Are the Cherokee Racists Really Europeans?
Studying the Effects of Genetic Warfare on the Transitional
Developments of the Cherokee Nation
By (Amir) Ishaq D. Al-Sulaimani
Are the Cherokee Racists Really Europeans ?
“ In March 2007 the Cherokee Nation voted to revoke the tribal citizenship of an estimated 2,800 descendants of the people the Cherokees once owned as slaves.” – New York Times March 4th 2007.
Those rejected by the Cherokee are also known as “ Black Cherokees ” and or “ Freedmen ”. By 1835 the Cherokee were known to be the owners of more African descended slaves than any other Native-American tribe. In addition the Cherokee were often times known for the brutal mistreatmentof their slaves. An interesting point is that full blooded Cherokees rarely if at all owned slaves.
The Cherokee slave owners were the patrilineal descendants of British (European) descended males who infiltrated the tribe in a strategic policy of containment which targeted pure Cherokee males for genocide. The success of this crime against humanity is revealed in the DNA test results of present day Cherokee males of whom the vast majority are of Y-Chromosome Haplogroup R1B. R1B is distinctly a European Haplogroup accounting for 95% of Irish males and 80% amongst the British. Haplogroup R1B is universally defined by every accredited DNA testing center as the most common Y haplogroup in all of Europe.
As the inheritors of Y-Chromosome Haplogroup R1B, the modern day Cherokee male stands alone in the midst of countless Native-American tribes who are all defined by Y(MALE)Chromosome Haplogroups Q and C.( In accordance with the containment policies outlined by Willie Lynch the British descended Americans likewise targeted the African-American male with a campaign of genetic warfare which resulted in an entire generation of mulattoes who would pass on the R1B Y-Chromosome to the general African-American Male population. However due to the large numbers of African-American males entering the Americas the success or extent of replacing the original(African) Y-Chromosome which is E3A remains checked at about 30%).
Y-Chromosome Haplogroups Qand C are acknowledged as the only two authentic Native-American Haplogroups,while R is known to be the result of European admixture.
Native-American Testing of Genele Health and DNA, Accredited DNA Testing Pioneer Since 1987 stated:
“ Three major haplogroups account for 96% of Native-American Male Y-Chromosomes. The haplogroups are called Q,C and R. Haplogroups Q and C represent early Native-American founding male lineages. Haplogroup R lineages present in Native-Americans are believed by scientists to most likely have come from recent admixtures with Europeans.”
The published Y-Chromosome results of a Cherokee DNA Project recently started by family TreeDna have been posted at 100% for European Haplogroup R. MtDNA(Matrilineal) Haplogroups define maternal lineages. Native-Americans belong to one of 5 MtDNA Haplogroups which are classified as A,B,C,D, or X. Cherokee MtDNA results are dominated by European Haplogroup H. In fact acccording to the early test results of the FamilyTreeDNA, Cherokee DNA Project
only one Cherokee participant tested positive for an authentic Native-American MtDNA(matrilineal) Haplogroup(C),while the remaining results were all positive for a number of European haplogroups with the majority recorded as H.
All of the DNA results mentioned above support the fact that at one point the original Cherokee males of Haplogroups Qand C were exterminated and replaced by European males who are the carriers of Y-Chromosome R1B. The male offspring of the European fathers(Y-Chromosome R1B) and the original Cherokee mothers (X-Chromosome A,B,C,D,and X) would then bring European wives into the tribe thus accounting for the dominance of European MtDNA(maternal) Haplogroup H amongst the modern day Cherokee women. This process helped reduce the ratio or percentage of the original Cherokee women who were the carriers of the authentic Native-American MtDNA Haplogroups A,B,C,D and X and thus the genocidal policies of European genetic warfare not only targeted Cherokee males but Cherokee females as well. In the same manner that the freedmen are referred to as “Black-Cherokees” the so-called modern day Cherokee should be referred to as “White-Cherokees” for they are just as much European as the “Black-Cherokees” are African.
The European genetic takeover of the Cherokee Nation began in 1673 as the English realized the value of developing a trading alliance with the Cherokee which would allow them to bypass some of the other Indian tribes who were serving as middlemen for most trade routes and transactions. In order to secure the trading alliance with the Cherokee many of these English traders began taking Cherokee wives. The number of these intermarriages were so great that it is historically acknowledged as the source of corrupting the native Cherokee
matrilineal clan system as the European husbands demanded full patrilineal rights thereby refusing the Cherokee woman’s tribal right to claim property,children and inheritance.
