This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/ABC.2ACE/3848.1.3.1 Message Board Post: Donna, I can't and would not dispute anything in your message. You said essentially what I said - the evidence is anecdotal. It does not prove or misprove anything. The rolls were later, in the 1890's, and mostly in OK. Not being on the rolls does not prove that someone is not of Indian descent but being there is generally accepted evidence that someone is. I guess I am too much of a scientist and like real proof. In human affairs that doesn't often come off well. In the 1970's I helped a large University study UFO's. Fascinating topic. Its not the same but all that evidence was anecdotal too. Fuzzy questionable photos, wild stories and very convinced people. I have yet to meet an alien but some of those we talked to are genuinely convinced they were abducted. Myth sometimes becomes reality. My fear is of rewriting history after the fact. That is not, at least in my opinion, good. In my opinion we defeat the purpose of genealogy if we are not very careful in our research. I ! also fear that many, especially the New Age crowd, are trying to hijack Native American culture for their own use. By the way, I am part Cherokee documented. I have never seen anyone I kow wear a headband other than the bikers in the crowd. Cherokees in the 1700's generally wore what looked like a turban. Good luck in your search. Have a great time doing it. In this hobby success is the journey, not the destination (the grave).