I have a native ancestor who I'm trying to learn more about starting with tribal identity. She was born in Quebec in a tiny mining town close to the US border circa 1890 and moved to New England after the turn of the century. It's been awhile since I dig into this(missing my notes) but I couldn't get any relevant info going by family name or town, both being of the French Canadian variety. The ancestor in question was unfortunately ashamed of her ancestry and refused to discuss it with her children, I have zero first-hand knowledge.
A late relative of mine dug deeply into the ancestry of our family and made the claim my ancestor in question is Arapaho which strikes me as unlikely due to geography. I was unfortunately unable to inquire further before this relative passed. I'm wondering what she dug up to make this claim with high confidence.
Is there recorded history of Natives in Western America to move to Eastern Canada which would give more credence to this theory? Assuming my ancestor was not Arapaho how would I go about determining the truth?
Not that I am aware of. There was some movement from Northeast and Central nations during and after the American Revolutionary War. Some loyalist Hodenausonee moving to Canada, for example, or the Abenakis leaving coastal regions of New England to establish in New France, but it takes us at least a century prior to 1890. An Arapaho in Quebec would be possible, but unlikely. A few more clues about the name and place of birth could help.