Though the stories above don't hold true to historical documentation, they are the reasons given for why a wannabe can't prove they really are Cherokee. Warren never offered a reason until she was asked. Then she said she never thought to ask for documentation because children don't do that. Knowing she was not a child when she started claiming and her mother was still alive at that time, the excuse does not make sense. Also, it does not fit the type of stories true wannabes tell. They offer some story they think is based in history. They say they have been told these stories since a child. Warren didn't offer any story, though she says she has heard this since she was a child. She has no story, but instead, just her claim. This troubles me.
Let's use examples of "family lore stories" from two other wannabe families I have researched and written about in this blog. One claims their grandfather abandoned one family after his wife died and went to Indian Territory and married again, starting an entirely new family and only registering the one in Indian Territory. I showed through documentation that there were two completely different men with the same name and the story was not true. But, the family did have a story.
Another family claimed their Cherokee ancestor used two different names and died in the east before the removal and his white wife was allowed to stay, but their family didn't know they were supposed to "sign up" for the rolls taken later. The team and I showed that story was not true because there were, once again, two different men involved. One was white and one was Cherokee. The white man died in the east in 1839, shortly after his family moved into the old Cherokee Nation after the Cherokees were removed. The Cherokee man ended up in Indian Territory after removing on the Trail of Tears, filing a claim in 1842 for lost property. Clearly they were two different men. But once again, the family had a story.
Warren does not have a story. She has a claim and that is all. This concerns me because families with such lore nearly always have "an explanation" as to why they ended up away from the Cherokee tribe. Like I said earlier, the explanation doesn't bear out in historical facts, but they have that story, nonetheless.
Add in the fact that Warren refuses to speak to any Native Americans and I start to suspect there is a problem in everything she has said about being Indian and it being an important part of her life. I'm familiar with those who have Cherokee family lore and they want to be around real Indians. They really believe they belong with us. They want to talk to Indians. They want to be friends with Indians. Wannabes want to be Indians. Warren clearly doesn't.
I think Warren's lack of a "family lore story" is something we all need to think about. I think this might be more serious than just a fake Indian story. I question the motives for the claim without the "family lore story." I have seen enough wannabes to know their traits. I know Warren is not an Indian. I highly suspect she is not a wannabe. If she is neither an Indian or a wannabe, that leaves one other option. There is one thing worse than being a wannabe. I will let my readers figure that one out on their own.
Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.
copyright 2012, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB
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Right on target, Twila!
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