| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| KJAMES |
Posted - Jun 03 2005 : 2:06:50 PM
I am part Cherokee and just wondered if any of you have Indian heritage and have tried to find out about you Indian relatives.
My Indian name is "Red Feather". I don't know as much as I would like to and really can't seem to find a way to find out. My grandparents are both dead as well as all of the children. Records just weren't kept back then, so really no way to find out anything. I can feel the pull of the spirits sometimes in the land and the things around me. I have always felt that it had some thing to do with my relatives.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| westfork woman |
Posted - Jan 16 2006 : 4:30:17 PM
Isn't genealogy amazing? Most of the time instead of answers, you just get more roads to explore. An uncle on my Dad's side said their grandmother, who died as a young mother, was at least part Cherokee. But he never could make the connection. And now he too has passed on. Most of my family can be traced, but I have two greatgrandmothers, that, so far, can't. It is always fun to try. What I wouldn't give for a diary, of any of my family. I know they must have had them, they were for the most part educated, but the move West, and then the Depression hit my family hard. Between house fires and just losing nearly everything they owned, there is almost no written records left.
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
| CelticCoyote |
Posted - Jul 28 2005 : 07:36:40 AM
Actually, native children (most nations, anyway) had several names throughout their lives. They'd get one at birth, and another one later on (once they've developed personality), and possibly another one for adulthood. That's just another of the many reasons it's difficult to trace native ancestry. :( I'm Lakota on my father's mother's side. When Grandma & I studied on the Navajo rez in Arizona, the locals gave me the name Ma'ii T'ah, which means Coyote Waits in Navajo. (Yes, it's the name of a Tony Hillerman book, but it's also a play on my maiden name, and Coyote is the most clever...I was quite pleased with it. :) |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Jul 15 2005 : 11:36:05 AM
Meadowlark - or you could be called Yellow Bird. Aren't Meadowlarks imbued with lots of yellow?
jpbluesky
Heartland girl |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Jul 14 2005 : 10:18:13 PM
Interesting question Jp... I thought that is how the native tribes named their offspring also! Blue Sky does suit you, and that Iowa farm certainly has plenty of blue sky! Mine would be ...She Who Has Dirt on her Hands
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." Rumi, 13th century. http://www.xs4all.nl/~josvg/cits/sb/sb101.html |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Jul 14 2005 : 9:10:31 PM
Recently watching the series Into The West has posed a question in my mind that some of you may have the answer to. I always thought most Indian peoples named their children after they had a chance to establish their personality. On this series, several Indian babes are born and immediately given a name like Red Lance, etc. Of course, this is all TV, I know. But has anyone, in their research into their heritage found information on how their ancestors got their specific names?
jpbluesky(if I had Indian blood, my name would have been Blue Sky, I just know it) :)
Heartland girl |
| FarrarFarmgirl |
Posted - Jul 14 2005 : 1:36:55 PM
This is indeed very interesting. Our daughter and I have always had a keen interest in Native American history and culture. And particularly interesting when Lynn from GA mentioned feeling the "stirring in her blood." I was just talking to a friend over the weekend about how I am drawn to Native American history and cultures and people; she said she felt it too. Her background has Indian heritage.
We found out that my grandmother's great grandmother(on my dad's side) was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian princess. We have just a couple of pictures of her. My father says he remembers her sitting on the porch smoking her corn-cob pipe whenever they would go visit her. I believe she was originally from OK, but eventually moved to St. Louis and lived downtown. That had to be the most mis-placed feeling for her. I don't know anymore than that about her, although I know whenever my grandmother would talk about her family, she was very proud of that part of her heritage. It's been a year and a half since my grandmother has passed away and I miss her very much. At her funeral, I reconnected with a cousin who is also interested in tracing our family's past generations, we have yet to get started or know how to begin, but still talk about wanting to do so.
My husband's side of the family is 100% German and have kept very good records of their heritage and I have always found that facinating, so would like to do the same for my family, starting with my father's side.
Reading through everyone's posts has given me some very good ideas for where to look and how to start tracing our family's history. And, Charlee, you have found out some interesting facts about what it means to be "full-blooded." Thanks for reigniting this desire. I'll look forward to learning even more with everyone's help. God bless you all this day.
