Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
Encyclopedia
The Cherokee Nation is the largest of three Cherokee
federally recognized tribes in the United States
. It was established in the 20th century, and includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee Nation
who relocated voluntarily from the Southeast to Indian Territory
and Cherokees who were forced to relocate on the Trail of Tears
. The tribe also includes Cherokee Freedmen and descendants of the Natchez Nation. Over 288,749 people are enrolled in the Cherokee Nation, with 181,867 living within the state of Oklahoma
. According to Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) head Larry EchoHawk
, the Cherokee Nation is not the historical Cherokee tribe but instead a "successor in interest."
Headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma
, the Cherokee Nation has a tribal jurisdictional area spanning 14 counties in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma. These are Adair
, Cherokee
, Craig
, Delaware
, Mayes
, McIntosh
, Muskogee
, Nowata
, Ottawa
, Rogers
, Sequoyah
, Tulsa
, Wagoner
, and Washington Counties
.
The tribe has a democratically
elected government, led by a Principal Chief, Deputy Chief, and Tribal Council. Cherokee Nation has two tribal courts, the District Court and the Judicial Appeals Tribunal (JAT). The Cherokee Nation Marshall Service polices the tribe. A wide range of tribal businesses are operated by Cherokee Nation Entertainment (CNE) and Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB), based in Catoosa, Oklahoma
and Cherokee Nation Industries (CNI), based in Stilwell, Oklahoma
. The tribal newspaper is the Cherokee Phoenix
. The Cherokee Nation operates Sequoyah High School and W. W. Hastings Hospital, both based in Tahlequah.
During 1898–1906, beginning with the Curtis Act of 1898
, the US federal government all but dissolved the former Cherokee Nation's governmental and civic institutions, to make way for the incorporation of Indian Territory
into the new state of Oklahoma
. From 1906 to 1938, the structure and function of the tribal government was not clearly defined.
After the dissolution of the tribal government of the Cherokee Nation in 1906, followed by the end of its reservation, the Federal government appointed chiefs to the Cherokee Nation, often just long enough to sign a treaty. In the 1930s, the Franklin D. Roosevelt
administration worked to improve conditions by supporting the Indian Reorganization Act
, which encouraged tribes to reconstitute their governments and write constitutions. On August 8, 1938, the Cherokee Nation convened a general convention in Fairfield, Oklahoma
to elect a Chief. They choose J. B. Milam
as principal chief. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt confirmed the election in 1941.
W. W. Keeler
was appointed chief in 1949. After the federal government under President Richard Nixon
had adopted a self-determination policy, the Cherokee Nation was able to rebuild its government. The people elected W. W. Keeler
as chief. Keeler, who was also the president of Phillips Petroleum
, was succeeded by Ross Swimmer
, and Wilma Mankiller
.
In 1975 the tribe drafted a constitution, under the name Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, which was ratified on June 26, 1976. The tribe has also conducted litigation using this name.
In recent times, the modern Cherokee Nation has experienced an almost unprecedented expansion in economic growth and prosperity for its citizens. Under the leadership of Principal Chief Chad Smith and Deputy Chief Joe Grayson, the Cherokee Nation has significant business, corporate, real estate, and agricultural interests, including numerous highly profitable casino operations. The Cherokee Nation controls Cherokee Nation Entertainment (formerly known as Cherokee Nation Enterprises), Cherokee Nation Industries (CNI), and Cherokee Nation Businesses. CNI is a large defense contractor, employing thousands of Cherokee citizens in eastern Oklahoma.
The Cherokee Nation has constructed health clinics throughout Oklahoma, contributed to community development programs, built roads and bridges, constructed learning facilities and universities for its citizens, instilled the practice of Gadugi
and self-reliance, revitalized language immersion programs for its children and youth, and is a powerful and positive economic and political force in Eastern Oklahoma. In the 21st century, the tribe assumed control of W. W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah, previously operated by the US Indian Health Service
.
The Cherokee Nation hosts the Cherokee National Holiday
on Labor Day
weekend each year, attracting 80,000 to 90,000 Cherokee to Tahlequah for the festivities. It also publishes the Cherokee Phoenix, a tribal newspaper. The newspaper has operated nearly continuously since 1828, publishing editions in both English and the Cherokee syllabary
(also known as the Sequoyah syllabary).
The Cherokee Nation council appropriates money for historic foundations concerned with the preservation of Cherokee culture, including the Cherokee Heritage Center
. It has a reproduction of an ancient Cherokee Village, Adams Rural Village (a turn-of-the-century village), Nofire Farms, and the Cherokee Family Research Center for genealogy, which is open to the public. The Cherokee Heritage Center is home to the Cherokee National Museum, which has numerous exhibitions also open to the public. The CHC is the repository for the Cherokee Nation as its National Archives. The CHC operates under the Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc., and is governed by a Board of Trustees with an executive committee.
The Cherokee Nation also supports the Cherokee Nation Film Festivals in Tahlequah and participates in the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah
.
The Nation owns Cherokee Nation Businesses
, a tribal enterprise holding company that generates revenue to fund services for Cherokee citizens.
The Principal Chief, Deputy Chief, and Tribal Council are elected to four-year terms by the registered tribal voters over the age of 18. The council is the legislative branch of government and represents the five districts of the Cherokee Nation in the 14 county tribal jurisdictional area, with each district having three councilors. Two council members represent the at-large community who live outside the 14-county area.
The judicial branch of tribal government includes the District Court and Supreme Court, which is comparable to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court consists of five members who are appointed by the Principal Chief and confirmed by the council. It is the highest court of the Cherokee Nation and oversees internal legal disputes and the District Court. The District Judge and an Associate District Judge preside over the tribe’s District Court and hear all cases brought before it under jurisdiction of the Cherokee Nation Judicial Code.
The Congress of the United States, The Federal Courts, and State Courts have repeatedly upheld the sovereignty of Native Tribes, defining their relationship in political rather than racial terms, and have stated it is a compelling interest of the United States. This principle of self-government and tribal sovereignty is controversial. According to the Boston College
sociologist and Cherokee, Eva Marie Garroutte, up to 32 separate definitions of "Indian" are used in federal legislation, as of a 1978 congressional survey. The 1994 Federal Legislation AIRFA (American Indian Religious Freedom Act
) defines an Indian as one who belongs to an Indian Tribe, which is a group that "is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians."
The principal chief is the head of the executive branch of the Cherokee National Government, responsible for overseeing an annual budget of over $600 million and more than 3,000 full time employees. The deputy chief acts as the chief in his or her absence. The chief is assisted in managing the executive branch by the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Marshal, the Treasurer, and several group leaders. The government's functions are divided into several Groups, each headed by a Group Leader. These groups are further divided into several Service Areas which provide governmental services to the Cherokee people. As of July 2011, there are fifteen groups:
The executive branch is also composed of five independent agencies which exercise power autonomously from the control of the Principal Chief:
. The tribe currently has members who also have African, Latino, Asian, white and other ancestry. Members of the Natchez Nation joined the Cherokee Nation, as did other southeastern tribes in the 18th century.
, are encouraged. Others have created controversy by their attempts to gain economically through their claims to be Cherokee. The three federally recognized groups say that only they have the legal right to present themselves as Cherokee Indian Tribes.