As the European male presence began to grow within the Cherokee Nation the original Cherokee males were being forcibly taken from the tribe for slaughter and enslavement. This policy was strongly supported by Governor Moore of South Carolina who decreed the right to assault,kill,destroy and enslave as many Cherokees as possible.
The destruction and or removal of the original Cherokee males from the Cherokee Nation resulted in the “ mysterious” disappearance of the traditional Cherokee social structure known as the Red-White system of elders. This system was based on a council which is divided into a peace faction (Talalewequa) and a war faction (Danawa). Debating between the two factions would ultimately lead to the appropraite method for addressing conflict.
Between 1820 and 1863 the Cherokee Nation fully transitioned to a European based social structure. 1820 marked the founding of the modern Cherokee Nation. In 1821, a Cherokee named Sequoyah introduced a written language designed to eliminate illiteracy. Sequoyah was the son of Nathaniel Gist and the grandson of Christopher Gist the latter being an English explorer who served as a scout for George Washington. Sequoyah’s great grandfather Richard Gist helped plot the city of Baltimore. Sequoyah was also known as George Gist. In addition to Sequoyah’s efforts a number of University teachers arrived from the Northeast. These were accompanied by a new influx of Christian missionaries. The Cherokee beneficiaries
of the “ teach and preach” policies became known as progressives.
In 1827, the Cherokee constitution which was modeled after the U.S. Constitution was established and a Cherokee version of Amazing Grace became the National Anthem. The following year in 1828 John Ross became the Chief of the Cherokee Nation. He was the son of a Scotsman named Daniel Ross. His mother was ¾ Scottish and ¼ Cherokee making the prominent Chief 7/8 White and 1/8 Cherokee. Ross served as Chief until his death in 1866. John Ross earlier served as a Lieutennant fighting under the command of general and future President Andrew Jackson during the U.S. War against the Creek tribe known as the Battle of Horsehoe Bend in which 600 Creek warriors were killed.
President Jackson later signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which intended to relocate the Cherokee Nation to lands in Oklahoma. This led to the 1836 Treaty of Echota which gave the Cherokee Nation $ 5,700,000 and lands in Oklahoma in exchange for the relinquishing of rights to all lands East of the Mississippi. On May 26th 1838, 17,000 Cherokee and 2,000 of their Black Slaves departed for Oklahoma in what became known as the Trail of Tears.
Once settled in Oklahoma many Cherokees became merchants, bankers and lawyers while others worked with their African descended slaves on farms and ranches. The Cherokee Nation went on to establish the first free and compulsory school system and the first institution of higher learning West of the Mississippi River. The Cherokee were so successful that the people of Oklahoma would often say that “ The Cherokee all became White ”. This held true in both the literal and metaphoric sense,as the Cherokee Nation became both genetically and culturally White. It is also commonly stated that all Whites in Oklahoma are part Cherokee.
The original and authentic Cherokee Nation no longer exists and that which is recognized by the U.S. Government as “ The Cherokee Nation ” should be referred to as that of the “ White Cherokees ”.
According to David Cornstalk the son of a Cherokee father and a White mother and of whom is an advocate for the recognition and equality of “ Black Cherokees”:
“ The most common degree of Cherokee blood amongst the Cherokee Nation is 1/32 with nearly 90% of the tribe being less than ¼ Cherokee.”
In other words these peculiar arguments regarding Indian identity and preservation of blood lineages and tribal culture are being made by persons who are themselves of low blood degree and culturally not Cherokee and are for all intent and purposes White. In fact the dissenting justice in the Allen case Darell Matlock is only 1/16 Cherokee, yet in his dissent he talks about the preservation of Indian identity while he is married to a White woman,does not speak the Cherokee language, is not phenotypically identifiable as an Indian.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. But lets get real. If someone who is 15/16 White is going to make arguments about preserving Indian identity there has to be a laugh in there somewhere.” African-Native American Genealogy Forum, Sunday March19th 2006 By David Cornstalk a response to: Cherokee Chief Moves to Remove Cherokee Citizenship
In response to the racist decrees of the “ White Cherokees ” which denies citizenship and recognition of the “ Black Cherokees ” 25 members of the Black Caucus led by U.S. Rep. Diane Watson signed a letter requesting that the Bureau of Indian Affairs investigate the circumstances surrounding the discrimination of “ Black Cherokees ”. They have introduced H.R. 2824 which is a bill seeking to remove federal recognition of the Cherokee Nation and to deny them all government allocated funds.
