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In about 1800, fur trader Charles Ermatinger married an Obijwa woman, Mananowe. Their three sons grew up with both their mother's hunter-warrior culture and their father's European culture. As adults, they lived adventurously in Montreal and St Thomas, where they were accepted and loved by fellow citizens while publicly retaining their Ojibwa heritage.

The Ermatingers contrasts the "European" commercial and trading society in urban Montreal, where Charles was brought up, with the Ojibwa hunter/warrior values of Mananowe's society. Their sons variously risked life at war in Spain and in the Upper and Lower Canada rebellions, policed Montreal streets in an era of riots, spied on the Fenians on the US border, and made a hazardous journey to help establish the Canadian Pacific Railway's route. Brian Stewart argues that the sons' Ojibwa traditions and values shaped their adult lives: during their adventures, the sons fought for Native rights for themselves as well as for Ojibwa relatives and friends.

The Ermatingers is an exciting story that contributes to our understanding of Indian and European biculturalism and its effects on those who make up the various forms of Metis society today. It will appeal to general readers as well as scholars and students in Native studies and Canadian history. ... Read more

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Looking for First American ancestors today becomes something of a detective story - and this work by Snow Flower will help you fit the pieces of your family's story together.Snow Flower outlines her own search for Native ancestors, using her story as an ... Read more

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Research aid for those seeking Native American ancestors! Section I lists individuals who are being researched. When known, these entries include the date and location of birth, marriage and death. The biographical information is followed by a "Family Tradition," which is a story passed down about the ancestor, accompanied by or including various details which have been unearthed concerning the individual. The last part of each entry is the name of the researcher who provided the name and data within the entry. Section II of the book is made up of a list of "Indian Tribes and Organizations searching for lost tribal members." ... Read more

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1885 Santee-Sioux Native American, Nebraska Census Index is a high quality resource for those interested in early, historical census records from Santee-Sioux Native American, Nebraska. This publication which includes basic information such as names, age and place of birth is perfect for those conducting geneaological research. ... Read more

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Genealogical study of the following families: Doty, King, Miller, Force, and Kelly. ... Read more

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1890 Santee-Sioux Native American, Nebraska Census Index is a high quality resource for those interested in early, historical census records from Santee-Sioux Native American, Nebraska. This publication which includes basic information such as names, age and place of birth is perfect for those conducting geneaological research. ... Read more

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This book is a transcription of the 1880 Cherokee Nation census, complete with census card numbers, which were added in 1900. The Dawes Commission used these census cards for tribal enrollment, and each tribe had their own census cards. Some persons may a ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Breathes life into history
Being married to a "mixed blood" (Ojibwe, Lakota and French) for 35 years has given me a bird's eye view into how my husband doesn't feel he fits in either world, white or Indian. I am very familiar with Native history and have visited Fort Ridgely and Fort Snelling and the area they were confined to after the long march, however Diane Wilson breathes life into these stories, giving me an even deeper understanding and perspective of the mixed blood's experience of previous generations. I didn't want to put this book down. I have passed it on to my husband and will recommend it to our four daughters. I highly recommend it.

A stirring combination of history and memoir
The road to discovering the details of one's family tree can be an emotional ride, especially when potentially painful memories are uncovered.Diane Wilson, the daughter of a Swedish American father and a mother with Native American roots, sets out to fill in the blanks of her maternal ancestry while her mother is still alive to confirm them.She wants to figure out her place within the wider view of the world, and more specifically, within the history and geography of her part of it:Minnesota and the Dakotas and their Native populations.

Her narrative weaves back and forth:from her own genealogical research and interviews with her mother and aunts, to the fate of the Dakota Sioux who lived along the Minnesota River in 1862.By working both ends, she comes upon her own truths, somewhere in the middle.Here she provides insights that traditional history texts cannot.Wilson relates her story within the framework of her participation in the Dakota Commemorative March of 2002, which duplicated another "Trail of Tears" march of 150 miles from the Lower Sioux Agency in Redwood to Fort Snelling in Minneapolis.To walk where her own people have walked serves as a powerful culmination to her research.

