Why do so many white Americans claim Cherokee roots?

[King of Kensington]

This seems common particularly in the South.  Usually it's a "Cherokee princess."

http://www.nerve.com/life/why-do-so-many-people-claim-they-have-cherokee-in-their-blood

[Bigby]

I thought claiming to be part-Native was exclusively a liberal thing, but apparently it's a trope among white Southerners in regards to Southern identity as well: https://timeline.com/part-cherokee-elizabeth-warren-cf6be035967e#.cnq5jrzie

[Associate Justice PiT]

     The "Princess" detail points to a potential explanation: they just want to be extra-special.

[Figueira]

Haha, I got a "30% off Ancestry.com" ad on this thread.

Anyway, Zioneer is the person to ask; he recently posted about this subject on AH.com.

[Beet]

Awesome. Any white person who makes this claim gets extra points in my book.

[NOVA Green]

fwiw it's not just a "white American" thing....

Many African-Americans of Southern ancestry also claim Cherokee roots, from the whole Freedmen issue to direct ancestry.....

http://www.africanamerica.org/topic/cherokee-nation-votes-to-expel-freedmen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_freedmen_controversy

https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/history/genealogy/10-african-americans-with-native-ancestry/

Granted the original question was regarding "white americans", but this is definitely not something that is solely confined to that population, and I suspect that in many cases it is that individuals with some Native ancestry that can't be easily traced back to an individual Native Nation, had Grandparents and Great-Grandparents that defaulted ancestry to the arguably the most well known First Nation in the '40s/'50s through oral family history and legends, combined with the geographical range of the Cherokees from the SE to the Great Plains....

[OneJ]

fwiw it's not just a "white American" thing....

Many African-Americans of Southern ancestry also claim Cherokee roots, from the whole Freedmen issue to direct ancestry.....

http://www.africanamerica.org/topic/cherokee-nation-votes-to-expel-freedmen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_freedmen_controversy

https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/history/genealogy/10-african-americans-with-native-ancestry/

Granted the original question was regarding "white americans", but this is definitely not something that is solely confined to that population, and I suspect that in many cases it is that individuals with some Native ancestry that can't be easily traced back to an individual Native Nation, had Grandparents and Great-Grandparents that defaulted ancestry to the arguably the most well known First Nation in the '40s/'50s through oral family history and legends, combined with the geographical range of the Cherokees from the SE to the Great Plains....

That's me pretty much. I'm African American, reside in the south, and on my mother's father's side of the family (who recently just passed) has Native American in the family although I'm not sure which tribe.

[NOVA Green]

fwiw it's not just a "white American" thing....

Many African-Americans of Southern ancestry also claim Cherokee roots, from the whole Freedmen issue to direct ancestry.....

http://www.africanamerica.org/topic/cherokee-nation-votes-to-expel-freedmen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_freedmen_controversy

https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/history/genealogy/10-african-americans-with-native-ancestry/

Granted the original question was regarding "white americans", but this is definitely not something that is solely confined to that population, and I suspect that in many cases it is that individuals with some Native ancestry that can't be easily traced back to an individual Native Nation, had Grandparents and Great-Grandparents that defaulted ancestry to the arguably the most well known First Nation in the '40s/'50s through oral family history and legends, combined with the geographical range of the Cherokees from the SE to the Great Plains....

That's me pretty much. I'm African American, reside in the south, and on my mother's father's side of the family (who recently just passed) has Native American in the family although I'm not sure which tribe.

Thanks for sharing your story OneJ_ , and my condolences to you and your family for your loss.

Although I personally don't have any family history of Native Blood, I have had many friends over the past decades both "White" and "African-American" that have Native ancestry, and frequently those with Southern Family Roots tend to identify as Cherokee, rather than Choctaw or Seminole, or other Native populations of the region.

