How can u find proof of who your ancestors r?

Question:

How can u find proof of who your ancestors r?

dad says i'm part apache and cherokee and the proof was lost in a fire years ago. i don't know my great-grandparents names either.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: not to dispute dad, but "proof" is normally found in a number of places, not just one. For example, there have been courthouse fires, but most times, you can find an alternate source. Another word is documentation.. some people become a bit defensive of the word proof, but it is critical, to build your tree reliably.
The KEY process is working back from yourself. I assume you have documents like your own birth certificate, that shows you to be a child of your own parents. Their birth certificates (or death certificates if dead) should include the names of their parents. If your grandparents are not living, the most recent record would be THEIR death certificates, that should have the names of their parents. Many people become frustrated by not "knowing" such information, instead of thinking of using research to find reliable records. After all.. once you get to a certain point, it WILL be beyond memory.
At the time where birth/death certificates become non existant (around the turn of the century), you start shifting thinking to census records, cemetery records, etc.
My personal reccomendation is to stop by www.cyndislist.com, which is a collection of resources. Take a bit of time for a how to tutorial, as well as her list of Native American research resources. For the moment, focus energy on basic research procedures.. to find names, dates and places... before attempting to verify Native lineage. Until you have that basic info, you have nothing to "match" it against.