Prior to 1975, the Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands (TCAB) were considered a part of the Cherokee Nation, as reflected in briefs filed before the Indian Claims Commission
. While W.W. Keeler served as Chief of the Cherokee Nation, he also was Chairman of the TCAB Executive Committee. The TCAB was formed as a political organization in 1871 by William Penn Adair
and Clement Neely Vann, for descendants of the Texas Cherokee and the Mount Tabor Community. They wanted to gain redress from treaty violations, stemming from the Treaty of Bowles Village of 1836.
Following the Cherokee Nation's adoption of a constitution in 1975, it excluded from tribal membership those TCAB descendants whose ancestors had remained a part of the physical Mount Tabor Community in Rusk County, Texas
. This was based on their ancestors not having been recorded on the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes, as documented by the US government.
But most, if not all, did have an ancestor listed on the Guion Miller or "Old Settler" rolls. Groups of Yowani Choctaw
and McIntosh Party Creek joined the TCAB in the 1850s, which changed the composition of membership in the group. Today, most Mount Tabor descendants are members of the Cherokee Nation. How? Some 800 or so people, many residing in Rusk
and Smith
counties of east Texas, have not been able to gain official recognition from the Cherokee Nation as members.
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. The Nation stated it would call for a full accounting of all federal monies given to state recognized, unrecognized or 5OI(c)(3) charitable organizations that claimed any Cherokee affiliation.
It called for federal and state governments to stringently apply a federal definition of "Indian", to include citizens of federally recognized Indian tribes, to prevent non-Indians from selling membership in so-called 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.
The resolution challenged celebrities who claim Cherokee ancestry (Examples are in the "List of self-identified Cherokee".)
The United Keetoowah Band did not sign or approve the resolution. The Cherokee Nation acknowledges the existence of people of Cherokee descent "...in states such as Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas," who are Cherokee by ancestry but who are not considered members of the Cherokee Nation.
Today the Cherokee Nation is one of America's leading proponents for ecological protection. Since 1992, the Nation has served as the lead for the Inter-Tribal Environmental Council
. The mission of ITEC is to protect the health of American Indians, their natural resources and their environment as it relates to air, land and water. To accomplish this mission, ITEC provides technical support, training and environmental services in a variety of environmental disciplines. Currently, there are more than 40 participating tribes in ITEC from Oklahoma, New Mexico
, and Texas
.
A simmering crisis continued over Byrd's creation of a private, armed paramilitary
force. On June 20, 1997 his private militia illegally seized custody of the Cherokee Nation Courthouse from its legal caretakers and occupants, the Cherokee Nation Marshals, the Judicial Appeals Tribunal and its court clerks. They ousted the lawful occupants at gunpoint. Immediately the court demanded that the courthouse be returned to the judicial branch of the Cherokee Nation, but these requests were ignored by Byrd.
The Federal authorities of the United States initially refused to intervene because of potential breach of tribal sovereignty. The State of Oklahoma recognized that Byrd's activities were breaches in state law. By August, it sent in state troopers and specialist anti-terrorist teams. Byrd was required to attend a meeting in Washington, DC with the Bureau of Indian Affairs
, at which he was compelled to reopen the courts. He served the remainder of his elected term under supervision and remains a free man.
In 1999 Byrd lost the election for Principal Chief to Chad Smith
.
To overcome the impasse, the Cherokee Nation voted by referendum to amend its 1975/1976 Constitution "to remove Presidential approval authority," allowing the tribe to independently ratify and amend its own constitution. As of August 9, 2007, the BIA gave the Cherokee Nation consent to amend its Constitution without approval from the Department of the Interior. Certain non-Cherokee groups contest the viability of this constitution.
. This decision came in response to an application by a lesbian couple submitted on May 13. The decision kept Cherokee law in line with Oklahoma state law, which in 2004 passed a referendum on a constitutional amendment excluding gay marriage as legal.
slaves owned by citizens of the Cherokee Nation during the Antebellum Period, were first guaranteed Cherokee citizenship under a treaty with the United States in 1866. This was in the wake of the American Civil War
, when the US emancipated slaves and passed US constitutional amendments granting freedmen citizenship in the United States. In reaching peace with the Cherokee, who had sided with the Confederates, the US government required that they end slavery and grant full citizenship to freedmen living within their nation. Those who left could become United States citizens.
In a recognition of Cherokee sovereignty, in 1988 the federal court in the Freedmen case of Nero v. Cherokee Nation held that the Cherokee Nation could legally determine its own citizenship requirements, even if that meant excluding descendants of freedmen who had formerly been considered citizens.
On March 7, 2006, the Cherokee Nation Judicial Appeal Tribunal ruled that the Cherokee Freedmen were eligible for Cherokee citizenship. The Cherokee Freedman had historically been recorded as "citizens" of the Cherokee Nation since 1866, and their ancestors were recorded on the Dawes Commission
Land Rolls (although generally in the category of Cherokee Freedmen, even if they qualified as "Cherokee by blood", as many did.) The ruling "did not limit membership to people possessing Cherokee blood," as some freedmen and their descendants had never intermarried with Cherokee. This ruling was consistent with the 1975 Constitution of the Cherokee Nation, in its acceptance of the Cherokee Freedmen on the basis of historical citizenship, rather than documented blood relation. The Constitution had always restricted elected governmental positions to persons of Cherokee blood.
As a result of a citizens' petition, Chad Smith, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, ordered a special election for a constitutional amendment to limit citizenship to those persons with a documented ancestor on the "Cherokee by blood" roll of the Dawes Rolls. This would simultaneously exclude descendants of those listed as Cherokee Freedmen and as Intermarried Whites on the Dawes Rolls unless they could satisfy the new criterion. The definition would include 1500 descendants of freedmen who had documented Cherokee ancestors listed on the Dawes Rolls. In March 2007, the tribe (excluding descendants of Freedmen and intermarried whites, who were prohibited from voting) voted on the constitutional amendment. 76.6% of voters affirmed the proposed amendment, revoking the tribal citizenship of the descendants of former black slaves and intermarried whites who had previously been considered Cherokee citizens. The number of voters was much less than usual for a general election, about 8700 rather than nearly 14,000.
The vote to oust the freedmen after nearly 150 years of citizenship provoked controversy. The Congressional Black Caucus
objected to allowing the Cherokee Nation to establish new rules that excluded people who had historically been considered citizens. Some called for revocation of all federal funding for the Cherokee Nation. The Center for Constitutional Rights
has entered the case to help defend the freedmen's descendants against racial injustice.
On May 15, 2007, the Cherokee Nation Tribal Courts reinstated the Cherokee Freedmen as citizens while appeals were pending in the Cherokee Nation Courts and Federal Court. On May 22, 2007, the Cherokee Nation received notice from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs
that the BIA and Federal Government had denied the amendment to the 1975 Cherokee Nation Constitution because it required BIA approval, which had not been obtained.
The BIA also noted that the Cherokee Nation had excluded the Cherokee Freedmen from voting on the amendment. On this issue, the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee Nation could take away the approval authority which it had previously granted the federal government. Principal Chief Smith has also argued against the requirement for BIA approval for constitutional amendments, as not needed because of tribal sovereignty.