If the “ White Cherokees ” continue to refuse the “ Black Cherokees ” the rightto integrate with full and equal access to the greater Cherokee Nation to whom they belong then the U.S. Government will only be left with two logical alternatives.
1. The establishment and recognition of two separate but equal entities being the “ Black Cherokee Nation ” and the “ White Cherokee Nation ”
2. The dissolution of the federally recognized Cherokee Nation in accordance with historical,cultural and genetic evidences which negate the existence ofan authentic Cherokee Nation.
Note:
The British policies of containment through genetic warfare have produced pockets of R1B Y-Chromosome in the Cameroon. Actor and son of a Cameroon Prince Yaphet Kotto sheds some light on the subject. Kotto recently revealed evidence that he is a descendant of British Prince Albert Edward the VII who had an illicit affair with Princess Nakande the daughter of King Doualla Manga Bell the relationship produced the lighter skinned Alexander Bell who is Yaphet Kotto’s great grandfather.
By (Amir) Ishaq D. Al-Sulaimani
HaKhan Ibn Musa;SNP(M267)J1 CMH
Director of Research@
The Cultural Education Institute for
Innovative and Experimental Research
C.E.I. Press
Copyright July 2008
If the “white” genetic marker is the reason for the Cherokee adoption of the practice of slavery, then how do you explain the fact that ten times as many free blacks in the American south owned slaves as Cherokees? Or the fact that the Ashanti in Africa modified their traditional slave definitions to create a “commercial” slave category in order to participate in the economic benefits of the slave trade? History all over the world is littered with examples of oppressed peoples accepting and adopting some norms and practices of their oppressors in order to be seen as “human” by those who who deny their humanity. Cherokees adopting slavery to prove they were “civilized.” Black Buffalo Soldiers participating in the attempted extermination of Plains Indians to prove themselves “good Americans” in a time and place where the only “good Indian” was a dead one.
Your version of our history is equally skewed. Intermarriage with white men in no way affected our matrilineal system, it changed when Cherokee men began to marry white women, and in a few cases, black women! The evolution of our system of town governments to a strong central government was an attempt to prevent American encroachment on our lands and rights. You seem to think Cherokees are not people with the right to evolve with the rest of humanity, warts and all. And I notice that you left out a few significant details with regard to our history, that being the 40 year period of incoporation of freed slaves as citizens following the Civil War.
The US denied both Cherokee rights and freed slaves’ goals and aspirations in Article 9 of the Treaty of 1866. Both Cherokees and freedmen objected to tribal incorporation. Cherokees did not agree that roughly 80 years of slavery practiced by less than 2% of their population was equal to their rights to a country and an identity that had existed for thousands of years before whites or blacks came here. Freedmen wanted land they could own and American citizenship. Cherokees offered to provide the land but the US denied us both, resulting in two very different peoples trying to go in two very different directions. For the next forty years freedmen willingly participated in the US government plan to destroy our country (guaranteed to us by treaty) and obliterate our national existence. Their efforts were rewarded at the turn of the century when allotment was forced on us, and in that break up of our country (to make Oklahoma) every freedman (and woman!) received an equal share of our land and tribal assets, land and money that were real reparations the US has yet to make. Historian Dan Littlefield has said that allotment was the freedmen’s greatest triumph, but it was a tragedy for Cherokees. And that allotment legislation abrogated several treaty provisions, including Article 9 of the Treaty of 1866.
For seventy years the Cherokee government existed only on paper and in the person of a Presidentially appointed Principal Chief. Freedmen found that “victory” was not all that they had envisioned as they entered an Anglo-dominated society at a time when racial hatred was at one of the highest points in US history. The first laws passed by the bright and shiny state freedmen had longed for were “Jim Crow” laws. Freedmen fought to integrate, but Indians fought not to forcibly assimilated. We are different people and we have a right to be.
