You have to have a direct ancestor listed on the Dawes Roll. It was taken abt 1906 in Indian Territory now OK. You use birth certs, Marriage certs and death certs to prove this connection. My grandmother is on the Dawes roll. I used the above cets to prove a connection to her. My children also belong to the western band of the Cherokee nation. This Roll or census is on line so you need to look at it to see if you can find a direct descendant on that list. Hope this helps. I am proud to be a blood member of the Cherokee Nation. At 12:14 PM 2/19/2016, you wrote: >Any idea how one goes about proving their Indian >heritage when they did not live in those areas >where either the Trail Of Tears movement, or the >Eastern Band of Cherokee lived? I have always >heard that we had Indian on my mother's side of >the family, and I have her ancestors traced back >to Washington County, TN from about 1810, and >further back for the Bedsaul line, to >Carroll/Grayson County. If I went based upon >features, my mother had a strong look of >Indian. Although her hair was black and her >eyes (from the Lawson side) were blue. I have >been told that at the time my fourth >great-grandfather lived in Jonesborough, TN >area, it was an "Indian hunting >grounds". There are a number of excavations >going on for Native America artifacts right now, >and at one time there was a Cherokee town >located nearby- late 1700's. Older family >members said that my 2nd great-grandmother wore >her hair in a long braid down her back and was >dark-skinned. I know her father was full >German, and records say that he only spoke >German. His wife was a Bacon by birth. I >have had contact with another descendant of >Mary's brother, and they also say they had >Native American. I just cannot find any real >proof. Of course, I know that it wasn't >popular to claim to be Native American at that >time period, among the Whites. One thing my >mother always listed among her ancestors was >"Black Dutch".  Thanks.  Jean Mayfield >Cuevas ----- Original Message ----- From: ") >via" <cherokeegene@rootsweb.com> To: >"CherokeeGene" <cherokeegene@rootsweb.com> Sent: >Tuesday, January 26, 2016 1:25:21 AM Subject: >[CherokeeGene] came across this so i thought I'd >share http://cherokeegenealogy.blogspot.com/  >=====*NOTICE THIS*=====  Cherokee genealogy; >certain conversation is allowed to do genealogy; >and sort fact from (fiction). List archive >http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokeegene >please take non genealogy to >Cherokee@rootsweb.com >------------------------------- To unsubscribe >from the list, please send an email to >CHEROKEEGENE-request@rootsweb.com with the word >'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject >and the body of the message =====*NOTICE >THIS*===== Cherokee genealogy; certain >conversation is allowed to do genealogy; and >sort fact from (fiction). List archive >http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokeegene >please take non genealogy to >Cherokee@rootsweb.com >------------------------------- To unsubscribe >from the list, please send an email to >CHEROKEEGENE-request@rootsweb.com with the word >'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

You are searching too far back in your ancestry. The oldest Cherokee roll that is available online is the 1835 roll. It's known sometimes as the Trail of Tears roll but because the names are short, sometimes a single name, it isn't often helpful unless you find the same ancestor on one of the successive rolls. During the time of the Dawes commission (around 1900) the tribe and government did most of this work for you. They sought out all Cherokee tribal members and information on their families. They cross-checked the names against previous Indian rolls, even when they were listed under different names ( many were). It was actually a very intensive and detailed search. Some Cherokee avoided being on this roll and the Dawes commission even paid people to come in and squeal on them and provide the information themselves if the individual couldn't be brought in person. Although this makes problems for some who cannot find an ancestor on the Dawes roll, it actually makes your quest easier because all this information that was obtained is still available in the "Dawes Packets". These contain everything from the questionining by the Dawes commission of Cherokee tribal members, their families, their neighbors, other witnesses, and also many contain letters that were sent to and from the commission. It is a treasure trove and it's all online.  Remember that nobody only has one Cherokee ancestor. If you had a Cherokee ancestor in the early 1800's but cannot find one on the Dawes roll, consider all the descendants from that ancestor who would eventually be on successive rolls. Some would clearly be mentioned by some in those Dawes packets. You can search them through Fold3.com which is only about $8 a month. You'd probably get everything you need done in a week or so. Search for your ancestors name. If they weren't living at the time of the Dawes it's very possible that someone mentioned them during the questioning by the Dawes commission and they will appear in your search results. It's exciting and very easy to do. Even people who were denied by the Dawes often provide important information in the Dawes packets that can be helpful. If you locate a sibling, cousin, uncle, or aunt of the ancestor you are looking for, it will often lead you to locate your own ancestor. It wasn't unusual for a Cherokee individual to go by a name that had little or no relationship to the name they are listed by on the Dawes. This is why the questioning by the commission and their own work in matching people to names is so helpful. If you only search for someone on the Dawes roll rather than in Dawes packets you may miss your opportunity for tribal citizenship because of what I've mentioned.  