===================================================================== "LOST OR LOST INTENTIONALLY? YOUR FAMILY'S IDENTITY" by George G. Morgan: "Along Those Lines . . ." ===================================================================== People approach me at workshops and conferences, and send me e-mail, asking questions about their family identity. "Where does this name come from?" "What national or religious group does this naming pattern indicate?" "How can I learn more about my [substitute surname here] family's nationality? Let me tell you that these are really tough questions for anyone, and many genealogists have had to engage the services of a professional genealogical researcher who specializes in that geographical area, or that ethnic or religious group, to get the answers. This is particularly interesting when you are researching your ancestors overseas, perhaps in Central and Eastern Europe where political boundaries and governments have changed so frequently as to almost condemn your research to doing a pedigree chart of the governments before you can do one for your family. Our ancestors fled their native lands for a number of reasons. There are also reasons for which they changed their identity. Sometimes they were "wanted criminals" in their native land. They may have been political agitators merely wanting a different type of life. Perhaps they were members of an unpopular or rebellious religious denomination. A number of our ancestors, on arrival in the United States, may have Anglicized or completely changed their names. Often these folks are really difficult to trace because they did not follow a formal legal process. We think of ancestors from across the ocean. However, there are other groups whose ancestors were here since before our European ancestors' arrival here. The Native Americans--or "Indians" as they were dubbed by early explorers mistaking the North American continent for India-- what of their lost identity? In this week's "Along Those Lines . . ." column, though, I want to share an interesting story that appeared in the St. Petersburg [Florida] Times on Sunday, 20 July 2003, which paints a fascinating picture of an Indian tribe thought to have been extinct for hundreds of years. THE VANISHING OF THE APALACHEE The Apalachee Indians lived in Florida for hundreds of years before the first European explorers, Christopher Columbus, Hernando de Soto, and Ponce de Leon, arrived. Historians agree that evidence points to the Apalachee's ancestors settled in the Florida panhandle near what is now Tallahassee about 1,200 years ago. They were a fierce tribe, and they first appear in recorded history in 1528. In 1539, Hernando De Soto and his Spanish troops entered the Apalachee's territory for about five months. The Apalachee warriors, apparently painted in red ochre and wearing feathers, repelled de Soto and pushed his band back. During the 1600s, the Apalachee and the Spanish reached some accord, and the Indians submitted to Spanish rule, adopted their customs, converted to Catholicism, and helped establish a Spanish mission in their area. In the early 1700s, the white man, aided by the Creek Indians, began invading the area for the British. The Apalachee fled west into Louisiana and were given land by the French on which to settle. Other tribes, also fleeing the British, joined them and at the end of the Revolutionary War, more white immigrants arrived and the Indians ultimately sold or lost their land. The Apalachee moved farther west, and by 1827, there were at least ten Apalachee families in Texas. The tribe appealed to the U.S. Congress for reparations in 1834 but was denied any redress. And so it was that the Apalachee remaining in Louisiana migrated to Emanuel and Bayou Cypre areas of Louisiana. President Andrew Jackson, a fierce anti-Indian soldier himself who had fought and massacred Seminoles during the Indian Wars in Florida, after 1834 considered the tribe extinct and dropped federal recognition. In effect, the Appalachee vanished into the bayou environment rather than fight the white man in a conflict they could not win. They also successfully disappeared from the federal government's gun sights. GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN Historians also agreed for over 250 years that the Apalachee were, indeed, extinct. The only remnants were the places that bore their name, such as the Apalachee Trail, the Appalachian Mountains, and other locations. However, they were not at all extinct. Over the centuries, the Apalachee descendants hid in the Louisiana Bayou, quietly living their lives in the shadow of the past. They became part of the amalgam of peoples that settled in that area, and soon began to blend in with the clothing, customs, and speech of the other peoples. Some of the traditions survived, though in a diluted form, but much of the Apalachee culture and all of the language was completely lost. Little of the culture remains except the baskets that they weave from white oak. Now the historians agree that the Apalachee do exist, but it seems that no one else in authority will recognize them. EMERGING FROM THE SHADOWS But still the descendants of the Apalachee have survived. Some of them know that they are Apalachee descendents, and others do not. And still others refuse to admit the fact for fear of racial or social reprisal. One man, Gilmer Bennet, has emerged as a spokesman for the Apalachee to declare that the tribe has never been extinct. He also states that, with the federal government doling out funds for land and for college educations and legalizing Indian casinos, there is a lot at stake. On a more important cultural note, though, he and others believe it is time for the Apalachee tribe to be recognized again and to assume its rightful place among other Indian tribes in the United States. This requires a significant amount of work to prove who they are, and to establish the credibility that the State of Louisiana, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other federal agencies claim they require. Who knows? This case may make its way to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, Gilmer Bennett recounts his own family history in as much detail as he has been able to discover. He remembers that his grandfather was singled out, hunted down, and murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. Bennett himself once felt compelled to deny his race in a court of law. But he also can recount more Apalachee history than anyone, primarily because he has been collecting and preserving all manners of documentary evidence he could find. He has affirmed his racial and tribal background in public and wants to lead the way to writing a history that he and his people can look to with pride. In the meantime, if and when the federal recognition comes, he wants to help his tribe take advantage of whatever reparations are available today. HOW ARE WE LIKE THE APALACHEE? Over the centuries, many of our European ancestors struggled to fit in when they settled in their new American communities. They adopted the customs, clothing, and language of the neighbors, sometimes tossing their old belongings and customs aside. Native languages were lost, unintentionally or intentionally, and the cultural heritage and traditions of the old country were lost. We can identify with Gilmer Bennett's desire to uncover, document, and preserve everything he can of his tribe's heritage. We understand, too, what is at stake with our own family history. We do not want our own family identity to be lost. Our work should be performed in as scholarly a way as possible, with all the sources documented along the way. We want our family's descendants to be able to retrace their past in detail--and to see, touch, and experience the thrill of making contact with the physical documents and artifacts of their history. As genealogists and family historians, we are the conservators and archivists of our family history and heritage. While there will always be "brick walls" and "missing links" in our family history, at least we don't have the loss of culture and language to the magnitude of the Apalachee tribe. And that is why we empathize with Gilmer Bennett. And that is why we continue our important family history work. It isn't just a hobby. It is a vitally important preservation mission for future generations of our family. Happy Hunting, George REFERENCES: "The Apalachee Trail," Richard Raeke, 'St. Petersburg Times' 20 July 2003 (St. Petersburg, FL). Online version: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/index.html?ts=1058886963 _________________________________________________________________ Copyright 1998-2003, MyFamily.com, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Reprinted by permissino from the "Ancestry Daily News" and George Morgan.