American indian status?

Question

My great grandmother was a Cherokee Indian... when my grandfather was born she got very ill and died... My great grandfather could not take care of him and gave him up for adoption... So we have no way of knowing anything about her (we know her name and certain details) there were no records of her death whatsoever (that we know of)... Is there any way to prove my grandfather's direct lineage from an american Indian? Maybe through a cultural DNA test?

Answer 1

Your grandfather's birth certificate and his parents' marriage license should tell you most of what you need to figure this out. There probably won't be a tribal membership at the end of this for anyone. When he was put up for adoption, his ties to his mother's tribe would have been severed in most cases. Some may look at it differently because she had died before the adoption, but don't have high hopes.

DNA tests prove genetic links, not cultural links. Many of us can not have a relationship with a tribe even if we can prove our lineage. The tribes have some pretty significant rules and they're generally very strict in enforcing them. My great-great grandfather was Meti...the son of a French-Canadian man and Huron woman. But the Huron won't recognize us. My husband is half Chippewa, but the tribe only recognizes him as "40% blood quantum" because one of his ancestors was not a member of this tribe...she was Mohawk.

When it comes to establishing a tribal identity, you have to determine what your goal is. If your goal is just to idetify the tribe your grandfather descends from, that's easy. If it's to try to establish a relationship with the tribe, there are huge hurdles in your path.

Answer 2

hi

Answer 3

An HLA genotyping test can determine if you're related to Cherokee Indians.  But not sure about being able establish legal foundation for being a Native American descendent (i.e. recognition for school entrance, etc.).