Between today and Wednesday, my genealogy column, Roots to the Past, is available in the following Atlantic Canada newspapers:
Saturday: The Citizen (Amherst)
Saturday: Times & Transcript (Moncton)
Wednesday: The Lunenburg County Progress Bulletin (Lunenburg County)
Title: Supreme Court Ruling on Non-status Indian May Spike Genealogy Activity
Snippet: Last week, the kids came home from school and started talking about genealogy, specifically my family tree. They had my attention immediately because they haven’t been interested in genealogy since they were small. It’s not as if I hadn’t tried to infect them with the bug; I dragged them to cemeteries, historical locations and other places to learn about family history. But they’re teenagers now, and they have better things to do.
So when I heard my son say, “You have to get your research in order and find your ancestor who was Indian,” he got my attention. He and his sister went on about the ruling that came down a few days earlier and apparently was the discussion of the day. They attend school with students from many cultures, including teenagers from the local reserve, both status and non-status Indians.
What does this have to do with my ancestors? Apparently a few of their friends’ parents are going to register for non-status, so they can receive all the benefits of status Indians. My teens want me to do the same. In my son’s eyes, that means he can receive money for attending school—like his status classmates—and ultimately deck-out his truck like they do. If you understand teenage boys and their obsession with vehicles, you know where this is coming from.
. . . To read more, pick up one of the above noted newspapers.
Roots to the Past 