hello!

[lime_soda]

My name is Cassi, I'm 24. My grandfather passed away in 2003, my grandmother has alzheimer's, and my mother is now in declining health.

My father was never very fond of my mother's heritage (because he was a tool). I have a new baby now though, and now I really want to embrace my mother's heritage.

I'm actually planning to go to a pow wow this summer

My mother is blackfoot, scottish, and choctaw
my father was adopted so I'm assuming he's some type of European mix.

[docat]

My name is Cassi, I'm 24. My grandfather passed away in 2003, my grandmother has alzheimer's, and my mother is now in declining health.

My father was never very fond of my mother's heritage (because he was a tool). I have a new baby now though, and now I really want to embrace my mother's heritage.

I'm actually planning to go to a pow wow this summer

My mother is blackfoot, scottish, and choctaw
my father was adopted so I'm assuming he's some type of European mix.

Welcome Cassi! Genealogy is a lot of fun since there are a TON of sources available now. Your father, since he was adopted, might not be easy to trace, but the government kept VERY good records on NDN nations and there are many records that were kept...and Ancestry (if you have a subscription) can help you find a lot of information.

The first place to start is to start with what you know for certain. Then the next step is to get concrete evidence. When I charted my genealogy, I was able to get marriage certificates and death certificates and all of it leads a paper trail back. For NDNs, many earlier marriages wouldn't be recorded as a marriage, but you will see when they began a household together.

The beauty of this is, the US gov't kept careful track of every NDN man, woman and child...and in many cases did a yearly census, so it is easy to see when a member died, married and had children.

It's a fun hobby. If you need any help with NDN resources, I know a few things and for the rest, I know a few people.

As far as cultural aspects, it is better to go slow and learn something about cultures before you jump into one to "embrace" as your mother's heritage. The thing some outsiders fail to understand is that respect is so important when you approach this subject. To embrace her heritage means that you accept who she was, it's not like joining a church or a club, and for that, you've already done that. With your genealogy charts, the evidence will be there for many generations to pass down to your children!

Of the nations, your mother (or grandmother?) is a part, and you are a half of that part, and your child is a half of that part. In reality, you are like most Americans and a Heinz 57 child of the melting pot. There's nothing wrong with that, but many at the powwow you want to attend will be there for other reasons.

Many people are at a powwow with their families, and they don't know you and you aren't their long lost cousin they have been searching for. They are in the process of teaching and making memories with their children. If you barge in with your personal genealogy charts and stories of your grandmother, it doesn't matter who you are, it is disrespectful. (This does happen a lot!)

When you go, don't go to speak about yourself or your connections and such. Go with your eyes and ears wide open and learn. You will love going to powwows. In fact, this site is hosting some live powwows online. You can get a taste of going to a powwow before you actually go to one!

Again, welcome! I hope you enjoy the site as much as I do!

[muskrat_skull]

My name is Cassi, I'm 24. My grandfather passed away in 2003, my grandmother has alzheimer's, and my mother is now in declining health.

My father was never very fond of my mother's heritage (because he was a tool). I have a new baby now though, and now I really want to embrace my mother's heritage.

I'm actually planning to go to a pow wow this summer

My mother is blackfoot, scottish, and choctaw
my father was adopted so I'm assuming he's some type of European mix.

Hi Cassi. Sorry to hear your mom's so sick. That is really hard. Embracing your heritage as soon as you can is important, as is getting all the info from your family members that you can.

If your tree isn't done, you may want to start. Ancestry now has a free site called mundia and there are many other places. Many people regret they did not get the chance to get info from their parents or other relatives.

Its really good to meet you!

[Tsalagi_Phoenix]

Hi Cassi and welcome :)

[running_with_buffs]

I'm on this site from my phone and don't know how to make a new thread so hopfully somebody can help.but anyways happy to be here finally maybe I can teach some of you some things and maybe somebody can teach me somthing

[docat]

I'm on this site from my phone and don't know how to make a new thread so hopfully somebody can help.but anyways happy to be here finally maybe I can teach some of you some things and maybe somebody can teach me somthing

What is it you want to teach?

[running_with_buffs]

How to make pork and hominy

[docat]

How to make pork and hominy

There is a recipe section under NATIVE LIFE. There is a button that says "New Post." Post it there.

[running_with_buffs]

I see no button that says new post.

[lime_soda]

My mom has done our genealogy, my grandpa was born somewhere near Browning.

I think my main goal is to learn some history, maybe this summer I'll meet some of my cousins that live really far away, I'd like to see where my grandpa was born.

[docat]

My mom has done our genealogy, my grandpa was born somewhere near Browning.

I think my main goal is to learn some history, maybe this summer I'll meet some of my cousins that live really far away, I'd like to see where my grandpa was born.

Oh that's great that it's already done. Good luck meeting your cousins. There is something (at least in my experience) wonderful about going back to the places where your ancestors had been, not just to the rez but to the other places they were from before the time of confinement.

Let me suggest one other resource that many forget about. There is a source I use a lot. It's called NewspaperArchive.com You can search his/her name...these archived newspapers go back to the early 1800s. I was astounded at how much information I found out about my family through this resource. I mean, many in the family or in the tribe couldn't read English, yet the newspapers were filled with NDN news for the white people to read.

All the news isn't good news. Anytime one of my kinfolk got drunk or fished too many catfish or borrowed something without permission (which I am sure was going to be returned), it was in the paper. I found some of my family were involved with kidnapping students from boarding school and other heroic deeds too.

Anyway, I think a trial subscription is free. It might be worth your time to check it out...just to see if your family names are in there.