I am part Cherokee and have been wanting to further explore this aspect of myself, but do not know where to start. I was hoping someone here may be part of the tribe, more heavily involved with that community and able to offer me some guidance in regards to this.

-Madcap

My great-grandmother was Cherokee, but sadly I don't know that much about my heritage. Have you tried looking up Cherokee tribes in the U.S. on google? That might be a place to start. Good luck with your search!!

I've looked up a couple, but most seem to be situated a bit far from where I live. [ New york and Maryland. ]

Thank you very much for the well wishes.

-Madcap

I was in the same boat, my Grandmother had died and never liked discussing this aspect of our heritage. I would suggest, if you still have the chance, to talk to any relatives that might have information on your family history. I learned a lot about my family's history from my Great Uncles before they passed which I never would have known if I hadn't asked when I did. If you can find out the area they came from, subtribe or village, you can google for more information (if you're not able to travel to the area). There's a list of settlements here that might help, or you could research geneaology or even hire a professional genealogist to help out.

I have a little bit of Cherokee ancestry, too, but sadly no information for you. Mine is in the very distant past. My mother's maternal great-grandmother (I *think*) was born on a reservation and we think she was at least part Cherokee and my mother's paternal great-grandmother was certainly Cherokee. Her name was Orinda, which I'm told is a Cherokee name, but I'm not sure I understand the meaning of it.

My oldest half-sister, who also has Native American blood on her father's side, very much looks the part. (She is the image of my mother, actually.) When she was a child in the late forties and early fifties she was told not to admit to being an Indian in school (by the teachers) because the other children wouldn't like her. She remembers another little girl screaming that she (my sister) was going to scalp them all.

One thing I've heard is that there is a distinctive "Cherokee thumb". Anyone else heard of this? It's where your thumb naturally bends back beyond being in a plane with the rest of your hand. My sister can almost touch the back of her thumbnail to her wrist.

I don't think it's just a Cherokee trait, though. One of my favorite TV shows is an old show from the seventies called Emergency!, about two firefighter paramedics. One of the paramedics is played by a half-Seminole actor named Randolph Mantooth. I've just been watching the show on DVD and I noticed, in the opening credits, there's a scene where he's using his thumbs to flip apart pieces of a hypodermic needle and you can clearly see that his thumbs bend way back.

If you don't have much luck try some of them online Native American DNA Ancestry Testing sites, careful which one you decide to go with some are a little $uspect. Hope that helps ya out some.

edit; i almost forgot, try myspace, there are a lot of Native Americans full blood included that would be more than willing to help ya any which way.

Thank you very much! I will look at the settlement's website -- I'm sure that will help.. The problem with asking family is that I was adopted -- what I know about my biological parents is very limited. I've been thinking of tracking them down, though, which would certainly help.

Thank you again!
-Madcap