For the last few years I've been searching for my Indian roots and it's hard, because our ancestors who escaped from the Trail of Tears hid so well and lived in such a world of secrecy, there aren�t many records except for the ones made by the government for the purpose of control. My grandmother's name was Hendrix and I've found many Hendrix's on the Dawes roll but proving they're my ancestors or related to me through my grandmother will be hard to do.
As I go through this process, I will share links to help others on the same quest.
I was born in 1947, south Georgia, and when I was a little girl and heard the word Indian it was spoken in whispers and along with the word heathen and savage. I heard the word half-breed and never knew what it meant until I was older. I knew from the tone the words were not nice.
I also loved movies and T.V. and I watched Indians portrayed as bad, while the white men or cowboys were shown as the hero or good guys.
When we played cowboys and Indians I never wanted to be a cowboy because deep inside I knew all I heard had been lies and the Indians were to be respected.
On my moms side I didn�t find out about the Davis bloodline until a few years ago. I lived with my mom when she was dying from cancer and she told me that there was Cherokee blood in her family they just weren't allowed to talk about it for reasons I can guess. I talked to an aunt at my moms funeral and she did tell me my grandpa used to talk about his Indian heritage but it was something they were not allowed to talk about.
Back then being white meant better living. |
