So are you a Native American Doper? Know one? Want to know one? Well this is the place! What tribe are you? Do you claim citizenship? Do you have a CDIB?
I am a Creek/Cherokee. I claim Creek citizenship and have my CDIB through the Creeks so I can get more from them. I’ve lived on the reservation and really enjoyed it. On the Creek reservation Creeks get many perks. Say they were going to arrest me…since I am a Creek they would have to have a Creek cop arrest me! The Creek cops are called Light Horsemen and they rarely if ever can be found. I know this because my Uncle is one. I can weave a basket and make a dream catcher the old fashioned way. I am moving back to the reservation soon and have every intention of going for commodities, which is the Indian way of saying be fat we like you that way, here have some more cheese.
So any other Native American’s out there? Speak up now or forever be thought of as a non-Native American 
Not Native American… but I have eaten dog at a Cherokee festival, and I do own a pair of moccasins(sp?) that were hand-made by a Native American friend of mine. Does that count?
[sub]I’ve also gambled at Foxwood’s… that’s gotta count for something. ;)[/sub]
Since I am a card carrying member of a tribe I say…sure why the hell not. That counts! Anyone with enough guts to admit to owning moccasins deserves to claim being an honorary Injun! Welcome
I am Mescalero Apache on my father’s side. However, I never knew my father, so I have no direct knowledge of the tribe other than what can be found on the internet. I’d be interested in establishing an identity with the tribe, but I do not want any contact with my father, so I’m not sure if it is possible.
Schway!.. so I’m scheduling a rain-dance for Friday… weather permitting. 
[sub]Merely a fanciful jest.[/sub]
As far as I know, I am 1/8 Native American–Cherokee and Choctaw. It’s fairly difficult to trace as we aren’t sure if our full-blood Native American ancestors even had birth certificates.
I was told that one needs only be 1/32 Cherokee to be a member of the tribe, and 1/16 to be a voting member of the tribe. If this is true, I am extremely interested–but have no idea how to prove my lineage.
More than anything, I’m hillbilly. From what I understand, I descend from the Cherokees that were given shelter from the Trail of Tears in the Appalachian mountains–a political official allowed them to flee and hide out there to avoid the forced misery. From there, many of them assimilated–including my ancestors–and learned white man’s ways, and married white people. Sadly, this means none of the cultural heritage has been preserved in my family…it has simply died out.
Looking at me, you’d see the cheekbones and dark hair and eyes, but other than that…well, they don’t get much more pale-faced than I am!
I am! My great-grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee (she married a full-blooded Irishman…tell me I don’t know how to party). But she died before I was born, and I know of no way to be able to prove my lineage. If you all can help any, I’d appreciate it.
AAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!
I am a native American because I was born here. I am not a descendant of any north American indian tribe. Sorry but it’s still a pet peeve of mine to use that term used when the speaker really means aboriginal American. Native is not a wholly incorrect term but it inclused many folks you clearly did not intend to.
[/END SEETHING BUT GOOD NATURED RANT]
Hehe, truth be told I think there is some on my paternal grandmother’s side but I have no evidence and it would have been from Mexico anyway
One of my maternal great grandmothers was Cherokee, and another was from a NY Iroquois tribe. They both married white men, and their children headed west, where it was easier to get ahead in life with a mixed heritage. My great grandmother, who looked quite Amerind, except for hazel eyes and lighter skin, purposefully did not get my grandmother a birth certificate, so that the racial problem would not be a designated barrier for her.
My great grandfather, half Cherokee, “passed” in society, though in his later years he really looked more Native American than Anglo. It also really bugged him that he had to give up part of his identity in the world, and he constantly told my mother when she was a child to “never forget that we’re Cherokee.”
It seems strange today, when Native American culture is more lauded and it’s symbolism and attitudes are being rediscovered and taken to heart by many, that my forebears would have to keep their bloodlines hidden. I suppose that it was a harsher world, and that you did what you could in order to survive.
I do often wonder why my great great grandmothers married white men, though. I hope it was for love. Cherokees intermarried a great deal, with blacks and whites, and perhaps this attests to their openness and flexibility as a culture. Many Cherokee leaders were of mixed blood, including George Gist, or Sequoyah, who created the written Cherokee alphabet.
I didn’t grow up on a reservation, so really don’t feel I can claim any tribal status, and certainly don’t deserve any of the much needed benefits. But since I was a child, I found that Native American values were exactly what I had in my heart. As I’ve grown older and learned more about the Cherokee culture, that still holds true. I don’t wear loads of Indian jewelry, or hang a dreamcatcher from my rearview mirror, but my ideals are interwoven with tribal values.
