Tribal Genealogy Research Collections

Tribal Genealogy Research

This series provides a collection of online resources specific to a tribe. It’s intention is to incorporate a larger collection of links to offsite content then what could be included from within the tribal page.

Sioux Indian Research

Siouan Family. The most populous linguistic family North of Mexico, next to the Algonquian. The name is taken from a ‘term applied to the largest and best known tribal group or confederacy belonging to the family, the Sioux or Dakota, which, in turn, is an abbreviation of Nadowessioux, a French corruption of Nadowe-is-iw, the appellation given them by the Chippewa. It signifies ‘snake,’ ‘adder,’ and, by metaphor, ‘enemy.’ Sioux Indian Biographies Red Cloud Sitting Bull Esiitahumleah, Teton Chief Waapashaw, Sioux Chief Wanata, Grand Chief of the Sioux Little Crow, Sioux Chief Tokakon, Sioux Brave Monkaushka, Sioux Chief Bureau of Indian … Read more

Seminole Indian Research

Seminole (Creek: Sim-a-no’-le, or Isti simanóle, ‘separatist’, ‘runaway’ ). A Muskhogean tribe of Florida, originally made up of immigrants from the Lower Creek towns on Chattahoochee river, who moved down into Florida following the destruction of the Apalachee (q. v.) and other native tribes. They were at first classed with the Lower Creeks, but began to be known under their present name about 1775. Those still residing in Florida call themselves Ikaniúksalgi, peninsula people’ (Gatschet). Archives, Libraries and Genealogy Societies AccessGenealogy Library – Provides a listing of our on line books, books we own, and books we will be putting … Read more

Powhatan Genealogy and History

Powhatan Indians (Southern Renape pawd’tan, ‘falls in a current’ of water.-Gerard). A confederacy of Virginian Algonquian tribes. Their territory included the tidewater section of Virginia from the Potomac south to the divide between James River and Albemarle sound, and extended into the interior as far as the falls of the principal rivers about Fredericksburg and Richmond. They also occupied the Virginia counties east of Chesapeake Bay and possibly included some tribes in lower Maryland. In the Piedmont region west of them were the hostile Monacan and Manahoac, while on the south were the Chowanoc, Nottoway, and Meherrin of Iroquoian stock. … Read more

Potawatomi Indian Research

Pottawatomie Indians J. B. Bottineau, speaking Chippewa and Cree fluently, gives Potawatanubñk or Potawaganiñk, i. e. ‘People of the place of the fire,’ as the primary form of the name. This derivation is strongly confirmed by the Huron name Asistagueroüon (Champlain, 1616), for Otsistă’ge`roñnoñ’, likewise signifying ‘People of the place of fire,’ which was applied by them to their enemies who dwelt in 1616 on the west shores of Lake Huron. Read More about the Potawatomie History Potawatomi Indian Biography Pottawatomie Chiefs and Leaders Chief Kack-kack (hosted at Pottawatomie Web) Bureau of Indian Affairs Bureau of Indian Affairs Tracing … Read more

Omaha Indian Research

Omaha (‘those going against the wind or current’ ). One of the 5 tribes of the so called Dhegiha group of the Siouan family, the other 4 being the Kansa, Quapaw, Osage, and Ponca. Hale and Dorsey concluded from a study of the languages and traditions that, in the westward migration of the Dhegiha from their seat on Ohio and Wabash rivers after the separation, at least as early as 1500, of the Quapaw, who went down the Mississippi from the mouth of the Ohio, the Omaha branch moved up the great river, remaining awhile near the mouth of the … Read more

Nez Perce Indian Research

Nez Percé Indians (‘pierced noses’) A term applied by the French to a number of tribes which practiced or were supposed to practice the custom of piercing the nose for the insertion of a piece of dentalium. The term is now used exclusively to designate the main tribe of the Shahaptian family, who have not, however, so far as is known ever been given to the practice. Read more about the Nez Percé History. Nez Percé Indian Biography Nez Percé Indian Chiefs and Leaders Jackson Sundown Chief Joseph (hosted at Indigenous Peoples History) Chief Joseph – Leader of the Nez … Read more

