User:Jeanettefayemurray/Sandbox/Native American Research

Here are the steps to locate Native American Census records.

1. Go to Ancestry.

2. Click on Search on the black bar at top of page.

3. Scroll down and click on All Collections.

4. On right hand side of new page scroll down to near bottom of page where you see Special Collections. You will see "American Indian records".

5. Click on that.

6. Don't fill out anything yet. Read over whole page. You will see lots of information on how and where to research the tribes.

7. If nothing matches your tribe then click on "U.S. Indian census rolls 1885-1940.

8  Again read entire page before filling anything out.

9  On right side of page there is a Browse box. Click the down  arrow where it says choose.

10 This will give you lists of all kinds of tribes. This step is just so you know what is out there. If you click on a listing here it will take you to the beginning of the census for that year.

11. To save time, if you have a name, go back to the page with the Browse box.

12. Fill out as much information as possible. If you leave the census date boxes empty you will get a listing of all the censuses where that name appears. Remember Indian names can be the same in various tribes, so be sure you have the right tribe. There were also marriages between tribes. To track that.....

13. Just click on the name for info just like you would on any other census type.

HAPPY RESEARCHING!

Additional information you may find helpful.

Indians were given census numbers and the people were listed in the same order every year. A person’s number would stay the same from year to year unless someone with a lower number died, got married, had children. The new number would be because there were less or more people now before him and all the number and all the numbers after him would change accordingly.

Families are listed together. When a woman marries she then gets a new number, the one following her husband's. This information really helps when tracking from year to year.

Tribes took care of their own. If parents died someone would take in the children and the record will show that child adopted. If a spouse dies and there is a remarriage, the children are listed as step children. And you will find family groups with a person, usually a child, living with them but not listed as adopted or as a step child. Don’t automatically assume that this child’s parents died. The child may be living with the family for a variety of reasons including “heritage training”.