HELP. I need answers to how to "prove" my Native American heritage

[seekinganswers]

Without going on the Springer show, I want/need to
prove my heritage. My birth father, who I was told is
full blooded Cherokee, did not get listed on my birth certificate.
I have contacted the family, not him yet, because I want to
know for sure who my father is. He was asked about meeting
me and he isn't ready for that. Also, there is a chance, his brother is my father.

Is there a blood test that proves I am native? On my father's
birth certificate he isn't even listed as native. (It was not a good
thing to be back then).

I have checked with some of the local labs and they do not know or have the expertise to answer my question. With the DNA
tests available, is my request possible?

thanks

[docrose4]

I can tell you from first hand experience that the 25 marker test offered by Family Tree DNA can tell you if you have Native American genetics. The only catch is that you have to be a male. They test the Y-chromosome.

I had no idea that I was Native American on my father's side down through all the males in my line. I found out once I had the test and several other matches to me found out the same thing.

I don't work for Family Tree DNA and have no financial connection to them in any way. Just a satisfied customer.

I wish you well.

[Lucy]

Re: HELP. I need answers to how to "prove" my Native American heritage

Sounds to me like you have to questions:
1.) Who is my father?
2.) Do I have Native American ancestry?

If you could verify the answer to the first question, it appears you would have the answer to the second. There are labs who do paternity checking, but FamilyTreeDNA has all kinds of disclaimers in its documentation that it does not do paternity tests.

However, if you want the answer to the second question, there are a couple of tests. I can't ascertain if you are male or female from your posting, but if you are male, and your father's whole male line was Native American, then you could have one of the Y-DNA tests done. If you are female, or not sure if the whole male line is Native American, your best bet would be the DNAPrint test which can give you the percentage of Native American markers you have. If it approximates 50%, then chances are one of your parents was 100% Native American. However, the test is not refined to the point where it can give tribal affliations.

I also understand your reference pertaining to the paperwork affliated with your family's records as not being entirely accurate. Due to the results of the DNAPrint tests on some relatives, together with photographic evidence from the 1800's, it has become apparent that one of my great-grandmothers was of at least mixed blood. However, since the paperwork all shows "German" and/or "Prussian", some of the family refuses to believe this is so and state that the DNA tests must be "false positives".

Given the choice of believing photographs and DNA vs. believing hand-written documentation which could have easily been falsified, I think I'll go with the photos and DNA.