Season 3, Episode 11: "Researching Your Native American Roots with Gwen TakesHorse (Chickasaw & Choctaw)"

Season 3 08 December 2022 Hits: 1434

“Indian Makes Attempt to Kill”. That’s the newspaper article heading I mentioned a few years back in the Facebook group, “Indian Territory and Oklahoma History” in order to share about my Uncle Cicero Coley shooting through the window of his white guardian’s house in an attempt to kill him for stealing his land allotments.

I had come to what I thought was the end of my years of research about my Coley family members and I hoped that perhaps this last-ditch attempt might spur some interest. Wouldn’t you know, it worked! A distant cousin of mine reached out to me and introduced me to another cousin, uncovering some missing pieces to my family story puzzle.

(I’m still looking for more Coley family members so if you know of any Choctaw Coleys, please reach out to me!)

Tracing lineage and finding the history and stories of our American Indian ancestors is quite the challenge. But today my guest is here to bring you (and me) some hope. Meet my guest, Gwen Takes Horse, a Genealogist at Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma who’s here to help us understand how to trace our Native roots!

The information Gwen shares is not just for Choctaws – it can apply to several other tribes. And she also has some good tips for us in general that can apply to anyone.

Take a listen, y’all and feel free to share your family stories with us if you’d like – we love to hear them!

If you’re Choctaw, the Choctaw Nation Genealogy Department can be reached by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 800-522-6170 (ask for the Genealogy Department).

Check out the group I mention in the episode: Indian Territory and Early Oklahoma History, 1800 - 1957: https://www.facebook.com/groups/687213838053719

Tracing your Native American roots:
National Indian Law Library: https://narf.org/nill/resources/roots.html
Ancestry.com Research: https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Researching-Native-American-Ancestors
Dawes rolls: https://www.okhistory.org/research/dawes
American Indian Records & Resources: https://www.okhistory.org/research/americanindians
Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/
Newspapers: https://www.newspapers.com/
Fold3: https://www.fold3.com/?group=1
Family Tree: https://www.familytree.com/