In 1990, a congressional resolution designated November as National American Indian Heritage Month, a time to celebrate and honor the culture and traditions of America’s Indigenous Peoples. This is a good time for family historians to uncover the stories of Native American ancestry. But where do we start?
- Document any oral history that may have been passed down and ask multiple relatives what stories they’ve heard. Look for common threads in the stories that are shared with you.
- Use traditional research methods, tracing the family with census, vital, religious, military, and other records to trace your family lineage and identify potential Native American ancestors and their specific tribes.
- Research the history of relevant locations, including tribal nations, forced removals, and original settlements, to provide context for your family's story. Knowing the history is critical to successful research.
- Investigate your entire family, including collateral relatives. Family structure can be key in ancestor identification, and records of extended family members may contain additional clues.
- Explore records created through US government interactions with Native American tribes, such as Indian census records and the Dawes Rolls, available on genealogy websites like FamilySearch and Ancestry, as well as the National Archives.
- Examine religious records. Your native ancestors’ first interaction with Europeans may have been missionaries. Again, knowing the area's history may tip you off to what religious records might include your relative.
- Remember that spelling wasn’t always important to our forebears. Watch for and search using similar names or variants in collections that may have recorded your ancestor.
- Dig deep into local records, including manuscript collections, storekeepers' account books, and residents' diaries, for details to enrich your family history. Seek out American Indian-specific collections, such as allotments, removal records, school records, and interactions with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and other entities.
For more tips and resources for tracing your Native American ancestry, see the following:
- The National Archives and Records Administration
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- National Parks Service
- FamilySearch
- Cyndi’s List
- Free PDF for Researching Your American Indian Ancestors on Ancestry
- NGS Culture Conversation with Filmmaker Alicia Hawkins, November 2023 (free)
Articles in the NGS Magazine
archive (free benefit for NGS members):
Deeben, John. “Trail of Tears, Part I: Census Rolls Relating to Indian Removals,” NGS Magazine, Jul/Aug/Sep 2013, vol. 39‐3, page 38.
Deeben, John. “Trail of Tears, Part II: Emigration Lists & Reservation Applications,” NGS Magazine, Oct/Nov/Dec 2013, vol. 39‐4, page 37.
Muhn, Judy Nimer. “Researching Children in Indian Boarding Schools,” NGS Magazine, Jan/Feb/Mar 2022, vol. 48‐1, page 22.
Stuart‐Warren, Paula. “Researching Your American Indian Ancestry,” NGS Magazine, vol. Jan/Feb/Mar 2005, vol 31‐1, page 43
