tynajoymetzner

The Sins Of My Forefather

Last year I found out through a DNA test that my biological father was not who I grew up thinking was my father! I found out at nearly 60 years old that my whole life I’d been lied to. Whether by choice or by convenience, the end result was mind blowing and has rocked my world. All of the people involved in the charade that has been my life, are gone. They passed away years ago and I’m left with unanswered questions about my biological dad and his family. Many questions arise that I’ll never piece together but some, I can. 

I have filed an application with the Cherokee Nation for tribal standing since I found out that I am Native American. I had determined that my great grandmother Osa was on the Dawes Roll. Her family had lived in Muskogee Oklahoma on tribal land. She had given birth to her children on tribal soil. 

Yesterday I was searching on the Ancestry site and I made a new discovery. The thrulines feature in the site takes you back up to 5 generations. I was able to see both sides of my family history for 5 generations. I had no idea that my fathers father also had strong Cherokee ties! I had thought that it was only his mothers side that were of Cherokee descent. I did a little more digging and I found that I my 5th great grandfather was a Cherokee Chief! His name was George Brock and, he was Cherokee chief Doublehead. I was dumbfounded as I searched on Google and found that he was quite a famous Cherokee Chief! 

 I began reading about him and his legacy as Cherokee Chief Doublehead I was dismayed to find out how horrendous his deeds were. Barbaric, heinous and truly power hungry. He was not the kind of man anyone would want in their ancestry. Ugh! The story of his rein of terror was something out a Halloween movie! Gruesome and heartless is what I gathered from all that I read. I have ordered a book from Amazon about his life story to get a more in depth account. Anyway, what a disappointment and it leads me to wonder about the karma he left for his descendants. I hope to try to understand the big picture of his rein. Maybe he had some purpose other than being a savage beast of a man? 

As I walk this journey and quest for information about my new found heritage, I hope to find myself somewhere? As bits and pieces and whole chunks of my fathers side are missing. 

I am still hoping to be part of the Cherokee tribe. I’m not sure that being a descendant of Chief Doublehead will help me in my application process. Darn!!!!