Pending the resolution of litigation, the Cherokee Freedman had all rights as full Cherokee Nation citizens, including voting rights and access to tribal services. In early 2011, the tribal district court ruled that the special election in 2007 on the constitutional amendment was unconstitutional, as it excluded Freedmen from voting. The Nation appealed. On August 22, 2011, the Cherokee Supreme Court upheld the results of the 2007 special election. Chuck Trimble, a former executive director of the National Congress of American Indians
, characterized the decision as the "Cherokee Dred Scott
Decision", for depriving a group of citizenship.
At the same time, the Cherokee Supreme Court ordered a special run-off election to be held September 24, 2011 to settle the office of Principal Chief. Earlier voting in this year's election had been so close that the incumbent Chad Smith
and challenger Bill John Baker
, longtime Cherokee National Council member, had each twice been declared the winner. On September 11, the Nation sent letters to Freedmen, notifying them of their loss of citizenship and voting rights. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development froze $33 million in funds to the Cherokee Nation while studying the case, pursuant to a stipulation in the 2008 Congressional renewal of Self-Determination Act. On September 13, the Department of Interior strongly urged the Cherokee Nation to restore voting rights and benefits to descendants of Cherokee Freedmen, including the right to vote in the special election for principal chief, at the risk of violating its constitution and the US Constitution. On September 14, the Cherokee AG recommended reinstatement of the Freedmen, pending a hearing for oral arguments. On September 20, Judge Henry Kennedy of the US District Court announced the Cherokee Nation, Freedmen plaintiffs and US government had come to an agreement in a preliminary hearing to allow the Freedmen to vote, with voting to continue through October 5 if necessary. Two associated cases on the Freedmen issues are in the District Court.
The United Keetoowah Band tribal council unanimously passed a resolution to approach the Cherokee Nation for a joint council meeting between the two Nations, as a means of "offering the olive branch", in the words of the UKB Council. While a date was set for the meeting between members of the Cherokee Nation council and UKB representation, Chief Smith vetoed the meeting.
The Delaware Tribe of Indians
(Lenape) became part of the Cherokee Nation in 1867. On 28 July 2009 it achieved independent federal recognition as a tribe. Similarly, the Shawnee Tribe
separated from the Cherokee Nation and achieved federal recognition in the twentieth century.
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
federally recognized tribes in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was established in the 20th century, and includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation (19th century)
The Cherokee Nation of the 19th century —an historic entity —was a legal, autonomous, tribal government in North America existing from 1794–1906. Often referred to simply as The Nation by its inhabitants, it should not be confused with what is known today as the "modern" Cherokee Nation...
who relocated voluntarily from the Southeast to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
and Cherokees who were forced to relocate on the Trail of Tears
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
. The tribe also includes Cherokee Freedmen and descendants of the Natchez Nation. Over 288,749 people are enrolled in the Cherokee Nation, with 181,867 living within the state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. According to Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
(BIA) head Larry EchoHawk
Larry EchoHawk
Larry EchoHawk is an attorney and legal scholar. On May 20, 2009, EchoHawk joined the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama as the head of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. He served as Attorney General of Idaho from 1991 to 1995.-Biography:EchoHawk was raised in Farmington, New...
, the Cherokee Nation is not the historical Cherokee tribe but instead a "successor in interest."
Headquartered in Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Tahlequah is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It was founded as a capital of the original Cherokee Nation in 1838 to welcome those Cherokee forced west on the Trail of Tears. The city's population was 15,753 at the 2010 census. It...
, the Cherokee Nation has a tribal jurisdictional area spanning 14 counties in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma. These are Adair
Adair County, Oklahoma
Adair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 22,638. Its county seat is Stilwell. Adair County was named after the Adair family of the Cherokee tribe.-History:...
, Cherokee
Cherokee County, Oklahoma
Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 42,521. Its county seat is Tahlequah.Cherokee County was established in 1907.-Geography:...
, Craig
Craig County, Oklahoma
Craig County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 15,029, a gain of 0.5 percent from 14,950 in 2000. Its county seat is Vinita.Craig County was organized in 1907.-History:...
, Delaware
Delaware County, Oklahoma
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 37,077 and the newest population estimate is 45,000. Its county seat is Jay. The county was named for the Delaware Indians resettled in what was then Indian Territory in the 1830s. .Delaware County...
, Mayes
Mayes County, Oklahoma
Mayes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was named for Samuel Houston Mayes, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1895 to 1899. According to the 2010 census the population was 41,259, a 7.5 percent increase from 2000, when the population was 38,369...
, McIntosh
McIntosh County, Oklahoma
McIntosh County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 19,456. Its county seat is Eufaula.-Geography:...
, Muskogee
Muskogee County, Oklahoma
Muskogee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 70,990. Its county seat is Muskogee.-Government:...
, Nowata
Nowata County, Oklahoma
Nowata County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,573, a decline of 0.3 percent from 2000, when the population was 10,569...
, Ottawa
Ottawa County, Oklahoma
Ottawa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 33,194. Its county seat is Miami. It was named for the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma.Ottawa County was established in 1907.-Geography:...
, Rogers
Rogers County, Oklahoma
Rogers County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 86,905. Its county seat is Claremore. The county was originally created in 1906 and named Cooweescoowee...
, Sequoyah
Sequoyah County, Oklahoma
Sequoyah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 38,972. Its county seat is Sallisaw.-History:...
, Tulsa
Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Tulsa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population is 603,403. Its county seat is Tulsa.-History of Tulsa County:The history of Tulsa County greatly overlaps the history of the city of Tulsa...
, Wagoner
Wagoner County, Oklahoma
Wagoner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 73,085. Its county seat is Wagoner.-Early History:The area of Wagoner County was settled by the Creek after their forced removal in Alabama in the 1820's...
, and Washington Counties
Washington County, Oklahoma
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is, in total area, the smallest county in Oklahoma, adjacent to the largest county in Oklahoma, Osage County. It is the second smallest county, by land only size, i.e., not including water. As of 2000, the population was...
.
The tribe has a democratically
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
elected government, led by a Principal Chief, Deputy Chief, and Tribal Council. Cherokee Nation has two tribal courts, the District Court and the Judicial Appeals Tribunal (JAT). The Cherokee Nation Marshall Service polices the tribe. A wide range of tribal businesses are operated by Cherokee Nation Entertainment (CNE) and Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB), based in Catoosa, Oklahoma
Catoosa, Oklahoma
Catoosa is a river city in Rogers and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 7,159 at the 2010 census compared to 5,449 at the 2000 census. This was a 31.2 percent increase during the decade.Catoosa is an Inland seaport...
and Cherokee Nation Industries (CNI), based in Stilwell, Oklahoma
Stilwell, Oklahoma
Stilwell is a town in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,276 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Adair County...
. The tribal newspaper is the Cherokee Phoenix
Cherokee Phoenix
The Cherokee Phoenix was the first newspaper published by Native Americans in the United States and the first published in a Native American language. The first issue was published in English and Cherokee on February 21, 1828, in New Echota, capital of the Cherokee Nation . The paper continued...
. The Cherokee Nation operates Sequoyah High School and W. W. Hastings Hospital, both based in Tahlequah.
Modern Cherokee Nation
Curtis Act of 1898
The Curtis Act of 1898 was an amendment to the United States Dawes Act that brought about the allotment process of lands of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indian Territory: the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, Cherokee, and Seminole...
