Native American Genealogy – Hard, But Doable

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Native American Genealogy – Hard, But Doable

Monday, March 17th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

The first problem in doing Native American genealogy is finding what appears to be good information and then upon further research, you find that it conflicts with other data. One of your elders told you that you are related to an Indian princess. This relative lived at least 10 generations ago. Trying to get accurate information that far back is hard enough, but the conflicting data will discourage you. It just doesn’t add up. Listen. Early census records included few choices. After all, they were done in pen and ink. It wasn’t until the 1890 census before Indians, whether they were on a reservation or not, were counted in the federal census. Sad to say, but persons of mixed heritage (Caucasian and Native American, just to cite one example) were not included in the census until the year 2000. The Internet is filling the gaps that these problems created.

There is now a boom in people seeking to research their Native American heritage and there are now lots of genealogy search engines, which can help Native

American completes their family tree.

The Boarding School Controversy

One of the more egregious examples of mistreatment of Native Americans is found in the controversy surrounding forced relocation of children to boarding schools. In these instances, many children were taken away from their parents and placed in state sponsored boarding schools. In some instances, the children lost contact with their parents and were put up for adoption. This would obviously have a negative effect on tracing one’s Native American genealogy as many of these records may have become lost or destroyed as the practice of forced relocation to a boarding school was eliminated. If there were a way to trace Native American genealogy under such circumstances it would be to avoid attempting to locate boarding school records exclusively and to seek out the tribe in which the individual belongs and see what their records may indicate.

Native American Records

Thankfully, when it comes to Native American genealogy most tribes have maintained clear and accurate records and this has allowed for most people searching for their ancestry to find the answers to their questions in a relatively simple manner. Of course, this is not always the case and in such instances more in depth searches for information are required.

The Lost Bird Society

The story of Lost Bird of Wounded Knee will break your heart. On December 29, 1890, United States troops entered the Pine Ridge Reservation and massacred hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children. Her wounded mother and her baby, Lost Bird, escaped and found shelter in the bank of the creek. Four days later, a rescue party found them. The mother had died but the infant was still alive. Her sensational story attracted the attention of powerful white men and General Leonard Colby adopted her. His was not a happy marriage and the general abandoned his wife and child for the child’s nursemaid/governess. The General failed to provide adequate support for his wife Clara Colby and Lost Bird who was now called Zintka. Her life went from bad to worse. Her loving mother, Clara Colby, died. Zintka ended up in abject poverty. She died of influenza on February 14, 1920. Valentines’ day.

Indian Adoption Project

The Indian Adoption Project, from 1958 to 1967, put 395 Native American children from 16 states up for adoption by non-Indian families. Many of these children are trying to connect with their Native American heritage and find their birth parents. The Lost Bird Society was established to help Native Americans who have trouble in locating their relatives and their ancestry. The Lost Bird Society can be found at this address: Lost Bird Society, P.O. Box 952, Pine Ridge, South Dakota 57770. Marie Fox Belly, a Lakota Indian, founded the Lost Bird Society.

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