Taking My Own Advice; 3. Learn Tribal Histories

Third

When I started my project. All I was researching was Cherokee history. They I discovered a whole new area of research -- the Catawba and Associated Bands, especially the Saponi. Then lastly, I also considered the Chickasaw since we had lived in the Chickasaw Nation.

The Cherokee

Trying to research the Cherokee is easy and very difficult at the same time.

It is easy because there are so many rolls with names listed going back 200 yearsl the. It is difficult because of all the people making claims of Cherokee heritage. If your ancesor is not on the Cherokee rolls, since there are so many rolls, the Cherokee often assume a person doesn't have any Cherokee heritage.. They often assume a person is trying to get that non-existence "Indian money". And so many people who are NOT recognized Cherokee make a boastful claim of Cherokee heritage. This is a big problem with the Cherokee.. I have no solution -- I am just pointing out the problem.

The Saponi/Catawba

European contact with the Esaw/Yesah (what the people were originally called) goes back to the Spanish, nd predates the Jamestown Colony of Virginia. by better than half a century. The Spanish brought with them Smallpox.. This killed thousands of Esaw people.

The English however, also brought about brought smallpox.. There was one difference -- the English of South Carolina also enslaved the Native population. It was said the Negro slaves only started outnumbering Native slaves about 1720. After the Tuscarora and Yamassee Wars, there just weren't many Natives left to enslave.. At this point, the people started to be called Catawba, as the Catawba were the largest band of the people left. There were still Saponi and Cheraw as well. But the Catawba were the largest band.. By the time of the American Revolution, there were still Saponi and Cheraw -- but the Catawba were clearly the main band.

Chickasaw

I am not 100% convinced that we have Chickasaw blood.. But we lived in the Chickasaw Nation, and it is possible that we do. The Chickasaw speak a Muscogeean language, same as the Creek, Choctaw and Seminole.. They first confronted the French along the southern Mississippi River.. They were known as great warriors. Being a small tribe. they defeated larger tribes on many occasions. They moved west of the Mississippi earlier than some tribes, and therefore avoided some of the hardships others endured.. still, it can not be easy to leave ones home and move into new lands already claimed by other tribes.

Details

I have not gone into details in this short report. But I assure you that I hve researched these tribal natons and many other nations in far greater detail'