Johnny Sequoyah
Sequoyah in 2014, pic by www.prphotos.com
Birth Name: Johnny Sequoyah Friedenberg
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Date of Birth: October 25, 2002
Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish (paternal grandfather), English, small amounts of Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, and French
Johnny Sequoyah is an American actress.
She is the daughter of producer, director, and actress Heather Rae (Heather Rae Bybee) and actor Russell Friedenberg (Bertrand Russell Friedenberg). Johnny’s father is of half Ashkenazi Jewish and half English descent. Her mother has English, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, and French ancestry, and has also stated that she is of part Cherokee Native American descent. It is not clear if this Cherokee Native American ancestry has been verified/documented. The Chickamauga Nation has stated that Johnny’s mother is descended through her Lassiter line from Sarah Bushyhead, who was Chickamauga.
Johnny’s paternal grandfather was Daniel Meyer Friedenberg (the son of Samuel Friedenberg and Rose Abravanel Klein). Daniel was born in New York, and was a financier, collector, historian, and philanthropist. Samuel was born in Poland, and was Jewish. Rose was born in New Jersey, to Hungarian Jewish parents.
Johnny’s paternal grandmother is June Meredith Daniels (the daughter of Joseph Gideon Daniels and Kansas Hooper). June was born in North Carolina. Joseph was the son of Charles Bailey Daniels and Alexena Ella Mann. Kansas was the daughter of Andrew Shanklin Hooper and Louisa/Lousia P. Midgett.
Johnny’s maternal grandfather was Vernon Ray Bybee (the son of Clenden Thompson Bybee and Ethel Harper). Vernon was born in Idaho, to a Mormon family, and had English, and some Welsh, Dutch, and French, ancestry. Clenden was the son of Walter Ray Bybee and Laura May Thompson, whose father and maternal grandmother were English. Ethel was the daughter of Thomas Ephraim Harper III, whose paternal grandparents were English and Welsh, and Geneva Barrett, whose parents were English.
Johnny’s maternal grandmother was Barbara Jane Riggs (the daughter of Bob Dean Riggs and Hester Jane Curtis). Barbara was born in California. Bob was the son of William Oscar/A. Riggs and Bertha May Adkins. Hester was the daughter of William A. Curtis and Nora Violet Ferguson.
Sources: Johnny’s paternal grandfather, Daniel Meyer Friedenberg, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Johnny’s paternal grandfather, Daniel Meyer Friedenberg – https://www.legacy.com
Johnny’s paternal great-grandparents, Samuel Friedenberg and Rose Abravanel Klein, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Marriage record of Johnny’s paternal great-grandparents, Joseph Gideon Daniels and Kansas Hooper – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Johnny’s maternal grandfather, Vernon Ray Bybee – https://www.familysearch.org
An unrecognized tribe, the Chickamauga Nation claimed her mother Heather Rae and accused the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds of falsification. I think they said Kevin Costner was also accused of false Cherokee or American Indian ancestry. The two were investigated, Rae was a close friend of Sacheen Littlefeather and Costner is involved in the development of Yellowstone, cast Kelsey Asbille, who was not (nor any of her mother’s family) claimed by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, she has a role as a Native American character on that series. And the fallout from the discovery of Buffy Sainte-Marie lying her way to being adopted by a family in the Piapot Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, the pretendian controversy continues to grow. Here’s the Chickamauga Nation’s claim that Heather Rae and Johnny Sequoyah are “proven descendants”. https://www.chickamauganation.com/post/heather-rae-we-welcome-you-as-a-chickamauga