His mother Nancy Adair was of Scots-Cherokee descent, a granddaughter of Ga-hoga, a full-blood Cherokee woman of the Deer clan. Her father was of mixed race and belonged to his mother's clan, as the Cherokee were a matrilineal society, and children took their status from the mother.
His ancestry was rooted in both Scottish and Cherokee heritage, with his maternal grandmother being a full-blooded Cherokee woman from the Deer clan. As a result, his father identified with his mother's clan, reflecting the matrilineal traditions of the Cherokee people.