian research–no matter which tribe;
III. Some important publications pertaining to Indian
records and research; and
IV. Some leads on Internet for Native American
research.
A large percentage of citizens in the U.S.A. have at
least one Indian ancestral line. There
is more than a 50% chance of an Indian ancestor, if your ancestors lived in
(states named in alphabetical order): Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Virginia, or West Virginia. Then, there
are the states of: California, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North and South
Dakota, Texas, and Washington. And, of
course, other states in the U.S.A. So,
you can see why such a large percentage of Americans probably have an Indian
ancestor. Today, there are over 500
federally recognized Indian Tribes in the United States.
FAMILY
LEGEND
A family legend that we had an Indian grandmother
somewhere back in our ancestral line was my reason for learning about Native
American records. Yes, I found
her–Nancy Rainwater, a Cherokee. If
there is a legend in your family about an Indian ancestor, I recommend you have
the pleasure of proving (or disproving) that legend.
Lack of early written records for Native Americans
makes genealogical research for Indian ancestors difficult, if it predates the
white man’s arrival in America.
Nevertheless, some tribes have verbally passed family legends along to
their young–generation after generation.
Just as some of our ancestors have personally passed legends through our
families. Many tribes kept
records. Needless to say, some tribes
maintained more and better records than other tribes did.
FUNDAMENTAL
STEP TO FINDING AN INDIAN ANCESTOR
The fundamental step toward finding your Indian
ancestor is to start with yourself and work backward in time. Find records and proof of your own
existence. Next, find proof of your
parents’ existence. No, you’re not snooping. You are becoming a family historian. From
you to your parents, methodically work back into each of those interesting
individuals and lines that make up your ancestry (family tree). And, hopefully, you’ll find Native American
heritage!
In order to find proof of your own birth and the names
of your two parents, you had to know three things: YOUR NAME, WHEN YOU WERE
BORN, AND WHERE YOU WERE BORN. As you
“work back” into your Indian heritage, you’ll need those same three basic
items: NAME (various spellings), DATE or approximate of an event, and probable
PLACE of an event. The need for dates
and places of events is where HISTORY and MAPS become invaluable tools for our
Indian research.
You may run into some difficulty with your Indian
ancestral names. Many Indians had only
one name. And, an Indian name doesn’t
indicate if the individual was a male or female. Generally, our Indian ancestors had a personal name and a title
or honorary name. Their names
frequently referred to a personal characteristic, and were often added later in
life. Sometimes, personal names were
changed at different events. Then,
sometimes they just decided to change their name–or record keepers made
mistakes in writing the Indian names.
Based on the time and where an ancestor lived, you can
study U.S. maps that show Indian reservations.
There are approximately 280 Indian reservations in the U.S.A. By looking
at maps that show where the
reservations are located, you can determine to which tribe your ancestor
probably belonged. Note: If one of your
non-Indian ancestors disappeared around an Indian reservation that was located
near an army post, you should search for that missing ancestor in the records
of that military post.
TYPES
OF RECORDS FOR INDIAN RESEARCH
I. Church Records (1500's to present)
II. Removal Records/ Emigration Rolls (Ca.
1815-1850)
III. Tribal Enrollment Records (1827 to present)
IV. Annuity rolls (1841-1959)
V. Land Allotment Records (1856-1935)
VI.
Census Rolls–Indian & Federal (1884-1940 & 1790 to present)
VII. Probate Records (1906-1921)
VIII. Vital
Statistics (1910 to present)
IX. School Reports (1910-1939)
X. School Census Records (1912-1939)
Most of these records are available at the National
Archives or at one of its fifteen Regional Branches. An up-to-date listing of these Branches (along with addresses,
telephone numbers, and the states that each Branch serves), can be found on
pages 197 and 198 of Tracing African-American Roots by Dee Clem (Las
Vegas, NV: Gator Publishing,
2000). A copy of this book is at the
Reno Family History Center.
Most material of any genealogical value for research
involves records of Indians and their interaction with the U.S. Government and
the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1824,
the U.S. Government created the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to act as a trustee
for Indian property held in trust by the U.S.
Also, the BIA was to assist in providing education, health and welfare
services for American Indians. Thereby,
millions of federal records about individual Indians and tribes came into
existence over a period of time.
