Native Geneology

I see you are interested in learning more about your family.  Hmm...  Interesting...  I get many, many e-mails from individuals such as yourself on a regular basis.  In 99 per cent of cases, your inquiry falls into two categories:

1.  You may be interested in learning if you have Anishinaabe or First Nations lineage.  I encourage you to do this to feel a closer kinship to our Nation and to learn more about your family, yourself and your identify.  Sure, I would love to help and wish you all the success in the world.  Unfortunately, you are in the minority.  Sadly, most individuals inquiring (about 8 out of 10 people) are motivated by number 2, below.

2.  You are simply looking to get "Indian Status", thinking that there are advantages and privileges to being "Native".  You are thinking about being tax-free, free school, free housing, free money.  Nothing is free in the world, it all requires hard work.  I'd be pleased to help dispel such contemporary stereotypes and myths.

So before you begin:

To be registered as a Status Indian under the Indian Act, Section 6(1) continues the entitlement of persons registered as Indians before 1985, and reinstates women and their children who lost status through out-marriage and those who lost status or were entitled to registration due to enfranchisement (giving up status).  For all intents and purposes, any registrations under Section 6(1) requires the applicant to have two parents who are or were entitled to be registered as a Status Indian.

Section 6(2) permits the registration of persons with only one parent entitled to be registered under section 6(1).  The Act does not permit the registration of individuals with one non-status parent and one parent entitled to registration under section 6(2).  This is known as the “second generation cut-off rule”.  Indian Status would be terminated after two successive generations of intermarriage between Indians and non-Indians.

Let me sum up:  you require at least one parent who is a registered Status Indian, or is entitled to be registered.  So, if you were just looking for your Indian Card, unfortunately your great, great, Cherokee grandmother won't be able to help you.

But cheer up:  we don't get free housing or free money.  Those of us who benefit from the Treaty Right to tax exemption must live and work on-reserve.  Very few First Nations students are "sponsored".  We get student loans like everyone else.

Below is the Aboriginal Genealogy Guide from Collections Canada.  This will take you away from my site.  Good luck in your search.

Aboriginal Genealogy Guide

In order to determine if one of your ancestors was of Native origin, you should first compile a Family Tree. Census indicate each individual's ethnic origin. Some mention of aboriginal individuals can be found in Parish Registers, Land, Military Records and Publications.

Research at Library and Archives Canada

Library and Archives Canada holds records of the Department of Indian Affairs dating mainly from the late 1800s. The records are usually arranged by band, agency and district.

For information about searching Native ancestry, we recommend the following:

Research Online

Useful Web Addresses

Project Naming
An ongoing project to identify Inuit people represented in Library and Archives Canada's collections of photographs.

Red and Black Series
www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/red-black/index-e.html

Treaties, Surrenders and Agreements www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/treaties/index-e.html

Research in Other Institutions

Use AVITUS to find other Web sites about Aboriginal Ancestry such as guides produced by Nova Scotia, Ontario and Manitoba Provincial Archives.

Related Topics

Land Grants to Veterans