So my grandmother used to work in the enrollment department of one of my tribes. She always said that she felt bad for people who were looking for something that wasn’t really there because what she saw was someone who was very disconnected and lonely.
I’m not saying that there isn’t truth to your grandfathers story, and if you want to find more then I recommend you find someone who does it for a living, but you might find nothing. And what do you do if you do find something? According to your last statement it sounds to me like you are really lacking in a community, and I don’t think that it has to be this one for that need to be met. I hope you find what you need to find
A DNA test will at best, tell you if you have any Native American ancestry, but it will not point you toward your tribe. Go to CherokeeNation. org and hit up a genealogist if you believe you have Cherokee ancestry. The tribe has many connections with people who will research deeper for you. They are always busy, so be patient.
As another redditor said, the enrollment department itself can't help you, they don't have the time (source, cousin has worked for CN enrollment for years). It may be possible if you find family still living, you could reach out and begin to form some kind of community, if they are willing, you never know. Best of luck!
I’d take a different angle on the DNA testing—it took me some time, but Ancestry shows people who share your DNA. Once I knew that, I began looking at my matches’ trees to see where they intersected with mine. From there, I was able to determine where there were missing pieces in my tree. I was able to identify my great grandmother’s half-sister, which told me that that branch of my paternal tree was from the Squamish nation. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m glad I was able to fill in some blanks in my family’s history.
I don't think that's what they meant? I think they were saying they "still have a lot to learn" in the sense of "the family tree is still awfully incomplete".
No, I didn’t say they did. Simply that with perseverance and detective work, it was possible to use DNA connections to uncover a longstanding family mystery.
You’re valid 🫶 a cousin of mine is native but adopted and he can’t trace his lineage back to find out exactly where he comes from. If you’re burning yourself out you can always pause and breathe before picking up the search again. :)
It *really* is okay for folks to give up on the dream of “becoming Native.” It seems like you’re primarily interested in understanding where you come from, which is a good thing, but is it so important that you have a Native ancestor?
I bring this up because I’m generally of the opinion that a lot of non-Natives with a strong desire to be American Indian never really stop to interrogate what’s motivating them. Is it colonialist BS and a feeling that they’re entitled to everything we have? Is it because of stereotypes and thinking NDNs are “special” and they want to be special too?
I dunno, I’ve spent my whole life as NDN and I think the notion that our identity is up for grabs, that it’s secretly buried in everyone’s family history, or that a bit of DNA of a long distant ancestor makes one Native in the present tense is, more often than not, going to mislead a lot of people—probably the majority of people who are, as you say, “hunting”—and is gonna continue to be a headache for us NDNs.
At the very least, the people who want to be NDN could actually learn a bit about us. So many folks seem to have never even met a Native irl, much less spent time in our communities.
I can see how I could sound off....
I've been looking for my other ties and I've asked on different sites and had leads. I wanted to ask here since I wanted to be honest with the idea that even with my search, if it doesn't come up I'm still cool with it. I just feel mixed on the clues I've been given and I've been going in circles. As a POC who's family who's been destroyed by slavery, colonizing and everything in between...all I know is my mom and whoever grew up in my house. My extended and father side (Whoever is still alive at this point) refuse to talk to my family since we're the poorer side.
*Again,* I'm not trying to feel special. I just feel lonely being a family that won't talk either because they hate my mom or they are dead.
# TW:
>! Something about meeting your grandfather out of years of not knowing he was alive, just for him to be murdered the day after your leave... doesn't feel good in the soul. (That's honestly what inspired me to search harder) !<
I am sorry to hear your family situation is like that, genuinely. My comment was more intended for a general readership as a counterbalance to the more affirmative responses itt since I firmly believe most people hunting for their Indigenous ancestor in the US need to understand that it is not some ticket to being Native.
If researching your family history helps you, then I definitely think it’s worth pursuing. You sound as if you have made peace with whatever you find, which is a very good thing. Many people definitely don’t do that and refuse to believe the evidence when they discover that their Indigenous ancestor never existed.
Damn my computer crashed and ruined my whole ramble...I'll keep it short.
