Native American research is also very difficult. This is especially true for individuals of mixed ethnicity. In order to determine your Native American ancestry, you will need to determine the name of your ancestor who is either full blood Native American or one who has tribal affiliation. In order to do this you will need to check the Dawes Rolls, the 1860 census, the 1880 census and the 1865 special census for US territories. All of these items can be found in the National Archives. You can check the main location in Washington DC, in College Park, MD, or at other satellite locations throughout the US.

Once you have located the ancestor that is identified as a Native American you can then begin to research backward. You will eventually need to determine your tribe affiliation. Depending on how dilute your Native American ethnicity is, you may or may not be entitled to tribal affiliation. Just because your great-great-great-grandmother had Native American tribal affiliations it does not mean that you are entitled to the same. A lot depends on how dilute your ancestry is. If everyone one of your ancestors since your 3X great grandmother, married a non-Native American, then you probably will not qualify for tribal affiliations. You need to contact the tribe directly. Each tribe has its own criteria for affiliation. What you need to do is to have your genealogy properly documented, and submit it according to the guidelines set out by the tribe.