Genealogical Research — Trace Your True Indigenous Lineage

Your ancestors existed. They had names, land, and tribal identity. Paper genocide buried that truth — but it did not destroy it.

What Is This Service?

FIP's Genealogical Research service is a professional, systematic investigation of your family's true aboriginal North American lineage. We dig through the records that paper genocide tried to erase — and we find what's actually there.

This is not casual ancestry research. This is targeted forensic genealogy designed specifically for descendants of indigenous peoples who were misclassified as 'Black,' 'Negro,' 'Colored,' 'Mulatto,' or 'African-American' through colonial legal mechanisms.

Who This Service Is For

This service is for you if:

• Your family has always had stories about 'Indian' ancestry that no one could document

• Your ancestors appear as 'Mulatto,' 'Mustee,' or 'Other' in old census records

• Your racial classification changes between generations on official documents

• Your family lived in historically indigenous territory in the American Southeast or East

• You have ancestors with surnames connected to known tribal families

• You suspect Dawes Roll ancestry but don't know where to start

• You want documentary evidence to support an identity reclamation claim

What We Research

• U.S. Federal Census records (1790–1950) — tracking racial classification shifts across generations

• Dawes Rolls and Dawes Commission enrollment applications

• Freedmen's Bureau records and post-Civil War documentation

• Land deeds, patents, and property records

• Birth, marriage, and death certificates — including pre-Plecker Virginia records

• Military service records

• Church records, mission logs, and oral history documentation

• Tribal rolls beyond the Dawes Rolls (Baker Roll, Guion Miller Roll, etc.)

• State and county archives in historically indigenous territories

What You Receive

• A written genealogical report tracing your lineage as far back as documentation allows

• Copies of all key records found during research

• A family tree chart showing the paper genocide trail

• Identification of probable tribal affiliation based on documented evidence

• Recommendations for next steps (identity reclamation, tribal contact, land patent research)

Why FIP

Most genealogy services are not equipped to research paper genocide. Standard genealogists look at what records say. We look at why records changed — and what they were hiding.

We understand the specific legislative mechanisms that erased indigenous identity: the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, the Dawes Act, the Indian Reorganization Act, the one-drop rule. We know where the records are, how to interpret the classifications, and how to build the evidentiary chain that restores what was taken.

This isn't about finding out you're 'part Cherokee.' This is about finding out the full truth of who your people were — and building the documentation to prove it.

Begin Your Research

To apply for Genealogical Research services, submit a Member Application. In the 'Primary Service Interest' field, select Genealogical Research. Include as much family information as you have — names, approximate dates, locations, and any existing documents. The more we start with, the deeper we can go.

Federation of Indigenous Peoples · TribalAffairs@FIPnation.org · Sovereignty in Every Facet of Life