When did having an Indian ancestor become romanticized and claimed by so many people?

by lizardflix

The Elizabeth Warren controversy reminded me of an ancestor of mine that was supposedly Choctaw and how everybody I know seems to have a similar ancestor who was at least part Indian. Is this something that is in fact common or did Indian ancestors become a common romantic notion for white people at some point in history?

cleopatra_philopater

Not to discourage any further answers, but /u/dawgcheese answered this in a relatively recent thread:

The common claim in the American South of having "Cherokee blood" in one's family is apparently often a euphemism for having a distant black ancestor. This would seem to suggest that Southerners historically had a much better opinion of Native Americans than blacks. Why would this be the case?

Hopefully this helps some!