Anyone who has driven the interstates and back roads of the Northern Plains will recognize many of Wilson's routes, but probably not her specific destinations.With her genealogical mission in mind, she feels at times as though her car is filled with the ghosts of her ancestors, all demanding her attention and to tell their own stories.Surely hers took on the characteristics of a magical quest in search of self.

"Spirit Car" is one woman's story and memoir, successfully connecting the Then to the Now in a very personal way.Readers should be grateful to be able to tag along.

An honorable tribute of a proud people
Jumping into this work was like being wrapped in a time machine and taken back to places and circumstances hidden from history.It carries the feel of a story being shared by Lakota elders in the context of one families linage.So personnal, yet compellingas it takes you on a journey into the depths of Souix people at the apex of cultural modification programs for Native Americans.It's a view of history reserved for those who made the trip.A great read anyway you look at it!!

Great way to learn dakota history we weren't taught in school
I couldn't put it down...read it over the weekend. This was a great book to get an intimate perspective of dakota native american life during the 1860's that was woven into the tracing of family roots. I learned a lot of details from that time and bonded with the family-I loved seeing pictures of several generations and following the impact of how events that happened long ago still impact us generations later. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful Primary Source Document
For a good primary source document of the Creek Nation from one of their own, this is an excellent source.There is a discussion not only of their customs in Alabama, but also of the events of Creek Wars, including a mention of Fort Mims.Unfortunately as a genealogical resource for those of the Tensaw area, this is somewhat lacking (though it was never intended for that purpose).


Maybe I'm partial, because I'm a descendant of Mr. Stiggins.;) ... Read more

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In 1904 the Eastern Cherokees won a million dollar judgment against the U.S. because of its violations of the treaties of 1835-36 and 1845. The payments were to go to all living persons who had been members of the Cherokee tribe at the time of the treatie ... Read more

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In this poignant collection of oral histories, four Indian elders recount their life stories in their own quiet but uncompromising words. Growing up and living in Minnesota and the Dakotas, Stella Pretty Sounding Flute and Iola Columbus (Dakota)and Celane Not Help Him and Cecelia Hernandez Montgomery (Lakota) share recollections of early family life interrupted by years at government boarding schools designed to eradicate tribal culture. Recounting their complex lives, the grandmothers reveal how they survived diYcult circumstances to become activists in Indian politics, reconciling urban with reservation life and Christianity with native spirituality. Particularly memorable is one grandmother’s detailed family account of the tragic events and consequences of the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. Defying stereotypes, these clear and forthright voices are unforgettable. As the traditional teachers and bearers of culture, the grandmothers also share their concern for future generations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not New Age Garbage
"Honoring the Grandmothers" is a slim book, barely bigger than your average sized pamphlet. Edited by Sarah Penman, a video and radio commentator living in Minnesota, the book is a collection of musings by four Dakota/Lakota grandmothers about traditional Indian knowledge and customs and how they relate to today's fast paced world. Penman captured the stories on tape over a period of years, working hard to overcome many obstacles to get the stories to us, the reader. There is little commentary on the stories; Penman allows them to speak for themselves. Two of the grandmothers have since passed away, but their words do continue to speak about maintaining dignity and culture in a world that likes to forget about the Indians and their way of life.

Celane Not Help Him is the first speaker presented in the book. Celane did not have an easy life; she lived in poverty for most of her life, with little formal education. Her family lost their property when the United States Air Force confiscated it during WWII for use as an artillery range. Celane is the granddaughter of Iron Hail, a Lakota who survived the Battle of Little Big Horn and the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890. Celane provides an oral history of Wounded Knee that is both enlightening in historical terms and depressing in an emotional sense. It is hard to read Celane's account, as her speaking skills do not land easily on an English-speaking ear. It is best to read the account straight through, and then think about it for a time. When this is done, Celane comes across as clear as a star in the sky.

The next set of stories comes from Stella Pretty Sounding Flute, a Wahpekute-Hunkpati Dakota. The Dakota people, like most Indians, had difficulties dealing with the burgeoning white population of America in the 19th century. After years of declining fortunes, an 1862 uprising in Minnesota brought down every bit of force the American government could muster on the Dakotas. The Dakota did not disappear, but scattered throughout Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Stella does not concern herself with these events as much as she does with the traditions she learned from her own grandparents. Her grandmother passed on skills and knowledge that no school can teach. Stella discusses the loss of the Black Hills, the traditions of pipe carrying, and spiritual beliefs.

