Native American Genealogy?

Question:I am half Shawnee and am finding it impossible to track my heritage. Any pointers would help, but I'm afraid it's a lost cause.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I am half Shawnee and am finding it impossible to track my heritage. Any pointers would help, but I'm afraid it's a lost cause.

If you're half Shawnee, one of your parents must be a full-blood Shawnee or both of your parents some part Shawnee, either 1/2 and 1/2 or 1/4 and 3/4, etc. Either way, if you're half, one or both of your parents SHOULD be tribally enrolled in one of the following federally recognized Shawnee tribes:
The Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, http://www.astribe.com/
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, http://www.easternshawnee.org/or
The Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/
Contact the tribal enrollment office and give them your family's name. The tribe will let you know if your family has a history of tribal enrollment (which they should if you are half (i.e. 1/2 or 50%), a relatively high blood quantum).

You could try these websites:

http://www.native-languages.org/genealog...
http://www.ihs.gov/misc/links_gateway/su...

Hopefully they'll be helpful. Good luck on your search.

Here is the official website of the Shawnee tribe if you're interested:
http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/default.htm
You may already know about the website though.

There are genealogy tracers who will help you for a fee. You can also take genealogy classes at your local community college.

The best place to start is by asking every family member you know, including cousins, and work your way back.

I found a cousin who had already done all the work, and had me on her family tree, along with all our ancestors clear back to our Grandfather's Grandparents.