Although I am an experienced researcher, I have purposely avoided Native American genealogy. That is, until this week.
This semester, I am an intern at the National Archives Southeast Region facility. My task is to develop a research guide to Native American sources there.
As a complete newbie in the subject, I began by looking at the Eastern Cherokee U.S. Court of Claims applications. The applications were made by Cherokees living in 1906 for the purpose of claiming part of a $1 million+ appropriation by the U.S. Congress.
The paperwork is a genealogist’s dream: names of parents, siblings, grandparents, and aunts and uncles, are all included. Depending on the age of the applicant, some ancestries can be traced back to the Trail of Tears using just one document.
In the first two days, I focused on learning the basics about the records of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. I started with three types of records: the Dawes Rolls, the Court of Claims applications, and the various censuses.
“Dawes Rolls” is the short name for the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. If you want to prove that you are member of a tribe, being on that list is a good start. Beyond the Dawes Rolls, each tribe has its own unique set of records. I will be learning about all of that as I move forward.
Some time this semester I will write about the difference between knowing you have Native American ancestry and thinking you have Native American ancestry.
3 comments↓
1 Joseph Edmond Rich // 13 Feb 2009 at 5:37 pm
Hello,
Im a contractor in San Diego, CA . My dad past away in April 2008 , we had been getting ready to research our genealogy before he past. My dad was born in Red Oak Oklahoma 2-2-29, he believed we had Native American lineage. Your site intrigued me when I saw it, maybe we are just thinking but maybe not ! His grandfather was Clayton Arnold of Wilburton Oklahoma, his grandmother was Maiden name Ida Hunt- Ida Arnold. They had multiple kids- Harvey, Walter,Pal,DorothyGertrude, Jesse. My last living cousin is just looking into it she lives in Red Oak. I have lots of Misc. info how do you think I should proceed? It seems like looking for a needle in a haystack. Good luck to you on your project!
Joe Rich
2 Nancy L Lambert // 20 Feb 2009 at 6:27 pm
I am looking for a certified genealogist to help me verify the information I already have and give an opinion on the documentation. There is a lot more to this but prefer to talk to you via email or telephone if this is something you are interested in doing. I have been to the National Archives myself and found it fascinating. I am researching the Six Nations of the New York Indians.
3 Dorothy Dykstra // 6 Apr 2009 at 11:55 am
My Great grandfather was Harvey Arnold , Clayton’s brother. I don’t know if can help or not.I believe Thia group of Arnold’s are of German descent
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