The third storyteller is Cecilia Hernandez Montgomery. Cecilia is part Mexican, part Oglala Sioux, and part firecracker. This is one tough dame. Cecilia spent time in a Catholic school (back when they REALLY used the ruler), studied music, and worked herself dizzy at a series of low paying jobs. Cecilia really came into her own when she started a career as an activist in South Dakota, working hard to improve the living conditions of poor people (all poor people, not just Indians). She sits on many boards, committees, and still pounds the pavement when problems arise. She did all of this into her seventies and beyond, not only exploding the myth of the lazy Indian but also causing irreparable harm to the conception that old people cannot do anything of value.

The last narrative comes from Iola Columbus, a Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota. Like many other Indians, Columbus spent time in an Indian boarding school, where military discipline combined with strict adherence to corporeal punishment attempted to erase the "Indian" from the Indians. Columbus's story is different from the others because she went on to become the first woman elected to tribal chair in the state of Minnesota. She later founded a grandmother's society, where women elders can gather to share traditional knowledge with new generations.

"Honoring the Grandmothers" is really a book about the elderly and their marginalized role in American society. This is occurring not only in white society but in Indian society as well. A couple of the grandmothers lament the fact that their knowledge is not passed on, but disappearing as older members of Indian tribes pass away. In short, the same mentality (of the doddering old fool who is well past his/her prime) that leads whites to toss the elderly into nursing homes happens in Indian society as well. The elderly are rich sources of knowledge and culture in every society. We ignore them at our own peril. ... Read more

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Harsh "racial" segregation during the Jim Crow era prevented South Carolina's Indian groups from assimilating. Due to their three-fold genetic admixture, they were labeled with such fanciful names as Red Bones, Brass Ankles, Croatans, Turks, and "not real Indians" at all. For generations, South Carolina's remaining Indians struggled to avoid reduction to the oppressed social status of "Negroes." Their desperation eventually fostered anti-Black sentiment within some of the groups, an affliction that still infects a few of the older community members.

Generations have passed since the Jim Crow era. Today, the Palmetto State's Indians focus less on imagined "racial purity" and more on the welfare of their communities, preserving their customs, and honoring their ancient traditions.

Much work remains to be done by and for all of the tribal groups of South Carolina. The tribes strive to convert state recognition, which now serves only as a morale booster, into a true vehicle to promote tribal educational, economic, and healthcare improvement. South Carolina's state-recognized tribes are now hard at work to accomplish this goal.

"When the author has spent many years traveling to Indian communities around the Southeast and talking to Indian elders, as Pony Hill has done, he must be admired not only for his authenticity, but also for his scholarship. This book, then, is where an authentic perspective is enhanced by thorough scholarship." -- John H. Moore, Ph.D, Anthropology Department, University of Florida.

S.Pony Hill: was born in Jackson County, Florida. He holds a degree in Criminal Justice from Keiser University, Dean's List, Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society member. He was previously a contract researcher for federal recognition grants under Administration for Native Americans and for members of the United Ketowah Band, Cherokee Nation and Sumter Band of Cheraw, specializing in Southeastern Indian documentation. He is the author of Patriot Chiefs and Loyal Braves available online. Mr. Hill currently lives in San Antonio, Texas.

