Questions for Native Americans about culture

[Seekerofsolace]

Welcome dodeca! I have Cherokee relatives, and it is hard to track them down sometimes, because not so long ago Indians couldn't own land, so many hid or forgot their heritage so they would not be ostracized. I recommend a bit of legwork in the form of genealogy. You may not know your grandparents' last name, but you may be able to find it via your father's birth certificate. If you can find out what county he was born in, you might be able to go to the vital records and statistics office there and get a copy of it. It should tell you the name of his mother and father. Once you have that, you can research where his parents were married and find their marriage certificate. Ancestry.com has a forum on there that people use to discuss their relatives, and you may be able to get some answers there.
Learning Indian traditions I find is difficult because they are highly treasured as posted above, and there are very many different traditions. They are not all the same, and not all are very open. The Cherokee are very friendly and most I found are happy to share information. There are 2 Cherokee reservations I know of, the Eastern Band which is in Cherokee, NC and Tallequah which is in OK. Many people in the United States have Indian blood in them I am finding and it is nice because the People survive through us! Maybe your blood is speaking to you as I feel mine is.

there are more tsalagi (cherokee) in the south than other nations. good chance that's what you are.

good books by robert conley, a cherokee. about culture and tradition.

there is also a small group of organized cherokee in arizona.

they were everywhere though-my grandmother was born in medicine hat, alberta. we get around. lol

as seekerofsolace says, it's hard to track native heritage because, like my father even, didn't even have a birth certificate. and some names were changed.