[The author of this article] suggests that the US has the right to define us as either “white” Cherokees or “black” Cherokees. They do not. The rights of indigenous peoples are not based on race, color or historical injustices. They are inherent and inalienable, and under international human rights law, no one has the right to define an indigenous people except those people themselves. Cherokee law sees those with an Indian ancestor on the legal rolls as Cherokee no matter what they look like. There are thousands of Black Cherokees who are citizens because they can document their ancestry as we all must do.
Freedmen helped the US to destroy our country to relinquish their tribal citizenship. Freedmen descendants want the US to destroy our nation again because they now want tribal citizenship. But the plain truth is that only the indigenous nation has the right to determine its own citizenship laws. Forced assimilation and forced integration are two sides of the same coin. That coin is called “cultural genocide” and it is a grave violation of indigenous human rights.
The primary objective of this writing
is not to identify the source of conflict
or racism but to question the authenticity
of a Cherokee claim to ancestry,identity
and inheritance in “Real Terms”. This means
the analysis of hard core DNA evidences
which seriously cast doubt on the credibility
of the recognized ” Cherokee entity ” and
the right of the entity to exclusively determine
the authenticity of claims to Cherokee ancestry,
status and benefits.
When discussing the right to claim land
or ” inheritance” the recognized lineage of
the claimant must be proven in order to
verify the authenticity of the claim. In this regard
DNA evidence is crucial. If someone claimed to
be the father of one of our children the first thing
that any legitimate parent would want is a DNA
test. The unanimous results of Cherokee DNA
testing stands out in comparison to all other
” Native-American ” tribes. With European DNA
results equivalent to that of European nations
one has to wonder whether the present day
” Cherokee Nation ” is a secret organization
or lodge designed to legitimize White Europeans
claims to Native-American lands. This has nothing
to do with look. Just as a child may not look like
a parent but is proven to be through DNA evidence.
For example I personally have DNA proven Native-American
ancestry which is a much higher percentage than
the average Cherokee. My daughter who has less
“Native-American blood” than I do, looks more
closer to the typical Native-American Phenotype.
This has absolutely nothing to do with look but
rather authentic lineage. The Jewish claims to
ancient Israelite tribal lands in the ” Middle East ”
is null and void because Judaism is a matrilineal
religion which cannot claim the patrilineal inheritance
of the Semitic Israelite tribal entity. In this regard I
am a DNA proven Israelite Priest with the original
J1 Semitic DNA which is found in high percentages
in Ethiopia,Nubia(Sudan),Yemen,Arabia and amongst
the Bedouin tribes. Just as Zionism has established
an illegitimate European entity which denies the right
of DNA proven Israelites to claim their ancestral inheritance,
The” Cherokee nation” has likewise established a European
entity in the midst of the authentic DNA proven Native-American
tribes while illegtimtely holding the right to reject others who
have claims to Cherokee ancestry.
in the midst of the otheDNA
the standard
Ishaq Al-Sulaimani: You have no idea of what you are talking about! you need to have a conversation with DNA Consultants they will set you straight they have a test that isolates the Native American DNA if anyone is a racist it is the person that wrote this article! Oh and their are no pure races so get over yourself!
I really enjoyed reading the article regarding the Cherokee by Mr. Amir. My only question would be. Wouldn’t genetic warfare involving the Y-chronosome been around thousands of years before the Atlantic slave trade or the massacre of the indian tribes?
My history may be incorrect but didn’t the Moors, Arabs,Huns, East Africans, West African males spread male haplotype (Yap) E and D around the world? Also, didn’t Genghis Khan spread his Y-chronosome all over asia?
Raping and the indiscriminate
spreading of the Y-Chromosome
is not genetic warfare. Genetic warfare
is a precalculated attempt to create
a new hybrid race for the purpose of
containing or annihilating a particular people.
This policy which was outlined by Willie Lynch
resulted in the creation of the Mulatto
overseers in the British colonies and
the new ” colored race” of South Africa.
Genghis Khan did use genetic warfare
to create a new race of Eurasian Tatars
who were trusted to enforce rule in specified
areas of conquest. This resulted in the new
highly resistent AB Positive blood type which
is the ultimate recipient. European nations later
incorporated Tatars into their nations to use as
border guards in order to protect themselves from
Tatar raids. These Tatar warriors were given European
wives in order to distance themselves from the purer
” Black Tatars ” of whom they were expected to keep
away from the various European borders. This form of
Genetic warfare resulted in the emergence of the Cossacks,
the Hussars, Hessians, Szeklers and Bavarians(Avars).
