I am still researching the Scott S. Dumas application and appeal :MCR #4006 and believe it or not one of the things mentioned in the appeal rejection was "the physical description of Mr. Dumas" ! quote"This applicant has dark brown hair, light brown mustache, blue eyes, and medium fair complection; features and general chacterictics of a white person..." unquote This was actually listed as one of the determining factors in the application rejection at the time of the appeal. It goes on to say "that he does not speak understand or speak the Choctaw language..." Keep in mind this application was made from 1901-1908 far removed from the 1830 Treaty [ but still within the time limits allotted I might add.] In the same application his aunt, Keziah Brashier Thompson [sister of his grandmother, and grandmother of his wife] spoke fluent Choctaw . Tradition says that his great grandmother, Jane Lipsic Black Brashier/Brasher w/o John Brashier was thought to be 1/2 Mississippi Choctaw and a 'near relative' of Pushtamata.[sp?] Oral history was provided by representatives . The representatives were old and some were black. The had lived in the period [ 1830's] and were familiar with the principles [but color and age were determining factors in their testimony as well .] Some had been slaves. A few were quite old. Several books have been written regarding this issue: John H. Wilson The Dumas Families, Vol II Elhanan Winchester Dumas pub. 1988 is the latest one I have read, it is available from John H. Wilson II Trustee 1212 West El PAso Street, Ft. Worth, Texas. This Genealogy study has a section The Indian Connection pp301-341 [Scott S. Dumas was the Grandson of Elhanan W. Dumas.] In this book is much of the file extracted from the original applications and corroaborates Kitty Garber findings almost verbatium. Also the LDS FHC Library 20th Street Bellevue, Washington has copies of the originals from the NARA files. The Appeal signed by the lawyer is still missing in those files/ or I did not it them yet at any rate. ? which I think is interesting. [Kitty; Note] At any rate 395 families thought enough of the information to sign the applications and go forward. Things were not all as they should have been, that's for sure. The Government wanted to incorporate the Indians into mainstream America, the Indian Agent Ward was highly critized for his part in the debacle, papers were lost, courthouses burned with records lost forever and so forth. It is all a blight on the record. Still the bottom line was that Mr. Dumas didn't LOOK Indian. So 395 families were rejected. It was the final blow to the applications. An interesting aside that I might add here is that in future generations some members DO have darker skin, black hair and look very much as if they could have Indian blood. and I still reject the idea of author Charles Brashear his book in The Brazier, Brasher Saga pub. in 1998 that this family was trying, along with 80% of the applicants at the time, to try to defraud the government. That is just his theory certainly not everyones. 'Allbest' Susanna Noe