The Native Heritage project is an ongoing effort to document the Native American people as they obtained surnames and entered recorded history in the continental United States.
As a genetic genealogist and historian, many people seek to find their Native ancestors, only to run up against both brick walls and a plethora of myths, some of which are true, and some of which are not.
I am also the co-administrator of the Haplogroup Q project at Family Tree DNA. Haplogroup Q is one of two Native haplogroups, and by far the largest. http://www.familytreedna.com/public/ydna_Q
Many people discover that they have Native heritage via DNA testing but have no way to connect their surname with Native records an any location.
This project seeks to documents people who are Native in existing records. To do this, I’m taking the following steps:
1. I’m collecting every instance of documents where Native people have surnames in some record that states they are Native, of Native descent, or have Native heritage. Initially I’ve focused on the primary areas of Virginia, NC and SC and the Eastern Seaboard states. These, for the most parts, are tribes that were annihilated. Tribes west of the Mississippi were often able to maintain their tribal and cultural heritage after those east of the Mississippi has all but disappeared.
2. I’m matching the list generated by item 1 against people who are haplogroups Q and C, which are Native, to find a matches between the two lists.
3. Ultimately, I’d like to combine that information, above, with historical research that maps oldest ancestor of those who are genetically Native and village/tribe locations and perhaps, in time, we can find a correlation and a way to tell which tribe someone is descended from.
This is an unbelievable amount of work. I’ve been at it almost 5 years now. Much of my early work was in documenting mixed race migrations and historical reading and references documenting early tribal locations.
I am maintaining a separate page that shows resources I have already accessed. If you have any record of a person that shows their Native ancestry, with documentation, please contact me. I’d love to give them a voice by including their record in the project.
Greetings from Northeastern North America. My organization, Ne-Do-Ba, ( http://www.nedoba.org ) provides a service not too unlike yours. We research in existing records and local histories and maintain a database of documented families and individuals. We assist the public in making connections. A year ago I started a “research journal” blog to show the steps in properly documenting family history. ( http://www.nedoba.blogspot.com ) .
We have not added DNA to the mix, but I plan to follow your blog to see how you implement it.
Please keep us in mind if you discover registrants born in ME, NH, VT, New Brunswick, and Quebec. We have reservations in Maine at Old Town, Perry, and Pleasant Point, so I would not need to learn about registrants in those reservation communities, but all others would be of interest.
Wishing you the best in this wonderful project you have. We need more people like you.
Nancy Lecompte
Research Director for Ne-Do-Ba
What a wonderful organization. I’m so glad to see that you’re documenting this for people as well. I’ll do a blog posting about your group! So glad you’re with us!
What do you think about this research?
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/13/39/abstract
Do you think these markers will eventually be helpful to very admixed people?
I have actively opposed tribal people giving up their DNA for studies like these. While it might be interesting to learn that one has a distant Italian or Mongol ancestor, the impact on Italy or Mongolia is non-existent in those cases. The same is not true for American Indians, particularly the Cherokee and Lakota aka Sioux.
Both tribes suffer tremendous threats to their cultural life ways by non-Indians or possibly Indian descendants posing as Indians and appropriating cultural traditions that do not belong to them, performing powwows and bastardized ceremonies in the name of the tribe. The Cherokee issue is particularly acute because as the number of undocumented claimants now outnumber enrolled Cherokees of all three federally recognized governments nearly 3 to one.
The Cherokee Nation has identified over 200 groups claiming to be Cherokee governments, bands, confederacies, clans and tribes, some of them state recognized, although none of them having proof they are a tribe or even of Cherokee descent.
The Cherokee people (the real ones) are among the best documented human beings on the planet. We have records dating back to the mid-18th Century, 30 tribal rolls starting in 1817 and thousands of linear feet of documents created by the tribe, missionaries, states, federal officials and even travelers have left journals. The net cast to capture the names of Cherokee ancestors for the past 200+ years has been wide and thorough.
I am not saying there are no Cherokee descendants out there who are not eligible for enrollment. They are there. I have met many and most of them are my kin. Which brings up another point. If someone is of Cherokee descent, though not eligible to enroll, they have kinfolk in the tribe. One example is a man I met on Facebook who descends from our common ancestor 7 generations ago. His family stayed in Tennessee, while my branch marched west on the Trail of Tears. His ancestors are listed in previous tribal rolls and payments, as are mine, even before the Trail of Tears. But because his ancestors lived in the east, they were not citizens of the Cherokee Nation and not listed on the Dawes Rolls. And their blood quantum was too low to be listed on the Eastern Cherokee’s Baker Roll. He is a descendant of a Cherokee; I am a Cherokee. Yes we are kin, but our legal status is very different. And we are friends. I would not be quite so friendly if he decided to create his own tribe. He won’t be doing that because he respects the Cherokee people too much.
