In Search of My Roots, A Native American Journey

By ArrowWing

August 31, 2010 – I’ve been sorting and searching through family history records for a clue that will tie my mother to the original peoples of this region. Ever since I was a child I felt that I wasn’t who people told me I was.  I knew I was Native American.  To others, I looked entirely African-American, and though proud, I knew this wasn’t my complete identity of who I am or where I came from.

To me, my family and I were like a outpost in Guam.  In the middle of nowhere.  Still I knew our rich history would be made evident at some point in my life.  We only had little pieces of the puzzle — a picture here, a letter there, that would trace my family back hundreds of years, in fact, thousands, to the original Lenni-Lenape people.

My mother is now in her 80’s and she has been yearning to reconnect for most of her life — to find those relatives she lost that she knew were Native American. As I search through my family history, every day brings a moment of wonderment.   So more recently, I’ve been like a detective looking for that piece of information that would tie my mom’s family stories back to her actual relatives. I just needed that tiny thread that would tie up those loose ends and bring it all together and make the connection she needed.

Guess what happened to me this week?  I discovered all I needed to know to connect my mom to her ancient family — the names, the dates, their descendants, everything I need so that my mother can become a member of her native tribe.

The Chief’s wife of the Lenni Lenape Nation said we have an open invitation to visit with the Elders of the tribe so that my mom can finally begin the process of applying to become a recognized member of the tribe.  Our visit will be on September 7th and we will share this story here.