Sunday, July 20, 2014

Not Choctaw enough

Someone on my facebook group recently has been harassing members about not being Choctaw enough. To say this has irked me would be putting it lightly. Thankfully, I do not need his approval or recognition of my heritage, but in honor of all my cousin's with whom I share research, I am saddened that someone looks at us as less than what we are.

My 6th cousin Ranea contacted me several years ago because we were mutually researching the Juzan family. Almost 15 years later, we know now that we are cousins twice. Ranea's son recently did autosomal DNA, and when he uploads his data to gedmatch, I look forward to seeing if we indeed still share DNA. I realize that our relationship is distant enough the odds are that we won't share any DNA, but I am still hopeful.

In honor of our friendship and our shared history, I would like to share the following.

This is Watson Kaniatobe, Ranea's grandfather, a Dawes enrollee. Watson's grandparents were Louis Juzan and Emma Kincade. Louis Juzan's great great Uncle was Pushmataha. Emma Kincade's great Uncle was Mushulatubbee. Louis Juzan's father Pierre Juzan, also a Choctaw Chief, was a son of Peggy, a niece of Pushmataha. Emma Kincade's father Andrew Kincade was a brother to Joseph Kincade and both were nephews of Mushulatubbee.



This is my grandfather, Raymond Mieirs. His mother was born the year after statehood, so it is his grandmother who was a Dawes Enrollee. Margaret Adams grandfather was James N. Trahern, her grandmother was Sarah Hall.



Raymond Mieirs

We are fortunate to have a picture of James N. Trahern, his half sister Eliza Ann Juzan Flack, and his half sister Mary Juzan Leflore. We are also fortunate to have a picture of Margaret Hall, Sarah Hall's sister.

 James N. Trahern was a half brother to Pierre Juzan, the father of Louis Juzan. James N. Trahern's mother, Peggy was the niece of Pushmataha. Sarah Hall's great Uncle was Mushulatubbe, her mother Susan Riddle being his niece.

James N. Trahern

 Margaret Hall Moncrief
 Eliza Ann Juzan Flack
Mary Juzan Leflore


Unlike Ranea, I come from a longer line of mixed bloods, with a few more generations of intermarriage with white's than in her lineage. However, Ranea like myself, looks at our mutual shared history as something to be honored and revered. So in the spirit of the way in which Ranea approaches things, I will let it go.