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STOP ERADICATION of non-federal Cherokees
The federal Cherokee tribes have become hostile towards Cherokee people who are non-federally recognized in recent years. Many of us descend from families who were separated from the original tribe during times of Eastern removals; however we feel, nonetheless that we are still Cherokee. Many of our non-federally recognized people have formed organizations where we can live and enjoy our Cherokee culture. Some of us have formed and joined state-recognized Cherokee tribes. Within such tribes, members are asked to prove their Cherokee heritage. Each tribe has its own membership requirements-just as do federally recognized tribes. Such requirements range from lax requirements to a very strict requirement of linking to a Cherokee ancestor on a Cherokee roll or census, and DNA tests are becoming more and more useful to this end. Our federal government recognizes such state tribes with the definition of “being Indian” in many documents. The federal Cherokee tribes have taken strong opposition to this recognition and are taking actions to eradicate such tribes. The purpose of this website is to educate persons who are interested in this issue as to what exactly is being done by the federal Cherokee tribes, and how non-federally recognized tribes feel about their actions, and our defense. Those of us sponsoring this website are remaining anonymous at this time because of the wrath the federal tribes may impose upon us and possible negative ramifications in that regard.
This response is regarding the April 2008 resolution 1#00-08 opposing Fabricated Cherokee “tribes”, by the federally recognized Eastern and Oklahoma bands of Cherokee’s; viewable here: http://taskforce.cherokee.org/Home/tabid/106/Default.aspx, click onto “Fabricated Tribes Resolution”.
Their claims: In this resolution, these Cherokee tribes claim that since time immemorial they have been sovereign tribes, having separated due to the “Trail of Tears removal,” operating under their own self-governments, and with membership into their tribes strictly enforced through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) with specified requirements. These Cherokee tribes maintain that according to the list of federally recognized tribes published by the Department of the Interior, such tribes are the only existing Indian tribes. They seek to take all status of recognition from our State recognized tribes and to prevent us from including the word “Cherokee” in our titles. They maintain that all other tribes, including “state recognized” tribes are fake. They claim that we have no standards of membership requirements - that anyone can join our tribes. They want to remove all legislative language that defines an Indian as, “a member of a state recognized tribe.” They further desire that all other State recognized tribes be prevented from receiving any kind of public monies. They accuse us of “selling” our memberships for a small fee, thus allowing our members to exploit such memberships in order to be eligible for “Indian” funding and selling arts and crafts as “Indian” made.
Our response: We recognize and honor their claim for existence since “time immemorial” as a sovereign nation operating with their own self-government, and regarding their BIA membership requirements. We maintain that the list of federally recognized tribes is in existence for the purpose outlined on its title: “Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs”. This list does not define who is “Indian”; its purpose is to list tribes who are eligible to receive services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We oppose claims that we are not valid tribes with membership standards. We oppose their claims that states who recognize tribes have no standards for “State recognition” or membership status. According to the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, the definition of “Indian groups,” for the purpose of marketing and selling artwork as “Indian made,” includes: “Any Indian group that has been formally recognized as an Indian tribe by a State legislature or by a State commission or similar organization legislatively vested with State tribal recognition authority.” Such states have set forth standards for meeting state tribal status. Most include a requirement to prove a tribal history within their state, and proof of substantial and provable quantum of Indian blood within memberships. Just as the Eastern Cherokee Tribe maintained they “hid in the mountains” when the Cherokee were removed via the Trail of Tears, and later emerged as a self governing tribe seeking and gaining federal recognition many years later (despite the opposition of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), our state tribes and tribal members can trace their Cherokee heritage back to these same roots and history, and have emerged to form their own state tribes. Some of our ancestors, such as the “Early Settlers” moved West prior to the Trail of Tears to escape the encroachment of European settlers, some dropped out of the many groups that traveled across the country during removal and hid before reaching Indian Territory, and some who made the trek to Oklahoma refused, approximately 70 years later, to sign the Dawes’ Rolls because they objected to the dissolution of their tribal governments and the distribution of their lands to non-Indian settlers. Furthermore, we maintain as our own nation’s name, “The United States Of America,” implies states have rights to operate within their own regulations under the banner of our nation. States have their own constitutions, laws and regulations. States DO have full right to recognize their own Indian tribes if they so choose since that recognition does not assign Indian services to those tribes from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. And, they have the right to “define” Indian in their own state terminology. The federal Cherokees have no grasp on the purpose of fees imposed upon our membership. Because we are not federally recognized and are not on the list of tribes eligible for funding as afore mentioned, we have to fund ourselves. Many state recognized tribes impose tribal taxes on members in order to operate their governments, but many state tribes do not. This is really the business of our own tribal governments, and not that of the federal Cherokees. We maintain that it is not the purpose of the federal Cherokees to “define Indian”, or to eradicate all State recognized tribes who include the word “Cherokee” within their title. We maintain that any entity that chooses to award grants or gifts to any state recognized Indian tribe should be able to do so if they so desire.
Closing statement: The Cherokees and other federal tribes have been supported by the federal government for over 100 years. They are the ones getting all the monies, and now they also have casinos that are making their bank accounts bulge. We have no problems with this and are indeed happy for their prosperity. The Eastern and Oklahoma Cherokee resolution points down a dangerous road. Will there be a day when anyone with Cherokee blood who states such information with pride, even though they are not federally recognized, can be arrested? We don’t want their money or anything else from them. We desire only to operate under our current state tribal status, free of threats and free to our own pursuit of happiness and prosperity. Therefore we, the State Recognized Tribes, object to and will resist any efforts by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma or the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to change or initiate any federal law that will remove state recognition from any tribe or to remove or change the state recognition process. We will further resist any like efforts to make the identifying terms of “Cherokee” or “Cherokee Heritage” illegal terms.
*We invite your comments. See 2nd page for comments written by other viewers. Please email us at: Defending-Cherokee-State-Tribes
*The developers of this website would appreciate alerts posted on our email (on this website) regarding anything within the area where the federal Cherokee's are causing a threat. Do you know of an art show where they are trying to change the rules disallowing state tribal members? Do you know of any federal Cherokee entity or person pressuring a state legislature to change their policies regarding recognizing state tribes? Or, so you know of any threats to government agencies who award grants or scholarships to state tribes/members? We promise to keep your email private, and if you would like to interact with us, please give us your contact information. Possibly we can help counteract the threat. Thanks for your cooperation.
Art Disclaimer The art on this site is not meant to represent any Cherokee Tribe. It is simply "Indian art" and is meant to enhance the beauty of the site.
Thank you to First People web site for the use of their copyright free web art.
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