This list of surnames represent the names of the Black freedmen who were adopted through the Dawes Commission, between 1898 and 1916. Note that many of these names appear in other Indian nation lists, and their inclusion here does not provide absolute proof of Black Indian Ancestry.

In addition to these items, it is recommended that the researcher obtain as much oral history as possible on the family, and then locate the Dawes records on the family, including the names of ancestors on the Enrollment Cards and other pertinent records.

The first "official" Cherokee rolls were taken in 1817 and there were two - the Reservation Roll and the Emigration Roll. Subsequently, between 1835 and 1907, twenty-eight documents compiling lists of Cherokee people were created. This is an explanation of why each document or "Roll" was created.

In a just-released book on the Northern Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory, a chapter recounts this American Indian tribe's history in Kansas with stories from over 100 Cherokee families.