What obviously makes it much harder for Southerners with Native Blood to track down their ancestry, is that the genocide against the First Nations started much earlier than in most parts of the US, combined with the extensive intermarriage between the Cherokees (And other populations) with African-Americans, as well as the White settlers (frequently from indentured servitude backgrounds), where there were many populations of various backgrounds with little or no birth records, and then throw in additional massive dislocations caused by the Civil War/ Reconstruction era...

Maybe I'm totally off the mark here, but I've also had friends that can trace back their Sioux or Chippewa/Obijwe background back more directly.... a bit harder with some of my Oregon friends with Native blood, where the Rogue Nation was forced out of Southern Oregon shortly after the Gold Miners showed up in the 1840s/1850s, and the entire community was deported and sent to various "reservations" on the Oregon Coast, where their Nation became intertwined with that of the Siletz and other First Nations....

So, my answer might be a bit OT compared to the original question, but my thought is the actual question should be, "How many American Citizens have Native American ancestry?"

This question is obviously even more complicated once we look at the Latino population of the United States, when one looks at the Mexican-American population as the largest segment, obviously Central Americans that moved to the US during the Civil Wars and Fascism in their native counties in the '70s/'80s....

Honestly, I would not be surprised if the Native American population of the United States is quite significantly larger than most people think....

So, yeah there might be a fad with a few famous people claiming Cherokee Blood with no proof, and meanwhile you have the Cherokee Nation trying to claim that a ton of people even recognized on their rolls "aren't Cherokee", while meanwhile this ties into a boatload of money coming in from "Indian Casinos"....

Regardless of the financials, I think it is important that all individuals of Native background (Even if it is 1/32 or 1/64) feel proud to claim their background, history, and heritage, since statistics like I just used were part of the "blood quota" established as part of a systematic program of genocide , from the early settler days, to "forced assimilation" programs in the 1910s/1920s to removal of status for Native Nations like the Klamath (Oregon & California) in the 1950s so that farmers and ranchers could grab land.

Denial of one's family heritage in the context of the First Nations just continues the trend towards genocide, and regardless of intermarriage over the centuries between Native populations and various voluntary and involuntary settler populations in no way changes that fundamental point....

 

[Greedo punched first]

My relatives related by blood did an ancestry test that confirms I have Native American ancestry, probably not Cherokee. I am part Mexican-American.

[OneJ]

fwiw it's not just a "white American" thing....

Many African-Americans of Southern ancestry also claim Cherokee roots, from the whole Freedmen issue to direct ancestry.....

http://www.africanamerica.org/topic/cherokee-nation-votes-to-expel-freedmen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_freedmen_controversy

https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/history/genealogy/10-african-americans-with-native-ancestry/

Granted the original question was regarding "white americans", but this is definitely not something that is solely confined to that population, and I suspect that in many cases it is that individuals with some Native ancestry that can't be easily traced back to an individual Native Nation, had Grandparents and Great-Grandparents that defaulted ancestry to the arguably the most well known First Nation in the '40s/'50s through oral family history and legends, combined with the geographical range of the Cherokees from the SE to the Great Plains....

That's me pretty much. I'm African American, reside in the south, and on my mother's father's side of the family (who recently just passed) has Native American in the family although I'm not sure which tribe.

Thanks for sharing your story OneJ_ , and my condolences to you and your family for your loss.

Although I personally don't have any family history of Native Blood, I have had many friends over the past decades both "White" and "African-American" that have Native ancestry, and frequently those with Southern Family Roots tend to identify as Cherokee, rather than Choctaw or Seminole, or other Native populations of the region.

What obviously makes it much harder for Southerners with Native Blood to track down their ancestry, is that the genocide against the First Nations started much earlier than in most parts of the US, combined with the extensive intermarriage between the Cherokees (And other populations) with African-Americans, as well as the White settlers (frequently from indentured servitude backgrounds), where there were many populations of various backgrounds with little or no birth records, and then throw in additional massive dislocations caused by the Civil War/ Reconstruction era...