Ishaq Al-Sulaimani, where did you go to establish your DNA
Ed,
FamilyTreeDNA
Tele # 713-868-1438
Ed,
Correction:
Autosomal DNA Testing
(Native-American markers)
was done through
GeneTree
DNA Testing Center
http://www.genetree.com
888-404-gene
Y-Chromosome
(J1 Kohen)
was done through
FamilyTreeDna
713-868-1438
No DNA Consultants have the best test for Native American DNA
A lot of people look to DNA to prove they have native blood. This guy appears to try to use it to further decrease the standing of the indian. When I was growing up, I loved all my kinsmen, white, red, and yes some with black roots. Some with less documented blood were darker than others who had more documentation. I don’t understand how everybody thinks they have a voice in this. Personally I think the more people pulling with us, the better we are. I welcome all who come forth in earnest. But, that won’t get you on the roll. If the colonist and early americans where good for their word, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now. DT
Is it possible when the Cherokee lived in Appalachia at the time of European pioneering, that people may have met and intermarried for love? That maybe everything was not a great and terrible conspiracy. My Scottish ancestors settled in Appalachia for religious and political freedom and because the mountains reminded them of their homeland. My Cherokee ancestors intermarried with the poor pioneers, because when different people live in the same area, love happens, despite cultural backgrounds and prejudices of the so-called purebreds. Generationlly most children start losing the aversions of their parents because, not every family clings to bigotry, particularly not independent thinkers, who many frontiersman were, being kicked out of their own countries. The taboos of marrying outside race was not as prevalent in the isolated mountain communities. The DNA profile in tribes, races and all of these groupings are not empirical and change over time, as people do not live in untouchable bubbles. They mingle. There were Cherokees with red hair in the trail of tears, who probably could have passed for non-native but chose to side with their heritage because it was who they were, not what they looked like. I am as white as a ghost with small pale eyes that slant, wide high cheekbones and a short compact build. As a baby I looked like an Inuit and my parents were very confused. My husband who is of similar heritage, has skin very well done but also pale eyes. Personally, I am proud to be the mutt that I am, and find it very annoying when people incorrectly generalize: nobody knows what pure Cherokee DNA is, because there have not been any in several hundred years. It is not even possible to correctly distinguish one Native American Tribe from another because there are not enough mutations to have created a difference.To make any of their remaining ancestors feel as if we are somehow less important or wrong because of skin color, lack of old documentation, and sins of past generations is spitting on the Cherokee people’s memory. I do think that any current Indian nation that refuses to consider DNA, in regards to membership is not concerned with truth or preserving heritage at all. In a society where records of any type of mixed heritage were not well recorded or documented because of neglect, prejudice, and accidents of time, ignoring something like DNA, which cannot lie is very ignorant. Cherokee is cultural, and in the blood. Not on a piece of paper.
It is commonly understood that the paternal
Y- Chromosome haplogroups for Native-Americans
in general is found in groups Q and C. The MtDNA
(maternal) are A,B,C,D and X. The DNA results of the
Cherokee are not consistent with the experience of
any other Native-American tribe. The genetic shift of
an entire tribe from the general Native-American Haplogroups
to that of the European does not indicate a natural process of
miscegnation but is rather consistent with the effects of the
conspiracy of “Genetic Warfare” as detailed in the article
above.
In response to Audrey Kelley Lively, You are correct on many levels. I have to wonder if stating that any tribe who didn’t dna test is ignorant and don’t want to know the truth. When you yourself said that dna could not differentiate tribe. Oh, well, I welcome you and your family. If everyone with native blood in usa would vote together, we still could win the day. Thanks D
Spot on girl! let me know if my guess is wrong but you are talking about Melungeons right? I found out recently that my biological grandfather was Melungeon for those who are not familiar it is a tri-racial group of people( european, black and native american) that were living in the same area and were being Persecuted by the new government.
