Many African Americans have family stories that were passed down from one generation to the next which include references to Native American ancestry. These stories were passed down from the elders in a matter-of-fact manner.  The conversations went something like this, “you know your great grandmother was an Indian”, or “remember grandpa. He was an Indian”. 

These facts were accepted without dispute or fanfare as simply another part of the rich African heritage and then African American life. But, as time went on curiosity about the Indian family roots generally took hold and evidence of the claims of Native American ancestry was sought.  

In reflection, it would only stand to reason that African American and Native American ancestral paths crossed. Both of these people were held in bondage and servitude. Each peoples having a legacy of pain at the hands of European influences. Black men and women were brought to the Americas and enslaved to work a land that was stolen from Red men and women. As a result from that time until eternity their ancestries and destinies were as one.