Native American Roots, Once Hidden, Now Embraced
Nearly every day, some determined person with pale skin and blue eyes comes to Lela Ummerteskee from far away, ready to fulfill a dream and register as an American Indian.
Not everyone has a rock-solid pedigree. The tribal enrollment officer for the Cherokee Nation has been presented with everything from an X-ray of a head purporting to show Indian cheekbones to scraped-off patches of skin -- all offered as proof that a distant ancestor was Native American.