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| Image as appeared with Selected Native American Resources in Genealogy |
Sometimes it’s the little things
that catch our eye. Last week while
doing research at the Government and Heritage Library (GHL) (part of the State
Library of North Carolina), I saw a map that reminded me that though the
Cherokee nation might be the only Federally Recognized tribe in North Carolina,
there are several State Recognized tribes and still other tribes whose
territory included North Carolina.
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| Source: http://www.native-languages.org/virginia.jpg |
A blog post
yesterday, Selected Native
American Resources in Genealogy, on the GHL blog includes the same
map and a list of helpful related resources held by GHL. Though the Cherokee
tribe members and ancestors are better documented, when there is family lore
that NC ancestors were Native American, you will want to consider the
possibility that they were not Cherokee (the most popular tribe mentioned in
such lore) and that that they might have been members of the Lumbee, Coharie,
Meherrin, Halawi-Saponi and or another tribe.
It’s easy to get
focused on the Federally recognized tribes and not know or remember that states
like North Carolina , South
Carolina and Virginia
Additionally, there
are Native American tribes which have neither State nor Federal Recognition and
yet these tribes clearly existed and have descendants today living on what were
ancient tribal lands. Recognize though that many tribes may also no longer be
resident in states where they once were found. Or, those descendants who remain
Given that there
was a Tuscarora war 1711-1715 in NC, this tribe comes to mind for me as one which falls into this category. This maps shows that there are other tribes which were resident in NC at the time of European contact and so they are also candidates as a source of Native American heritage in your family tree! Access Genealogy has a nice collection of information about Native American populations (The Indian Tribes
of North American) including a list of North Carolina
Indian Tribes which documents ALL the identified
tribes that at any time resided in North
Carolina
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So, when
considering Native American ancestry and its possible presence in your family
tree, dig into the history of the Native Americans in the state during the time
period where your family lived. Look
beyond Federally and State recognized tribes and into ALL Native Americans
resident at the appropriate time. Since
intermarrying could have occurred at any time, your Native American ancestry
might be from a tribe no longer in existence (as a recognized tribe) and yet
was very real at one time.
If you’ve successfully identified/documented a Native American ancestry
link to a not Federally or State recognized tribe, please share your
story?
What resources were helpful?
What suggestions would you offer those
attempting to do the same?
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