Cherokee heritage groups

Cherokee heritage groups are associations, societies and other organizations located across the United States and in other countries that seek to preserve key Cherokee concepts of ceremonial, cultural and natural value. They incorporate genealogy, language, social interaction and sharing of information between members. Some heritage groups sponsor and support protection of geographic areas, buildings, plants, documents, relics or spiritually related information. While many modern groups are liberal in their membership and focus on powwows or festivals, others such as the Original Keetoowah Society are restrictive in membership and meet in secret. The Cherokee Nation encourages people of Cherokee heritage to take pride in their heritage and become active in heritage groups even if they are not eligible for citizenship.

Origins

The origins of these groups can sometimes be found in those opposing certain treaties, allotment of lands, the Cherokee Civil War and abandonment of spiritual beliefs in the late 1800s. In the Indian Territory in what is the present-day state of Oklahoma, the Cherokee, Creek (Muskogee) and Natchez formed the "Four Mothers Society" to resist the federal government's attempts of forced assimilation and break up of the five civilized tribes.

Other groups and associations whose members claim to have Cherokee Heritage seem to appear out of nowhere and are not entities that have existed from historical times. In many cases, people who merely believe they have Cherokee Heritage form these groups. Often times, this belief of Cherokee Heritage is based on stories passed on to them from family members such as parents and grandparents. Often, these groups have no knowledge whatsoever about Cherokee traditions and culture, and seem to mix the traditions and culture of other Indian Tribes ( most notably Lakota and Plains Indian Tribes) into some sort of Generic Indian culture which they try to pass off as Cherokee. One example of this is the popularity of Powwows and Plains Indian's Traditions with these groups in the SouthEast.

Other Cherokee Societies that formed in the recent past, such as the Keetoowah Nighthawk Society were clearly legitimate societies. This society was composed of full bloods and Traditional Cherokee people and were the spiritual core of the Cherokee people during the early 1900's in Oklahoma. From this society, Redbird Smith began a group to revive traditional Cherokee spiritual practices called "The White Path" of righteousness. They resisted the Dawes commission, rekindled the sacred fires, had stomp dances and took back their spiritual Wampum Belts traditionally used by the medicine men. A son of Chief John Ross delivered one or more of these belts to Smith.

From these efforts were formed the politically active "Keetowah Society" and the spiritual "Nighthawk Keetowah Society". These movements and people later influenced the formation of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in 1946. The United Keetoowah Band is recognized by the U.S. government and is located north of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Individual recognition

Some people who claim Cherokee heritage are unable to enroll in federally recognized tribes and join heritage groups to be recognized for the heritage that they have or believe they have. The Cherokee Nation requires a genealogical link to the Dawes or Baker rolls. This results in disenfranchised, and rejected Cherokee descendants who may have Indian blood yet are ineligible for tribal membership. It is partially due to the fact that some Cherokee avoided the federal agents who did the enrollments and did their best to blend into dominant white society while the ancestors of members of Federally Recognized Cherokee Tribes did not. It should also be noted that while there were groups of Cherokees that were not documented in the 1800's and early 1900's, the estimates of the amount of Cherokee claimants today with the possilbe decendents of the Undocumented Cherokees does not coincide. There are various reasons as to why people may have been told by their family that they have Cherokee Heritage. In the 1800's, the term "Cherokee" was a generic term for Indian and it was also a generic term for people of black/white or mulatto ancestry. It was more socially acceptable at the time to have Indian ancestry then African American ancestry, thus many of these people were told they had Cherokee heritage. Other cases may have involved someone having ancestors that applied for allotments on the Dawes Commision but were denied. At the time, many people of non Cherokee ancestry applied for allotments on the Dawes Commision. There were approximately 300,000 people that applied to the Dawes Rolls, and only 100,000 of those applications were accepted. Although most people that claim Cherokee heritage and are unable to prove it are genuine in their belief of having Cherkoee heritage, the evidence shows that most of these cases fall in one of the above mentioned catagories. While there are documented Cherokees that cannot obtain tribal membership in one of the three federally recognized Cherokee Tribes, there are many more who claim to be Cherokee but cannot prove it and in fact do not have Cherokee heritage.

