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Find Native American Ancestors Who Lived in the 20th Century Using the Common U.S. Record Types

Native American family history research is no different than any other ethnic research. It is best to research from present into the past while linking one generation to the next generation. In addition, the research process is the same for each ancestor we research: 1) identify what one knows about the family 2) decide what one wants to learn about the family 3) select records to search 4) obtain and search the record 5) use the information. If a Native American ancestor was born in the 1900s, one would begin searching the U.S. record types in the ancestor's respective state (or territory for Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii) in where he or she lived; such as: cemeteries, census, church records, court records, directories, land and property, military records, newspapers, online records, periodicals, probate records, taxation, and vital records. The census year 2010, 22 percent of the total Native American population in the United States lived on their respective reservations or other trust lands. This means that 78 percent of the Native American population lived away from their homeland or reservation; or in other words, they lived off their respective reservation. As this pattern may have continued into the past from census year to census year (e.g., 2000, 1990 . . . 1900), it seems logical that the percentage of Native American population in the United States who lived on their respective reservations would be a little higher, and the percentage of those living away from their homeland would be slightly lower. Therefore, it makes sense to search the common record types throughout the United States, especially the census and church records.

If the ancestor lived for an extended period of time on his or her tribal reservation, Native American record types also need to be searched. Depending the paper trail left by the ancestor's tribe, most of these records can be accessed on FamilySearch, Ancestry, and other websites. Some records that are stored or archived on the reservation are restricted; such as: tribal census or enrollment records, tribal court records, and tribal health records. Tribal land records and probate records are kept by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the ancestor's respective agency located on or near his or her reservation. These records are restricted and can be accessed to the ancestor's descendant with proof of Certificate of Indian Blood and current proof of identification with a photo. However, before searching these records, search the common U.S. record types in the state(s) where the ancestor lived.