“….British colonists in the Southern colonies began introducing the practice of African slavery among neighboring Native Americans. They concentrated on the five civilized nations;Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles; as the largest bodybof Indians present on their borders. Their aim was to make their slave property more secure by making Indians partners in the system. Indians who accepted slavery would not take in runaways fleeing European masters…”
Black Indians, P 107, by William Loren Katz
” A south Carolina law of 1725 imposed a £ 200 fine to those who brought their slaves to the frontier.A British colonel urged enforcement ‘because the slaves talk good english as well as the cherokee language and too often tell falsities to the Indians which they are apt to believe’…”
Ibid, Page 105
For the Methods of dividing and causing hatred between Indians and Blacks who both hated the whites (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and so on), you must read :
– William Lorentz Katz;
– J A Rogers;
– Aguirre Beltran;
– Barbara Olexer;
– Richard Price
The Red vs Black hatred was a Lie …
I MUST AGREE WITH ISHAQ AL SULAIMAN AN HIS FIRST PARA GRAPH IS THE KEY TO OVERSTANDING WHAT HE IS KNOWING TO BE.THIS IS NOT AN OPINION BUT FACT OF THE BLACK MATTER.THEY ARE NOT THE ABORIGINAL CHEROKEES AN LIKE THE KILLING OF POCAHONTAS HAVE CLAIMS THROUGH SO CALLED MARRIAGES BETWEEN EUROPEANS AN US .YOU SEE THE SO CALLED RED INDIAN AT THE MEETING IN HARLEM STANDING WITH US.WE THE ORLANDO MUURS ENDORSE THE POST AS BEING ACTUAL RIGHT AN EXACT FACT ON INGINOUS ABORIGINAL PEOPLE , THE phrase NATIVE AMERICAN IS ONLY AS OLD AS COLUMBUS TERRA INCOGNITA IN 1492 ,AN COULD ONLY BE COINED BY A FOREIGNER ,ALL U.S CITIZENS STATE COLONY ARE NOW FOREIGNERS ON THEIR OWN OUR LAND ,,from the ones that came ,,,colonizing us,,,,,,,,,,ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION . ACCEPTANCE OF THIS IS A VIOLATION OF THE COMMON LAW OF THE LAND ITSELF.ITS COMMERCE SLAVERY.OUR STATUS A BIRTHRIGHT HAVE BEEN TAKEN , CITIZENS OWN TITLE ON NOTHING .OUR PEOPLE WERE COERCED INTO SIGNING IN TO BE NEGRO TO MAKE MONEY IF THEY CAME OFF BARREN LAND GIVEN TO RELOCATED CHEROKEES,NO CHOICE OF CLAIM IS GIVEN WHEN YOU NEED TO EAT JUST LIKE TODAY ,YOUR CLAIM WILL NOT BE GIVEN TO YOU ,BUT YOU CAN MAKE YOUR CLAIM AN TAKE BACK YOUR RIGHTS THAT HAVE BEEN SIGNED AN ACCOUNTED AWAY UNDER VIOLATION OF TITLE 18 SECTION 241,242.,COLOR OF LAW VIOLATIONS THAT ARE ILLEGAL UNLESS AGREED TO BY THE NATURAL PERSON MAKING THE ARTFICIAL IN THE EYES OF THE LAW.THEN THEY MOVE ON YOUR VESSEL ,SKULL AN BONES .THE CHEROKEE NATION ORIGINAL NAME i ancient times BEFORE 1492 EUROPEAN SO CALLED DIS COVERY IS THE SHARAKI ABORIGINAL NATION OF MUURS.CHEROKEE IS THE AFTER THOUGHT OF THIS.
“Cherokee Racists”? Seriously? I don’t think you understand the issue, or else you wouldn’t resort to using silly conspiracy theories to throw racist titles at a group of people you seem to have yet to try to understand.
Tribal membership is a legal issue. The Cherokee Nation has no blood quantum requirement. To be a citizen, one must have a single Indian ancestor listed on the Dawes Rolls (1906). Degree of blood is moot, and therefore your obvious attempt to suggest that the Cherokee nation is made up of nothing but evil white men [paraphrase mine] born out of conspiracy is moot as well.
Let’s separate fact from fiction. Shall we . . .
MYTH: The Cherokee Nation is kicking African-Americans out of the tribe.