"I am a full-blood Western Cherokee Indian, could not talk the English language until I was fifteen years old......Enrollment started at the instance of the Dawes Commission and we all experienced a great deal of difficulty in getting enrolling. Lots of the Indians were so hard headed that when the men or investigator came around to see them they would not give any information and consequently were not enrolled. There was a certain class of white man, half-breeds and negroes that would run them down and get enrolled. Some of them deserved it and some of them didn’t."

— - Bird Doublehead, University of Oklahoma, Western History Collections, Interview with Bird Doublehead

Tribal recognition

Heritage groups have sometimes sought recognition as Cherokee tribes. Some are recognized by state governments (see: State-recognized tribes), but none have gained federal recognition. Federally-recognized tribes are sovereign units of tribal government whose inherent, long-standing powers of self-rule and control are recognized and reaffirmed. Cherokee Nation spokesman Mike Miller said that some Heritage groups are encouraged (Glenn 2006). Eastern Band Chief Jones said "There are non-recognized Indian tribes in the United States that absolutely should have been previously recognized and through unfortunate historical twists of fate have not been." Others, however, are controversial for their attempts to gain economically through their claims to be Cherokee tribes. Some of these claims are disputed by the three federally recognized groups, who assert themselves as the only groups having the legal right to present themselves as Cherokee Indian Tribes (Official Statement Cherokee Nation 2000, Pierpoint 2000).

While heritage groups may base their membership on cultural and genealogical requirements, tribal recognition is more complex in its adherence to academic, legal, historic, sociological, anthropological and genealogical principles. Recognized tribes have encouraged the federal government to hold to a system of "Tribal" recognition rather than "Indian" or individual recognition, and an origin benchmark of 1871.

There are some 200,000 people who self identify as Cherokee but are not enrolled in federally recognized bands (Thornton 1992, 2). Many people with genuine Cherokee heritage will never meet the qualifications to become citizens in a federally recognized tribe. The Cherokee Nation does not question anyone’s claim of heritage or ancestry.

There are currently about 30 Cherokee groups seeking recognition as Cherokee nations or tribes from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Official Statement of Cherokee Nation, 2000). However, the last group to gain recognition as a Cherokee tribe was the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees more than 50 years ago.

Federal Recognition

Today there are only three Cherokee groups recognized as legitimate tribes by the federal government, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Cherokee Nation. To be considered a citizen in the Cherokee Nation, you need one Indian ancestor listed on the Dawes Rolls. The CNO currently has members who share African-American, Latino, Asian, white and other ancestry. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians requires one-sixteenth Cherokee blood quantum and an ancestor on the Baker Roll, while the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians require one-quarter Cherokee blood quantum and accepts descent from ancestors on any roll.

Many groups have sought recognition by the federal government as Cherokee tribes, and Cherokee Nation spokesman Mike Miller has discussed that some groups, which he calls Cherokee Heritage Groups, are encouraged. Others, however, are controversial for their attempts to gain economically through their claims to be Cherokee, a claim which is disputed by the three federally recognized groups, who assert themselves as the only groups having the legal right to present themselves as Cherokee Indian Tribes.

One exception to this may be the Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands who prior to 1975, was considered a part of the Cherokee Nation as reflected in briefs filed before the Indian Claims Commission. In fact at one time W.W. Keeler served not only as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, but at the same time held the position as Chairman of the TCAB Executive Committee. Following the adoption of the Cherokee consitition in 1975, TCAB descendants whose ancestors had remained a part of the physical Mount Tabor Community in Rusk County, Texas were excluded from citizenship in that their ancestors did not appear on the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes. However, most if not all, did have an ancestor listed on the Guion Miller or Old Settler rolls. Another problem for the Mount Tabor Community, was that its members were not all Cherokees. Groups of Yowani Choctaws and McIntosh Party Creeks had joined them in the 1850s, changing the make up of the group. While most Mount Tabor residents returned to the Cherokee Nation following the death of John Ross in 1866, there today exists a sizable group that is very well documented but currently is not actively seeking a status clarification based upon their treaty rights going back to the Treaty of Bird’s Fort, or their association from the end of the Civil War until 1975 with the Cherokee Nation. The TCAB was formed as a political organization in 1871 by William Penn Adair and Clement Neely Vann, for descendants of the Texas Cherokees and the Mount Tabor Community in an effort to gain redress from treaty violations stemming from the Treaty of Bowles Village in 1836. Today, most Mount Tabor descendants are in fact members of the Cherokee Nation, only eight hundred or so are stuck in the limbo without status as Cherokees, with many of them still residing in Rusk and Smith counties of east Texas.