In His hands,
Lynda |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Jul 14 2005 : 12:57:36 PM
Lazycreek - this is fascinating! I do not have any Indian heritage, since my ancestors came over from Norway in the mid-1800's. But it is so interesting! Keep posting!
crazymoose- I also found how our family Norwegian name got changed when we came over. In Norway, it is customary to name someone after their farmland, or after their father's first name (like Peterson, Johnson, Nilson, Carlson)etc. Norwegian names are very hard to trace because of this fact. On my grandmother's side, her name was Onsteadt - which had been the name of the farm they owned north of Oslo. Often times in Norwegian ancestry searches, you can find passenger documents listing the families that travelled on particular boats - if you know the approximate year they came.
Sorry to get off the track of Indians! I love to hear about the stories you all have!
jpbluesky
Heartland girl |
| Lazycreek |
Posted - Jul 14 2005 : 07:01:40 AM
You just have to keep doing your genealogy. The family stories growing up were that we had a g-grandmother that died on the indian reservation in Alcovy, GA. I couldn't find a thing! There isn't an Alcovy, GA. Then I ran across an indian genealogy website accidentally one day. Wrote for information on Alcovy and found that it was the Creek Indian Nation until the late 1800's when the reservation was moved to OK and Alcovy became Covington. From there I continued to post on the Genealogy boards and found a distant cousin that was really into genealogy. Months later, she located another distant relative that happened to have the family bible with all the indian ancestors written in it. So, I was able to find my indian heritage all the way back to the late 1700's including the name changes during the Indian War in the early 1800's when so many fled and married into "whiteman" communities. I also learned that being "full blood" did not mean all indian, it meant that you continued to practice the religion and ways of your indian heritage, not that you didn't have any "white man" blood in your family. My Creek heritage was last names of Bell and Walker. My Cherokee heritage comes from the name Kiziah.
Roots.com and Ancestry.com are 2 of the largest genealogy sites and they have boards that you can post on. It took me 4 years to find the info I was after, so don't give up. Also study the history of your indian tribe. That was also invaluable to me.
Believe in the power of your dreams |
| greyghost |
Posted - Jul 08 2005 : 12:29:12 PM
My great-great grandmother was Cherokee. We have only one picture of her, where the photographer "added" her photo to a family photo. Apparently that was standard practice if the person wasn't available for the photograph.
I too, feel the stirrings in my blood. In fact, my heart has always pulled me to Northern Georgia and Florida always felt "wrong". So now we have just moved up to N. GA... which was Cherokee country. And I feel like I am home, even though my "home" lacks a kitchen, a decent bathroom and a lot of other things.
Incidentally, my husband's family is from northern Alabama, about an hour from where we have moved to. And he feels at "home" too. :) |
| crazymoose |
Posted - Jul 07 2005 : 3:59:03 PM
My maternal grandpa (mom's dad) is Norwegian and Swedish. His dad was born in Norway and was Norwegian and Swedish. I think his mom was all Norwegian. We have a copy of the family line going back, I think 6 or 8 generations, it shows where they changed the spelling of their last name, its really cool.
My paternal grandpa's mom ended up in Montana, though my grandpa was born in Yakima,WA.
My maternal grandma's grandma survived The Trail of Tears and put her roots into Texas and added some german and english. |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Jun 07 2005 : 7:40:02 PM
crazymoose - Seminole Indians are very southern US, and settled in the Florida lands of the Everglades. I wonder how a Black Foot and a Seminole would have met! This is so interesting to read all of your posts. This is off the Native Indian subject (which has always fascinated me), but my ancestors were Norwegians. For checking records there, I am able to access the passenger lists of incoming ships from Norway. That is an interesting process, too, as some babies were born on the way, and many people died on the way over.