Navajo Indian Research

Navaho Indians ( pron. Na’-va-ho, from Tewa Navahú, the name referring to a large area of cultivated lands; applied to a former Tewa pueblo, and, by extension, to the Navaho, known to the Spaniards of the 17th century as Apaches de Navajo, who intruded on the Tewa domain or who lived in the vicinity, to distinguish them front other “Apache” bands.Hewett in Am. Anthrop., viii,193,1906. Fray Alonso Benavides, in his Memorial of 1630, gives the earliest translation of the tribal name, in the form Nauajó, ‘sementeras grandes’’great seed-sowings’, or ‘great fields’. Read more about the Navaho History. Navajo Indian Biographies … Read more

Mohawk Indian Research

Mohawk (cognate with the Narraganset Mohowaùuck, ‘they eat (animate) things,’ hence ‘man-eaters’) The most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They called themselves Kaniengehaga, ‘people of the place of the flint.’ Archives, Libraries and Genealogy Societies AccessGenealogy Library – Provides a listing of our on line books, books we own, and books we will be putting on line Genealogy Library – Read books online for Free! Mohawk Indian Biographies Ahyouwaight, Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) (hosted at Indigenous Peoples) Molly Brant (hosted at Answers.com) Bureau of Indian Affairs A Guide to Tracing your Indian Ancestry(PDF) Tribal Leaders Directory Recognized Indian … Read more

Kiowa Indian Research

Kiowa Indians (from Gǎ’-i-gwŭ, or Kǎ’-i-gwŭ, ‘principal people,’ their own name). A tribe at one time residing about. the upper Yellowstone and Missouri, but better known as centering about the upper Arkansas and Canadian in Colorado and Oklahoma, and constituting, so far as present knowledge goes, a distinct linguistic stock. Read more about the Kiowa Tribe History Libraries AccessGenealogy Library – Provides a listing of our on line books, books we own, and books we will be putting on line Genealogy Library – Read books online for Free! Kiowa Indian Biographies Kiowa Indian Chiefs and Leaders (hosted at AccessGenealogy) Big … Read more

Hopi Indian Research

Hopi (contraction of Hópitu, ‘peaceful ones,’ or Hópitu-shínumu, ‘peaceful all people’: their own name). A body of Indians, speaking a Shoshonean dialect, occupying 6 pueblos on a reservation of 2,472,320 acres in north east Arizona. The name “Moqui,” or “Moki,” by which they have been popularly known, means ‘dead’ in their own language, but as a tribal name it is seemingly of alien origin and of undetermined signification—perhaps from the Keresan language (Mósi(cha in Laguna, Mo-ts in Acoma, Mótsi( in Sia, Cochiti, and San Felipe), whence Espejo’s “Mohace” and “Mohoce” (1583) and Oñate’s “Mohoqui (1598). Bandelier and Cushing believed the … Read more

Crow Indian Research

Crow (trans., through French gens des corbeaux, of their own name, Absároke, crow, sparrow hawk, or bird people). A Siouan tribe forming part of the Hidatsa group, their separation from the Hidatsa having taken place, as Matthews (1894) believed, within the last 200 years. Hayden, following their tradition, placed it about 1776. According to this story it was the result of a factional dispute between two chiefs who were desperate men and nearly equal in the number of their followers. Archives, Libraries and Genealogy Societies AccessGenealogy Library – Provides a listing of our on line books, books we own, and … Read more

Creek Indian Research

Creek Indians, A confederacy forming the largest division of the Muskhogean family. They received their name form the English on account of the numerous streams in their country. During early historic times the Creek occupied the greater portion of Alabama and Georgia, residing chiefly on Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, the two largest tributaries of the Alabama river and on the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers. Read more about the Creek Tribe History. Creek Indian Biography Biography of General William Augustus Bowles Biography of General William Mcintosh Biography of General Alexander McGillivray Creek Indian Chiefs and Leaders Benjamin Hawkins (hosted at About … Read more

Cree Indian Research

Cree (contracted from Kristinaux, French form of Kenistenoag, given as one of their own names). An important Algonquian tribe of British America whose former habitat was in Manitoba and Assiniboin, between Red and Saskatchewan rivers. They ranged northeastward down Nelson river to the vicinity of Hudson Bay, and northwestward almost to Athabasca lake. Archives and Libraries Cree Indian Biographies Bureau of Indian Affairs Cree Indian Cemeteries Cree Indian Census Cree Indian Culture/Customs Cree Culture and Customs (hosted at Cree Nation Culture) Federally Recognized Cree Communities, Canada Recognized Tribes from Indians and Northern Affairs-Canada Genealogy Help Pages Cree Indian History Cree … Read more

