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Beginning
genealogical research in Indian records can be a bad way to start.
You should start looking in the most current family records, rather than
historic records. Family oral history is priceless and older
relatives are an excellent source of this information. Learn as
much information as you can about your parents, grandparents and more
distant relatives. Be sure to write all the information down
before you forget what you were told. The most important
information you need are vital statistics, including ancestral names,
births, marriages, divorces and deaths, the places where ancestors were
born, lived, married, and died. When talking to family, be sure to
ask pointed questions about where your relatives lived, who died and
where, who was born and where, occupations of family members, if anyone
was adopted, if anyone lived on a reservation, etc. Some of the
most valuable information can be found in family Bibles, newspaper
clippings, military certificates, birth and death certificates, marriage
licenses, diaries, letters, scrapbooks, those scribbles on the backs of
pictures and in baby books. Visit or write family members who may
have genealogical information. You may discover that someone in
your family has already been working on a family history!
As
you gain information, begin to work backwards. Now that you have
some names and dates beyond your recollection, it is often useful to
check school, church, and county courthouse records for more
information. Don't limit your search to birth, death and marriage
records, since historical and genealogical information can also be found
in other civil records at the county courthouse such as deeds, wills,
and land or other property conveyances. At some point you will
identify the tribal affiliation of an ancestor. If you have a
factual name or even a roll number, move on to the Tribal Rolls.
Most tribes maintain rolls of the Tribal Registrar's Office.
Access to those rolls are usually restricted (this varies from tribe to
tribe). Several Rolls of Native Americans have been taken over the
last 2 centuries. The Native American collection at the National
Archives includes special censuses, school records, and allotment
records. You will need to be able to show your lineage with vital
records. Your states Bureau of Vital Statistics can send copies of
birth, death and marriage certificates, or divorce decrees if you
request them in writing. Include in your letter the name of the
individual, date and place of birth and your relationship to that
person.
Not
everyone has the time, the ability or even the patience needed to do
their own research. That is OK. It is possible to find
someone who can research for you for a fee. Write to request
listings of genealogical researchers for hire:
Board of Certification of
Genealogists
Association of Professional Genealogists
P.O. Box 14291
P.O. Box 40393
Washington, D.C. 20044
Denver, Colorado 80204
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What is a CDIB?
To
become an enrolled member of a Native American tribe you must obtain a
Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB). This certificate is
issued by the federal government through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The first thing you must do is contact the BIA Office serving the tribal
area of you descent. In order to obtain a CDIB, State-certified
copies of births for you and each of your ancestors all the way back to
the person last listed on the rolls that is directly related to you.
If birth certificates are not available, then death certificates are
permissible. If no birth or death record exists, some tribes will
allow the sworn statements of fact as permissible if a person has been
an eyewitness to the birth, thereby verifying the relation. Once
you have received your CDIB, your are then eligible to request
enrollment in your tribe. Most tribal membership applications are
automatic, the records needed for tribal enrollment are the same as for
the CDIB and both applications are on the same form. Tribal
enrollment varies from tribe to tribe and this normally is based on
blood degree which is determined by the BIA and not the tribe itself.
Most tribes require at least one-fourth (1/4) degree of blood, but some
have no blood quantum at all, just a requirement to connect yourself
back to an ancestor on the Tribal Roll.
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