Legacy Tree Genealogists' Melissa Finlay has more than 30 years of experience in genealogy research and a bachelor's degree in family history genealogy from Brigham Young University. She also has a professional credential through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogist with a specialty in the U.S. Mid-South region. She has been involved in Native American research in the United States for many years. We asked Melissa about her experiences in Native American … [Read more...]
Ask a Genealogist: Indigenous Peoples & Native American Research
In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Legacy Tree Genealogists’ Kate Eakman discusses her interest in this area of research and some of the challenges in tracing Indigenous and native cultures in the United States and around the world.Q: Would you tell us about yourself and your view of genealogy?A: I'm Kate Eakman, Legacy Tree Genealogists' British research team manager and a former history professor.I look at genealogy as a branch of history. It's a very personal history, but it's … [Read more...]
Tracing Cherokee Ancestors with DNA, Tribal Citizenship, and Cherokee Rolls
As genealogists, we’re often asked to research the likelihood and details of a client’s Native American heritage. Legacy Tree Genealogists' researcher Michelle Carroll digs deeper into her journey and successful strategies when tracing her Cherokee ancestors.If you believe that you may have Cherokee ancestors and have always wanted to know more, let me encourage you to leap into discovering your Native American heritage. Learning about my own Cherokee family has been one of the most … [Read more...]
Connecting Culture to Ancestry: The Cherokee Heritage Center
Nestled in a wooded grove of land in Park Hill, Oklahoma, the Cherokee Heritage Center sits on the former site of the Cherokee Female Seminary, c. 1851, one of the first institutions of higher learning for women west of the Mississippi. The idea for a heritage center began in 1962 and culminated when Tsa-La-Gi opened to the public in 1967. Today, the center serves as a premier location for those wishing to learn about and experience Cherokee culture, and it offers ample opportunity to explore a … [Read more...]
Researching Cherokee Ancestry
As genealogists, we're often asked to research the likelihood and details of a client's Native American heritage.The Cherokee are currently the largest federally-recognized native tribe in the United States. Although they originally lived in the Southeastern United States, they were among the people forcibly relocated by the policies of President Andrew Jackson in the 1830s via the Trail of Tears. Today, many of their descendants are headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. They were known as … [Read more...]