About

“Native American Roots” is a blog dedicated to the genealogical and historical research of Native Americans of Granville County, North Carolina and neighboring counties. My name is Kianga Lucas and I am the author of this blog as well as a descendant of this community. I hope this blog will better inform the public, researchers, and descendants about the Indigenous history and heritage of this region. All content and opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own unless noted otherwise. This blog uses primary source records and follows the genealogy proof standard to confirm family relationships.

DISCLAIMER: Finding your ancestors within the research posted here does not guarantee enrollment/citizenship within any Native American tribe. Tribal councils are sovereign governments and establish their own criteria for enrollment. This blog does not subscribe to the unfounded idea that the “real Indigenous peoples” of the Americas were Africans or Europeans who were “replaced” by other races of people. The tribes discussed in this blog are “first contact” tribes who have a longer history with colonization and thus many occasions to intermarry with both Africans and Europeans over the last few centuries. Comparing racial phenotypes is absolutely no replacement to real, credible, fact based genealogical research. Native Americans have a great diversity of phenotypes. It is grossly inappropriate to use the content from this blog to validate these completely distorted views.

My academic and professional background is in Anthropology, Native American Studies, and Museum studies. I’m a proud alumna of UMass Boston, where I graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Anthropology (topically focused on current Native American issues such as tribal sovereignty, federal recognition, racist mascots, cultural revitalization and more). I previously worked as a Curatorial Assistant at the Southwest Museum of the American Indian/Autry National Center in Los Angeles for five years. During my time I had the good fortune to help curate several exhibitions: “Picturing the People” (an exhibit on photography of and by Native peoples), “Native American Basketry: A Living Tradition” (an exhibit exploring the diversity of Native American basketry”, “Katsina in Hopi Life” (an exhibit on the continuing important role of Katsina in Hopi culture and modern life), “Native American Diaspora” (an exhibit on the forced removals of Native peoples), “First Californians” (an exhibit that thematically explores the indigenous peoples of what is now California), and “Floral Journey: Native American Beadwork” (an exhibit on the history and cultural resilience of floral motifs in Native American beadwork). This work also allowed me to travel across “Indian Country”, collaborate with artists working on cultural revitalization, sharpen my skills in archival research, and form lifelong professional relationships. I was most recently working towards my PhD in Anthropology/American Indian Studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY where I was co-chair of the Indigenous Graduate Student Association. It is my hope to apply these skills that I have acquired through my professional and educational background to help my community. I worked as the genealogist for the Haliwa-Saponi Historic Legacy Project, a grant funded research project by the Haliwa-Saponi tribe. My passion for research is paralleled by my passion for beadwork and I have been a beadwork artist for about 19 years. My CV and references are available upon request. I strive to make sure all information I publish is correct and verified but human error and mistakes are sure to happen in genealogical research. Please do contact me if you notice incorrect or questionable information.

You are welcomed to comment on blog posts,  just be sure to keep the language respectful. You are also welcomed to share your own genealogical research or inquire for more information. Please note I receive many research requests on an almost daily or weekly basis, and simply cannot respond to all. Furthermore, if the information requested is outside of my area of expertise, I won’t be much help. So I really do encourage you to leave comments with questions because other readers of this blog may be able to assist you.

If you are going to use information published from this blog, which I highly encourage, you are required to properly cite my name and the blog. The copyright information can be found at the bottom of this page and at the bottom of every page in this blog. You can sign up to receive email updates from this blog by clicking the “FOLLOW” button on the front page.

I enjoy combining traditional materials such as birch bark and sweetgrass with modern beadwork designs. Pictured are Blue jay, cardinal, and floral earrings beaded on birch bark and edged with a sweetgrass braid. © Kianga Lucas

Wampum made from the quahog clam shell is a material unique to the East Coast as it only grows in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. These two tier teardrop earrings made with detailed beadwork and beautiful dark purple wampum, are extremely elegant. © Kianga Lucas

These Eastern Woodlands floral motif earrings also combine rich dark purple wampum and fine beadwork . © Kianga Lucas

© Kianga Lucas and Native American Roots. 2015-2023.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kianga Lucas and Native American Roots with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.