I can tell by the posts, most of the members are from surviving tribes in the west. And for that I am so happy. The Story of the Eastern Native, is one that goes back 400 years of attack, abuse, and purposeful elimination. As the Indian Removal Act stated, "The savages (Indians) do not know how to live, and as God fearing people it is our duty to conquer this land and show them what a God fearing life is" (something to that effect). They were just greedy and wanted what we had. Most of the surviving tribes in New England are just images of what was. We learned to integrate to avoid death or a life of poverty. There is roughly 400,000 Natives in New England yet only 30,000 that are federally recognized. We live next door to our neighbors, go to work, it is only when you step into our homes you see our love for our history, culture, and land. See, 400 years of discrimination, told "no work", we learned to hide. So for those of you who heard stories about Grandparents, Great Grandparents of Native connection, listen, follow where it leads, learn if you find. Church records especially Catholic, kept marriage records regardless of race, back to early 1800's, some even late 1700's.

Knowledge is power. Happy Thursday!