These millions of records are available for you to
research, and many of them are available on microfilm! You can find the ones on microfilm in American
Indians--A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications,
which was published in 1984 by the National Archives Trust Fund Board. This catalog is divided into Civilian Agency
Records and Military Establishment Records.
Many of these same microfilm records are available through the Reno Family
History Center (or other LDS Family History Centers). For any of these records to help in your personal search for an
Indian ancestor, you need to know something about the different types of
records.
CHURCH
RECORDS
Church Records are the earliest sources for proof of
Native Americans. Church Records with
Indian data are available from the early 1500's to the present. To search these, you need to know the name,
approximate date and place where your missing ancestor lived.
Intermingling of Indians among the “white-eyes” and
conversion to Christianity, as well as adoption of the European way of life,
resulted in a great quantity of genealogical data on Indians in Church
Records. When an Indian was baptized
into a church, they usually received a Christian name. Some of the churches involved in early
missionary work among the Indians were: Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal,
Mennonite, Methodist, Moravian, Presbyterian, and the Reformed Church.
In Church Records, you can find information on
christenings or births, marriages, deaths and burials. These records can be found in various
depositories, in local custody–like our Nevada State Historical Society in
Reno, and some are available on microfilm through the Family History
Center. Some Church Records are in
private or state archives.
Two important books that cover unpublished Church
Records are: Inventory of Unpublished Material for American Religious
History in Protestant Church Archives and Other Repositories, by William H. Allison (Washington, DC:
Carnegie Institute, 1910), and The WPA Historical Records Survey: A Guide to
the Unpublished Inventories, Indexes, and Transcripts, by Loretta L. Hefner
(Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1980).
REMOVAL
RECORDS
Removal Records are also known as Emigration
Rolls. These records exist from about
1815 to 1850. They provide names of
heads of families and some information about other members of the family. These records are available through the
National Archives–and on microfilm through the Family History Center.
TRIBAL
ENROLLMENT RECORDS
Tribal Enrollment Records are very important sources
that are available from 1827 to the present.
These records provide: name of head of family, his or her parents,
grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, and children. Plus, these records provide: ages or birth
dates, marital status, tribal and band affiliation, and land allotment
information. These records are
available at the National Archives and at Tribal Offices of the individual
tribes. Also, they are available on
microfilm through the Family History Center.
ANNUITY
ROLLS
Annuity Rolls are available from 1841 to 1949. There are 959 rolls of microfilm on Annuity
Rolls. These records show payment in
money to individual Indians. These
records are especially important, because they provide the English name and/or
Indian name–plus age, sex, degree of Indian blood, and relationship to head of
family.
Since individuals moved from one Indian Agency to
another, this sometimes resulted in a person being recorded in the Annuity or
Census Rolls a number of times in a given year–but in various localities. Annuity Records are available from the
National Archives and its Regional Branches, and on microfilm through the
Family History Center.
LAND
ALLOTMENT RECORDS
Land Allotment Records are available from 1856 to
1935. These important records
provide: name of the allottee, age,
sex, relation to heirs to the original allottee, location and acreage of the
allotment. These records are available
from: the National Archives, the Superintendent’s Office of each
Superintendency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Regional Branches of
the National Archives. They are also
available on microfilm through the Family History Center.
INDIAN
CENSUS ROLLS and FEDERAL POPULATION SCHEDULES
The Indian Census Rolls and the Federal Population Schedules
(Censuses) are of UTMOST IMPORTANCE when you are searching for a Native
American ancestor. The Federal
Population Schedules exist from 1790 to the present. The American Indian Census Rolls exist from 1885 to 1940.
Near the end of the Reservation Period in 1884, the
U.S. Congress authorized an Indian census be taken annually. In 1885, many of the tribes started taking
this annual census and continued to do so until 1940. (But, not all tribes complied.) These Indian Census Rolls record name of the Indian and other
information, as well as deaths in previous years–giving date of death.
The Indian Censuses of 1885-1890 are ESPECIALLY
IMPORTANT, because these contain both the Indian and given name of an
individual. Needless to say, the later
Rolls contain more pertinent genealogical data.
For detailed information about the Indian Census Rolls
read Our Native Americans and Their Records of Genealogical Value, Volume
I, by E. Kay Kirkham (Logan, UT: Everton Publishers, 1980). A copy of this informative book is at our
Reno Family History Center.
