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Five years ago, after her parents told her that her family probably had some Native American ancestry, she assembled documents and birth certificates and last September was accepted into the Cherokee Tribe of northeast Alabama.

Not meaning to be the skunk at the orphans' picnic, but the article says, "...her parents told her that her family probably had some Native American ancestry, she assembled documents and birth certificates and..."

Question: In doing all this research did she find any evidence that she had Amerindian ancestry? The article doesn't say, which makes me wonder. Even more so when - according to the latest census -- the stats say that American Indians make up less than 1% of the population.

FYI:

Pinson, Alabama.

Population (year 2000): 5,033
Males: 2,432 (48.3%), Females: 2,601 (51.7%)

Elevation: 660 feet

County: Jefferson

Land area: 7.0 square miles

Zip code: 35126

Median resident age: 33.0 years

Median household income: $39,583 (year 2000)

Median house value: $90,800 (year 2000)

Races in Pinson:
White Non-Hispanic (88.1%)
Black (8.3%)
Hispanic (2.3%)
Two or more races (0.8%)
American Indian (0.7%)

Ancestries: United States (21.4%), English (11.3%), Irish (11.0%), German (6.9%), Italian (2.4%), Scotch-Irish (2.2%).

I'm a bit puzzled about the ancestries figures at the end of your post:
'Ancestries: United States (21.4%), English (11.3%), Irish (11.0%), German (6.9%), Italian (2.4%), Scotch-Irish (2.2%).'

Surely the 21.4% listed as United States ancestry must also be part of the other ancestries (ie English, Irish etc) or they must be native Americans? As far as I know, there are no people in the US whose ancestry is purely from the US and not Native American. Am I missing something here?

Also, be careful if you approach a Scotsman and describe him or his lineage as 'Scotch' - he will probably chin you! People from Scotland are Scots, Scotch is a drink!