This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: vljones11 Surnames: Lawson Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.lawson/2722.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: There is no doubt that there are some Indian Lawsons. But there are very few. Most of the Cherokee maiden Grandmother stories are bogus. I think that you know that as well. The better approach is to identify those whose DNA is Indian and move on beyond the bogus family stories. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

Dear vljones11, Where is your documentation that the Lawson Indian stories are bogus? You can't have it both ways declaring one is true and not another. I happen to be part Indian on another side than my Lawson side. But just because I can't prove my Lawson Indian heritage doesn't mean it's bogus. As a former Vice-Chairman of the American Indian Council, I know that marriages between Caucasian men and Indian women were common, whether it was a common law marriage or an ordained one. When it comes to our ancestral heritage there is only one fool-proof way to determine heritage, let alone parentage — and that's through DNA testing. As DNA testing becomes more sophisticated I'm certain our knowledge base will increase. Right now, it's just not fair to throw cold water on something you can't prove either. The white man stole this country from the Indians. We broke every single treaty the United States ever made with Indian tribes. I set up the very first meeting ever between an Indian chief and the President of the United States and it was in the 1990s, hundreds of years after the deeds were done. Please don't tell me what's Indian and what isn't.