, the US federal government all but dissolved the former Cherokee Nation's governmental and civic institutions, to make way for the incorporation of Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
into the new state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. From 1906 to 1938, the structure and function of the tribal government was not clearly defined.
After the dissolution of the tribal government of the Cherokee Nation in 1906, followed by the end of its reservation, the Federal government appointed chiefs to the Cherokee Nation, often just long enough to sign a treaty. In the 1930s, the Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
administration worked to improve conditions by supporting the Indian Reorganization Act
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to Native Americans, including Alaska Natives...
, which encouraged tribes to reconstitute their governments and write constitutions. On August 8, 1938, the Cherokee Nation convened a general convention in Fairfield, Oklahoma
Fairfield, Oklahoma
Fairfield is a census-designated place in Adair County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 367 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Fairfield is located at ....
to elect a Chief. They choose J. B. Milam
J. B. Milam
Jesse Bartley Milam was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1941 to 1949.-Early life:J. B. Milam, as he was commonly known, was born on May 10, 1884, near Italy, Texas to Sarah Ellen Couch Milam and William Guinn Milam, both Cherokees...
as principal chief. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt confirmed the election in 1941.
W. W. Keeler
W. W. Keeler
William Wayne "Bill" Keeler was appointed principal chief of the Cherokee nation in 1949 by President Truman, and served as appointed chief until 1971, when the Cherokee regained their right to elect their own leaders in a congressional act passed by President Nixon...
was appointed chief in 1949. After the federal government under President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
had adopted a self-determination policy, the Cherokee Nation was able to rebuild its government. The people elected W. W. Keeler
W. W. Keeler
William Wayne "Bill" Keeler was appointed principal chief of the Cherokee nation in 1949 by President Truman, and served as appointed chief until 1971, when the Cherokee regained their right to elect their own leaders in a congressional act passed by President Nixon...
as chief. Keeler, who was also the president of Phillips Petroleum
Phillips Petroleum
Phillips Petroleum Company was founded in 1917 by L.E. Phillips and Frank Phillips, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Their younger brother Waite Phillips was the benefactor of Philmont Scout Ranch....
, was succeeded by Ross Swimmer
Ross Swimmer
Ross O. Swimmer is the Special Trustee for American Indians at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Swimmer attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees...
, and Wilma Mankiller
Wilma Mankiller
Wilma Pearl Mankiller was the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She served as principal chief for ten years from 1985 to 1995.-Early life:...
.
In 1975 the tribe drafted a constitution, under the name Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, which was ratified on June 26, 1976. The tribe has also conducted litigation using this name.
In recent times, the modern Cherokee Nation has experienced an almost unprecedented expansion in economic growth and prosperity for its citizens. Under the leadership of Principal Chief Chad Smith and Deputy Chief Joe Grayson, the Cherokee Nation has significant business, corporate, real estate, and agricultural interests, including numerous highly profitable casino operations. The Cherokee Nation controls Cherokee Nation Entertainment (formerly known as Cherokee Nation Enterprises), Cherokee Nation Industries (CNI), and Cherokee Nation Businesses. CNI is a large defense contractor, employing thousands of Cherokee citizens in eastern Oklahoma.
Gadugi
Gadugi is a term used in the Cherokee language which means "working together" or "cooperative labor" within a community.Historically, the word referred to a labor gang, of men and/or women, working together for projects such as harvesting crops or tending to gardens of elderly or infirm tribal...
and self-reliance, revitalized language immersion programs for its children and youth, and is a powerful and positive economic and political force in Eastern Oklahoma. In the 21st century, the tribe assumed control of W. W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah, previously operated by the US Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service
Indian Health Service is an Operating Division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . IHS is responsible for providing medical and public health services to members of federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Natives...
.
The Cherokee Nation hosts the Cherokee National Holiday
Cherokee National Holiday
The Cherokee National Holiday is an annual event held each Labor Day weekend in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The event celebrates the September 6, 1839 signing of the Cherokee Nation Constitution in Oklahoma after the Trail of Tears Indian removal ended....
on Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
weekend each year, attracting 80,000 to 90,000 Cherokee to Tahlequah for the festivities. It also publishes the Cherokee Phoenix, a tribal newspaper. The newspaper has operated nearly continuously since 1828, publishing editions in both English and the Cherokee syllabary
Cherokee syllabary
The Cherokee syllabary is a syllabary invented by Sequoyah to write the Cherokee language in the late 1810s and early 1820s. His creation of the syllabary is particularly noteworthy in that he could not previously read any script. He first experimented with logograms, but his system later developed...
(also known as the Sequoyah syllabary).
The Cherokee Nation council appropriates money for historic foundations concerned with the preservation of Cherokee culture, including the Cherokee Heritage Center
Cherokee Heritage Center
The Cherokee Heritage Center is a non-profit historical society and museum campus that seeks to preserve the historical and cultural artifacts, language, and traditional crafts of the Cherokee. The Heritage center also hosts the central genealogy database and genealogy research center for the...
. It has a reproduction of an ancient Cherokee Village, Adams Rural Village (a turn-of-the-century village), Nofire Farms, and the Cherokee Family Research Center for genealogy, which is open to the public. The Cherokee Heritage Center is home to the Cherokee National Museum, which has numerous exhibitions also open to the public. The CHC is the repository for the Cherokee Nation as its National Archives. The CHC operates under the Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc., and is governed by a Board of Trustees with an executive committee.
The Cherokee Nation also supports the Cherokee Nation Film Festivals in Tahlequah and participates in the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
.
The Nation owns Cherokee Nation Businesses
Cherokee Nation Businesses
Cherokee Nation Businesses, or CNB, is an American conglomerate holding company headquarted in Catoosa, Oklahoma, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. CNB is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Cherokee Nation, the second largest Native American tribe in the United States...
, a tribal enterprise holding company that generates revenue to fund services for Cherokee citizens.
Government
Today the Cherokee Nation has judicial, executive and legislative branches with executive power vested in the Principal Chief, legislative power in the Tribal Council, and judicial power in the Cherokee Nation Judicial Appeals Tribunal.The Principal Chief, Deputy Chief, and Tribal Council are elected to four-year terms by the registered tribal voters over the age of 18. The council is the legislative branch of government and represents the five districts of the Cherokee Nation in the 14 county tribal jurisdictional area, with each district having three councilors. Two council members represent the at-large community who live outside the 14-county area.
The judicial branch of tribal government includes the District Court and Supreme Court, which is comparable to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court consists of five members who are appointed by the Principal Chief and confirmed by the council. It is the highest court of the Cherokee Nation and oversees internal legal disputes and the District Court. The District Judge and an Associate District Judge preside over the tribe’s District Court and hear all cases brought before it under jurisdiction of the Cherokee Nation Judicial Code.
The Congress of the United States, The Federal Courts, and State Courts have repeatedly upheld the sovereignty of Native Tribes, defining their relationship in political rather than racial terms, and have stated it is a compelling interest of the United States. This principle of self-government and tribal sovereignty is controversial. According to the Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
sociologist and Cherokee, Eva Marie Garroutte, up to 32 separate definitions of "Indian" are used in federal legislation, as of a 1978 congressional survey. The 1994 Federal Legislation AIRFA (American Indian Religious Freedom Act
American Indian Religious Freedom Act
The American Indian Religious Freedom Act, Public Law No. 95-341, 92 Stat. 469 , codified at , is a United States federal law and a joint resolution of Congress that was passed in 1978. It was enacted to protect and preserve the traditional religious rights and cultural practices of American...
