…MY GRANDMOTHER WAS A CHEROKEE INDIAN PRINCESS…
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“…MY GRANDMOTHER WAS A CHEROKEE INDIAN PRINCESS…”
CHEROKEE CITIZENSHIP/MEMBERSHIP
By Jamie K. Oxendine, Lumbee/Creek
Editor, PowWows.com
Director, Black Swamp InterTribal Foundation
PRELUDE
To any Native American that travels a great deal and attends and participants in a large amount of cultural events, it would appear that everybody has an “Indian Princess” in the family. Usually this person is a “Cherokee Indian Princess” … or at least it would seem so with the many stories one gets from the average and general public. Even more disturbing is this story is also widely told and used by Native Americans that claim they have a “Cherokee Indian Princess” as an ancestor. But not to be outdone and to show that other Native American Nations are not discriminated against, the story does not always have to be Cherokee…in many instances and especially since 2000 all Native American Nations/Tribes are included in stories that somebody has an “Indian Princess” of some Native American Nation/Tribe in their family.
But that aside, this really is a genealogy paper and thus with that beginning paragraph it is one of Cherokee Genealogy.
This article is to help both anyone that feels they may be of Cherokee origins as well as help the Cherokee by hoping that many will read this and understand the viewpoints of Cherokee Genealogy per enrolled citizenship/membership. This of course does not mean that one cannot be Cherokee or of Cherokee heritage. While doing research for this paper and other projects in correspondence with the Cherokee Tribes, they all admit that there are many people of Cherokee Ancestry and Cherokee Blood that are not enrolled for many various reasons.
If one is looking at the official acknowledgement of being Cherokee here is the information they may need as put forward by the Cherokee Tribes:
THE CHEROKEE
As of 2011 there are 3 Federally recognized Cherokee Groups:
The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in Tahlequah, OK.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, NC.
The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Tahlequah, OK.
GUIDELINES
Tribal membership is a status of citizenship in a sovereign nation, AND -
In the United States only the Federal Government has the authority to recognize a sovereign foreign nation with foreign indicating a government other than the United States of America, AND -
For Federal, State and Common Law in all cases of American Indian citizenship, Tribal Law always governs the terms of citizenship/membership, AND -
The degree of “American Indian Blood” is irrelevant to Tribal citizenship/membership if a law has been established creating different basis for enrollment as a citizen/member as not all Nations use a degree of “American Indian Blood” for citizenship/membership.
REQUIREMENTS
Requirements for citizenship/membership among the Cherokee greatly varies in both procedures and details. There are actual rules here and they can vary but basically it involves being able to legally establish a Direct Lineal Descent from one that was enrolled in the official final rolls of citizens/members and a calculation of Certification of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB).
Direct Lineal Descent
This must be established by some type of legal documentation. This may include items such as state or court ordered birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and or other legal documentation that justifies a direct lineal descent. One may also use a “judicial determination of heirs” which legally establishes the nearest enrolled relative.
Certification of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB)
This document is the process of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. The minimum CDIB is established by each Federally Recognized Tribal Government and varies greatly even among Tribes that are of the same origins.
There may be many other requirements established by each individual tribal government.
REQUIREMENTS OF EACH CHEROKEE TRIBE
The current requirements for Cherokee citizenship/membership are as follows:
The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
1. Direct Lineal Descent from a Dawes Roll citizen/member
2. Any degree of Cherokee Blood Quantum
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Tribal Ordinance #284 of June 24, 1996 states -
1. Direct Lineal Descent from a citizen/member of the Revised Baker Roll and 1924 Baker Roll
2. 1/16 degree of Cherokee Blood Quantum
The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
1. 1/4 degree of what is known as the “Old Settler” Keetoowah Cherokee Blood.
ISSUES
The above seems simple enough but one must realize that there were rules and or regulations long before these especially since Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma uses a final Dawes Roll of 1906, The Eastern Band of Cherokee uses a 1924 Baker Roll and the Keetoowah Band uses a Base Roll of 1949.
Anyone of Cherokee descent has heard the phrases Dawes, Baker and even Old Settler when referring to being Cherokee. They are rolls and or census based on Acts established to count and keep track of the Cherokee starting in the early 19th Century.
