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Native American Genealogy 101

© Bluedolphin Crow

Today, genealogy is a hot hobby second only to Native American Genealogy. More and more people who are investigating their family histories are finding Native American roots. Some find the roots inside a story passed down by grandparents. Others find the roots in a name of an ancestor they did not know they had.

Stories abound as we progress into the 21st century of mixed bloods and full bloods of all different tribes and nations. Some of these stories have their origins in fantasy. Many have their origins in history.

So you want to trace your Native American Relations. How exactly do you go about doing this is a question I hear a lot.

Tracing your Native American Ancestors is rooted in a combination of areas. First, you must understand and build a proper genealogy foundation for yourself. Second, you must follow a typical genealogy progression using proven strategies. Third, once you arrive at your Native American ancestor you have to know where to look for specialized information like tribal associations, Native American census information and migration patterns to name but a few.

Now that you have a general idea of the territory we will be covering let's begin with a good foundation.

Step One: With all genealogy searches we move backwards. That is we start with ourselves and move toward the past. The first item we will need in our journey is a pedigree chart. This is a chart where you list several generations of your immediate family. It gives you an overview of where you are and where you will need to begin.

The best place to download a pedigree chart in either pdf or text format is at Family Tree Magazine here: http://www.familytreemagazine.com/forms/...

Once you download the form fill out the information for yourself then progress to listing the information for your father and mother. Finally list the information for your spouse if you have one. Next you will list any information you know about your grandparents and then your great-grandparents.

When you begin to fill out the pedigree form make sure to do it in pencil and follow these guidelines:

1. Surname is always written in all capitols for example: William SMITH 2. Don't use initials for the middle name unless you don't know the middle name 3. Record nicknames whenever possible and indicate them in quotation marks. Example: Elizabeth "Beth" WILLAMS 4. Always record dates this way: 15 January 2005 5. Always list the location with the smallest county or town first. Example: Bellefontaine, Logan, Ohio

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