) defines an Indian as one who belongs to an Indian Tribe, which is a group that "is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians."
The principal chief is the head of the executive branch of the Cherokee National Government, responsible for overseeing an annual budget of over $600 million and more than 3,000 full time employees. The deputy chief acts as the chief in his or her absence. The chief is assisted in managing the executive branch by the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Marshal, the Treasurer, and several group leaders. The government's functions are divided into several Groups, each headed by a Group Leader. These groups are further divided into several Service Areas which provide governmental services to the Cherokee people. As of July 2011, there are fifteen groups:
- Education Services Group - oversees all early childhood development programs, cultural and historical preservation efforts, higher education scholarships, and operates several schools for Cherokee students
- Health Services Group - provides direct care and community health services, including the operation of eight regional health clincs and one central hospital facility
- Financial Resources Group - central accounting, budgeting, and acquisition services for the entire Government
- Community Services Group - provides public transit services, constructs road and sanitary sewer infastructure projects, environmental health services, and self-help housing assistance
- Management Resources Group - provides centralized support services to the entire government, including facilities management, risk management, natural resources preservation, and long range planning and development
- Commerce Services Group - operates the Nation's Small Business Assistance Center which provides financial support to Cherokee-owned business, provides mortgage assistance to Cherokee homebuyers, and promotes cultural tourism
- Human Services Group - provides family assistance programs, child support services, child care centers, child welfare and protective services, and veterans affairs services
- Government Resources Group - oversees funds received from the Federal Government, manages all Tribal property, and oversees Tribal registration
- Housing Services Group - operates low-income and elderly rental property for citizens, provides rehabilitation to private homes, provides mortgage assistance to citizens, and provides subsidy for rental properties
- Career Services Group - provides job training, job relocation assistance, vocational rehabilitation, and operates "Talking Leaves" Job CorpsJob CorpsJob Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training to youth ages 16 to 24.-Mission and purpose:...
Facility - Leadership Services Group - operates the Cherokee Ambassador program, manages the Cherokee National Youth Choir, the Cherokee Youth Leadership Council, and various Summer Camps
- Office of the Attorney General - provides legal advice and representation to the Tribe and prosecutes violates of Tribal law
- Cherokee Marshal Service - provides full service law enforcement services to the Nation
- Human Resources Group - provides centralize personnel management for all employee recruitment and management affiars of the government
- Information Systems Group - provides centralized information technology management for the government
The executive branch is also composed of five independent agencies which exercise power autonomously from the control of the Principal Chief:
- Tax Commission
- Election Commission
- Environmental Protection Commission
- Gaming Commission
- Cherokee Phoenix Newspaper
Tribal enrollment
Race and blood quantum are not sole factors in Cherokee Nation tribal citizenship eligibility. To be considered a citizen in the Cherokee Nation, an individual needs a direct Indian ancestor listed on the Dawes RollsDawes Rolls
The Dawes Rolls were created by the Dawes Commission. The Commission, authorized by United States Congress in 1893, was required to negotiate with the Five Civilized Tribes to convince them to agree to an allotment plan and dissolution of the reservation system...
. The tribe currently has members who also have African, Latino, Asian, white and other ancestry. Members of the Natchez Nation joined the Cherokee Nation, as did other southeastern tribes in the 18th century.
Relationship with at-large Cherokees
Two tribal council members represent the at-large citizenry – those who live outside the tribe's 14-county jurisdictional area in northeastern Oklahoma. Eleven satellite communities have been organized by the tribe in areas of high Cherokee Nation populations. These communities are composed of a majority of enrolled Cherokee Nation citizens. These communities are a way for enrolled Cherokee citizens to connect with Cherokee heritage and culture, and to be more politically engaged. These communities are located in California, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and central Oklahoma.Tribal relationship with Cherokee heritage groups
Many groups have sought recognition by the federal government as Cherokee tribes, but today there are only three groups so recognized. Cherokee Nation spokesman Mike Miller has said that some groups, which he calls Cherokee Heritage GroupsCherokee 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...
, are encouraged. Others have created controversy by their attempts to gain economically through their claims to be Cherokee. The three federally recognized groups say that only they have the legal right to present themselves as Cherokee Indian Tribes.
Prior to 1975, the Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands (TCAB) were considered a part of the Cherokee Nation, as reflected in briefs filed before the Indian Claims Commission
Indian claims commission
The Indian Claims Commission was a judicial panel for relations between the United States Federal Government and Native American tribes. It was established in 1946 by the United States Congress to hear claims of Indian tribes against the United States...
. While W.W. Keeler served as Chief of the Cherokee Nation, he also was Chairman of the TCAB Executive Committee. The TCAB was formed as a political organization in 1871 by William Penn Adair
William Penn Adair
William Penn Adair was a Cherokee leader and Confederate colonel.-Background:William Penn Adair was born on April 15, 1830 in the old Cherokee Nation in New Echota, Georgia. His parents were George Washington Adair and Martha Adair. He attended Cherokee schools in Indian Territory, studying law....
and Clement Neely Vann, for descendants of the Texas Cherokee and the Mount Tabor Community. They wanted to gain redress from treaty violations, stemming from the Treaty of Bowles Village of 1836.
Following the Cherokee Nation's adoption of a constitution in 1975, it excluded from tribal membership those TCAB descendants whose ancestors had remained a part of the physical Mount Tabor Community in Rusk County, Texas
Rusk County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,372 people, 17,364 households, and 12,727 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 19,867 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
. This was based on their ancestors not having been recorded on the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes, as documented by the US government.
But most, if not all, did have an ancestor listed on the Guion Miller or "Old Settler" rolls. Groups of Yowani Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
and McIntosh Party Creek joined the TCAB in the 1850s, which changed the composition of membership in the group. Today, most Mount Tabor descendants are members of the Cherokee Nation. How? Some 800 or so people, many residing in Rusk
Rusk County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,372 people, 17,364 households, and 12,727 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 19,867 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
and Smith
Smith County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 174,706 people, 65,692 households, and 46,904 families residing in the county. The population density was 188 people per square mile . There were 71,701 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...
counties of east Texas, have not been able to gain official recognition from the Cherokee Nation as members.
New resolution
On April 9, 2008, the Councils of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians at the Joint Council Meeting held in Catoosa, Oklahoma passed a resolution: "Opposing Fabricated Cherokee 'Tribes' and 'Indians'." It denounced further state or federal recognition of so-called Cherokee tribes or bands. These tribes committed to exposing and assisting state and federal authorities in eradicating any group that attempts or claims to operate as a government of the Cherokee people.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. The Nation stated it would call for a full accounting of all federal monies given to state recognized, unrecognized or 5OI(c)(3) charitable organizations that claimed any Cherokee affiliation.
It called for federal and state governments to stringently apply a federal definition of "Indian", to include citizens of federally recognized Indian tribes, to prevent non-Indians from selling membership in so-called 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.
