What would be your "Native American" name?

If you had a Native American grandmother, great-grandmother, or great-great grandmother, what was her name?

• And what tribe did she come from? If you do not know her name, why not? Every "real" native american I have ever met, and every "real" descendant of a native american I have ever met, can easily recall the name and tribe of their Native American ancestor, no matter how far removed it is. If you cannot, why do you suppose this smallish bit of information was lost in the family history, but her ethnicity wasn't? Im genuinely curious and am looking for honest answers, almost every single non-native white or African american I have met has told me they have a Cherokee, Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Dakota or Iroquois grandma, but never know her name, which from what I know as a native american, is ALWAYS more important than knowing an ancestors tribal affiliation.

• Answer:

  This is a good question and most of the natives on here recognize that our grandmothers, great grandmother, and great-great grandmothers have or had real names, were real people, and were REALLY enrolled tribal members, and actually going back to maybe grandma and great-grandma's generation...they were not even US citizens!! Yet, there is an answer here that is an example of the kind of vague claims that gets passed along and inflated in many American families. Gaps get filled in, and assumptions are made that the person was "Cherokee" (or maybe "Creek"). Look: "Her name was Mary, and from what we can find, her family had the farm next to my g-g-grandfather's family farm and they married in their late teens in 1832. (This was in an area where the Cherokees were predominant, but there were also Creeks so we say Cherokee, but it could be Creek.)" - It isn't a matter of finding family living in an area where Cherokees or Creeks used to "predominate." It is very simple: this farm where you find her listed, was this within the Cherokee Nation at the time? Was her family living within the boundary of the Cherokee Nation? There WAS a defined Nation where Cherokee citizens lived (they were not US citizens and they don't show up in standard American records!). Then, you must also recognize that where Creek and Cherokee territory adjoined, this are was ceded early on for White settlement. The Natives moved out of these areas when this land was ceded, and White settlers received land allotments in Land Lotteries or purchased plots from the lottery winners. Also, this is exactly the kind of vague claim that annoys Natives. You are GUESSING that she could either be Cherokee or Creek. Totally different tribes, different cultures here. The other thing is, you found them in the record marrying in 1832? Was she outside of the Cherokee Nation at this time as well? Is her family listed on the tribal rolls? There were many taken at this time. Many! "I'm sure you recognize the significance of the 1830s to the Cherokee peoples in north Georgia and northeast Alabama. A few years later her family was gone, but she remained with her white husband. That's another reason we think she was Cherokee." - No, there is no significance for people living in north GA or NE AL. Because these lands had been ceded in the mid-1830s and the remaining lands in N GA were opened up to White Settlement by 1838/9 when the Trail of Tears ended. I've even seen where White families will claim to be "Cherokee" because their ancestors recieved Cherokee Land Lottery land! This was land TAKEN from Cherokees and given to their White ancestors. And they are so ignorant about history and their own ancestry that they make these totally bogus (and ironic!) claims. If Mary's family was gone, did they go on the Trail? There were records of this, both before and after. Again, there were many records. And there is no reason to assume Cherokee blood based on location with no supporting documents or claiming that she "stayed behind" with here White husband. The only way to make this statement is if you can track her family down and they were Cherokee citizens who Removed west. THEN, you could say she "stayed behind." Otherwise, you just lose track of her family (or never found them). No need to make up extra facts based on the gaps you have with this family line. "We've never found her family, but I would like to find them very much, if any still remain." Then you have a huge gap in your genealogy and it is entirely premature to make any statements about your "Cherokee" ancestry. This is the epitome of the Cherokee blood myth that many Americans have or inherit and pass along. Filida: If you have more data or documentation that identifies this ancestor as a Cherokee citizen, then why would you say she may have been Creek OR Cherokee? As if it isn't quite clear. All you have to do is find the family listed as Cherokee citizens if you claim she "was" Cherokee. You claim you know something about her location, her marriage, her occupation, etc. So what? Do you know her citizenship status (or her family's) with the Cherokee Nation? (Saying she may have been Creek makes this highly doubtful). You are trying to talk about Americans who claim descent from a Cherokee princess erroneously and say "yeah, but I really do have proof." But your claim is a little "off "as well, to be quite honest.