Maybe I'm totally off the mark here, but I've also had friends that can trace back their Sioux or Chippewa/Obijwe background back more directly.... a bit harder with some of my Oregon friends with Native blood, where the Rogue Nation was forced out of Southern Oregon shortly after the Gold Miners showed up in the 1840s/1850s, and the entire community was deported and sent to various "reservations" on the Oregon Coast, where their Nation became intertwined with that of the Siletz and other First Nations....

So, my answer might be a bit OT compared to the original question, but my thought is the actual question should be, "How many American Citizens have Native American ancestry?"

This question is obviously even more complicated once we look at the Latino population of the United States, when one looks at the Mexican-American population as the largest segment, obviously Central Americans that moved to the US during the Civil Wars and Fascism in their native counties in the '70s/'80s....

Honestly, I would not be surprised if the Native American population of the United States is quite significantly larger than most people think....

So, yeah there might be a fad with a few famous people claiming Cherokee Blood with no proof, and meanwhile you have the Cherokee Nation trying to claim that a ton of people even recognized on their rolls "aren't Cherokee", while meanwhile this ties into a boatload of money coming in from "Indian Casinos"....

Regardless of the financials, I think it is important that all individuals of Native background (Even if it is 1/32 or 1/64) feel proud to claim their background, history, and heritage, since statistics like I just used were part of the "blood quota" established as part of a systematic program of genocide , from the early settler days, to "forced assimilation" programs in the 1910s/1920s to removal of status for Native Nations like the Klamath (Oregon & California) in the 1950s so that farmers and ranchers could grab land.

Denial of one's family heritage in the context of the First Nations just continues the trend towards genocide, and regardless of intermarriage over the centuries between Native populations and various voluntary and involuntary settler populations in no way changes that fundamental point....

 

You're welcome. And you didn't have to apologize for the loss of my relative as I never got to know him. Plus, my mother just confirmed to me that the tribe isn't Cherokee, but she'll let me know once she is reminded of which one it is though. I'm actually happy to recognize that part of me is from indigenous people who unfortunately make up a tiny proportion of the population today.

[jimrtex]

This seems common particularly in the South.  Usually it's a "Cherokee princess."

http://www.nerve.com/life/why-do-so-many-people-claim-they-have-cherokee-in-their-blood

Take a look at the Dawes Rolls, particularly those for the Cherokee tribe. They are much more common "American" names than "Hakala".

Digitized Index to the Final Rolls of Citizens and Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory (Dawes)

I searched for my name (First and Last) as Search the Dawes Final Rolls and came up with nine matches, including Cherokee, and Creek; and Cherokee, Creek, and Choctaw Freedman. I also found my name on Indian records among the Sioux (Crow Creek and Ogalala), Mohave, Cheyenne, Eastern Cherokee, and Apache.

I used to live in Tulsa, and I regularly got phone calls asking if I was (First)(Last), the Indian drummer.

The Dawes Rolls (note the spelling, poseur-writer Hakala, is not "roles") were compiled in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century (rather than the 1800s) and were for the purpose of allocating communal lands in Oklahoma prior to statehood, not reparations for lands in the southeastern United States. They were limited to residents of Indian Territory.

One of the persons who is on the rolls was 1/16 Cherokee, and had children who were 1/32 Cherokee. This would put the last full blood ancestor at about the time of the US Revolution, and marriage with whites for the next four generations. Would all of that person's third cousins have necessarily continued to be associated with the Cherokees?

The current elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation is 1/32 Cherokee, but is considered more authentic since he was raised in Eastern Oklahoma. Ross Swimmer who was principal chief during the time the Cherokee Nation was being organized as a political/corporate entity, was 1/4 Cherokee but had no sense growing up of being Indian (his father was a lawyer and he lived in suburban OKC). He ended up working for WW Keeler who was principal chief, and simultaneously CEO of Phillips Petroleum. A modern principal chief may be more recognized by his corporate skills, than traditional leadership. Swimmer was considered an outsider because of his cultural background.

