But the Cherokee people did not remain confined to the lands that the federal government assigned to them in Indian Territory. During the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries, Cherokees traveled ...

Cherokee genealogists and other experts say spurious claims to be Native American are common. They typically are based on family stories of tribal ancestry. But some claims become politically charged.

If you’ve spent any time in the South or Midwest, you’ve probably heard a few people claim to have Native American ancestry (“Do you see these eyebrows?

Warren — a Massachusetts Democrat who claimed Cherokee and Delaware tribal heritage based on family lore — isn't the first person to make questionable claims of Native American ancestry.

Many people claim Native American ancestry. Their reasons vary, and so do the requirements to prove ancestry. Author David Treuer and freelance journalist Mary Annette Pember talk about why people ...

Cara Cowan-Watts is acting speaker of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council and a board member of the National Congress of American Indians. Updated September 16, 2011, 11:17 AM To me, you are either ...

A second reason for the popularity of Cherokee identity is the place that Cherokee history and culture has in American popular culture. From the 1959 pop song “Indian Reservation (The Lament of ...

Percentage of ancestry or "blood quantum" -- the creepy and antique-sounding term used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which certifies it for two of the three Cherokee tribes -- is recognized by ...

Some people now argue that since DNA testing reveals low percentages of Native American ancestry in Cherokee Freedmen’s descendants, they should not be enrolled members of the tribe.

Native American in Cherokee ceremonial dress, November 2008 ... My mother’s family (she was born in Illinois) did indeed make that claim — one that genealogy records do not support.

I had never heard the term “pretendian” until The Star’s story about three KU professors who have come under fire for claiming Native American ancestry. There was a time when I was a ...

Most Native American families can trace their roots back to a time in the United States when their lives were very different. But many are losing the culture and heritage that defined their ...