Some problems with early Indian Censuses were: (1)
Censuses were taken only of Indians living on certain reservations at a
particular time; (2) Many individual Indians were overlooked–maybe because they
wanted to be; (3) All Indians on a reservation were members of the tribe, yet spouses frequently belonged to
another tribe; and (4) Some tribes were not even enumerated. Another major problem with early Indian
Censuses pertains to kinship terms.
Relationships, as recorded, are not always the same from one record to
another. In fact, the terms for
relationships varied between the different tribes. For example, in some tribes the term “brother” also meant a
“first cousin.”
The Federal Population Schedules from 1790 forward
included some Indians, especially if an Indian was living among
non-Indians. Many Indians owned land
from the time of our first Federal Census in America in 1790; thus, they
weren’t listed as Indians. The 1860
Federal Census was the first one to enumerate Indians as a separate race. But, at that time only Indians living with
white settlers were enumerated. In the
1870 and 1880 Federal Censuses, the letter “I” under “Color” indicated that the
individual enumerated was an Indian.
In 1890, a Federal Census was taken of Oklahoma and
all of its Indian Territories. These
records are on one roll of microfilm.
This is a very complete enumeration of Indians in Oklahoma. For example, for the Cherokee Nation, the
enumeration included: Cherokees, adopted whites, Shawnees and Delawares, those
denied citizenship by Cherokee authorities, those whose claims to citizenship
were pending, intruders and whites living in Cherokee Nation by permission.
The 1900 and 1910 Federal Population Schedules are
ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT when searching for an Indian ancestor. Because, two population schedules were
prepared–one for Native Americans and one for all other residents. A Soundex is available for both of these
censuses. For these enumerations,
Indians were asked: (1) To what tribe they belonged; and (2) If their mother or
father was Indian–if so, to which tribe did they belong.
For the 1900 Census, in states where there were Indian
Reservations, additional columns were provided. Some of the special information asked of Indians included: Indian
name, nativity, blood, marital status, etc.
The 1900 Federal Census is truly a direct route to finding Indian
ancestors on a reservation. If you
don’t find them on the Census for Native American, search for them on the other
1900 Census–they may be listed among the white population.
From 1910 to present, Indians are enumerated in the
Federal Censuses. For example, in the
1920 Census, a Native American may be identified as: Black, Indian, Other, or
White. In 1924, all Native Americans
born in the Territory of the United States were declared U.S. citizens. And, each of them were allowed to also keep
their tribal membership.
Some states have taken special censuses of their
Indian population–by tribes or reservations.
So, when searching for an Indian ancestor, determine if the state where
they lived took such a census.
PROBATE
RECORDS
Probate Records pertaining to Indian ancestors exist
for two very important types of records.
That being WILLS and HEIRSHIP PAPERS.
For Wills, the time span is from 1906 to 1921. And, for Heirship Papers, the time span is 1907 to the present.
Wills are especially important for tracing an Indian
ancestor, because they provide: name of testator, residence, legatees or heirs,
relationships, description of land and property (including their Allotment
Number), date of Will and Probate, signature, witness, date of approval by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs. Indian Wills
are among records of the National Archives.
Heirship Papers are available from the National Archives and also
through the Superintendent’s Office of each Superintendency of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs.
VITAL
STATISTICS
Like with research for any of our ancestors in
America, most records didn’t start until the early 1900s. Vital Statistics for our Indian ancestors
started in 1910 and continues to the present.
Vital
Statistics on our Indian ancestors pertain to: births, deaths, and
marriages. Again, to find pertinent
information on your ancestor, you must know three basic things: Name, When and
Where an Event Occurred.
SCHOOL
REPORTS
From 1910 to 1939 there are many school records of
Native American children. These records
are available at the National Archives and at the Regional Branches of the
National Archives. These School Reports
provide: name of child, age, tribe, degree of Indian blood, date of entry into
the particular school, attendance record, type of training, distance from home
to public school, and various types of additional information.
SCHOOL
CENSUS RECORDS
School Census Records for Indian children are
available from 1912 to 1939. These
records are available at the National Archives and at the Regional Branches of
the National Archives. These records
are important, because they show: names of all children of school age (6 to
18), age, sex, tribe and degree of Indian blood, distance from home to public
school, name of parent or guardian, details of attendance or non-attendance.
NATIVE
AMERICAN RECORDS AVAILABLE THROUGH FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
To find what Native American records are available on
microfilm through our Reno Family History Center (and other LDS Family History
Centers), search the FAMILY HISTORY
CATALOG on fiche or on-line (http://www.familysearch.orgSearch/searchcatalog.asp).