And finally, it is of great concern that you seem to be recreating the Walter Plecker model of determining race based on surnames. That your efforts have the ring of benevolence to it does not alter the similarity.
Hi David,
The Native Heritage and the Native Names projects, neither one are focused on people in currently enrolled tribes. I hope that everyone can find something of interest, but the focus of both of these projects are the people whose ancestors and heritage were stripped away, generations before thier lifetimes. These people very much would like to know who those ancestors were and something about them. The records of those ancestors, if they do exist, are often hidden in places that no one would ever think or know to look. By bring these to light, by documenting them, I am doing what I can to reverse the genocidal process of destroying all vestiges of the “Indian.” Many tribes are already forever extinct. Every ancestor’s name who is salvaged is honored and brought to light again. Whether someone can or cannot join a tribe as a result is not my concern. Tribes, per say, are political entities. What I am doing, is not, and I have intentionally tried to stay away from politics. I am aware of the issues surrounding the federally recognized tribes, state recognized tribes, and others, and I simply have no comment. My goal is to bring the ancestors to light and to hopefully provide a lamplight backward in time for someone looking for those ancestors.
Regarding racial issues. This project is not about race. Indians, people recognized as Indians by other Indians and by non-Indians were not necessarily of one “race.” Whites intermarried in, blacks intermarried in, people were adopted. This project is about heritage. Surnames are the only way, aside form DNA, that genealogists have to connect with ancestors. The only way to prove your Native heritage is either via surnames, which are records, and which are often or generally classified as some flavor of non-white, DNA directly, as in finding a Native haplogroup, or a direct paternal or maternal DNA match with someone else who is proven to be Native. Without those avenues, there are none left. I strongly believe that people whose heritage has been taken from them through historical acts and circumstances far beyond their control and that of anyone in this generation should have the opportunity to reclaim those ancestors and that heritage. I am honoring those who came before by helping thier descendants to know them in whatever scant way they can.
Roberta
That all sounds good on paper, but totally skirts the reality that once people believe themselves to be something, they want it all, not just the knowledge. Those who may be of descent are either black or white now, with no vestige of tribal knowledge or culture. I see it every day with proven thin bloods. Once they get that card in their pocket, its all out Indian after that. As a biologist myself, I can appreciate knowledge for knowledge sake, but as a citizen of two of the authentic Cherokee governments, I worry that projects such as yours will only fuel the fire of wannabeism and advance the destruction of tribal sovereignty. Good luck with your project.
I am still not quite sure why you protest so vehemently against DNA genealogy projects. I am not quite clear by what you mean when you said “. . .once people believe themselves to be something, they want it all . . .” What is the “all” that you warn about?
As for me, I do know quite a bit about my ancestry, Native American and British, than most people. My late father was a Tuscarora chief, as was his father. The surname Chew, at least the British version, was Cheux originally. Then changed to Chewe for some. By the time John Chew landed in America in Jamestown, circa 1622, aboard the British ship Charitie, Chew was spelled C-H-E-W. All through my school years fellow classmates, and some parents, insisted that Chew was an oriental name. Even now, people I talk to online also insist that Chew cannot possibly be a British surname, but rather, a surname from China. Well, not mine. As a matter of fact, there is a place called Chew Valley in England, and it is not from some Chinese derivative.
It is not that I have anything against oriental people, but like some, I take a liitle ancestral
pride about my heritage, and the history of those who came before me. Also, I really do not need a DNA analysis to prove that I am Native American, and do not “think” I am looking for that “all” that you speak of. On the other hand perhaps I am, since I do not really know what you mean by what you said. But, I would like to know much more about my ancestry, especially on my mother’s side.
Finally yes, even my Native American genealogical blood is diminished, or reduced; first from being initially British and French (Chews came from Normandy before arriving in England), and then on my Mother’s side, who is only half Mohawk, mixed with German ancestry. But, I am so fascinated, and yes, proud, that my Dad–and his Dad before him– had tremendous leadership in the role as a Tuscarora chief, And I am amazed at the role played by my direct ancestor, John Chew, and his line, as a first American; and the role my line played in the building of the Virginia colony and the creation of these United States.
If you could tell me exactly what you fear really is, then perhaps I could better understand; and maybe even agree with your concerns.
