Native American Ancestor?

Our talented staff of professional researchers can find out if you are eligible for tribal membership and government benefits!

Finding proof of Native American ancestry can be difficult and it requires the knowledge and skill of an expert to accomplish these steps:

Untangle the truths in your family’s oral history from embellishments that may have been introduced with each retelling of the story.Trace your family tree and obtain the documents required for proof of eligibility for tribal membership.Prepare an error-free application.

Once your Native American ancestry is proven and your quantum blood is determined, your Native American ancestry may qualify you for tribal membership and possibly receive benefits from such tribes as the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole and Chickasaw Indians, among others.

Native American genealogy is unique when compared to other types of genealogical research. Most of the records available for researching Native American ancestors were created by the U.S. Government. Those records include Indian rolls, censuses, applications and enrollment cards, annuity and allotment records.

These records were created when Indians filed claims against the United States–generally for treaty violations. When courts found in favor of a tribe, benefits were awarded by the U.S. Court of Claims. but before a claim was paid, applicants had to produce documents that proved they were Native American or related to a Native American. Applicants also had to meet quantum blood requirements (meaning they had to have the minimum percentage of Native American blood required) established by a specific tribe and/or the federal government. Once their Native American genealogy was proved, those qualifying were entitled to land allotments and/or annuities awarded by the U.S. Court of Claims.

 

Membership in the Cherokee Nation

While very few American frontiersmen married a “Cherokee Princess”, thousands wed Native Americans before 1906. If you’ve heard stories about a Cherokee ancestor somewhere in your family tree and want to claim your Native American heritage by becoming a member of the tribe, you’ll have to prove it to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Cherokee Nation.