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Deceit, compromise, and betrayal were the painful costs of becoming American for many families. For people of Indian, African, and European descent living in the newly formed United States, the most personal and emotional choices--to honor a friendship or pursue an intimate relationship--were often necessarily guided by the harsh economic realities imposed by the country's racial hierarchy.Few families in American history embody this struggle to survive the pervasive onslaught of racism more than the Graysons.
Like many other residents of the eighteenth-century Native American South, where Black-Indian relations bore little social stigma, Katy Grayson and her brother William--both Creek Indians--had children with partners of African descent.As the plantation economy began to spread across their native land soon after the birth of the American republic, however, Katy abandoned her black partner and children to marry a Scottish-Creek man.She herself became a slaveholder, embracing slavery as a public display of her elevated place in America's racial hierarchy.William, by contrast, refused to leave his black wife and their several children and even legally emancipated them.
Traveling separate paths, the Graysons survived the invasion of the Creek Nation by U.S. troops in 1813 and again in 1836 and endured the Trail of Tears, only to confront each other on the battlefield during the Civil War.Afterwards, they refused to recognize each other's existence.In 1907, when Creek Indians became U.S. citizens, Oklahoma gave force of law to the family schism by defining some Graysons as white, others as black.Tracking a full five generations of the Grayson family and basing his account in part on unprecedented access to the forty-four volume diary of G. W. Grayson, the one-time principal chief of the Creek Nation, Claudio Saunt tells not only of America's past, but of its present, shedding light on one of the most contentious issues in Indian politics, the role of "blood" in the construction of identity.
Overwhelmed by the racial hierarchy in the United States and compelled to adopt the very ideology that oppressed them, the Graysons denied their kin, enslaved their relatives, married their masters, and went to war against each other.Claudio Saunt gives us not only a remarkable saga in its own right but one that illustrates the centrality of race in the American experience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The material origins of racism
An intriguing study of the social forces and personal choices that give rise to racist attitudes in a family and a nation. The author shows the complicated origins of racism within one family, illustrating the many and lengthy consequences of some fateful decisions about who one marries, which ancestors one claims and which one denies.The book also demonstrates the powerful illusions many people hold about their pasts, illusions that serve one's present needs more than any sense of truth.

A good read, too, for students of Oklahoma history and of American Indian history.

Enjoyed reading this book
I agree with Gerald Rosen, opens your eyes to new ways of thinking about the history you learned differently in school. Had to read this book for a college course. Great book, will be keeping this one.

The Complexities of Race in America
I will always see the history of race in America differently after reading this courageous book.Professor Saunt complicates issues that once seemed more simple, but I take this as a result of his deep research and honesty about a sensitive matter. The book left me with great sympathy for those minority people who have had to make difficult choices in order to survive in an impossible, racist environment.What Faulkner saw intuitively, Saunt documents with careful research, that we are all brothers in America, literally.The lines between the races in America are tenuous at best, and often non-existent, much more a matter of choice and chance and upbringing than of blood and DNA.

some good facts, but too many assumptions
I'm one of the descendents of Katy Grayson, I've read the book cover to cover, and I was appalled at the mis-information and "selective reporting" that was perpetrated in this book. Claudio indeed obtained information from our family, but as his project progressed, it became apparent he had some sort of agenda to fulfill. The family (who is connected on the Internet) stopped emailing the fellow, lest something we say be twisted totally out of proportion. I think the most glaring example of misinformation in the book is the lack of critical thinking in assuming ANYTHING about the ethnic origins of our ancestress (Katy Grayson's mother), Sinoegee. All we know is, she was Native American, and married Robert Grierson of Scotland in Hillabee, Alabama. Assuming more is fantasy, not history.

I must give Mr. Saunt his due, in that he found many interesting facts that add to my own genealogical research into the Grayson family. I personally have no issues with my great great great grandmother Katy having children with a man of African origin. If any of my distant cousins, descended from "Black Graysons" are reading, I greet you with open arms and hope we can exchange notes. What disturbs me about the book is that it appears to have been written specifically to cause racial strife of some kind. We don't need this sort of book in our society today, I find it in bad taste and a more than a bit disgusting.

If Mr. Saunt wishes to distort sad events that happened 200 years ago, he is a man out of time. Civilization has and should progress beyond anger between the races over American slavery. The Irish and Scots were enslaved by the English in the past. Native Americans were enslaved by each other, and by the Spanish. African tribes conquered their neighbors and sold them for monetary gain and rum. If we were to drag out all the inequities of the past, the hatred would never end. I say, Mr. Saunt needs to let go of his anger, and quit portraying my family history through his selective informational lens. He needs to be more constructive with his research, and quit trying to hurt people by assuming motivations of their ancestors long dead and buried.

Putting it bluntly, Mr. Saunt is a very poor historical researcher, and needs to be more clinical in his fact gathering.

For what it's worth, my family has what is probably the only picture of Katy Grayson, and she is a very dark lady indeed, and very beautiful. I'm proud to be her red-headed descendent. She survived Indian Removal, and ALL of her descendants have nothing in any way shape or form to be ashamed of. We Graysons survived some very tough times by using our brains, and not worrying about the color of our skins.
... Read more

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1890 Cherokee Nation Census – Barbara Benge. This bookis a transcription of the 1890 Cherokee Nation Census in the sameformat used by the Federal 1890 census. This census will help tobridge the gap between the 1880 Cherokee Nation census and the Dawesroll done in 1902. Districts covered: Canadian, Cooweescoowee,Delaware, Flint, Goingsnake, Illinois, Saline, Sequoyah, Tahlequah,and Orphans. The transcription of this census is divided into twovolumes and includes names, race, age, marital status and sex, withadditional remarks by the original census takers. 2002, 2 vols., 863pp., 8.5x11, index, paper. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Sadly disappointed.
Had I been able to actually see the book I wouldn't have purchased it. I would liked to have seen a sample of what the 1890 census sheet actually looked like to relate to the info obtained.I would also liked to have seen a map referring to where the areas were located then compared to now. I feel the book is incomplete.

A good resource, with certain reservations
It doesn't take long for novice genealogists to discover the absence of the 1890 U.S. census, destroyed in a fire in the 1920s, but there's a geographical exception of which only those doing Oklahoma research are generally aware -- Indian Territory, in what is now eastern Oklahoma. The territory was divided into ten districts and the methods followed in the enumeration were the same as for the census at large, with 105 columns in six schedules. This transcription appears to include only the first two schedules: Native Cherokees, Shawnees, and Delawares, and adopted whites; and orphans under the age of sixteen. Information transcribed includes only page and line number, name, race, sex, age, marital status, occupation, and remarks (and there seem to be many more remarks by census-takers than one would expect in a state enumeration). Since Native American documentary resources are so slim, the researcher will want to pursue the more specialized schedules. It should be noted that most of the names as recorded don't sound "Indian." Edward Goodman is listed as a "Native Cherokee," and so is George Wilkerson, though you will also find listings for Sa-gi-ya Bearpaw and Seali Going Snake. As with any census, spelling of surnames varies considerably and Benge has made an effort to consolidate variant spellings in the index (though the researcher, of course, should not assume that two similar names actually are cognates). Happily, data is not alphabetized but is presented in the original recorded order. While I cannot judge the accuracy of Benge's transcription, I saw very few blanks or question marks, which may be either an indication of skilled reading or of exceptionally clear penmanship. While this is a very useful resource for the genealogist who has just uncovered Native American ancestry, I wish the compiler had included a much lengthier introduction and perhaps a few maps of the districts. ... Read more

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The Treaty of New Echota displaced the largest portion of the Eastern Cherokee, and created massive claims records. Although the majority of Cherokees were left destitute after their migration to Indian Territory, the eighth article of the treaty provided some relief, however minimal, by providing both the cost of transportation and subsistence for one year. To receive these payments, individuals had to prove their Cherokee citizenship. As a result, invaluable affidavits were created by those individuals describing their lives and the lives of their families before during, and after the infamous Trail of Tears. While many of the Cherokee names contained in these records are clearly identifiable in the 1835 Cherokee Census (or Henderson Roll), there are many who are validated tribal members whose names are absent from that census. The first of a set of two volumes, this book guides inexperienced researchers through its pages beginning with the introduction that describes what the records are and how they were created, allowing readers to fully grasp the true value of the documents. Ms. Stricklin helps the researcher understand the transcribed documents contained in the book with three appendices that focus on the Cherokee language and how to understand the transcriptions and extracts, along with how to interpret the accompanying citations. A bibliography, suggested reading list, and complete name and place index are also included, so that researchers can utilize and gain the maximum benefit from the records contained in this publication. ... Read more

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A variety of individuals, libraries, and museums interested in Native American genealogy will find this work informative. This book is the last of three volumes intended to be genealogical reference guides for those seeking to identify a name among the In ... Read more

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Contains data about the Cayuga, Chippewa (Ojibway), Delaware, Mohawk, Munsee, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora who either migrated to or were natives of Ontario and Quebec, Canada. Secondary surname data is included for the Abenaki, Montauk, Nantico ... Read more

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