It is very difficult to trace our Indian ancestors. Prior to 1935, Indian tribes were not required to keep records. Indians did not become US citizens until June 30, 1924. Prior to 1900 it was likely that the Indian you are looking for did not have a surname and a man named Running Elk would have sons named Red Feather, Whirlwind Horse, He Dog, etc. and none of the grandsons would have the same name either. In the original 13 states, the records are usually kept in the State archives as those tribes did not have treaties with the United States. Sometimes the only records are in the mission church headquarters and may not be kept in the church on the reservation. For those of you tracing Native Americans you might find some help at <http://www.indianscoutbooks.com> When I was at the FGS conference I took the opportunity to look through several of their publications and found them to be very good. They have vital records and census rolls for several tribes. The census rolls are not the same as either state or federal census. These were rolls taken to determine entitlement to treaty benefits. Aside from going directly to the tribal census offices, this is the best source I have found so far for Indian records. Bette