Do we use the tribe name for LNAB when adding Native Americans?

Question

I'm finding a few groups using different LNAB's for a particular family of Native Americans and it seems to me all have a legitamte claim over which to use. The family belongs to the Mi'kmaq Nation of Acadia, Canada, in fact, it is the Sachem's or 'Grand Chief's' family that is in question.  The LNAB some are using is Membertou, but this was simply Grand Chief Membertou name before he was baptised by the French and given the Christian name, Henri. Others use the LNAB Membertou_Sachem which is his name followed by his title. Then there is the LNAB's Micmac_Tribe and Micmac which seems to make the most since to me though the spelling is slightly off and I'm not sure wheather 'Tribe' should be included.

I know Scandinavian surnames were derived from the father's given name with the addition of a suffix meaning 'son' or 'daughter', while others were the names of a noteworthy ancestor. But, there are many Native Americans who did not convert to Christanity and did not adopt a surname. Even if they did go by a different name after baptism, this wounld not change their LNAB, am I wrong?

So, do we use the tribe's name for LNAB with 'Tribe' in the name when adding Native Americans? And what if it happens to be a Cheif that converted to Chritainity; are the rules different for these individuals?

Answer 1

As far as I know, this has never really been discussed. It's definitely time we had some standards on these types of names.

My opinion is that, in the case of people who never had a surname, the LNAB should be the tribe name. This is somewhat parallel to how the Euro Aristo Project handles royals, who also often have no surname; in that case the royal house is used.

This is also the style that's been used on Pocahontas' family. Pocahontas' profile is Powhatan-3.

In the case where someone converted to Christianity and took a Christian name, their new last name should be in the Current Last Name field. Since they didn't have that name at birth, it shouldn't be in the LNAB.

Comments

I've just encountered this, too. It is not unusual for Native Americans to have a variety of names. Something they're called at birth by the parents. That Indian name translated into English (French, Spanish &c.) Something else the missionaries wrote in the "official" record. Something they acquired later in life, too, perhaps from a vision quest or from some notable event. Even in the present day, it is not uncommon for a person to have an Indian name, often one which was never part of a written language, never spelled, and an English translation. They also have an official name for the authorities. That's a minimum of three, in many cases.

There's been a movement in recent decades to use traditional names only. One name. Deliberately. Someone I know well had a terrible time getting a body released by the authorities because the computer required a first and a last name. And the deceased person only had one name.

Truth is? The structure of this database rests on cultural assumptions where one size doesn't really fit all.

Answer 2

It helps to understand our thinking when you put it in the context of this website which is a genealogy site where there is one profile per person which means you have to be able to tell who is here.

For Native Americans with no last name at birth, Unknown would be the choice according to our style guidelines but that leaves all of those profiles obscured in a sea of unknowns.  Some Native American sites just repeat the first name but that does not assist with the genealogy.

We are in the process of creating naming guidelines for Native Americans. For now, we are using the tribe as the last name at birth.

To determine the tribe requires a lot of research into the location, date and history of the family of the person in the profile.  We prefer to take that information from sources when available. We have to rely on secondary sources sometimes. In the end, we try to rely on Native American conventions for naming both individuals and their tribes.

We are aware of the matrilineality of some tribes and this should be taken into consideration.

Answer 3

Converting to Christianity would not effect the LNAB.  The Christian name would go under current last name. The profiles you mention would belong to the First Nations project. It is a different project from Native Americans. The guidelines that I posted to your last question do not necessarily apply to that project. The project leader can assist you with their naming guidelines.