The most important step in beginning to find records of ancestors that may have been Native American is to determine a general idea of what tribe it would be possible that they had belonged to. The best way to start this process is put the person at the point of where they were born. Determine if that area was a state or part of another larger area. This helps you to determine where the records may be for that area. All records dealing with Indian affairs at the state level are kept at that State Archives. If they are Federal Records they are kept at the National Archives in Washington D.C. The National Archives has a special area for all Native American Records but they are filed by tribe, then by date. This great area is part of the National Archives Record Group 75. You can view a copy of "American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Publications" at your local library. This record group is the records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. If you are lucky you will find what you need in this group, but if not don't give up your search. I know for myself I was more interested in just knowing which of my ancestors passed to me my Native American learning and attitudes. I wasn't concerned with proving tribal connections to become a part of the tribe. I just wanted to know why my Grandfather insisted on bathing every morning at sunrise facing east and why he had such a vast knowledge of plants.

After you have placed your ancestor in a local at the time of their birth the next thing to do is look at the area history and determine when the first whites arrived in that area. Make a list of family names that were in that area at the time of your ancestor's birth with daughters of the right age that could possible have been the mother. If none of the possibles work then start looking at what tribes were living within a 50 mile radius. With this list you have a pretty safe bet that the mother of this child was one of these. Many times you will find a census with the person listed as white. That is ok because many Native Americans found it was the only way to survive the genocide that was taking place around them. They blended in and many of the half bloods listed their selves as white so they would fit in and be able to own land. For instance up till the 1950's it was still illegal for Native Americans that were known Native Americans to own land in the state of Missouri. My Grandfather even though he was almost full blooded listed himself as white. I was always told if I was asked by anyone what my race was to tell them that I was white. That was easy for me because I looked white, but I wonder today just how my Grandfather convinced them that it was true about himself until one day I heard him tell the Census Taker that he was Black Dutch. The terms Black Dutch, Black Irish, and Black Scots are three of the biggest pointers that an ancestor was Native American. We found out very fast that most people would leave us alone if they thought we were white, even if we did appear darker than most. So we hid our ancestry and learned to disguise ourselves behind labels to survive in the general population.

The most important piece of information I can give to you when you start out is to be patient and remember that tracing Native American lines is completely different than tracing Anglo Lines. There is a spiritual relationship with Native American lines....listen to your intuition because these ancestors really want to be found and acknowledge for who they were and where they came from. They will guide you to the records you need. I know that many of the people who will read this will say oh no not another new age psychic, but I am here to tell you that in this case sometimes you have to go on your gut feelings and make large leaps of faith to find the records you need to find.

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