FACT: The Cherokee Nation is among the most diverse of Indian tribes with thousands of citizens who share African, Latino, Asian, Caucasian and other ancestry, including more than 1,500 descendants of former slaves. All have at least one Indian ancestor on the Dawes Rolls. African-Americans with an Indian ancestor on the Dawes Rolls have been, and will continue to be, citizens of the Cherokee Nation.
MYTH: The March 2007 Cherokee Constitutional amendment election allowed adopted whites with no blood quantum listed on the Dawes Rolls to remain citizens.
FACT: First, the Cherokee Nation has no blood quantum requirement. To be a citizen, one must have a single Indian ancestor listed on the Dawes Rolls. Second, the Constitutional amendment affects the citizenship of all non-Indians who were granted citizenship rights under a 2006 tribal court ruling, regardless of their ethnic background. This means that, in addition to affecting 2,867 descendants of those who were originally enrolled as non-Indian Freedmen, the amendment also affected nine descendants of Intermarried Whites
MYTH: Non-Indians who have long been Cherokee citizens are now being “disenrolled.”
FACT: The March 2007 Constitutional amendment only affected certain people who were granted tribal citizenship under a 2006 tribal court ruling, which came down just one year before the amendment passed. This vote affirmed the people’s passionate belief that you need one Indian ancestor listed on the base roll to be a Cherokee. Since the amendment’s passage, in May 2007, Cherokee tribal courts temporarily reinstated those who had been affected by the amendment pending the outcome of the litigation over this issue.
See for yourself . . . anyone seeking more truth about this issue, can go to the source: http://freedmen.cherokee.org/TheTruthAboutCherokeeCitizenship/tabid/730/Default.aspx
It’s interesting to note that tribal membership in the Cherokee nation brings with it some perks and privileges – some of which can be valued by some in monetary terms. Ask yourself . . . if non-Indians can grasp citizenship by linking to non-Indians listed on the Dawes rolls, then who is really taking advantage of whom here? If the Cherokee nation is truly a sovereign nation – which they are – can they not value native citizenship and protect tribal interests from those who are in effect trying to steal from them?
Enough is enough. The U.S. government has far too long bullied native peoples of this land. Please, no more deceitful tactics – like HR 2824. No more completely ridiculous and unfounded conspiracy theories. The time for cheating American tribes out of what is rightfully theirs – the right to decide for themselves what becomes of their people and their culture – must come to an end.
In short, if you are not a member of the Cherokee nation, then you have no voice on tribal matters.
I agree. The author here seems bent on deciding that the Cherokee Nation does not have a right to exist, and Israel, neither. I’ve read these same kind of rants on racists blogs, and it is the same thing (white people trying to claim Arabs and Egyptians were white, etc.). Racism in any form is deplorable, and that is what we are seeing here. Because of forced assimilation and intermarriage, this fellow would disavow and destroy the Cherokee nation, wtihout no regard for the facts of what defines a Cherokee, only some he sees as being like himself can force there way in. I myself am 1/16 Cherokee, if I have the information correct, a fact I was ignorant of until I was an adult. However, as I have learned more about the culture and history, I have become fiercely proud of this heritage. I only hope that once I have traced my lineage, I can rightfully claim to be Cherokee. As I understand, many over the years have actually disavowed their Cherokee heritage because of the possible repercussions if it were known. However, I want to acknowledge this heritage, and if I find that I cannot legally claim it, I will step aside, but will still be proud of this blood. By the way, I thought there was a requirement to have a certain percentage of blood to claim membership, as well as an ancestor on the Dawes Rolls I would hope that I could find that I have even more than 1/16, but I am hopeful that, regardless, that I can find my ancestors on the Dawes Rolls. If I am to claim connection to the Cherokee Nation, I want to do so respectfully and correctly. And, I believe there should be a standard, a standard set by the Cherokee Nation, and neither this fellow nor anyone else should come and perpetrate further injustices on the Cherokee Nation. Everything I have read indicates there are persons of African heritage who can rightfully claim Cherokee heritage, and that is fine by me. All who can RIGHTFULLY claim it should be able to, but only those who can – and, again, the Cherokee Nation has the right to determine this. And, honestly, if I could in fact find someone who was a true full blood, I would be honored, awed and humbled to meet this person. I also have a desire to learn the language and to further study the history, as acurately as I can, and let this take me wherever it does. Thank you.
to:A member of the Human Race THANK YOU! Ffor writing saying that.