Seeking my Daughter in Laws American Indian Heritage to prove her bloodline. Need help.

Margee 

Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!

You may want to search the Eastern Cherokee Census Rolls, 1835–1884 (Microfilm M1773). These records are digitized in the Catalog. This History Hub blog post provides more information about researching these rolls. (Note: the screenshots in the post are from the legacy Catalog, not the new Catalog.) However, the Eastern Cherokee Census Rolls only document individuals who maintained a formal affiliation with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Many people have lived on or near reservations or have resided in a location with a sizable Native American population. However, this fact does not mean that an individual is of Native American heritage.

Regarding general Native American genealogical research: Unfortunately, we do not have a simple way to help you research your own or another’s Native American heritage. There is no single list of everyone of Native American heritage that we can consult.

Consequently, tracing Native American ancestry can be very difficult. Please keep in mind that there are well over 500 tribes today, and those are only the ones that are recognized by the Federal government. The only Federal records that exist are for those people who were part of a recognized tribe, lived together with their tribe, and were under the supervision of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Many people, especially those living in the Eastern and New England States, did not interact with the BIA, which did not come into existence until 1824. Thus, there may not be any BIA records at the National Archives related to your ancestor if they lived in New England or in the East.
 
Moreover, while we house historical records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Record Group 75, we do not have a consolidated “Native roll” that identifies all individuals, living or deceased, who have Native heritage. Records documenting individual Native Americans, such as censuses (also known as “rolls”), are spread throughout multiple series in Record Group 75, which are not always arranged or indexed by name.

In the meantime, NARA does house censuses of Native Americans taken by the BIA between 1885 and 1940. These records are known as the Indian Census Rolls, and they have been digitized and made available online through Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, and other sites.

You can search the Indian Census Rolls on Ancestry.com or Fold3.com by name or browse the rolls by tribe. Both Ancestry and Fold3 are subscription-based websites that are accessible for free at all NARA research facilities nationwide. Many public libraries also offer free access.

If you are able to access the Indian Census Rolls on one of the sites listed above, you can search the records for references to your ancestor. Please note, however, that census rolls do not exist for every tribe for every year. Census rolls also only document enrolled members of federally recognized tribes.
 
For more information on the Indian Census Rolls, please see our website: https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/census/research-indian-census.html

 We may have additional resources about Native American genealogy at Archives I. You can reach us at archives1reference@nara.gov

We hope this assists you with your research!

Sincerely,

Archives 1 Reference Branch (RR1R)

[RR1R-23-41921-KV]

Margee 

Thank you for posting your question on History Hub!

You may want to search the Eastern Cherokee Census Rolls, 1835–1884 (Microfilm M1773). These records are digitized in the Catalog. This History Hub blog post provides more information about researching these rolls. (Note: the screenshots in the post are from the legacy Catalog, not the new Catalog.) However, the Eastern Cherokee Census Rolls only document individuals who maintained a formal affiliation with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Many people have lived on or near reservations or have resided in a location with a sizable Native American population. However, this fact does not mean that an individual is of Native American heritage.

Regarding general Native American genealogical research: Unfortunately, we do not have a simple way to help you research your own or another’s Native American heritage. There is no single list of everyone of Native American heritage that we can consult.

Consequently, tracing Native American ancestry can be very difficult. Please keep in mind that there are well over 500 tribes today, and those are only the ones that are recognized by the Federal government. The only Federal records that exist are for those people who were part of a recognized tribe, lived together with their tribe, and were under the supervision of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Many people, especially those living in the Eastern and New England States, did not interact with the BIA, which did not come into existence until 1824. Thus, there may not be any BIA records at the National Archives related to your ancestor if they lived in New England or in the East.
 
Moreover, while we house historical records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Record Group 75, we do not have a consolidated “Native roll” that identifies all individuals, living or deceased, who have Native heritage. Records documenting individual Native Americans, such as censuses (also known as “rolls”), are spread throughout multiple series in Record Group 75, which are not always arranged or indexed by name.

In the meantime, NARA does house censuses of Native Americans taken by the BIA between 1885 and 1940. These records are known as the Indian Census Rolls, and they have been digitized and made available online through Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, and other sites.

You can search the Indian Census Rolls on Ancestry.com or Fold3.com by name or browse the rolls by tribe. Both Ancestry and Fold3 are subscription-based websites that are accessible for free at all NARA research facilities nationwide. Many public libraries also offer free access.

If you are able to access the Indian Census Rolls on one of the sites listed above, you can search the records for references to your ancestor. Please note, however, that census rolls do not exist for every tribe for every year. Census rolls also only document enrolled members of federally recognized tribes.
 
For more information on the Indian Census Rolls, please see our website: https://www.archives.gov/research/native-americans/census/research-indian-census.html

 We may have additional resources about Native American genealogy at Archives I. You can reach us at archives1reference@nara.gov

We hope this assists you with your research!

Sincerely,

Archives 1 Reference Branch (RR1R)

[RR1R-23-41921-KV]

Thank you so much for this information.  I will look into the research materials you provided me.  

Much appreciated,

Margee