The highest compliment paid to me was by a Cherokee medicine man some years ago. I had a chance to talk to him, and said I was part Cherokee, and had strongly identified with it, but that I wasn’t part of a tribe, so was it pretense to feel so connected to it? He looked me in the eyes, took my hands, and said warmly, “Don’t worry, child, the Cherokee always recognize each other.”
So, MamaHen, yep, and nope, and always wondering…
Oh yeah? I’m Irish, Cherokee/Chocktaw, and German…the smell of alcohol gives me a buzz!
(there’s a little Welsh in there as a mixer, I s’pose)
Ruffian & Superdude: A good place to start is http://www.cherokee.org, and here.
It takes a lot of wading through rolls to find a name, and I’ve found that it doesn’t mean your forebears found it necessary to register. Worth a try though, and most interesting in the pursuit.
I’m also Dutch, English, and some other indian tribe on my dad’s side. Hey, Ruffian…have any Dutch in you? Want some?
Chippewa tribe here. Not a card carrying member though. My brother-in-law however, is the great (however many times over)grandson of Chief Pontiac. His grandfather is supposed to be the chief of the tribe, but he left.
Hmmmm…I don’t know the percentage. I don’t even know the tribe, as I am adopted. I do know that I am Mexican, Apache, and German. My mom was supposedly Mexican and Apache and my dad was German(duh). That’s all though. Maybe I should meet my parents so that I am not in the dark.
Padeye, I was wondering how long it would take someone to bring that up!
I’m in the same boat. My biological father’s mother was full blooded Cherokee. Not that you can tell looking at me, the Queen of Recessive Genes-I’m redhaired, green eyed and very pale.
My parents divorced when I was three and I haven’t heard from my father since. I have no wish to be in contact with him. I’ll try that link etelle sugeested.
I’m something like 1/16 Cherokee…my grandmother’s grandmother, or something like that. I’ll have to go look it up.
Hey. I’m something like 15-20% Chippewa. Just thought I’d put add my 2 cents, or my 15 to 20 cents, rather.
About 1/16th Cherokee (we think), but because of lost records, there’s no way to tell for sure. However, I think I might do research.
I really don’t look Cherokee at all, but…oh well.
Well, MamaHen, I’ve been told I’m part Sioux on my mother’s side, from the Badlands of South Dakota area, before they settled in the Omaha area. And, my fourth-great-grandfather on my daddy’s side was a Cherokee Chief, though no one told me his name or where he was from.
I’m a paleface, blonde hair, blue eyes person. Even my cheekbones aren’t all that high. But I do have a dreamcatcher in my bedroom and another one hanging from my rearview mirror <or will again, when I get my van back!>. I also have some turquoise jewelery, some mocassins and other such native stuff, mostly because I like it and feel an affinity for it.
True enough, Padeye, but let’s not split hairs here. I am a full-blooded Native American, born in the good ole USA; and a part-blooded Native American Indian. Whatever, we are all God’s children and all who live in America are Americans, whether by birth, marriage, or by moving here.
Thanks for the site, elelle. I’m not sure how useful it would be for me, but it looks interesting.
Since I feel to lazy to actually read this thread I am going to use my Injun mind reading skills to throw out some amazing facts. MamaHen is an Injun, ok we all knew that nevermind let me try again. How much Indian blood must you have to claim it? Depends on the tribe, I have some Cherokee kin who are like 11/526ths Cherokee and they still get free medical and schooling. You wouldn’t believe how little Injun you can be! To become a citizen it also depends on the tribe, my tribe only asks for 1/4 to be a citizen and vote. Mama is 1/3 so :Þ Looking for a relative in the Dawes Roll? Send me your info and when I move back to Oklahoma I’ll go look it up for ya! See how nice I can be? Others make you pay them to look this crap up, me I only ask you worship me and hang my picture in your outhouses. Is Native American the correct term and do you mind if I get anal about it in your thread? I can call myself a Woogie Noogie Bear and you can’t stop me and get your ass out of my thread! (Unless of course you have a nice ass then come back in and tell me what can make you happy ) To those of you not wanting to contact family members who might be Indian, don’t feel bad, you don’t have to! All you need is a name and the Indians can do the rest of the work! They have all the numbers on file, you never have to contact the person at all! Trust me! I know, I got my CDIB with only an Aunt’s name. (I’m not sure whose Aunt she was ) And the last question I am answering was sent in to my by private e-mail, is that you on your cam or a super model? It is indeed me, super models are usually tall, skinny and pretty. I can understand your mistake though, thanks for writing MamaHen…oops, I mean whoever you were. So that’s it, I must go weave a basket and sit under the teepee in the garage now.