Comanche Indian Research

Comanche. One of the southern tribes of the Shoshonean stock, and the only one of that group living entirely on the plains. Their language and traditions show that they are a comparatively recent offshoot from the Shoshoni of Wyoming, both tribes speaking practically the same dialect and, until very recently, keeping up constant and friendly communication. Archives, Libraries and Societies Societies Oklahoma Historical Society American Indian Land Records, Research Guide (PDF) Removal, 1830-1862 Comanche Oklahoma Genealogical Society United States Court – Indian Territory Comanche Indian Biographies Native American Biographies Quana Parker The Story of Quanah Parker (hosted at Murray County … Read more

Choctaw Indian Research

Choctaw (possibly a corruption of the Spanish chcdu, ‘flat’ or ‘flattened,’ alluding to the custom of these Indians of flattening the head). An important tribe of the Muskhogean stock, formerly occupying middle and south Mississippi, their territory extending, in their most flourishing days, for some distance east of Tombigbee River, probably as far as Dallas County, Ga. Ethnically they belong to the Choctaw branch of the Muskhogean family, which included the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Hunt and their allies, and some small tribes which formerly lived along Yazoo River. Archives, Libraries and Genealogy Societies Societies Oklahoma Historical Society Indian Archives Search the … Read more

Chippewa Indians Research

Chippewa (popular adaptation of Ojibway, ‘to roast till puckered up,’ referring, to the puckered seam on their moccasins; from ojib ‘to pucker up,’ ub-way ‘to roast’). One of the largest tribes North of Mexico, whose range was formerly along both shores of Lake Huron and Superior, extending across Minnesota Turtle Mountains, North Dakota. See the Chippewa Tribe Chippewa Indian Biographies Bureau of Indian Affairs Chippewa Indian Cemeteries Chippewa Indian Census Chippewa Indian Church Records Chippewa Indian Court Records Federal Recognized Tribes Michigan Minnesota Wisconsin Genealogy Help Pages Chippewa Indian History Chippewa Indian Land, Land Allotments and Maps Index to the … Read more

Chinook Indian Research

Chinook Indians (from Tsinúk, their Chehalis name). The best-known tribe of the Chinookan family. They claimed the territory on the north side of Columbia River, Wash., from the mouth to Grays bay, a distance of about 15 miles, and north along the seacoast as far as the north part of Shoalwater bay, where they were met by the Chehalis, a Salish tribe. The Chinook were first described by Lewis and Clark, who visited them in 1805, though they had been known to traders for at least 12 years previously. Read more about Chinook History Chinook Indian Biographies Native American Biographies … Read more

Chickasaw Indian Research

Chickasaw Indians. An important Muskhogean tribe, closely related to the Choctaw in language and customs, although the two tribes were mutually hostile. Aside from tradition, the earliest habitat traceable for the Chickasaw is north Mississippi. Their villages in the 18th century centered about Pontotoc and Union counties, where the headwaters of the Tombigbee meet those of Yazoo river and its affluent, the Tallahatchie, about where the De Soto narratives place them in 1540, under the name Chicaza. Read more about Chickasaw Tribe History. Archives, Libraries and Genealogy Societies AccessGenealogy Library – Provides a listing of our on line books, books … Read more

Cheyenne – Arapaho Indian Research

An important Plains tribe of the great Algonquian family, closely associated with the Cheyenne for at least a century past. They call themselves Iñunaina, about equivalent to ‘our people.’ The name by which they are commonly known is of uncertain derivation, but it may possibly be, as Dunbar suggests, from the Pawnee tirapihu or larapihu, ‘trader.’ By the Sioux and Cheyenne they are called ” Blue-sky men ” or “Cloud men,” the reason for which is unknown. Read more about Arapaho Tribe History. Cheyenne – Arapaho Indian Biographies Little Raven (Hósa, ‘Young Crow’). An Arapaho chief. Nawat (‘Left-hand’). The principal … Read more