The United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs has an administrative process by which a group may establish itself as an Indian tribe and become eligible for the services and benefits accorded Indian tribes under federal law. The process requires extensive documentation, including verification of continuous existence as an Indian tribe since 1900. However the recent Cherokee Freedmen Controversy has called into question the Cherokee Nation's own claim for federal recognition. Jack Edward Crittenden a former advisor to the Principle Chief of the Cherokee Nation said the tribe has never reorganized under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936 (OIWA).

New resolution

The Councils of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians at the Joint Council Meeting held in Catoosa, Oklahoma on April 9, 2008 passed a resolution Opposing Fabricated Cherokee "Tribes" and "Indians". It denounced any further state or federal recognition of "Cherokee" tribes or bands, aside from the those already federally recognized, and committed themselves to exposing and assisting state and federal authorities in eradicating any group which attempts or claims to operate as a government of the Cherokee people.

In addition, the resolution asked that no public funding from any federal or state government should be expended on behalf of non-federally recognized 'Cherokee' tribes or bands and that the Nation would call for a full accounting of all federal monies given to state recognized, unrecognized or 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that claim any Cherokee affiliation.

It called for federal and state governments to stringently apply a federal definition of "Indian" that included only citizens of federally-recognized Indian tribes, to prevent non-Indians from selling membership in "Cherokee" tribes for the purpose of exploiting the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.

In a controversial segment that could affect Cherokee Baptist churches and charitable organizations, the resolution stated that no 501(c)(3) organization, state recognized or unrecognized groups shall be acknowledged as Cherokee.

Celebrities who claim to be Cherokee, such as those listed in this article, are also targeted by the resolution.

Any individual who is not a member of a federally recognized Cherokee tribe, in academia or otherwise, is hereby discouraged from claiming to speak as a Cherokee, or on behalf of Cherokee citizens, or using claims of Cherokee heritage to advance his or her career or credentials. – Joint Council of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians.

This declaration was not signed or approved by the federally-recognized United Keetoowah Band. Even still the Cherokee Nation acknowledges the existence of people of Cherokee descent "...in states such as Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas," who are Cherokee by blood but not members of the Cherokee Nation.

U.S. Department of the Interior - Cherokee Indian Registry

Today, individuals of Cherokee ancestry fall into the following categories:

(1) Living persons who were listed on the final rolls of the Cherokee Nation (Dawes Commission Rolls) that were approved and descendants of these persons. These final rolls were closed in 1907.

(2) Individuals enrolled as members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina and their descendants who are eligible for enrollment with the Band.

(3) Persons on the list of members identified by a resolution dated April 19 1949, and certified by the Superintendent of the Five Civilized Tribes Agency and their descendants who are eligible for enrollment with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indian of Oklahoma.

(4) All other persons of Cherokee Indian ancestry.

Cherokee Nation's statement on heritage groups

"There are more than 200 groups that we've been able to recognize that call themselves a Cherokee nation, tribe, or band," said Mike Miller, spokesman for the Cherokee Nation (based in Tahlequah, at the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex).

"Only three are federally recognized, but the other groups run the gamut of intent. Some are basically heritage groups – people who have family with Cherokee heritage who are interested in the language and culture, and we certainly encourage that," said Miller. "But the problem is when you have groups that call themselves ‘nation,’ or ‘band,’ or ‘tribe,’ because that implies governance."

Listing of Cherokee Heritage Groups

• Albuquerque Cherokee Nation Township (Cherokee Nation)
• Kentucky Cherokee Heritage group (Henderson County, Kentucky)
• Cherokee Cultural Society (Houston, Texas)

See also

• Cherokee
• Ethnic group
• Native Americans in the United States
• List of Native American Tribal Entities
• Diaspora
• List of unrecognized tribes

External links

• First People of Tennessee
• Cherokee Heritage Center
• Cherokee Registry
• Testimony of Leon Jones, Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Dan McCoy, Tribal Council Chairman, on the Indian Federal Recognition Administrative Procedures Act of 1999
• Joint resolution of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians opposing fabricated Cherokee "tribes" and "Indians" (acknowledges the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians)
• Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association
• Cherokee Cultural Society of Houston