• STEP 1: Be realistic. Odds are that if you’re reading this article, you already have a hunch about a Native American forebear somewhere in your family tree. However, if both of your parents can clearly and convincingly trace their heritage back to Eastern Europe, you’re wasting your time. (I don’t mean this frivolously; the fact is, many ordinary folks are convinced, against all evidence, that their great-great-great…etc. grandfather was Genghis Khan.)
• STEP 2: Get the facts, before it’s too late. Now is the time to reestablish contact with any great-aunts, second cousins, and the like who may have pertinent information. If you unearth a lead—say, an elderly aunt remembers her grandfather telling her about a part-Cherokee uncle—try to corroborate that information with other family members.
• STEP 3: If your research uncovers the name of an actual tribe—and remember, not all Native American tribe names are as recognizable as “Cherokee” or “Apache”—there are online resources that list available information about tribes and their descendants. If these sites are unhelpful, it may be time to hire a professional genealogist to dig into your family tree.
• STEP 4: Not all people seeking their Native American heritage are five or six generations removed from the tribe. If you know for a fact that one or both of your parents were Native American—or that you were adopted from Native American parents—your genealogical task should be much easier (or at least as easy as it is for any adoptee seeking information about his or her biological parents).
Tips & Warnings
• Despite what you saw on “The Sopranos,” having a great-great-uncle with one-eighth Cherokee blood does not entitle you to open your own casino. Explore your Native American ancestry with respect, not as some kind of lottery that entitles you to a free scholarship or a professional leg up.
• If you do establish that you’re part Native American, it’s not okay to suddenly start wearing items of sacred Native American clothing, such as headdresses. As a sign of respect, you should first learn more about your ancestry by establishing contact with your tribe.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2002696_native-ame...n-heritage.html

I did the mtdna test...what I did not know when I ordered this was that being a woman it
goes thru your maternal generations. Example being: your mother, your mother's mother,
your grandmother's mother. It does not follow the line of your mother's father line. I say,
if you have any questions about any of the DNA, call first and they are very nice to answer
any questions. My line of Indian is through my mother's father which was a 1/2, his
mother was full blood, so what happens here:
all males from her direct descent (my grandfather, my Uncles would match. Only thru
her daughters could match but in my case-- no girls!) I ran into where my great
great grandparents along with my great grandmother did not show up in any census...I only
have where she showed up to get married and had her boys and died within the 20 years of
census.
I ordered my grandfather's application for social security and he was listed as white, in which
I expected. But I did find some information on it that I did not have like a middle name for
my great grandfather and the town where my grandfather was born. (I knew the county, but
wasn't sure of which town. Don't always be so certain that an ancestor is born where the
census shows they lived. The hospital could be in another town 5 miles down the road.)
I interviewed family members and picked their brains as much as possible. But my mother
reminded me that back in days, most people farmed in the south and they actually didn't
have much time to visit. And when there were gatherings, there wasn't much talk about
hertiage. And I also looked in the rolls...and what I learned along the way even with census,
it is true about the census taker! Who ever answered the door gave the information, so it
could have came from a 10 year old~ and it wasn't a big deal that your name was spelled
right, so how he thought it should be spelled is the way it is in the census. I've heard that
some census takers couldn't understand what an Indian was saying, so they put what they
thought they heard. So I hope this is some helpful tips when researching. I still have a
long road ahead of me!!
Pocohontas

I see your ID is Pocohontas do you have any connections to Powhatan? If so please pm, my g grandfather was chief Powhatan his daugther Princess Niketti was my g grandmother ( yep I left a few g's out lol) her sister was Niketti. I am in the process of getting my roll card now, which is proving to be hard since I am req by the tribe however since they were not federally req till a few years ago, we are trying to figure out how to add a degree of blood since that is what is req by the fed's.