Many people ask how long does it take to research someone's ancestry. The only answer I have is two success stories:

1. I have a Luiseno Indian (California) client who only knew her great-grandmother's first name. I have worked for her for two years and have only been able to find a last name for her. The mission records are gone, kaput, its pages probably used to kindle a fire, who knows? I scoured every possible resource I could find and was only able to build a probable scenario as for other relatives. However, after questioning different tribes that affiliate with Luiseno Indian ancestors, I was able to determine that my client could legally enroll in a federally recognized tribe, the Pechanga Tribe. And, this she can do because now she knows which families belong to which tribes, and because she has legal proof of her great-grandmother's identity. This took about a year and a half with over 100 hours worth of work.
   
   
2. I had an elderly doctor ask me to check out his grandfather's story about being an Indian from Washington State. I did the usual things, obtained his birth certificate, that of his mother, his grandparents' marriage record. The State of Washington Archives did not go back far enough to make a difference but I always put the question out there and don't give up. My queries landed in the lap of a volunteer who happened to be working 20 different White/Indian marriages. She didn't know the great-grandmother's name until she read my query. I put them in touch with each other and this doctor has since been welcomed into the Nootsack Tribe of Washington as an elder and has met his grandfather's sister's children who were raised on the reservation - people he never knew existed. This all happened within two months time with 27 hours worth of work.

Although I cannot guarantee the results, the only thing I can guarantee is that I will turn over every stone looking for the answers.

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