Indian Country Today: Elizabeth Warren Avoids American Indian Media

[JDPriestly]

2. My family members told me I was related to a famous historical personage.

I feel very ordinary and certainly was never rich or powerful. Nor did I ever benefit from a relationship with a rich or powerful family member.

I scoffed. Turned out to be true, undoubtedly true.

So, you never know about these stories.

And it is nearly impossible to research Indian ancestry. People who intermarried hid the ethnicity of their spouses. People changed their names.

I don't think I am of Indian ancestry, but I have cousins who are -- and their mother was from Oklahoma. A lot of white people from families who lived in Oklahoma fairly early on have some intermarriage with Indian people.

And, some people with mixed Indian-Anglo heritage hid their Indian ancestry when it was convenient for them -- and vice versa -- claimed it if it meant for instance a tax exemption or some advantage.