How to Research Your Black-Indian Ancestors Among the Five Civilized Tribes

Sadly those who are both African and American Indian heritage run into much the same issues as those of us who are of both European and Indian extraction. They may have an oral history that states they are also Cherokee, or Chickasaw or any number of tribes. What many people may not realize is that some of these ancestors are actually documented on the Freedmen rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes which include Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole and Creek.

Beginning a search for these ancestors is much the same as any search. Like anyone else you must go to your oldest relatives and question them about your Native roots. In order to successfully search the Dawes rolls which contain the names and information of over 101,000 people who applied for and were accepted as members of the Five Civilized Tribes during the years 1898-1914, you will need a name and which tribe your ancestor belonged to. Providing you are able to obtain this information, you hopefully will find your ancestor on the rolls. The Dawes Rolls provide a wealth of information for the person researching their Indian roots such as, the person’s sex, census card number, degree of blood and full name. The census card may also provide further information to help you in your search such as references to earlier rolls like the 1880 Cherokee Census. Sometimes the census card also had a jacket which can provide even more information which might be of value to someone researching their Indian genealogy such as correspondence, marriage licenses, and birth/death affidavits. That being said, it is to your benefit to make sure you seek out any of these additional sources where available.