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I was speaking specifically of black Americans. It actually is rare to have black Americans show a percentage of NA in DNA ethnicity reports and if it does show it is usually only 1% or a "trace" amount.
I finally recently did my own DNA test and even though my maternal grandfather showed some NA ancestry, I did not, probably because it is too far away genetically to show up. He is closer to those earlier NA ancestors than I am so it makes sense his would show a trace amount and mine does not.
Yes, in the context of the US, Native/Black mixes were a lot rarer. But due to more recent marriages/mixing between African Americans and Hispanics, the number of people with significant African and Native DNA ir rising.
As for African Americans, sometimes people would say a relative had light skin and straight hair because the person was "Indian". Often the person was Black/white mixed, and some people would make up fake Indian stories to cover up that whatever slave/maid got pregnant by the master.
Always exercise a high degree of skepticism with any claims of "Native American" ancestry... for complex social reasons, lots of people in the past identified as some kind of Indian even though they were not at all.
I know the feeling of always having people claiming to be "part-native" frankly it's annoying because most of them can't even say exactly who this ancestor was or what tribe they're from and if they do include the tribe of the supposed ancestor it's almost always "Cherokee".
A little background, I'm Native American(enrolled member of the Pottawatomie tribe), however, I do not 'look' Native as in my skin isn't the color of copper and my hair isn't black. My skin is a light olive tone though I do tan in the summer and my hair is more of a dark brown but a little bit on the light side. I am pretty much 'white-passing' with some non-white features, but before anyone assumes that I'm mostly white I'm gonna stop you right there, My mother is half-white and half-native(her father was full), now you might think that only makes me a quarter, right? no, My father is very much not white, he's three-quarters native and one-quarter white(his dad was half and his mother was full).
It's quite annoying having people claiming to native when they very much aren't but what can you do? In my own personal experience, I find that lighter skinned blacks claim to be part native more than whites.
I know the feeling of always having people claiming to be "part-native" frankly it's annoying because most of them can't even say exactly who this ancestor was or what tribe they're from and if they do include the tribe of the supposed ancestor it's almost always "Cherokee".
A little background, I'm Native American(enrolled member of the Pottawatomie tribe), however, I do not 'look' Native as in my skin isn't the color of copper and my hair isn't black. My skin is a light olive tone though I do tan in the summer and my hair is more of a dark brown but a little bit on the light side. I am pretty much 'white-passing' with some non-white features, but before anyone assumes that I'm mostly white I'm gonna stop you right there, My mother is half-white and half-native(her father was full), now you might think that only makes me a quarter, right? no, My father is very much not white, he's three-quarters native and one-quarter white(his dad was half and his mother was full).
It's quite annoying having people claiming to native when they very much aren't but what can you do? In my own personal experience, I find that lighter skinned blacks claim to be part native more than whites.
What part of the country are you from? My grandfather has relatives who indicated they were Potawatomi from Michigan and I am hoping to do some research on them. They lived in Northern Michigan, in the area near Petoskey. One of my great uncles was born in a town called South Arm, MI and his obit and relatives say that his father (my 4th great grandfather) was a Potawatomi native, but not sure on how to investigate this claim. The area that they lived did have a Potawatomi population though and my 4th great grandfather was listed in an area in 1860 that had some Potawatomi listed as his neighbors who were labeled as "Indians" with native names. He was labeled as a "mulatto."
My grandfather did show up as part native with a DNA test and I was already aware of his further back ancestry from the Nansemond tribe of VA - we are Bass descendants and his family intermarried with other families that were descendants of native tribes from the 1600s until the mid 1800s when they moved to the Midwest, then to Canada and Haiti and back to the Midwest in Michigan where my 4th great grandparents met and were married. Family lore says that my 4th great grandfather was half Potawatomi, which is why the tribe is mentioned in my great uncles obituary. I didn't know if there were any sorts of history centers or genealogical records that are specific to the tribe in Michigan that could be reviewed. Getting DNA has piqued my grandfather's interest in his roots and this particular grandfather is the only one on his mother's side of the family that we don't have much information about.
Where do most mixed black-native Americans live in the US today? I know they are probably concentrated in the Southeast more, but I am wondering if there are cities or specific areas within the Southeast that you can find them? I am particularly interested to know where the black Cherokees are.
They were probably not that uncommon before the mid 19th century, but afterwards with the "Indian Wars", reservations & "identity re-education", codes of the southern states & the eugenics fad in the northern ones those type of communities would be hard hit.
Yes, in the context of the US, Native/Black mixes were a lot rarer. But due to more recent marriages/mixing between African Americans and Hispanics, the number of people with significant African and Native DNA ir rising.
As for African Americans, sometimes people would say a relative had light skin and straight hair because the person was "Indian". Often the person was Black/white mixed, and some people would make up fake Indian stories to cover up that whatever slave/maid got pregnant by the master.
Interesting but when you think about it, not surprising at all due to America's history. I had this come up on MSN this morning and it is not only timely but perhaps a story whose time has come as well.
They considered themselves white, but DNA tests told a more complex story
As DNA tests become more commonplace, Foeman hopes that they will help shift the cultural paradigm. “We are living at a time when people think they have to stick in their camps, but I think people are getting exhausted by that,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for us to reboot the conversation about race.”
I couldn't tell you the exact percentage, but I do know that my maternal great great grandmother was a (at least half-blooded) Cherokee woman, and my mother has her photograph as proof. I don't claim to be a member of any tribe and don't care to, but it's part of who I am.
I couldn't tell you the exact percentage, but I do know that my maternal great great grandmother was a (at least half-blooded) Cherokee woman, and my mother has her photograph as proof. I don't claim to be a member of any tribe and don't care to, but it's part of who I am.
You can't prove native ancestry with a photo, at least certainly not half native ancestry. Many of the same traits people associate with Native Americans show up in non-Native Americans.
You can't prove native ancestry with a photo, at least certainly not half native ancestry. Many of the same traits people associate with Native Americans show up in non-Native Americans.
In late 19th century North Georgia, there were only Whites, Blacks and Amerindian people. You belonged to whichever of those three groups you looked like. I don't know what anyone's basis would be for suggesting she was anything other than Cherokee.
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