How to Register As a Native American
Retain copies of your parents’ or families’ tribal records., Find a computer connected to the Internet where you can do extensive genealogical research., Check to see if your public library has free access to genealogy research sites, like...
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Retain copies of your parents’ or families’ tribal records.
This is the best way to find out the tribe and the connection you have to a Native American tribe.
You will be able to use copies of these records to prove you are a descendant of a tribe member, and possibly to prove your blood quantum.
Other important records that may be kept by family members include school records, newspaper clippings, birth certificates, marriage certificates and baby books.
Look for tribal membership cards, which will be helpful once you prove a link to the ancestor in the card. -
Step 2: Find a computer connected to the Internet where you can do extensive genealogical research.
Most research databases have moved online, so you will need to access them from a computer in the library at an Internet café at school or at home. , Many local libraries provide this service to its members.
This service is the best, least expensive way to find information about your family in public records.
If you don’t have access to one of these sites, you may choose to sign up for a subscription and pay a small fee for the convenience of accessing these public records in one place.
If you don’t have any access to a genealogical database, you will need to look in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the state where your ancestors lived or in the National Archives in Washington D.C.
Researching in this manner often requires travel to the archives themselves. , Start by looking for records of yourself in any public database.
Print out anything that proves your relation to a parent or grandparent. , Then, move on to your grandparents.
Print off information from birth, death, marriage, church, deeds, property or wills. , For example, the Family History Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a private institution that contains a large collection of genealogical research that relates to Native American. , The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) ensured that adoptions included blood quantum and tribe information in most cases.
You will need to look for adoption certificates in state or federal records, rather than contacting the BIA., These are the lists of tribe members that are kept for each separate tribe. , Then, create a family tree to help calculate your degree of ancestry. , Decide what your closest direct Native American ancestor would have been.
For example, this could be your parent, grandparent or great grandparent. , For example:
For each parent that has tribal membership, you have one-half a degree of blood quantum.
For two parents, you may have a full degree of blood quantum.
If one of your four grandparents was a tribe member.
Then, you are one-fourth degree blood quantum.
If one of your eight great grandparents was a tribe member, you are one-eighth degree blood quantum.
If one of your 16 great, great grandparents was a tribe member, you are one-sixteenth degree blood quantum.
If one of your 32 great, great, great grandparents was a tribe member, you are 1/32-degree blood quantum. , In some cases, you may have more than one tribe to which you can apply. , You can find a list at native-american-online.org or by typing “blood quantum” into Wikipedia.org and finding the list of tribes by their blood-quantum requirements., For example, one tribe may require one-sixteenth blood quantum, while another may require one-fourth.
You may choose to apply to the tribe to which it is easier to prove your ancestry. , Use the list to find the leader of the tribe to which you want to apply., They may send you an official application, which you can use to detail your information and your ancestry.
Many tribes send out enrollment packets in the mail. ,, Not all tribes require this step. , You should expect to hear whether your registration into the tribe was accepted or not.
If accepted, you can begin the process of getting a tribal membership card. -
Step 3: Check to see if your public library has free access to genealogy research sites
-
Step 4: like ancestry.com.
-
Step 5: Search for your records and work backwards.
-
Step 6: Search for information relating to your parents once you have established your connection to them.
-
Step 7: Contact genealogical repositories.
-
Step 8: Hunt down adoption certificates if they apply.
-
Step 9: Contact a tribe directly if you want to check if an ancestor was on historical tribal rolls.
-
Step 10: Gather and print off all documents that establish a link between you and your ancestors
-
Step 11: as well as documents that prove they are part of a Native American tribe.
-
Step 12: Try to calculate your blood quantum.
-
Step 13: Calculate the quantum based on degrees of kinship.
-
Step 14: Ensure you can prove the blood quantum with proof of tribal membership and proof of ancestry.
-
Step 15: Research what the tribal requirements are for the tribe to which you want to apply.
-
Step 16: Repeat this procedure with each tribe to which you may be connected.
-
Step 17: Search for “tribal leader’s directory” which is published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
-
Step 18: Contact the tribal leader with a request to apply for membership in the tribe.
-
Step 19: Complete and submit your enrollment application with the proper proof and documentation.
-
Step 20: Arrange for an interview with an enrollment officer if it is required.
-
Step 21: Wait for the tribe to conduct it’s own research into the rolls of past tribal members.
Detailed Guide
This is the best way to find out the tribe and the connection you have to a Native American tribe.
You will be able to use copies of these records to prove you are a descendant of a tribe member, and possibly to prove your blood quantum.
Other important records that may be kept by family members include school records, newspaper clippings, birth certificates, marriage certificates and baby books.
Look for tribal membership cards, which will be helpful once you prove a link to the ancestor in the card.
Most research databases have moved online, so you will need to access them from a computer in the library at an Internet café at school or at home. , Many local libraries provide this service to its members.
This service is the best, least expensive way to find information about your family in public records.
If you don’t have access to one of these sites, you may choose to sign up for a subscription and pay a small fee for the convenience of accessing these public records in one place.
If you don’t have any access to a genealogical database, you will need to look in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the state where your ancestors lived or in the National Archives in Washington D.C.
Researching in this manner often requires travel to the archives themselves. , Start by looking for records of yourself in any public database.
Print out anything that proves your relation to a parent or grandparent. , Then, move on to your grandparents.
Print off information from birth, death, marriage, church, deeds, property or wills. , For example, the Family History Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a private institution that contains a large collection of genealogical research that relates to Native American. , The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) ensured that adoptions included blood quantum and tribe information in most cases.
You will need to look for adoption certificates in state or federal records, rather than contacting the BIA., These are the lists of tribe members that are kept for each separate tribe. , Then, create a family tree to help calculate your degree of ancestry. , Decide what your closest direct Native American ancestor would have been.
For example, this could be your parent, grandparent or great grandparent. , For example:
For each parent that has tribal membership, you have one-half a degree of blood quantum.
For two parents, you may have a full degree of blood quantum.
If one of your four grandparents was a tribe member.
Then, you are one-fourth degree blood quantum.
If one of your eight great grandparents was a tribe member, you are one-eighth degree blood quantum.
If one of your 16 great, great grandparents was a tribe member, you are one-sixteenth degree blood quantum.
If one of your 32 great, great, great grandparents was a tribe member, you are 1/32-degree blood quantum. , In some cases, you may have more than one tribe to which you can apply. , You can find a list at native-american-online.org or by typing “blood quantum” into Wikipedia.org and finding the list of tribes by their blood-quantum requirements., For example, one tribe may require one-sixteenth blood quantum, while another may require one-fourth.
You may choose to apply to the tribe to which it is easier to prove your ancestry. , Use the list to find the leader of the tribe to which you want to apply., They may send you an official application, which you can use to detail your information and your ancestry.
Many tribes send out enrollment packets in the mail. ,, Not all tribes require this step. , You should expect to hear whether your registration into the tribe was accepted or not.
If accepted, you can begin the process of getting a tribal membership card.
About the Author
Larry Price
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow home improvement tutorials.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: