Tika & Native American Research

The Spokane River is the boundary between Spokane and Stevens counties. Also, the north shore of the river borders the Spokane Indian Reservation. Boating there once, far up (east) on the river, we spotted an Indian cemetery high on a sandy bluff. I was explaining to Tika (who never misses a boat trip) about our local Native American peoples.

While I've learned that in my pedigree I have no Native American ancestry, I'm sympathetic to those who are so lucky. To that end, I picked up a flyer at the Family History down in Salt Lake City that details Finding Your Indian Ancestor. So I was explaining these tips to Tika:

1.  Find out where your ancestor lived.
2.  Find what tribes were located in the area where your ancestor lives, and learn who kept the records.
3.  Search all record types for your ancestor's time period and location.
4.  Identify and locate specific records by using the Family History Library Catalog.
5.  Search the records for your ancestor.

While I don't know if you can request a copy of this little flyer, I do know that if you click to www.familysearch.org and then "search" and then "Wiki" you will get 3996 hits for "Indian" and 1755 hits for "Native American."  

And I learned this tidbit:

Did You Know?

• The term Indians of North America is the traditional term used by English-speaking non-Native Americans. Despite the widespread use of the term, both within the Native American community and the North American population, many people prefer to use the term Native Americans, acknowledging the fact that these peoples were the original inhabitants of the continent. The term is associated with the 1960's Native American campaigns for civil rights - campaigns which helped to change the policy of the federal government to one of self determination for the tribal communities.

Tika says, "Don't ever give up on finding your Indian ancestors.... just keep looking and learning about new records and resources."  I agree! 

Tika & Southern Research Tidbits

Ever since Tika was a little #2 puppy (late fall of 2009), I've been teaching her how to do Southern research. Since there is a long list of reasons why researching in the southern U.S. is a tad more difficult than for other localities, I thought today that Tika and I would share some resource tidbits with you concerning Southern research.

1.  Tyler's Quarterly Historical & Genealogical Magazine began publication in June 1919 and continued under that name until 1952. Clicking to this link, https://archive.org/details/tylersquarterlyh03,  you can freely access a wealth of information on southern families.

2.  DAR Magazine Index:  1892-1997 is just what it says, an index to the Genealogical Notes & Queries published in the DAR Magazine beginning in July 1900. Over 40,000 queries were published in that magazine up to 1997. I looked at this 3-volume index at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, but here's a tidbit for you: http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2009/11/19/SearchDARGenealogyIndexesFreeOnline.aspx

While the DAR may not have this 105-year index available freely online, they do offer a parallel search service. It's free; why not check it out?

3.  Edward Pleasants Valentine Papers:  Abstracts of Records in the Local and General Archives of Virginia Relating to (various Southern) Families. Again, I looked at these books at the Family History Library but we both can now access this southern database via Ancestry.com! If you are not a subscribing member, you can use Ancestry for free at your nearby FamilySearch Center.

On a lighter note, and since it's springtime and windy time, here is a little poem for you from William Howitt, (1792-1879):  The wind one morning sprang up from sleep, Saying "Now for a frolic, now for a leap!  Now for a madcap galloping chase! I'll make a commotion in every place." 

Tika likes to "frolic in the wind" and at a "madcap galloping chase!"  If I left her off her leash, she be "making a commotion" over in your county!!

Tika & Smiling

Was sharing a good quote with Tika the other day:  "Want to know how the secret of how to wake up in the morning with a smile on your face? Go to bed with a coat hanger in your mouth." (Richard G. Scott).

Now does that not make you laugh? Or at least smile at the image? Tika says, "Hey, I'm smiling without that coat hanger!"

So why is Tika (and me too!) smiling? Because the snow is almost gone!! Tika is so eager to get outside and frankly so am I. Cannot help but think about my ancestors snowbound in their dimly-lighted little cabins, with a passel of sick children, for months and months. At least we can get out and go places. And we still complain about being sunless and housebound. "Buckle up!" says Tika. "If they could do it, we can do it too. But (woof, woof) I'm so glad spring is here!!"  Me too, Tika.

Even without a coat hanger.