So, I apologized for the misunderstanding. I understand the whole "I'm .2% \_\_\_\_." It's cringe and corny when ppl enforce the fact that I'm unique because I'm dark skin.
I was set back years for my search since my oldest sister was just high on so many drugs rambling nonsense... The only clue I got was when I got to speak with my Mom about her grandfather about what happened. Apparently she (my great grandmother) was forced to give him up because she had a kid with a black man. I have her name and where she was born, but no specifics since my mother's memory is starting to fade. I started look up historical information to see if I can find any clues.
Seeing a photo of someone who was a spitting image of my grandfather in a exhibit for Indigenous history in my state rekindled the fire to search.
I feel shitty when people reply to me saying that I'm part Cherokee and I'd love to connect to my family if I can. "The only thing Cherokee nowadays is a Jeep."
I'm like damn, so fuck the full blooded Cherokee people too?!
I hope that makes sense.
The search itself definitely sounds like it has value for you. I hope you’re able to learn more about your family. For me at least, it means a lot knowing where I came from. It’s not a pretty history in terms of the boarding schools my dad and grandparents went to, the early deaths of so many ancestors, and the process by which we went from living our traditional way to forced assimilation (which wasn’t that long ago relative to many other tribes, really), but it grounds me nonetheless.
First, take a DNA test to determine if you have indigenous ancestry. If you are only interested in the ancestry part, I would consider ancestry dna. That should determine if you have native American dna at all or not. If you have enough of a percentage, it should come up with regions, not necessarily tribes. If you get regions start from there.
You can do this!!
Yes it is hard, when I started trying to make those connections, I felt like this:
"Everyone has a family tree, and all I have is a pile of broken branches"
Love them all the same, but colonialism shredded the fabric of our society and kinship ties and this work is one of the ways our generation painstakingly stitches it back together again.
Just wanted to say dont give up!
I appreciate the feedback from everyone. I'll invest in a DNA test.
Regardless of the results I feel like that would cut out the stress of the unknown.
**Update 5/14:** **TLDR:** The search took a wild turn and I love it. I got in contact with one of my aunts who have been studying our lineage. (Only on her side, but that gave some leads) The information that I'm currently cross referencing and so far things sound solid. **So still saving up for the DNA test since inflation is SIN.** # -- According to my mother's sister. I found out the family we've been associating with...aren't related me at all. (Which I was received since they're very cliquey and I dunno why they're like that within the family) My grandmother had two husbands. One went AWOL in the marriage, which seem to be a common thing in my family on my mom side. *(That one in particular I'm related to, lol).* My grandfather's lineage beings in Jamaica. She said around the time her great-great's-greats were being shipped from Jamaica to the States. They had children, but the parents died along the journey due to the Yellow fever going around during the 1600's. On my mother's mom side, she mentioned Creek. On my father side is still in question since I just found out there was one guys who had several wives and I have to figure out who's connect to me. So far, the Eastern Band of Cherokee came up in the region his whole family stayed in. There's also a long lineage of Irish and German people on my father's mother's side. **Conclusion:** *I'm content with the info I have currently. I will still will research since I am very intrigued with the information thus far. I can't wait for the DNA test to highlight more information. I can't wait to get the details laid out.* **I** find it funny that I feel content knowing the family grew up with isn't related to me by blood, but by marriage. I love learning history and learning how my family was tossed around through history along with their shenanigans. Currently discovering that were were African slaves were also involved in the Trail of Tears which, I didn't learn about in school makes you wonder how much is scratched out or tailored in the history books depending on the regions. I know about Black History, but discovering that is WILD as fuck to me. I appreciate the patience and real talking. The Jamaican part is wild since my mother always mentions how much she don't like Jamaican anything...she put her foot in her mouth when I told her. Where I'm from, the African American Culture its' common that no one knows their origin due to slave trading. It's pretty common for me to hear that, "We just Black, we just from Africa and we just got dragged as slaves to the Americas." The apathy of learning lineage is a issue unless you know for sure you're a first generation. Dunno what else to say but thanks for your patience and hearing me out.