The resolution challenged celebrities who claim Cherokee ancestry (Examples are in the "List of self-identified Cherokee".)
- "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."
The United Keetoowah Band did not sign or approve the resolution. The Cherokee Nation acknowledges the existence of people of Cherokee descent "...in states such as Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas," who are Cherokee by ancestry but who are not considered members of the Cherokee Nation.
"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. "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."
Environment
Inter-Tribal Environmental Council
The Inter-Tribal Environmental Council was set up in 1992 to protect the health of Native Americans, their natural resources and environment. To accomplish this ITEC provides technical support, training and environmental services in a variety of disciplines. Currently, there are over forty ITEC...
. The mission of ITEC is to protect the health of American Indians, their natural resources and their environment as it relates to air, land and water. To accomplish this mission, ITEC provides technical support, training and environmental services in a variety of environmental disciplines. Currently, there are more than 40 participating tribes in ITEC from Oklahoma, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
The 1997 Cherokee Constitutional Crisis
The Cherokee Nation was seriously destabilized in May 1997 in what was variously described as either a nationalist "uprising" or an "anti-constitutional coup" instigated by Joe Byrd, the Principal Chief. Elected in 1995, Byrd became locked in a battle of strength with the judicial branch of the Cherokee tribe. The crisis came to a head on March 22, 1997, when Byrd said in a press conference that he would decide which orders of the Cherokee Nation’s Supreme Court were lawful and which were not.A simmering crisis continued over Byrd's creation of a private, armed paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
force. On June 20, 1997 his private militia illegally seized custody of the Cherokee Nation Courthouse from its legal caretakers and occupants, the Cherokee Nation Marshals, the Judicial Appeals Tribunal and its court clerks. They ousted the lawful occupants at gunpoint. Immediately the court demanded that the courthouse be returned to the judicial branch of the Cherokee Nation, but these requests were ignored by Byrd.
The Federal authorities of the United States initially refused to intervene because of potential breach of tribal sovereignty. The State of Oklahoma recognized that Byrd's activities were breaches in state law. By August, it sent in state troopers and specialist anti-terrorist teams. Byrd was required to attend a meeting in Washington, DC with the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
, at which he was compelled to reopen the courts. He served the remainder of his elected term under supervision and remains a free man.
In 1999 Byrd lost the election for Principal Chief to Chad Smith
Chad Smith
Chad Smith is an American musician, best known as the longtime and current drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot which includes Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Michael Anthony, former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes' backing band and...
.
1999 Constitution
A new constitution was drafted in 1999 that included mechanisms for voters to remove officials from offices, changed the structure of the tribal council, and removed the need to ask the Bureau of Indian Affairs' permission to amend the constitution. The tribe and Bureau of Indian Affairs negotiated changes to the new constitution and it was ratified in 2003. Confusion resulted when the US Secretary of the Interior would not approve it.To overcome the impasse, the Cherokee Nation voted by referendum to amend its 1975/1976 Constitution "to remove Presidential approval authority," allowing the tribe to independently ratify and amend its own constitution. As of August 9, 2007, the BIA gave the Cherokee Nation consent to amend its Constitution without approval from the Department of the Interior. Certain non-Cherokee groups contest the viability of this constitution.
2004 Marriage Law decision
On June 14, 2004, the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council voted to officially define marriage as a union between a woman and man, thereby outlawing same-sex marriageSame-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. This decision came in response to an application by a lesbian couple submitted on May 13. The decision kept Cherokee law in line with Oklahoma state law, which in 2004 passed a referendum on a constitutional amendment excluding gay marriage as legal.
Cherokee Freedmen
The Cherokee freedmen, descendants of African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
slaves owned by citizens of the Cherokee Nation during the Antebellum Period, were first guaranteed Cherokee citizenship under a treaty with the United States in 1866. This was in the wake of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, when the US emancipated slaves and passed US constitutional amendments granting freedmen citizenship in the United States. In reaching peace with the Cherokee, who had sided with the Confederates, the US government required that they end slavery and grant full citizenship to freedmen living within their nation. Those who left could become United States citizens.
In a recognition of Cherokee sovereignty, in 1988 the federal court in the Freedmen case of Nero v. Cherokee Nation held that the Cherokee Nation could legally determine its own citizenship requirements, even if that meant excluding descendants of freedmen who had formerly been considered citizens.
On March 7, 2006, the Cherokee Nation Judicial Appeal Tribunal ruled that the Cherokee Freedmen were eligible for Cherokee citizenship. The Cherokee Freedman had historically been recorded as "citizens" of the Cherokee Nation since 1866, and their ancestors were recorded on the Dawes Commission
Dawes Commission
The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893...
Land Rolls (although generally in the category of Cherokee Freedmen, even if they qualified as "Cherokee by blood", as many did.) The ruling "did not limit membership to people possessing Cherokee blood," as some freedmen and their descendants had never intermarried with Cherokee. This ruling was consistent with the 1975 Constitution of the Cherokee Nation, in its acceptance of the Cherokee Freedmen on the basis of historical citizenship, rather than documented blood relation. The Constitution had always restricted elected governmental positions to persons of Cherokee blood.
As a result of a citizens' petition, Chad Smith, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, ordered a special election for a constitutional amendment to limit citizenship to those persons with a documented ancestor on the "Cherokee by blood" roll of the Dawes Rolls. This would simultaneously exclude descendants of those listed as Cherokee Freedmen and as Intermarried Whites on the Dawes Rolls unless they could satisfy the new criterion. The definition would include 1500 descendants of freedmen who had documented Cherokee ancestors listed on the Dawes Rolls. In March 2007, the tribe (excluding descendants of Freedmen and intermarried whites, who were prohibited from voting) voted on the constitutional amendment. 76.6% of voters affirmed the proposed amendment, revoking the tribal citizenship of the descendants of former black slaves and intermarried whites who had previously been considered Cherokee citizens. The number of voters was much less than usual for a general election, about 8700 rather than nearly 14,000.
The vote to oust the freedmen after nearly 150 years of citizenship provoked controversy. The Congressional Black Caucus
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization representing the black members of the United States Congress. Membership is exclusive to blacks, and its chair in the 112th Congress is Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.-Aims:...
objected to allowing the Cherokee Nation to establish new rules that excluded people who had historically been considered citizens. Some called for revocation of all federal funding for the Cherokee Nation. The Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
has entered the case to help defend the freedmen's descendants against racial injustice.
On May 15, 2007, the Cherokee Nation Tribal Courts reinstated the Cherokee Freedmen as citizens while appeals were pending in the Cherokee Nation Courts and Federal Court. On May 22, 2007, the Cherokee Nation received notice from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
that the BIA and Federal Government had denied the amendment to the 1975 Cherokee Nation Constitution because it required BIA approval, which had not been obtained.
The BIA also noted that the Cherokee Nation had excluded the Cherokee Freedmen from voting on the amendment. On this issue, the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled that the Cherokee Nation could take away the approval authority which it had previously granted the federal government. Principal Chief Smith has also argued against the requirement for BIA approval for constitutional amendments, as not needed because of tribal sovereignty.