You start by looking at the “Subject Catalog” and find
“NATIVE AMERICANS.” Then, search for
the sources you need in your personal research. Or, you can start by looking at the “Locality Catalog.” For this approach, you need to know a state
where you think your Indian ancestor lived.
Let’s say your Indian ancestor resided in
Oklahoma. Find “Oklahoma” in the
“Locality Catalog.” There you’ll find
Indians under “Minorities.” (For
example, “Rolls of Indian Tribes in Oklahoma 1889-1991" is listed under
“Minorities.”) DON’T STOP THERE! Under “Oklahoma” also search for “NATIVE
RACES.” There you’ll find many of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs Rolls that I’ve told you about. Or, look at “Native Races–Vital
Records–Indexes.” Yes! Such records can be found on our Indians in
all the states throughout the U.S. and Canada.
You just have to know the WHO, WHEN, AND WHERE of your search, to find a
pertinent research trail. Once you’ve
decided which records you would like to search, make a note of the microfilm
numbers and order the records through the Family History Center.
INDIAN
RECORDS AT HISTORICAL SOCIETIES AND LIBRARIES
Numerous Historical Societies and Libraries in the
U.S. have extensive collections of Indian material and records. Some of those include: Oklahoma Historical
Society at Oklahoma City, OK (Has one of the most extensive and well-indexed
American Indian collections in the U.S.); Bancroft Library, Berkeley, CA; Henry
Huntington Library, San Marino, CA; Newberry Library Center for History of the American
Indian, Chicago, IL; Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale
University, New Haven, CT; Museum of the American Indian Library, Bronx, NY;
Library of Congress, Washington, DC; and U.S. Department of the Interior
Library, Washington, DC.
BOOKS
HELPFUL ON NATIVE AMERICAN RESEARCH
Thousands of books have been published that pertain to
the various Native American Tribes, their reservations and records, and how to
do genealogical search for an Indian ancestor.
Titles of some books that are especially helpful guides, when
researching for your Native American ancestor, include: (1) The Encyclopedia
of North American Indian Tribes–A Comprehensive Study of Tribes from Abitibi to
the Zuni, by Bill Yenne (Arch Cape Press, 1986); (2) Atlas of the North American Indian,
by Carl Waldman (NY, NY: Facts on File Publications, 1985); (3) GUIDE TO
GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES (Washington, DC:
National Archives Trust Fund Board, Rev. 1983); (4) Guide to Records in the
National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians, by
Edward E. Hill (Washington, DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1982); (5) American
Indians–A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications (Washington,
DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, U.S. General Services Administration,
Rev. 1984);
(6 & 7) OUR NATIVE AMERICANS AND THEIR RECORDS
OF GENEALOGICAL VALUE, Vol. I & II, by E. Kay Kirkham (Logan, UT:
Everton Publishers, 1984)–these books are of extreme value as a guide to
understanding types of Native American records and where to find the records;
(8) How To Search American Indian Blood Lines, by Cecelia Svinth
Carpenter (Bountiful, UT: American Genealogical Lending Library, 1994); (9) Cherokee
Roots. Vol. 1: Eastern Cherokee Rolls,
by Bob Blankenship (Cherokee, NC: Bob Blankenship, 1992); (10) Cherokee
Roots. Vol. 2: Western Cherokee Rolls,
by Bob Blankenship (Cherokee, NC: Bob Blankenship, 1992); and (11) Cherokee
by Blood, 9 volumes, by Jerry Wright Jordan (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1977).
NATIVE
AMERICAN RECORDS ON INTERNET
Hundreds of very important sources for finding Native
American records are on the Internet.
Some of the more helpful sites (many that also lead you to further
Indian sources) include:
http://www.censuslinks.com/native_american/ancestry.com
http://www.members.aol.com/bbbenge/
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/
http://www.ancestry.com/
http://www.cyndislist.com/native.htm
http://www.FamilyHistory.com
http://www.familysearch.orgSearch/searchcatalog.asp
http://www.Genealogy.com
http://www.google.com
http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/
http://www.nara.gov
http://www.nativeculture.com
http://www.ok-history.mus.ok.us/
http://www.rootsweb.com
http://www.usgenweb.com
http://www.yahoo.com
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