I know my great great Grandfathers wife was 100% choctaw. One of the benefits of being a true Native American descendant is that you are not obligated to pay taxes since originally this land belonged to you people, this was a very important treaty with the government and the Five Civilized Indian tribes – the Cherokee, the Choctaw, the Chickasaw, the Creek and the Seminole Tribes. General information about applying for any of the above-listed benefits involves contacting your local Bureau of Indian Affairs office[xviii] for more information. His last name was Robinson. Specifically healthcare. Her name was possibly Martha( do not know her tribal name). Low and behold today I discovered my great grandparents and some of their children are listed on the Choctaw rolls...Am I entitled to any benefits? Ten years later the 1910 census provides us with additional clues as to how they were perceived or identified themselves. How to Apply for Native American Benefits. Without personally knowing any descendants of the SHIELDS it is difficult to say if they have maintained their Choctaw identity or become black as a result of their marriages to other blacks. Descendants of William Buford Brown and others named in the case Nancy Cooper v. The Choctaw Nation were granted their Choctaw tribal membership cards and benefits again, after a miscarriage of justice that had lasted 115 years. This action was done in compliance with the Treaty of Fort Smith in 1866 and gave the former slaves AND THEIR descendants full rights, the same as Choctaw “citizens by blood.” Members of some Native American tribes receive cash payouts from gaming revenue. This put a 200-mile buffer zone between the Choctaws and the Comanches. We know the Choctaw Nation officially adopted the former slaves of that nation and their descendants in 1885. In the end, through mismanagement, lack of funding, and community problems, much of the proposed benefits never really come to light. Any help is appreciated. You will also want to consult the Dawes Rolls , which are census documents prepared between 1898 and 1914 when American Indians were being relocated to government reservations. This would mean that all children of freedmen would be eligible for benefits even if they were born years after the Treaty of 1866 and were never born into slavery. Instead, they were descendants of the indigenous Choctaw Indians of southwest Alabama. He asked me to look up any information regarding how he could go about knowing what kind of benefits he could receive. Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek This section of our website is being created for those who have searched in vain for their Mississippi Choctaw Ancestors. A friend of mine recently found out his grandmother was 100% Choctaw and now he is registered with the Choctaw nation. As Euro-Americans became more involved in the African transatlantic slave trade, the Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole Nations adopted their heritable, race-based slavery, as … Only have a verbal history and grandparents and father are no … I do not have any clear information. Originally appearing in The Alabama Review, Volume 59, July 2006, pages 163-204. I am 43 and grew up being told that my mother's ancestry is Cherokee but no one could find any family on the Cherokee rolls. 23andme test shows Native ancestry during 1700-1800. The Choctaw gave the middle one-third of the Nation to the Chickasaws. You will need to research your ancestry using birth certificates, family records, and tribal history. Two Days Too Late.