Pending the resolution of litigation, the Cherokee Freedman had all rights as full Cherokee Nation citizens, including voting rights and access to tribal services. In early 2011, the tribal district court ruled that the special election in 2007 on the constitutional amendment was unconstitutional, as it excluded Freedmen from voting. The Nation appealed. On August 22, 2011, the Cherokee Supreme Court upheld the results of the 2007 special election. Chuck Trimble, a former executive director of the National Congress of American Indians
National Congress of American Indians
The National Congress of American Indians is a American Indian and Alaska Native indigenous rights organization. It was founded in 1944 in response to termination and assimilation policies that the U.S. government forced upon the tribal governments in contradiction of their treaty rights and...
, characterized the decision as the "Cherokee Dred Scott
Dred Scott
Dred Scott , was an African-American slave in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v...
Decision", for depriving a group of citizenship.
At the same time, the Cherokee Supreme Court ordered a special run-off election to be held September 24, 2011 to settle the office of Principal Chief. Earlier voting in this year's election had been so close that the incumbent Chad Smith
Chad Smith
Chad Smith is an American musician, best known as the longtime and current drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot which includes Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Michael Anthony, former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes' backing band and...
and challenger Bill John Baker
Bill John Baker
Bill John Baker is a Cherokee Nation councilperson, businessman, and Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.-Background:Bill John Baker was born in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. He is 1/32 Cherokee by blood. He graduated from Tahlequah High School...
, longtime Cherokee National Council member, had each twice been declared the winner. On September 11, the Nation sent letters to Freedmen, notifying them of their loss of citizenship and voting rights. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development froze $33 million in funds to the Cherokee Nation while studying the case, pursuant to a stipulation in the 2008 Congressional renewal of Self-Determination Act. On September 13, the Department of Interior strongly urged the Cherokee Nation to restore voting rights and benefits to descendants of Cherokee Freedmen, including the right to vote in the special election for principal chief, at the risk of violating its constitution and the US Constitution. On September 14, the Cherokee AG recommended reinstatement of the Freedmen, pending a hearing for oral arguments. On September 20, Judge Henry Kennedy of the US District Court announced the Cherokee Nation, Freedmen plaintiffs and US government had come to an agreement in a preliminary hearing to allow the Freedmen to vote, with voting to continue through October 5 if necessary. Two associated cases on the Freedmen issues are in the District Court.
Relationship with other tribes
The Cherokee Nation participates in numerous joint programs with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It also participates in cultural exchange programs and joint Tribal Council meetings involving councilors from both Cherokee Tribes, which address issues affecting all of the Cherokee People.The United Keetoowah Band tribal council unanimously passed a resolution to approach the Cherokee Nation for a joint council meeting between the two Nations, as a means of "offering the olive branch", in the words of the UKB Council. While a date was set for the meeting between members of the Cherokee Nation council and UKB representation, Chief Smith vetoed the meeting.
The Delaware Tribe of Indians
Delaware Tribe of Indians
The Delaware Tribe of Indians, sometimes called the Eastern Delaware, based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, is one of two federally recognized tribe of Lenape Indians, along with the Delaware Nation based in Anadarko, Oklahoma.-History:...
(Lenape) became part of the Cherokee Nation in 1867. On 28 July 2009 it achieved independent federal recognition as a tribe. Similarly, the Shawnee Tribe
Shawnee Tribe
The Shawnee Tribe is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma.-History:Sometimes known as the "Loyal Shawnee," the Shawnee Tribe is one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. They are an Eastern Woodland tribe. They originally came from Ohio and were the last of the Shawnee...
separated from the Cherokee Nation and achieved federal recognition in the twentieth century.
Notable Cherokee Nation citizens
- Bud AdamsBud AdamsKenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams, Jr. is the owner of the Tennessee Titans' National Football League franchise. He was instrumental in the founding and establishment of the former American Football League. Adams became a charter AFL owner with the establishment of the Titans franchise, which was...
(b. 1923), businessman and owner of the Tennessee Titans and Houston Oilers - Bill John BakerBill John BakerBill John Baker is a Cherokee Nation councilperson, businessman, and Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.-Background:Bill John Baker was born in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. He is 1/32 Cherokee by blood. He graduated from Tahlequah High School...
, Principal Chief, businessman and longstanding tribal councilperson - Martha BerryMartha Berry (artist)Martha Berry is a Cherokee beadwork artist, who has been highly influential in reviving traditional Cherokee and Southeastern beadwork, particularly techniques from the pre-Removal period.-Background:...
, bead artist, curator, and author - Roy Boney Jr.Roy Boney Jr.Roy Boney, Jr. is a full blood Cherokee comic artist, fine artist, computer animator and language preservationist from Locust Grove, Oklahoma and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.-Background:...
(b.1978), artist, animator, comic book illustrator - Sam BradfordSam BradfordSamuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and played college football at Oklahoma. In 2008, as a redshirt sophomore, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a...
(b. 1987), quarterback, winner of the Heisman Trophy - Joe ByrdJoe Byrd (Cherokee Chief)Joe Byrd was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1995 to 1999. Byrd is bilingual, with an ability to communicate in both Cherokee and English. He ran for re-election in 1999, but lost to Chad Smith. He ran again in 2003, but again lost to the incumbent Smith.-Biography:Byrd was born...
, Principal Chief, known for the 1997 Constitutional Crisis - Brad CarsonBrad CarsonBrad Rogers Carson is an American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2005.-Background:...
(b. 1967), Oklahoma congressman - Mike DartMike DartMike Dart is a Native American artist of the Cherokee Nation, who is one of the few Western Cherokee men who specialize in Cherokee basketry.-Background :...
(b. 1977), basket weaver and activist - Talmadge DavisTalmadge DavisTalmadge Davis was a Cherokee artist, who explored historical and military themes in his highly naturalistic paintings.-Personal:...
(1962–2005), painter - Mavis DoeringMavis Doering-Background:Doering was born in Hominy, Oklahoma and was the third generation of a family of basketmakers. She was mostly self-taught. Beginning in the 1970s, she researched weaving techniques from books in libraries and museums.-Art:...
(1929–2007), basket weaver - Joseph L. ErbJoseph L. ErbJoseph Erb is a Native American computer animator, educator, and artist enrolled in the Cherokee Nation.-Background:Joseph Erb was born on January 7, 1974 and currently lives in Gore, Oklahoma. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania...
(b. 1974), artist, first 3-D animator in Cherokee language - John Tyler HammonsJohn Tyler HammonsJohn Tyler Hammons is the 47th and current Mayor of Muskogee, a city of about 40,000 people in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. He was elected on May 13, 2008, as a 19-year old freshman at the University of Oklahoma, after winning 70% of the vote in a runoff election against 70-year-old, three-time...
(b. 1988), mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma - Sharon IrlaSharon IrlaSharon Irla is an award-winning, Native American artist of Cherokee descent and a registered tribal member of the Cherokee Nation. A self-taught artist, Irla began entering competitive art shows in 2003. Her collective body of works span the fields of painting, murals, graphics, photography and...
(b. 1957), painter - Daniel Heath JusticeDaniel Heath JusticeDaniel Heath Justice is a U.S.-born Canadian citizen of the Cherokee Nation and the author of Our Fire Survives the Storm: A Cherokee Literary History as well as an Indigenous fantasy trilogy, The Way of Thorn & Thunder--Kynship , Wyrwood , and Dreyd --all published by Kegedonce Press...
