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So, how many times do each of you guys hear from people "Oh, I'm 1/16th cherokee" or something similar. Do you guys actually think its true? I don't honestly. Perhaps it is true for a small number of Americans, but nearly every blonde/blue-eyed person I speak too swears they have a native american great grandmother.
The people saying these things show no signs of that ancestry, and in much of a America, during the 19th century, it was a considered a blight on your social status to marry a native american, which would of course deter whites from breeding with them.
I, too, am part of one of those families that swears that my great great grandmother was a Cherokee......I have done extensive research on all my family lines and have found nothing to indicate that we have any Cherokee ancestry in us. That great great grandmother of mine has a Scottish surname and one of her branches reached back to Germany, though.
On that note, are there any genetic tests that I could take to actually find out if I carry any Cherokee DNA?
So, how many times do each of you guys hear from people "Oh, I'm 1/16th cherokee" or something similar. Do you guys actually think its true? I don't honestly. Perhaps it is true for a small number of Americans, but nearly every blonde/blue-eyed person I speak too swears they have a native american great grandmother.
The people saying these things show no signs of that ancestry.....
While it may be true that very few white Americans do have native American blood, I think your objection that they "show no signs" is a bit naive.
I look as white European as they come, and so much so that I burn badly after just a few minutes in the sun. And yet I have one great grandmother who was "Negro" and "colored" on all her public records, and was identificably black African according to family members.
Appearance is not a good genetic indicator when the race or ethnicity you are looking for is several generations back, and the rest of one's genetic inheritance is overwhelmingly something quite different.
Actually, the bigger stigma was marrying someone who was all or part black (true all the way into the 1970s in most of the U.S.). A lot of these "cherokee" princesses were in reality either black or mixed black/white.
You are right about this. In my own family, in at least two separate branches, there has existed that myth that "granny was 1/16 Indian" or something along those lines. Years of genealogical research and the study of the human condition has led me believe something else. After the Civil War was over there was an unrecognized class of people all across the south. These were the mixed blood offspring of black slaves and white slave owners, and a larger group than you might expect. When the war was over, there was no place for this class of people to exist as they were, so they did one of three things: those who were nearly or completly white in appearance went north and became just that; others identified as black and assimilated into free black society; and the remainder, who were somewhere between in appearance, for whatever reason, married and assimilated into the poor white "sharecropper" class. This class very quickly spread west, across TN and the deep south, and into Texas and Oklahoma, places that were wide open and forgiving of a painful past. This assimilation happended quickly, it was complete by the second generation IMO. I think a lot of these people might have said, oh, granny was Indian, or something like that to explain whatever physical appearance that might have been questioned. I'm sure it happened in my family, in separate lines more than once.
Dude, my brother and I are as White physically as any other, and yet we have cards saying we are 1/256 Cherokee. I don't know if these cards prove we have that ancestry, but 1/256 is extremely insignificant and the same as 0.00390625.
I don't know why we have the cards or how. We are White Americans with a European last name.
So, how many times do each of you guys hear from people "Oh, I'm 1/16th cherokee" or something similar. Do you guys actually think its true? I don't honestly. Perhaps it is true for a small number of Americans, but nearly every blonde/blue-eyed person I speak too swears they have a native american great grandmother.
Heritage goes a lot deeper than skin tone and being "1/16th cherokee" only provides some clue as to some family ethnic dynamics. If your family history is predominantly German (for ex.) and you find you have a swish of cherokee, this definitely adds to the "drama" of genealogical research.
Being blond and blue eyed does not assure an entirely "white" ethnic background. I think a lot of people are just truly fascinated to learn about the different parts of their heritage and no matter how minute the "blood quantum" they're eager and excited to point it out.
Last edited by NomadScribe; 02-13-2010 at 07:30 PM..
My mother's grandmother was Apache. She married a Scot. My grandmother (1/2 Apache--1/2 Scot) married my grandfather (1/2 Apache--1/2 French). They had my mother. She married my father (100% Finnish/Norwegian). There are seven of us kids. Four of them are dark haired, dark-eyed and show definite signs of our Apache ancestry. The other three of us are blonde/strawberry blonde, blue-eyed and as Nordic looking as they come.
Simply because one is blonde haired and blue-eyed doesn't mean that they can only be of European extraction. People don't always wear the results of their DNA on their faces. Truthfully, given the history of this country, I find it quite believable that there is a substantial portion of the population in this country with Native American ancestry.
I don't know why we have the cards or how. We are White Americans with a European last name.
You have them because at some point someone in your family added you to the tribal rolls. If you ever get into tracing your roots--your line straight back to who ever your Cherokee ancestor was is more than likely recorded somewhere in the tribal archives. That's how they are issued, based on descent from tribal members recorded at a certain point in time. It's basically a way of recording history for the tribes.
So, how many times do each of you guys hear from people "Oh, I'm 1/16th cherokee" or something similar. Do you guys actually think its true? I don't honestly. Perhaps it is true for a small number of Americans, but nearly every blonde/blue-eyed person I speak too swears they have a native american great grandmother.
The people saying these things show no signs of that ancestry, and in much of a America, during the 19th century, it was a considered a blight on your social status to marry a native american, which would of course deter whites from breeding with them.
I, too, am part of one of those families that swears that my great great grandmother was a Cherokee......I have done extensive research on all my family lines and have found nothing to indicate that we have any Cherokee ancestry in us. That great great grandmother of mine has a Scottish surname and one of her branches reached back to Germany, though.
On that note, are there any genetic tests that I could take to actually find out if I carry any Cherokee DNA?
Alot of Americans have native american ancestry. Just because a person has blonde hair and blue eyes that does not mean much. Even a person that is a 1/4 Native American can have blue eyes. Its more common then you think.
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