I can see why you may have reason for concern, David. I use these resources to track part of my own family, in part because so much of my searches for them turns up this information. It appears that the surnames Collins (and sometimes Russell), are linked with native groups in the eastern North Carolina area. This was all quite circumstantial until I found two records of relatives from the 19th century who were listed as “colored.” I had no idea what to make of this. Going back, I find 18th century links through marriage to people who were possibly Tuscarora or Chowan remnants. That doesn’t mean I am going to organize my own band of Tuscarora (how ridiculous would that be), but it interests me and I would like to find out more. If anything, it enriches my understanding of colonial history, that it was not this 1950s textbook account of what took place, that some of the local populations were assimilated. That seems like a more convincing explanation to the question of where the coastal populations went, rather than the 19th century narrative that they “died out.”
Justin you may not be inclined to organize your own “tribe.” But the proof is in the pudding, as they say. The number of fake tribe, including some claiming to be Tuscarora, abound. One person with good sense does not negate the thousands of phonies or the harm they do.
As a female my DNA covers all of Europe and the Americas. It is H and at one time it was H*.
Two greatgranparents female from paternal side was full blood cherokee. gGrandpa from maternal side 1/2 cherokee. Grandmother on the rolls @ telequah. I have a lot of hebrew blood.
Could it be that the Cherokee People are one of the lost tribes of Israel or should I test specifically for native identity. I have seen my native family on and off the Rez. They Look like natives.
My parents looked native. My sister is blonde, I have brown hair, we both have green eyes. My sisters daughter looks native. I am hanging in and betting that the cherokee are one of the lost tribes of israel.
Your mitochondrial DNA line only covers your maternal line, meaning your mother, her mother, etc. There is no evidence that the Cherokee are one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, but people can believe whatever they want.
Roberta J. Estes, you’re a saint & a scholar, no doubt. Slogging through such a stew of chauvinism and breathtaking arrogance must surely take its toll.
To even suggest that history and knowledge for all who seek it should be suppressed because some “wannabes” might try to come and scam you out of what’s “yours”…well, that says tons more about the speaker than about the alleged threat. And how screamingly ironic if what you believe is “yours” is defined by the very systems of oppression, rape, and plunder that put you in the trick bag of having to prove your “eligibility” in the first place.
After all, think about it: Who created the terms and set the standards for “authentic” and “legitimate” and under what political and historical circumstances? Who decided the only “real” Cherokee is an “enrolled Cherokee,” that the only “authentic Cherokee” is one who is “well documented” by missionaries, federal officials, and linear feet of what created by whom?
Whose interests did those contrivances serve at their origins? Whose ox is being gored even now?
Do folks who place such high stock in all that “proof” ever connect the dots between their need to jump through certification hoops and the actions of those vaunted missionaries, esteemed federal officials, and all their valuable talking paper?
You nailed it with this: “Tribes are…political entities.” Which is why it would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic to hear such gasping and gnashing of teeth over the possibility that folks who find a bit-o-Indian blood will load up on turquoise, strap on some buckskin, and bust into a break dance patterned after something they stole from a pow wow.
Perhaps the person with the “thin blood” is actually the face in the mirror. Otherwise, why would someone secure in their “authenticity” get so freaked out by other folks’ desire simply to know or, yeah, even to get that card in their pocket?
“This project is not about race,” you wrote. “This project is about heritage.” Ah, there’s the rub. The attempt to assert dominance with a feint toward “science” was utterly predictable.
I deeply honor your work, your intentions, and your determination to assist all who seek to reclaim their ancestors and their heritage, Roberta. Thank you so very much for continuing this awesome project.
And perhaps, Ms. Singley, you should turn your mirror upon yourself and ask, what do I see. Anywho, the real danger to Indian people is not the claim itself. The real danger is the assault on sovereignty, which is what we protect; not the plastic card, which is only a representation. What you fail to understand or choose to ignore, is the long and tragic history of deprivation suffered by American Indians at the hands of those who would take whatever it is we have for their own benefit and use. Since our identity is all that we have left, that is the next target on your list. Yours is the agenda of genocide and colonialism, nothing more, nothing less.
I could go on reading the comments on this page, but I have to respond here to you, David. I respect your concerns. They are no different from those of the Native Africans when the freed slaves returned to Sierra Leone. But, what happened there, does not need to happen here. Those who have native connections to this land–the U.S.–simply want to know and understand their ancestors better. We need people steeped in their heritage to teach us. Wannabe? How can I wanna be what I am?
Sorry, meant to say Liberia I had Sierra Leone on the brain because I once knew someone from Sierra Leone, and reading this page made me think of her.