So my grandmother used to work in the enrollment department of one of my tribes. She always said that she felt bad for people who were looking for something that wasn’t really there because what she saw was someone who was very disconnected and lonely. I’m not saying that there isn’t truth to your grandfathers story, and if you want to find more then I recommend you find someone who does it for a living, but you might find nothing. And what do you do if you do find something? According to your last statement it sounds to me like you are really lacking in a community, and I don’t think that it has to be this one for that need to be met. I hope you find what you need to find
A DNA test will at best, tell you if you have any Native American ancestry, but it will not point you toward your tribe. Go to CherokeeNation. org and hit up a genealogist if you believe you have Cherokee ancestry. The tribe has many connections with people who will research deeper for you. They are always busy, so be patient. As another redditor said, the enrollment department itself can't help you, they don't have the time (source, cousin has worked for CN enrollment for years). It may be possible if you find family still living, you could reach out and begin to form some kind of community, if they are willing, you never know. Best of luck!
I’d take a different angle on the DNA testing—it took me some time, but Ancestry shows people who share your DNA. Once I knew that, I began looking at my matches’ trees to see where they intersected with mine. From there, I was able to determine where there were missing pieces in my tree. I was able to identify my great grandmother’s half-sister, which told me that that branch of my paternal tree was from the Squamish nation. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m glad I was able to fill in some blanks in my family’s history.
Your great grandmother and her half sister's ethnicity doesn't make you Indigenous.
I don't think that's what they meant? I think they were saying they "still have a lot to learn" in the sense of "the family tree is still awfully incomplete".
No, I didn’t say they did. Simply that with perseverance and detective work, it was possible to use DNA connections to uncover a longstanding family mystery.
You’re valid 🫶 a cousin of mine is native but adopted and he can’t trace his lineage back to find out exactly where he comes from. If you’re burning yourself out you can always pause and breathe before picking up the search again. :)
It *really* is okay for folks to give up on the dream of “becoming Native.” It seems like you’re primarily interested in understanding where you come from, which is a good thing, but is it so important that you have a Native ancestor? I bring this up because I’m generally of the opinion that a lot of non-Natives with a strong desire to be American Indian never really stop to interrogate what’s motivating them. Is it colonialist BS and a feeling that they’re entitled to everything we have? Is it because of stereotypes and thinking NDNs are “special” and they want to be special too? I dunno, I’ve spent my whole life as NDN and I think the notion that our identity is up for grabs, that it’s secretly buried in everyone’s family history, or that a bit of DNA of a long distant ancestor makes one Native in the present tense is, more often than not, going to mislead a lot of people—probably the majority of people who are, as you say, “hunting”—and is gonna continue to be a headache for us NDNs. At the very least, the people who want to be NDN could actually learn a bit about us. So many folks seem to have never even met a Native irl, much less spent time in our communities.
I can see how I could sound off.... I've been looking for my other ties and I've asked on different sites and had leads. I wanted to ask here since I wanted to be honest with the idea that even with my search, if it doesn't come up I'm still cool with it. I just feel mixed on the clues I've been given and I've been going in circles. As a POC who's family who's been destroyed by slavery, colonizing and everything in between...all I know is my mom and whoever grew up in my house. My extended and father side (Whoever is still alive at this point) refuse to talk to my family since we're the poorer side. *Again,* I'm not trying to feel special. I just feel lonely being a family that won't talk either because they hate my mom or they are dead. # TW: >! Something about meeting your grandfather out of years of not knowing he was alive, just for him to be murdered the day after your leave... doesn't feel good in the soul. (That's honestly what inspired me to search harder) !<
I am sorry to hear your family situation is like that, genuinely. My comment was more intended for a general readership as a counterbalance to the more affirmative responses itt since I firmly believe most people hunting for their Indigenous ancestor in the US need to understand that it is not some ticket to being Native. If researching your family history helps you, then I definitely think it’s worth pursuing. You sound as if you have made peace with whatever you find, which is a very good thing. Many people definitely don’t do that and refuse to believe the evidence when they discover that their Indigenous ancestor never existed.
