Who do I contat to find out if im tribal?

Question

I was adopted by my aunt and uncle. At the age of 10, I do know my mother was an indian and my father was white.Due family personal issues.Ive not been in contact with family since the age of 16.since I have no contact w/ realtives,how to I find out if i am eligable for funds or grants?

Answer 1

You ask great questions, but you also put yourself at risk because to answer your questions we'd have to ask some very personal questions on the internet.

You probably know who your mother was and hypothetically either your aunt or your uncle had the same heritage as your mom. Some tribes will give you a problem but others won't because your adoption was still within the family. You can get the answers you need without talking to your aunt and uncle if you know the name and band of the tribe involved.

If you want to email the name and band of the tribe to me, I'd be happy to help you figure out who has the information that you need and if the tribe will give you a hard time or not.

Answer 2

Tribal enrollment is necessary for any assistance, and depends on documentation like birth certificates, etc to prove your ancestry back to a certain tribe.  Once you can prove that, you can APPLY for enrolling, but that alone does not guarantee anything.

Everything depends on WHICH aunt/ uncle did the adoption, since their names are what is now on your certificate.  If your adoptive parents are on mom's side, then your paper trail goes back to the same grandparents, through whichever one is the sibling.  If they are on dad's side, it will lead back to those grandparents.. who are not Indian.  So.. one side will still give you the documentation, the other side will not.

Even then.. you need to connect to a prior enrolled member. Knowing that mom was Indian will not guarantee this.

To my knowledge, you MUST use the paper records.. they do not accept dna testing as proof.

Answer 3

If you know your mother's tribe, then you usually can give her vital information and yours with proof that she is your mother, and if she is enrolled, then you can be too. Some tribes are not as picky, but most are (as they should be).

My wife and children are enrolled Creek and we had to show her genealogy and her connection to ancestors who were enrolled and who were listed in the Dawes Rolls. The Dawes Rolls were the list of Native who were tghe last ones to be pushed out of their native lands in the east and transplanted in the Indian Territory of present Oklahoma. The Rolls only list the Creeks, Cherokees, Chippewas, Seminoles, and Choctaws (the 5 Civilized Tribes who do not have a reservation).

If you can find your tribe, many have jobs and housing available to those who live on the reservation or within the "boundaries" of the "nation" like the Muscogee  Nation(Creeks).

Good Luck!!!