There were a couple of ways to avoid being being part of the removal to Oklahoma. One was to become a citizen of a state. If you were a North Carolinian, you weren't a Cherokee. The other would be to move deep in a isolated area. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee are descendants of this group. But they limit membership to those with 1/16 blood quantum.

The Dawes rolls were limited to those who resided in Oklahoma. The purpose was to detribalize the Cherokees, who had no formal government structure for the next 50+ years. The purpose was to determine who had a right to an allotment of land, as it was transferred from the tribal to individual ownership. Only after reconstitution of the tribe were the Dawes rolls significant. Many Oklahomans, including Cherokees emigrated to California during the Dust Bowl era. They might not have kept track of the details of their Cherokee ancestry. Maybe there would be a divorce, with a white mother keeping custody. She might not be exactly sure of the details of her ex-husband's great-grandmother or maybe great-great-grandmother. It might be OK to tell the children about that part about her in-laws, but not talk about her ex.

Cherokee were organized into autonomous towns, and used matrilineal descent, so there were lots of principalities, and did not have inherited leadership, so while there were no princesses, there could be lots of brides described as princesses. Children of a Cherokee mother were Cherokee. Cherokee might pursue intermarriage for diplomatic reasons. It could be convenient to describe someone as a "princess" even if there was no such word in your language, and there was no word the convey that actual status in your limited English.

But at the same time, children of white men might have an advantage in advancing in leadership positions. They might also be more likely to be slaveowners and have their own farms. The offspring of a Cherokee male who married a White woman would not usually be considered Cherokee.

Almost ALL the articles "debunking" the "myth" mention the "Cherokee princess" angle. But how many of the persons who you know personally told you about having Indian ancestry told you it was a Cherokee princess.

[SATW]

Elizabeth Warren is originally from OK, right? I think she claimed to be part cherokee, or something

[jimrtex]

Elizabeth Warren is originally from OK, right? I think she claimed to be part cherokee, or something

While researching persons who had received electoral votes, I discovered John Floyd, who received 11 votes in 1832), and was born on the frontier in 1783, near modern Louisville, claimed Indian descent from a Powhatan princess.

Winona LaDuke's mother was of Jewish descent, and was raised by her mother in Oregon after her parents separation when she was 5. It is unknown if she is descended from a Jewish American Princess.

[NOVA Green]

Elizabeth Warren is originally from OK, right? I think she claimed to be part cherokee, or something

While researching persons who had received electoral votes, I discovered John Floyd, who received 11 votes in 1832), and was born on the frontier in 1783, near modern Louisville, claimed Indian descent from a Powhatan princess.

Winona LaDuke's mother was of Jewish descent, and was raised by her mother in Oregon after her parents separation when she was 5. It is unknown if she is descended from a Jewish American Princess.

I don't know where you are going there... appears like an attempted joke, but in my book it fell flat to the point of a face-plant.

Bolded the "joke" of extremely poor taste.

[SATW]

Elizabeth Warren is originally from OK, right? I think she claimed to be part cherokee, or something

While researching persons who had received electoral votes, I discovered John Floyd, who received 11 votes in 1832), and was born on the frontier in 1783, near modern Louisville, claimed Indian descent from a Powhatan princess.

Winona LaDuke's mother was of Jewish descent, and was raised by her mother in Oregon after her parents separation when she was 5. It is unknown if she is descended from a Jewish American Princess.

lol wut hahha.

[Kingpoleon]

Haha, I got a "30% off Ancestry.com" ad on this thread.

Anyway, Zioneer is the person to ask; he recently posted about this subject on AH.com.

I got a "Trace Your Native American Ancestry" ad.

This is a common phenomenon. Our family has a record book that was started being kept in the 1800s, so I know for a fact that my great-grandmother was one-fourth Cherokee.