This work is designed to help you determine the truth about your Indian ancestry. It focuses on the toughest period to research--the century or so prior to the removal of the Southeastern nations to Indian Territory, the point at which records were regularly maintained. It provides the cultural, genealogical, and historical background needed to turn family stories into proved lineages. And it outlines a method of research that can carry you from the colonial period to the great tribal rolls of the mid-to-late nineteenth century, using the unique records kept by American, English, French, and Spanish governments.