How do I find my Cherokee lineage?

Question:

How do I find my Cherokee lineage?

I'm black and Native American. I've been trying to find my lineage on my deceased fathers side. From what I understand, he was Cherokee and Blackfeet Indian. My uncle stated he really doesn't know much more than that. Who can I contact? My cousin, I found, stated to my brother that my grandfathers last name was Bronze Eagle, but he was adopted, so now we have the last name Brown.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: check the Dawes Roll and see if you can locate him there. If you can then you've fought half your battle. From there you can probably obtain info from the tribal office. If he's not on the Dawes then there won't be info at the tribal office. Do you know where he was born? You can check the courts there for his adoption records.