Research your family tree as extensively as you can so you have information on as many people in your extended family as possible. This will give you a much better chance of locating Cherokee ancestors.  It is best not to mention the term "Black Dutch" if you want serious help with your search. It has been appropriated by so many fraudulent people that it is now like waving a red flag if you mention it, even if your family did use this term. To prevent being dismissed right out of the gate as a fake, it's best to avoid that for now.  You cannot depend on those who may tell you there were no Cherokee in Tennessee or other places.The tribe may not have been at that location but there were families in places such as Duck Town, Tennessee where the large copper deposits were. Some of my own ancestors were from there and yet they are well documented on the Dawes and previous rolls. In addition, many people were separated from the tribe for various reasons but came back and connected around the time of the Dawes so they would get their portion of the land allotments. This is why you should concentrate your search efforts around this roll.   Good luck to  you.  On Friday, February 19, 2016 12:53 PM, Willora Glee via <cherokeegene@rootsweb.com> wrote: You have to have a direct ancestor listed on the Dawes Roll. It was taken abt 1906 in Indian Territory now OK. You use birth certs, Marriage certs and death certs to prove this connection. My grandmother is on the Dawes roll. I used the above cets to prove a connection to her. My children also belong to the western band of the Cherokee nation. This Roll or census is on line so you need to look at it to see if you can find a direct descendant on that list. Hope this helps. I am proud to be a blood member of the Cherokee Nation. At 12:14 PM 2/19/2016, you wrote: >Any idea how one goes about proving their Indian >heritage when they did not live in those areas >where either the Trail Of Tears movement, or the >Eastern Band of Cherokee lived?  I have always >heard that we had Indian on my mother's side of >the family, and I have her ancestors traced back >to Washington County, TN from about 1810, and >further back for the Bedsaul line, to >Carroll/Grayson County.  If I went based upon >features, my mother had a strong look of >Indian.  Although her hair was black and her >eyes (from the Lawson side) were blue.  I have >been told that at the time my fourth >great-grandfather lived in Jonesborough, TN >area, it was an "Indian hunting >grounds".  There are a number of excavations >going on for Native America artifacts right now, >and at one time there was a Cherokee town >located nearby- late 1700's.  Older family >members said that my 2nd great-grandmother wore >her hair in a long braid down her back and was >dark-skinned.  I know her father was full >German, and records say that he only spoke >German.  His wife was a Bacon by birth.  I >have had contact with another descendant of >Mary's brother, and they also say they had >Native American.  I just cannot find any real >proof.  Of course, I know that it wasn't >popular to claim to be Native American at that >time period, among the Whites.  One thing my >mother always listed among her ancestors was >"Black Dutch".    Thanks.   Jean Mayfield >Cuevas ----- Original Message ----- From: ") >via" <cherokeegene@rootsweb.com> To: >"CherokeeGene" <cherokeegene@rootsweb.com> Sent: >Tuesday, January 26, 2016 1:25:21 AM Subject: >[CherokeeGene] came across this so i thought I'd >share http://cherokeegenealogy.blogspot.com/  >=====*NOTICE THIS*=====  Cherokee genealogy; >certain conversation is allowed to do genealogy; >and sort fact from (fiction). List archive >http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokeegene >please take non genealogy to >Cherokee@rootsweb.com >------------------------------- To unsubscribe >from the list, please send an email to >CHEROKEEGENE-request@rootsweb.com with the word >'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject >and the body of the message =====*NOTICE >THIS*===== Cherokee genealogy; certain >conversation is allowed to do genealogy; and >sort fact from (fiction). List archive >http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokeegene >please take non genealogy to >Cherokee@rootsweb.com >------------------------------- To unsubscribe >from the list, please send an email to >CHEROKEEGENE-request@rootsweb.com with the word >'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message =====*NOTICE THIS*===== Cherokee genealogy; certain conversation is allowed to do genealogy; and sort fact from (fiction). List archive http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index?list=cherokeegene please take non genealogy to Cherokee@rootsweb.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to CHEROKEEGENE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message