Roberta, once again, I’m stunned at the amazing amount of information you’ve generated on all your websites and how one click here or one click there leads to another mother Iode. As a rank amateur, I get way too excited when small pieces of information begin clicking with larger pieces. That just happened to me yesterday when I was browsing the Lost Colony Research Group surnames page checking out my Chavis-Jacobs-Jackson NC ancestors.
[I'll apologize before I go on in case I'm about to share info that everybody here already knows. In case there are a few like me who're still pretty much a tabula rasa, though, here goes.]
At the Lost Colony Research Group’s surnames page http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~molcgdrg/sur/1surnames.htm, I clicked on a link for “Heinegg extractions” because I had no idea what that was. As I read about Paul Heinegg’s book, “Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina,” instantly, I decided I needed to get my hands on it. Eventually, I ended up at online booksellers because I wanted to see if I could find it for less than $90. That led me to online reviews of the book where one reviewer mentioned that Heinegg had posted the entire book online for free. I couldn’t believe that was true, so I decided to check that out.
Sure enough, it’s here: http://freeafricanamericans.com/Virginia_NC.htm
That’s it–my find of the day that I wanted to share in the same spirit of generosity, information gathering and sharing that you’ve created here and that you so determinedly sustain.
Good day from a NC Tri-racial Isolate!
*mother Lode…not “mother Iode”!
In “Proudly African AND Native American–Really?” Shirley Neal writes:
“According to several historians, most African Americans today who believe they are of Native American heritage are misled. Dr. Rick Kittles, a geneticist and co-founder of http://www.africanancestry.com who has performed DNA testing on over 30,000 African Americans offers, ‘If you ask ten African-Americans if they have Native American ancestry, eight of them will say ‘yes,’ but when we actually test them, it’s less than 10 percent.’
“Interestingly, as far back as the 1920s, Dr. Carter Woodson (known as the father of Black History) posited that a third of most African Americans have Indian blood. Research since DNA genetic testing confirms that 5% of all African Americans have at least 12.5% Native American ancestry, equivalent to a great grandparent.”
Read the rest of what Neal has to say here: http://www.africanancestry.com/blog/
Part of this has to do with what type of test is given. For a long time, the majority of the Native American Y-line and mtdna results we had to work with came from the African American population. Recently, Henry Louis Gates said that when using autosomal tests, which takes into account all of your ancestors, that about 40% of African Americans shows some Native American ancestry. Given the pervasiveness of Native slavery, I’m not surprised. Perhaps the majority of the Native Americans in the most populous states during colonial times that survived did so as slaves. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds moving forward.
Skip Gates company is the one I used for my mtDNA analysis, which was incomprehensible to me except for establishing my haplogroup.
I just browsed http://dnaexplain.muniweb.com/Services/DNAAnalysis.asp and I’m pretty sure I know which product I’m about to purchase. I’ve been looking for a way to make sense of the gibberish (to me) that was supposed to explain my test results, which “traced to a European ancestor.”
Absolutely no surprise there, of course, but I’m still looking for the rest of my folks, Native and African.
My name is Wayne Eric Chew. I am direct descendant of John Chew who landed in America circa 1622 aboard the English vessel Charitie. Some other direct descendants are Tuscarora Chiefs William Chew, Jefferson Chew (my grandfather), Hibert Chew (my father). Our family, as you probably know, was instrumental in the building of the Virginian Colony; specifically, Orange County, Va. As history unfolded, my family entered into the Native American culture through marriage to a Tuscarora woman. I would like to find out the specifics about how my direct line became Tuscarora. Can you help? Interestingly, another direct descendant was very much involved with the Madison family, trough friendship and marriage; making me a cousin to President James Madison. Other ancestors had political connection to Washington, Jefferson, etc. We also are connected to President Zachary Taylor. While I have had my genealogy done a few years back, I seem to have many more question now than ever before. Any help would be wonderful. If there is anything I can assist you with please do not hesitate to ask. I am on Twitter and Facebook, and am following you on Twitter. Thank you.
Hi Wayne. I can’t help you directly, but maybe some of our other followers can. You have a good handle already in that you have the Chew history of how it became Tuscarora. Have you DNA tested already?
No. I am fairly ignorant about the process, e.g.; the cost, location, etc. Hopefully someone can help me. I do have some personal Native American docs about my family, if you are interested. Thank you for the very quick reply. Sorry about the multiple, redundant postings. I was not sure the first ones were being posted, and thought I was doing something incorrectly.