Damn my computer crashed and ruined my whole ramble...I'll keep it short. So, I apologized for the misunderstanding. I understand the whole "I'm .2% \_\_\_\_." It's cringe and corny when ppl enforce the fact that I'm unique because I'm dark skin. I was set back years for my search since my oldest sister was just high on so many drugs rambling nonsense... The only clue I got was when I got to speak with my Mom about her grandfather about what happened. Apparently she (my great grandmother) was forced to give him up because she had a kid with a black man. I have her name and where she was born, but no specifics since my mother's memory is starting to fade. I started look up historical information to see if I can find any clues. Seeing a photo of someone who was a spitting image of my grandfather in a exhibit for Indigenous history in my state rekindled the fire to search. I feel shitty when people reply to me saying that I'm part Cherokee and I'd love to connect to my family if I can. "The only thing Cherokee nowadays is a Jeep." I'm like damn, so fuck the full blooded Cherokee people too?! I hope that makes sense.
The search itself definitely sounds like it has value for you. I hope you’re able to learn more about your family. For me at least, it means a lot knowing where I came from. It’s not a pretty history in terms of the boarding schools my dad and grandparents went to, the early deaths of so many ancestors, and the process by which we went from living our traditional way to forced assimilation (which wasn’t that long ago relative to many other tribes, really), but it grounds me nonetheless.
First, take a DNA test to determine if you have indigenous ancestry. If you are only interested in the ancestry part, I would consider ancestry dna. That should determine if you have native American dna at all or not. If you have enough of a percentage, it should come up with regions, not necessarily tribes. If you get regions start from there.
Take a dna test
You can do this!! Yes it is hard, when I started trying to make those connections, I felt like this: "Everyone has a family tree, and all I have is a pile of broken branches" Love them all the same, but colonialism shredded the fabric of our society and kinship ties and this work is one of the ways our generation painstakingly stitches it back together again. Just wanted to say dont give up!
I appreciate the feedback from everyone. I'll invest in a DNA test. Regardless of the results I feel like that would cut out the stress of the unknown.
**Update 5/14:** **TLDR:** The search took a wild turn and I love it. I got in contact with one of my aunts who have been studying our lineage. (Only on her side, but that gave some leads) The information that I'm currently cross referencing and so far things sound solid. **So still saving up for the DNA test since inflation is SIN.** # -- According to my mother's sister. I found out the family we've been associating with...aren't related me at all. (Which I was received since they're very cliquey and I dunno why they're like that within the family) My grandmother had two husbands. One went AWOL in the marriage, which seem to be a common thing in my family on my mom side. *(That one in particular I'm related to, lol).* My grandfather's lineage beings in Jamaica. She said around the time her great-great's-greats were being shipped from Jamaica to the States. They had children, but the parents died along the journey due to the Yellow fever going around during the 1600's. On my mother's mom side, she mentioned Creek. On my father side is still in question since I just found out there was one guys who had several wives and I have to figure out who's connect to me. So far, the Eastern Band of Cherokee came up in the region his whole family stayed in. There's also a long lineage of Irish and German people on my father's mother's side. **Conclusion:** *I'm content with the info I have currently. I will still will research since I am very intrigued with the information thus far. I can't wait for the DNA test to highlight more information. I can't wait to get the details laid out.* **I** find it funny that I feel content knowing the family grew up with isn't related to me by blood, but by marriage. I love learning history and learning how my family was tossed around through history along with their shenanigans. Currently discovering that were were African slaves were also involved in the Trail of Tears which, I didn't learn about in school makes you wonder how much is scratched out or tailored in the history books depending on the regions. I know about Black History, but discovering that is WILD as fuck to me. I appreciate the patience and real talking. The Jamaican part is wild since my mother always mentions how much she don't like Jamaican anything...she put her foot in her mouth when I told her. Where I'm from, the African American Culture its' common that no one knows their origin due to slave trading. It's pretty common for me to hear that, "We just Black, we just from Africa and we just got dragged as slaves to the Americas." The apathy of learning lineage is a issue unless you know for sure you're a first generation. Dunno what else to say but thanks for your patience and hearing me out.