I know that The Trail of Tears even went through St. Augustine, Florida. Perhaps that is how other tribes and the Seminoles became acquainted.
jpbluesky
Heaven gives its glimpses only to those
Not in position to look too close.
from "A Passing Glimpse" by Robert Frost |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Jun 06 2005 : 10:48:41 PM
That is so interesting...I just spent alot of time checking it out and found an uncle's name (I think) and need to do it more when I am not so tird and foggy headed..had to get up really early today..thanks so much!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| Clare |
Posted - Jun 06 2005 : 9:59:32 PM
Well girls, I spent 3.5 hours researching online tonight at rootsweb.com, and I proved out my Uncle's theory! I'm doing a happy dance!!!! I'm not sure how many generations back this goes... but a long ways... mid 1600's. The male relative is known to have been the first Canadian white man to marry a Native woman. So.... it is quite nice to know... wish it wasn't so far back, but hey, never know what else one will uncover in genealogy research. (..And there are other branches o fthe family tree that are not complete, and with known active Native people within them, so... much to discover yet.) There tends to be lots of ghosts in the closets that no one ever talked about... not referring to being Native, just other things like kids born out of wedlock, affairs and such.... it's our own mini-historical-soap-opera!  Can't take any of it too seriously, but the research can be intriguing.
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
| crazymoose |
Posted - Jun 06 2005 : 8:54:07 PM
There is information if your relatives were on the Dawes Final Rolls at http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/dawes.php as long as you know their names. Also, you could try the state in which your relatives were born in or grew up in and try looking for birth records. Cherokee may have a website somewhere on the Internet, try there.
As for myself I have Chickasaw on my mother's side and have found out for this tribe I need to prove my grandmothers were Indian by finding their birth and death records and have my blood drawn to prove percentage; which I do not have, but I do have pictures of them. Also, my dad's dad's mom was half Black Foot and half Seminole.
|
| Clare |
Posted - Jun 04 2005 : 9:19:39 PM
Yes Bramble, I'm very familiar with the LDS geneaolgy database. It's a terrific place to gather alot of info. I think we've exhausted those sources, though and are now looking into other archives. Genealogy is such a winding path... a big treasure hunt for sure!
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
| bramble |
Posted - Jun 04 2005 : 9:08:22 PM
Clare have you done any research through the LDS geneological archives? They record everyone! I'm sure there are others here that have more first hand knowledge but I remember after my Aunt married a Mormon they were researching the non side and discovered some amazing info from that source we would have never known. It's worth a shot if you haven't tried already! Good Luck...those 8's are really peculiar!
with a happy heart |
| Clare |
Posted - Jun 04 2005 : 6:03:50 PM
Kind of excited, but trying not to get my hopes up too high... I got an email today from my Uncle. He thinks he may have found our link!!! She was a Huron from Quebec, named MARIE OLIVIER MANITOUABEOUICH, whose original spelling was Manit8eabe8ichit. (They used 8's in their names for the proper sound they wanted to achieve.) I will have to study this more to confirm, but it is encouraging to get a ray of hope now and again. Wish me luck!
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
| bramble |
Posted - Jun 04 2005 : 03:36:48 AM
My paternal Grandmother was Cherokee and the family story has it that her people before her were not captured and marched west in what was later known as "The Trail of Tears". They managed to be self sufficient and live in the mountains and valleys and went undetected
for many years. I know that she was born in Red Boiling Springs , Tennessee in 1895 and that her family took on the name Raines. There are no records and very little else we know, until she married my grandfather who was Irish. It was a subject that was not discussed and I was always curious but she was not a warm , fuzzy gran that you could ask things of. I think about her now and wonder what she could have told us, but it's not to be. She died on my 21st birthday and
lived most of her adult life as a farm wife and mother to 7. Maybe that was all the legacy she wanted to share, but I would have liked to know more.
with a happy heart |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Jun 03 2005 : 11:26:49 PM
I have Cherokee and Choctaw blood...but from aways back..but on both sides....(smile) My great grandpa was an interpreter for the indian nations in Oklahoma when he was young. I am at least 1/4 native american, but then every one of my grandparents is at least 1/4, so it goes back aways before there was a full blood anything.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| Clare |
Posted - Jun 03 2005 : 2:12:54 PM
Family folklore has it that there was a Canadian Native Woman on my father's side of the family; however, we have not been able to find any records to indicate that this is so. Both my uncle and myself look as time has allowed.
Records from the 1800's are so sketchy, and with being Native or Metis, even more so, especially too since they all tried to "be white" to avoid abuse. I could only probably claim 1/64 or so, and that is nothing offical for the records to change anything.
That being said, my intuition knows that this is so because I feel her in my heart and soul all of the time. In the end, I really don't need proof, I suppose.
You are lucky to know conclusively about your Native heritage!
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
|
|
