Enrollment in a Federally Recognized Tribe

 What is the purpose of tribal enrollment?

Tribal enrollment requirements preserve the unique character and traditions of each tribe. The

tribes establish membership criteria based on shared customs, traditions, language and tribal

blood.

 What are tribal membership requirements?

Tribal enrollment criteria are set forth in tribal constitutions, articles of incorporation or

ordinances. The criterion varies from tribe to tribe, so uniform membership requirements do not

exist.

Two common requirements for membership are lineal decendency from someone named on the

tribe's base roll or relationship to a tribal member who descended from someone named on the

base roll. (A "base roll" is the original list of members as designated in a tribal constitution or

other document specifying enrollment criteria.) Other conditions such as tribal blood quantum,

tribal residency, or continued contact with the tribe are common.

 How do I apply for enrollment in a tribe?

After you have completed your genealogical research, documented your ancestry, and
determined the tribe with which your ancestor was affiliated, you are ready to contact the tribe
directly to obtain the criteria for membership.
Rarely is the BIA involved in enrollment and membership. Each tribe determines whether an
individual is eligible for membership. Each tribe maintains its own enrollment records and
records about past members. To obtain information about your eligibility for membership, you
must contact the tribe.

 How do I Locate the Tribe I may have Indian Ancestry from?

The Tribal Leaders Directory that is published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs lists all 562
federally recognized American Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives. It also lists all the Regions,
Agencies and Offices within the BIA. Obtain one on-line at www.doi.gov/leaders.pdf or call:
202-208-3710.

Doing the Genealogical Research

DO I NEED TO USE A COMPUTER?

Yes, it cannot be stressed more that the use of a computer is a valuable tool in your effort to do
genealogical research. There are many organizations and individuals that have digitized their
records, pictures and files and placed them on the World Wide Web. The ability to gather
records, current addresses, phone numbers and other vital information that you will use, make it
a necessary tool to use. Computers and the Internet can be accessed at your local public library
or local community college, check in your area.
Once on, there are many sites dedicated to the work of genealogical research, we do not
recommend or endorse any of them. Also, be aware that these sites are usually private, for-profit
and will charge you for their service. All the information they have collected is readily available
for you to collect, if you know where to go and you are willing to do the work.
You should be familiar with the use of a search engine to find web sites that are of interest to
you. Search engines are computer programs that search the Internet for specific words, that you
enter, listed in meta tags of the web site. Use words such as Native American genealogy or
tracing American Indian Ancestry as search words.

HOW DO I BEGIN THE SEARCH FOR MY ANCESTORS?

Start your genealogical research with yourself. Do not begin genealogical research in Indian
records for this can most often be the wrong approach. Instead, begin research in current, rather
than historic records. If an individual is not currently a member of a federally recognized tribe,
band or group research should begin in non-Indian records or other public records such as those
records maintained by state and local governments, churches, and schools.
Individuals should find all the information they can about their parents, grandparents, and more
distant ancestors and write such information down. The most important information is vital
statistics, including ancestral names, dates of birth, marriages (or divorces) and death, the places
where ancestors were born, lived, married, and died. During such research, the goal, especially
for tribal membership purposes, is to establish and document the relationships of Indian
ancestors and to identify the Indian tribe with which their ancestor may have been affiliated.

WHERE DO I LOOK FOR INFORMATION?

 AT HOME

The first place to begin genealogical research is at home. Valuable information can be found in
family Bibles, newspaper clippings, military certificates, birth and death certificates, marriage
licenses, diaries, letters, scrapbooks, backs of pictures and baby books.
Relatives, particularly older ones, are another good source of information. Persons doing this
research should visit or write family members who may have the genealogical information that
they are seeking. Someone else in your family may also be working on a family history.

 ON THE LOCAL AND STATE LEVEL

It is often useful to check school, church, and county courthouse records for information.
Researchers should not limit the scope of their search to birth, death and marriage records.
Historical and genealogical information can be found in other civil records at the county
courthouse such as deeds, wills, land or other property conveyances.
Write to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, usually in the state capital to request copies of birth, death
and marriage certificates, or divorce decrees. Include the name of the individual, date and place
of birth and your relationship to that person. State governments did not keep birth and death
records until the turn of the century, about 1890-1915, so searches in state records for ancestors
who were born or died before that time may be limited.

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