Need help finding a certain ancestor/s info

I've always heard from my family that we're natives, Cherokee and Catawba. problem is, I cannot trace Dawes roll number and such. now this wouldn't be such a problem however we have a generational name that's pretty basic. meaning that same name is on the roll at least 3,000 more times. how can I track down more information to find their Indian registration information? I have reached out to family and no one has any information, other than we're natives just not sure how.