The Genetic Ancestry of Native Americans

Following the 1830 Indian Removal Act about 100,000 American Indians were forced from their homes to westward lands. Follow their story, their trails, and their records.

This workshop will examine three of the Five Tribes from eastern Oklahoma. These tribes were among the five slave-holding tribes, that removed to Indian Territory. Today there are numerous records from Indian Removal to Oklahoma Statehood that can be explored to find and to tell their stories. This session will examine three tribes in detail, and look at the unique records that pertain to each of them.

Utilizing Y DNA, mitochondrial and autosomal DNA in addition to traditional research, let's find Native ancestors. How to leverage your matches at various vendors, ethnicity, and DNAPainter.

Go beyond just sharing the stories of familial ties to the Cherokee. This top to bottom presentation will share an extensive amount of information regarding identifying and tracing Cherokee and Cherokee Freedmen ancestors before the Trail of Tears to current day.

This session will explore records that document blended families of African and Native American ancestry. The presentation will also point out places beyond the online databases that can be useful when documenting families of mixed heritage.

Many families have the oral history that an ancestor was Native American. How does a family researcher begin to discover if this is true? What federal, state and tribal records are available?

November is Native American Heritage Month and what better time to delve into Native American research. Learn about records, libraries, archives, websites, and databases and analyzing what you find. Be prepared for some surprises on where you might find more about this amazing heritage.

Native American ancestry is often perceived as a lineage difficult to trace. There are a number of records from public resources that reflect Indian communities, both large and small. This workshop will illustrate the records found in both 19th and 20th century collections. To be discussed will be traditional census…

Investigative, or Forensic, Genetic Genealogy (I/FGG) is the relatively recent application of traditional genetic genealogy skills, tools, and resources with the objective to assist Law Enforcement agencies in identifying unidentified human remains or suspects of violent crimes, among other cases. With this introduction, we will learn how I/FGG started, how it works, how is it different from traditional Forensic DNA Typing, and other traditional genealogical and genetic investigations used in criminal justice, and what changes are in place to ensure that I/FGG can be done safely, ethically, legally, and without compromising the privacy and integrity of the genetic genealogical community.