It’s hard enough to prove Native ancestry, much less determine which tribe they belonged to. When the government pushed Native people into reservations or forced them into hiding, they were cut off from their cultural heritage. And if we find proof that our Native ancestors were associated with a tribe, it may not be the tribe that they were born into. I suggest that you take the surname and run it through Dawes List. Odds are, you won’t find your ancestor but you may see the surname listed. Alongside it, will be the name of the tribe. If there are forty “Jones” listed and ten are Creek, twenty are Choctaw and ten are Cherokee, maybe just maybe you’ve narrowed down your Native ancestor’s tribe to three possibilities. It’s not much to go on but sometimes, it’s all we’ve got. You’ll find the link to the Dawes List in Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees, along with an abundance of other links and suggestions to help you find your Native ancestors.
Suellen Ocean is the author of Secret Genealogy IV – Native Americans Hidden in Our Family Trees. Available here:
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Genealogy-IV-Native-Americans/dp/1500756105
Ancestry&History 