Indigenous & Native Peoples

Peoples & Communities

Indigenous & Native Peoples

A genealogy resource hub for researching Indigenous and Native ancestry in the United States and Canada. This hub brings together research guides, archives, tribal and community resources, historical records, census material, rolls, land records, school records, residential-school resources and DNA guidance.

Research principle: Indigenous genealogy is not one single record system. Records may have been created by Indigenous nations and communities, churches, missions, colonial governments, federal agencies, states, provinces, schools, courts and local institutions. Tribal or community citizenship should never be inferred solely from a DNA ethnicity estimate or from one historical document.

Explore this resource hub

Start here

1. Start with the family

Begin with known parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Record names, dates, places, occupations, spouses, children and every source supporting each relationship.

2. Identify the historical place

Do not rely only on a modern state or province. Determine the historical county, territory, reservation, reserve, village, mission, agency or community connected to the family.

3. Identify the community

Look for the historical nation, tribe, band, community, reserve or reservation. Search historical names and spelling variants as well as current terminology.

4. Move into specialized records

Once the community and historical location are reasonably established, search rolls, census records, agency files, land records, school records, church records, applications and other specialized sources.

United States

The United States section is divided into regional research hubs because Indigenous genealogy differs considerably between regions, nations, historical territories and federal administrative systems.

United States research path

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United States regional research hubs

``` Northeast Indigenous nations and communities of the northeastern United States, including New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Southeast Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, Seminole and many other southeastern communities. Great Lakes Indigenous nations around the Great Lakes and historical migration corridors. Great Plains Plains nations, reservations, agencies, census records and migration research. Southwest Indigenous communities of the American Southwest and surrounding historical territories. Mountain West Indigenous nations, reservations, federal records and migration across the interior West. Pacific Northwest Indigenous communities and historical records from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and surrounding areas. California California tribes, rancherias, missions, federal records and historical community research. Alaska Native Peoples Alaska Native communities, regional records, federal records and local history. ```

United States: national research resources

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National Archives

Library of Congress

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Genealogy platforms

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Canada

The Canadian section is divided into First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Each research path has its own historical context, records and community structures.

Canada research path

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Canada: First Nations, Inuit & Métis

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First Nations
Nation, band, reserve, status and community research
Inuit
Inuit Nunangat, Arctic communities and Inuit family history
Métis
Red River, Western Canada, scrip and Métis family history
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Canada: national research resources

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Library and Archives Canada

Canadian record collections

Indigenous organizations

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Core record types

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Census and enumeration

Birth, marriage and death

Church and mission records

Land and property

Military and service

Newspapers and directories

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Tribal rolls, enrollment and applications

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Historical rolls can be extremely valuable for identifying individuals, families, ages, relationships and community connections. Different rolls were created for different purposes, however, and their coverage varies.

Important: A historical roll and modern tribal citizenship are not the same thing. Indigenous nations determine their own citizenship and enrollment requirements.
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Land, treaties, reservations, reserves and allotment

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United States

Canada

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Schools and education records

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United States

School and boarding-school records may contain names, ages, family relationships, residences, tribal affiliations, correspondence and other information that is difficult to find elsewhere.

Canada

Educational records are particularly important when researching the residential-school system and the movement of Indigenous children between communities and institutions.

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Residential schools, assimilation and historical trauma

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Indigenous family histories may intersect with forced relocation, residential schools, child removal, institutionalization, renaming and other colonial policies. These records can contain important genealogical evidence, but they may also contain traumatic material or historical terminology that is no longer appropriate.

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Digital collections and online research

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Archives

Genealogy databases

Books and publications

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Community history, oral history and local sources

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Look beyond government records

Family histories are often preserved through community publications, oral histories, photographs, local newspapers, tribal or community histories, language materials and privately held family collections.

Names and terminology

Historical records may contain older names, alternate spellings, administrative terminology or names imposed by colonial institutions. Record what the historical source says, but use current respectful terminology when describing the community today.

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DNA and Indigenous ancestry

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DNA can help genealogists investigate biological relationships and test specific family-history hypotheses. It should not be treated as proof of membership in a particular Indigenous nation or community.

Autosomal DNA

Useful for identifying genetic cousins and testing relationships across several branches of a family tree.

Y-DNA

Useful for investigating a documented direct paternal line through father-to-son inheritance.

mtDNA

Useful for investigating a documented direct maternal line through mitochondrial inheritance.

Important: Ethnicity estimates are not tribal citizenship tests. Use DNA to support documentary research and specific relationship hypotheses rather than as standalone proof of Indigenous identity.
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Research method

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Phase 1 - Family evidence

  1. Start with yourself and known relatives.
  2. Collect certificates and family documents.
  3. Record exact places.
  4. Document every claim of Indigenous ancestry.
  5. Separate family tradition from documented evidence.

Phase 2 - Community identification

  1. Identify the historical community.
  2. Identify the historical territory.
  3. Search spelling variants.
  4. Check older community names.
  5. Identify the relevant government or institution.

Phase 3 - Specialized records

  1. Search census records.
  2. Search tribal or band rolls.
  3. Search agency records.
  4. Search land and allotment records.
  5. Search school and church records.

Phase 4 - Corroboration

  1. Compare independent records.
  2. Track neighbors and witnesses.
  3. Compare names across record systems.
  4. Test DNA hypotheses.
  5. Preserve the source for every conclusion.
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Research checklist

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Person

  • Full name
  • Name variants
  • Birth
  • Marriage
  • Death

Community

  • Nation
  • Tribe or band
  • Reservation or reserve
  • Village or settlement
  • Mission or church

Family

  • Parents
  • Spouse
  • Children
  • Siblings
  • Neighbors

Records

  • Census
  • Rolls
  • Land
  • School
  • Church

Historical context

  • Treaties
  • Relocation
  • Reservation or reserve creation
  • Allotment
  • Migration

Evidence

  • Original record
  • Archive reference
  • Digital image
  • Secondary source
  • DNA evidence
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Primary portals

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United States

Canada

Cross-border research

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Continue into a specific research path

This page is the main Indigenous & Native Peoples hub. The next level contains the detailed United States regional pages and the Canadian First Nations, Inuit and Métis pages.

From those pages, the research can become progressively more specific: region, state or province, nation or community, historical record type and individual family.

Back to Peoples & Communities ```
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