If you are interested in testing, do so with http://www.familytreedna.com. They have entry level pricing from $59 right now until year end when the price returns to $99.
You can also go to my website at http://www.dnaexplain.com and look under the publiations tab. There is a lot there on DNA testing as well, including an intro or basics document.
I am not quite sure that my post is being published. So, let me briefly re-write.it. I am a direct descendant of John Chew, the British gentleman who landed at Jamestown VA, aboard the English vessel the Charitie. My ancestors were instrumental in the construction of the Virginian colony and Orange County, Va. The Chews of Virginia also intertwined in friendship and marriage to the “Madison” family, and I am a cousin of President Madison. My more recent direct descendants are Chief William Chew, Chief Jefferson Chew (my grandfather), and Chief Hibert Chew (my late father); all Tuscarora chiefs. Even though I have had my genealogy done a few years back I am very interested in finding out “exactly” how my family turned from predominately British to Tuscarora Indian. I have found out some very rich history about my family and their historical interactions, which include relationships with George Washington, and many other founding fathers. My line includes lawyers, military personnel and other military connections (USS Chew), and important men from Philadelphia (Cliveden, Chew Mansion)..From my research, I have discovered a wealth of ancestral documents and factual accounts. But, I still do not know how my line on my father’s side went from British to Tuscarora. I would treasure any help. Also, if you need any assistance about the Native American side of my history I would enthusiastically agree to do anything you asked. I am on Twitter, and Facebook; and am now following you and twitter. Your blog is a valuable asset to myself and others. Thank you.
Hello Roberta. My name is De Anna Overcast. I was born in Blountville, Tennessee. My mother was Mary Evelynn Bowman (her maiden name). My mother was the ggreat grand daughter of Esaias Bowman. Esaias Bowman was born in 1763, Augusta County, Virginia. He fought in Revolutionary War, at The Battle of King’s Mountain. He has been listed as a free man of color, an
African American, and a person of color. My family history was that my mother was of Indian decent. All my life this was my family history, they have been in the southwest Virginia , eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina area before the white people came to settle there. My mother or my mother’s parents never spoke of being of African American decent. But I did hear people speak of Melungon, Redbone and Blackdutch. This was when I was a child growing up. I am now sixty. I have done my family research off and on for many years, I know Esaias Bowman was a man of color and he lived among the Indians, I have land deeds numbers of his from 1807
in Washington County, Tennessee. I also found him in some of the Tennessee Indian Agency documents for 1801 or 1807. (I cant recall for sure) I do have the documents in my genealogy database. I know he move back to Washington Co. Virginia in 1814 and he is in the Virginia Court
records bringing slaves with him.
My family on my mothers side always claimed Indian ancestors, but I never found documentation that said “I” for indian……I am from that area, most times you didnt speak of things such as that to strangers. I was told that people of a kind moved together and I found this true in my research. My
family is not registered as anything, but have been called many names.
Your research is of interest to me, maybe my family might be one of those you speak of interest to you. I thank you for your time.
De Anna
I find it odd how much people resist believing their ancestors were of African descent in a time when black was the bottom of the barrel. Claiming Indian was climbing the racial social ladder, so why wouldn’t someone do that if they could? Believe what you find and stop trying to paint your black roots red.
Mr. Cornsilk, I find you odd. I did not claim Indian or Black in my first post. I was only explaining to
Roberta my family history. I am not interested in the chip you have on your shoulder.
The only ladder I choose to climb is to become a better person. My race, my color is what others see me as. I am far more than that. You my misguided man should show just a little respect.
You have no clue to whom you speak.
You find “me” odd or you find what I write odd, because, as you pointed out, we don’t know each other. Perhaps a class on writing skills might benefit you. There is nothing odd about people of African ancestry falsely claiming to be Indian. There are entire groups claiming to be tribes with hundreds of members who base their Indian identity on false claims made by their ancestors. There’s nothing odd about it. In fact, its rather common place.
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Dear Roberta! my father’s mtDNA haplogroup A2, however did the Finder and my family did not come blends Native American in FTDNA like to know why you?
DETAILS
Continent (Subcontinent) Population Percentage Margin of Error
Africa (West African) Yoruba 77,82% ±0,28%
Middle East Jewish, Palestinian, Bedouin, Bedouin South, Druze 8,11% ±1,97%
Europe Finnish, Russian 14,07% ±2,06%
Haplogroup A2 is also found in Europe, particularly in eastern Russia. Autosomal results may or may not pick up many generations back, depending on how the DNA was transmitted/inherited. Your Russian may be the source of the A2.