, author and professor - W. W. KeelerW. W. KeelerWilliam Wayne "Bill" Keeler was appointed principal chief of the Cherokee nation in 1949 by President Truman, and served as appointed chief until 1971, when the Cherokee regained their right to elect their own leaders in a congressional act passed by President Nixon...
(1908–1987), Principal Chief - Phil KonstantinPhil KonstantinPhil Konstantin is American, and also a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. While his legal name is Morris Phillip Konstantin, he has always gone by the name of Phil Konstantin. He was one of the computer operators who ran the IBM 360, model 75J computers at NASA during the Apollo 16 and Apollo 17...
(b. 1952), author, TV reporter, historian, website creator - Stacy LeedsStacy LeedsStacy L. Leeds is a Law professor, scholar, and judge for several tribes. She was a candidate for Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 2007.-Education:...
, former justice on the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court, judge for three tribal courts, law professor - LitefootLitefootGary Paul Davis , better known by his stage name Litefoot, is a Native American rapper and the founder of the Red Vinyl record label. He also portrayed Little Bear in the movie The Indian in the Cupboard.-Personal life:...
, rapper and actor - Wilma MankillerWilma MankillerWilma Pearl Mankiller was the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She served as principal chief for ten years from 1985 to 1995.-Early life:...
(1945–2010), Principal Chief and author - Barbara McAlisterBarbara McAlister (opera singer)Barbara McAlister is an internationally acclaimed mezzo soprano Native American opera singer from Muskogee, Oklahoma.-Background:Barbara McAlister was born Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1941. She is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, a descendant of Old Tassel, and half German through her mother...
(b. 1941), mezzo-soprano opera singer - J. B. MilamJ. B. MilamJesse Bartley Milam was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1941 to 1949.-Early life:J. B. Milam, as he was commonly known, was born on May 10, 1884, near Italy, Texas to Sarah Ellen Couch Milam and William Guinn Milam, both Cherokees...
(1884–1949), Principal Chief - America MeredithAmerica MeredithAmerica Meredith is a Swedish-Cherokee painter, printmaker, and lecturer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work is known for its humorous approaches to social and environmental issues and for combining Native American and pop imagery.-Background:...
(1972), artist, curator, and lecturer - Will Rogers, Jr.Will Rogers, Jr.William Vann Rogers, generally known as Will Rogers, Jr. , was a son of legendary humorist Will Rogers and his wife, the former Betty Blake . He was a Democratic U. S. Representative from California from January 3, 1943 until May 23, 1944, when he resigned to return to the United States Army...
(1911–1993), journalist, entertainer, and California congressman - William Sanders (writer)William Sanders (writer)William Sanders is an American science fiction writer, primarily of short fiction, and was the senior editor of the now defunct online science fiction magazine Helix SF....
(b. 1942), writer - Sonny SixkillerSonny SixkillerAlex L. "Sonny" Sixkiller is a former American football player and current sports commentator.-Early years:Born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and a member of the Cherokee Nation, Sixkiller's family moved to Ashland in southern Oregon when he was a year old, where his father worked in a lumber mill.He...
(b. 1951), football player - Chad Smith, incumbent Principal Chief and attorney
- Hastings ShadeHastings ShadeHastings Shade was a former deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation. He was a traditionalist, artist, and master level fluent speaker of the Cherokee language.-Background:...
, former Deputy Chief, traditionalist, language expert, artist, and National Treasure - Ross SwimmerRoss SwimmerRoss O. Swimmer is the Special Trustee for American Indians at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Swimmer attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees...
, Principal Chief and Special Trustee for American Indians at the U.S. Department of the Interior - Wes StudiWes StudiWesley "Wes" Studi is a Cherokee actor, who has earned notability for his portrayal of Native Americans in film. He has appeared in well-received Academy Award-winning films, such as Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves, Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans, the award-winning Geronimo: An...
(b. 1947), actor, musician, Native American rights advocate - Kimberly TeeheeKimberly TeeheeKimberly Teehee is the current senior policy adviser for Native American affairs in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. Her appointment was announced on June 15, 2009...
(b. 1969/70), senior policy advisor for Native American Affairs in the White House Domestic Policy Council - Kay WalkingStickKay WalkingStickKay WalkingStick is a Native American painter and educator. She is enrolled in the Cherokee Nation and is also of Scotch-Irish and Ho-Chunk descent. She currently resides in New York and was a Professor of Art at Cornell University from 1988-2005....
(b. 1935), painter and educator - Tommy WildcatTommy WildcatTommy Wildcat is a Native American flutist, storyteller, lecturer, and traditionalist. He is a fullblood Native American of Cherokee, Muscogee Creek, and Natchez ancestry.-Background:...
, Cherokee-Muscogee-Natchez musician, actor, traditionalist
See also
- CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
- Cherokee Casino RolandCherokee Casino RolandThe Cherokee Casino Roland is a casino complex located in Roland, Oklahoma. It is owned and operated by the Cherokee Nation.-Casino:The casino is located in Roland, Oklahoma near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border, I-40, and US Highway 64...
- Cherokee CommissionCherokee CommissionThe Cherokee Commission, was a three-person bi-partisan body created by President Benjamin Harrison to operate under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, as empowered by Section 14 of the Indian Appropriations Act of March 2, 1889. Section 15 of the same Act empowered the President to...
- Cherokee Heritage CenterCherokee Heritage CenterThe Cherokee Heritage Center is a non-profit historical society and museum campus that seeks to preserve the historical and cultural artifacts, language, and traditional crafts of the Cherokee. The Heritage center also hosts the central genealogy database and genealogy research center for the...
- The Cherokee National Youth ChoirThe Cherokee National Youth ChoirThe Cherokee National Youth Choir was created in part by Chad "Corntassel" Smith, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. It consists of youth of Cherokee descent who sing gospel music in the Cherokee language. The directors are Mary Kay Henderson and Kathy Sierra. The choir has sung at various...
- Principal Chiefs of the Cherokee
- Timeline of Cherokee removalTimeline of Cherokee removalThis is a timeline of events leading up to and extending away from the Treaty of New Echota from the time of first contact to the treaty of reunion after the American Civil War.-1540–1775:...
External links
- Cherokee Nation, official website
- Cherokee Phoenix, official newspaper of the tribe
- Cherokee Nation Foundation, official 501(c)3 public charity of the tribe
- Cherokee satellite community in San Diego, California
- Cherokee satellite community in Central California
- Cherokee satellite community in the Inland Empire area of California
- Cherokee satellite community in Silicon Valley, California
- Cherokee satellite community in Los Angeles, California
- Cherokee satellite community in the Bay Area, California
- Cherokee satellite community in Central California
- Cherokee satellite community in Orange County, California
- Cherokee satellite community in the North Central Valley area of California
- Cherokee satellite community in Central Florida
- Cherokee South West Township (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
- Cherokee satellite community in Central Oklahoma
- Muldrow Cherokee Community in Oklahoma
- Cherokee Elders Council
- Blue Sky Water Society in Oklahoma
- Dawes Rolls
- Voices of Oklahoma interview with Wilma Mankiller. First person interview conducted with Wilma Mankiller on August 13, 2009. Original audio and transcript archived with Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.