![]() I have my doubts as to whether we are descendants of Matoaka, as I think people generally like to be of some type of “royal” ancestry, but I strongly believe that this story is evidence that Sizemore Metis were founded and nurtured into existence by a number of different Powhatan women and their communities. One Sizemore family tree shows direct descent from the Powhatan princess Matoaka (Pocahontas) and John Rolfe through the Bowling family, in six different family lines. Therefore, I would guess that most are the mixed-blood descendants of remnant tribes of the Powhatan – pronounced “poh-haw-tin” – which was a confederacy of many smaller tribes, and of Portugeuse, Jewish, English, Scottish and Irish indentured slaves. A few other Sizemores are said to have been Scots-Irish though I have not found evidence of this. The presence of the Sizemore name at the British empire’s Jamestown colony, listing a “Portuguese-Jewish” indentured slave suggests an admixture of bloodlines that was not entirely Native. I also know that Sizemores have been labeled “Melungeons” at various times throughout history, a testiment to our historical Metis heritage. The three most likely tribes of origin are remnant tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, the Creeks, the Catawbas, and at one point in our history, the Cherokee. As you read, you will find that our Metis ancestors had good reason not to register with the White Government.Īll Sizemore histories and old family photos of which I am aware share two things: a strong Native American heritage and a visibly Native American appeance. We see ourselves as neither European or Indian but as a Metis people, of Indigenous origin. As a result most of us are culturally white, and ancestrally Indian and European. As one Metis explained, to the contrary, we “havetobe” Metis because our ancestors did not register with the U.S. Sizemores who have joined the Metis are not “wannabe” Indians. Sizemores have been called Melungeons and Cherokees at various points throughout history, but we chose to join the Metis because it presents us with the opportunity to be who we are. Similarly, the plural French term Mélangeon has been used historically to describe us. Although the term “Métis” is certainly French, and Métis is the term most often applied to Indian/French mixtures, it has also been applied, historically and in modern times, to anyone of mixed Indigenous and non-Indigenous ancestry. The term also describes people who cannot join federally recognized tribes for whatever reason. Usually, and in the Sizemore case in particular, it is the founding one. We who joined would like to share with you why we chose to do this, and encourage other Sizemore descendants who feel an affinity to this move, to join us.įor those unfamiliar with the term Metis, the word is defined as anyone of mixed ancestry that includes an Indian component. These groups, which would be encouraged to maintain their unique history within the nation, include Redbones, Brass Ankles, and Guineas. Additionally, this is a nation which seeks specifically to bring together the various Melungeon -type groups throughout the South. Having been exposed to the proof of our heritage, some of us recently have begun to identify as Metis once again. It was from this Melungeon movement that many of us discovered finally, some documentable proof of our mixed Indian/non-Indian heritage.īeing a mixed-Indigenous people, we do of course, have the right to self-identify as we choose. Most have never really known what they were, other than a generic sense of being “Indian”. Gatherings have brought to to light a large number of Sizemore-related people who want to know who they are, and why they have been labeled so many things throughout history. The answer came out of a recent movement of mixed-ancestry people in this region who are reclaiming the epithet “Melungeon”. Most Sizemores have wondered which one is true for a long time, and just recently the answer has presented itself complete with some documentable proof. Throughout history, our Sizemore family of southern Appalachia has been variably referred to as Melungeon, Mestee, Metis, Indian, part-Indian, mulatto, Stick People, white and in one branch of which I am aware, black. Sally Sizemore and her husband William “Blackhawk” Sizemore. …and the oft-mentioned Whitetop Laurel Band of Cherokees an effort at rediscovery and reconnection The Metis Heritage of the Sizemore Family
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