BAKER ROLLS
This is the final roll of the Eastern Cherokee as prepared by U.S. Agent Fred A. Baker by an act of The 68th U.S. Congress on June 4, 1924. Before this roll, the Act had required that all land, money and property of the Eastern Cherokee be transferred to the United States for final disposition. The goal of course was total termination of the Eastern Cherokee as a government, people and political entity. This total termination failed however but the Eastern Cherokee continued to use the 1924 Baker Roll as its base roll and Baker Revised Roll as its final roll. Descendants of those persons of the original Baker Roll are enrolled on the Baker Revised Roll and they must also meet the other citizenship/membership requirements of the Eastern Cherokee.
DAWES ACT & FOLLOWING ACTS 
The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma are enrolled as follows:
Citizens/Members by blood
Citizens/Members by marriage
Citizens/Members enrolled by an Act of Congress in 1914
Delaware Indians adopted by the Cherokee
Freedmen
Minor citizens/members by blood
Minor freedmen
New born citizens/members by blood
New born freedmen
The original enrollment closed September 1, 1902 with additional children added until March 4, 1906.
NEWER ENROLLMENTS
The requirements for enrollment in the Cherokee after the Dawes Act include:
One must appear on previous tribal rolls of 1880 or 1896.
One must have applied between 1899-1906.
One must have a permanent residence within the Cherokee Nation in the 14 Northeast counties of Oklahoma.
Any ancestors that separated from the Cherokee Nation and settled in the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas now lost their citizenship within the Cherokee Nation.
Only enrolled members of the Cherokee Nation named on the Final Rolls and their descendants are issued Certificates of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) and Tribal Citizenship/Membership.
Certificates of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB) are only issued via the natural parents. In any cases of adoption the quantum of American Indian Blood must be proven through the natural biological parents back to the original enrolled ancestor. For all adoption claims a copy of the Final Degree of Adoption along with a State Certified Birth Certificate/Record must accompany the application for Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB).
All other Cherokee citizenship/membership rules were basically extinguished by the actions taken around and after the final rolls.
THE “OLD SETTLERS” ENROLLMENTS 
The “Old Settlers” was those Cherokee that were removed freely (not a forced march) to what was known as Indian Territory under the treaties of 1817 and 1819. One must remember that Indian Territory then was what is now Arkansas. Settlements for these Cherokee were between the Arkansas River and White River.
What became known as the “Old Settlers” were identified by two census rolls: The Emigration Roll of 1817 and the Old Settler Roll of 1851. The 1817 Emigration Roll became a list of all Cherokee that freely chose to move to Indian Arkansas Territory. The 1851 Old Settler Roll included all from the 1817 Emigration Roll that were still alive in 1851 and living in what was now Indian Territory of Oklahoma. The main body of the Cherokee Nation had now been in this new Indian Territory of Oklahoma since 1839 by forced removal. Remember Arkansas became a state in 1836 but Oklahoma stayed Indian Territory almost until it was admitted to the Union in 1907.
Only the Cherokee on the 1851 census that were also enrolled under the Dawes Commission retained citizenship/membership. So any Cherokee on both the 1817 Emigration Roll and The 1851 Old Settler roll became officially known as “Old Settlers” because they had resided in the older Indian Territory of Arkansas between 1817 and 1840 at them moved to the “new” Oklahoma Indian Territory after Arkansas became a state and within a few years of the main body of the Cherokee being established in Oklahoma after forced removal from the South East.
As one can see, dates and territorial/state lines became a very important aspect of who was and who was not Cherokee.
CONCLUSION
The Cherokee Tribes admit that there are many people that are “of Cherokee Ancestry and Blood” that can trace and document their ancestry and maybe even blood quantum to earlier generations who were at one time Cherokee citizens/members. Due to a great deal of internal strife and civil war among the Cherokee in the mid-19th Century, these ancestors lost their citizenship/membership as a result of many various choices and decisions made by both them, the Tribal Governments, State Governments and most importantly and most sadly the Federal Government. For the most part this “loss” came about due to something as simple as where one chose to live. In many other cases it came about due to agreements and dis-agreements on treaties or other documents.
Because of both Federal and Tribal Law, large numbers of people who were of Cherokee heritage lost their citizenship/membership at the time of the respective final rolls. There are many reasons for this and it has been a much heated debated for over 200 years. Opinions vary greatly in this argument as there has never been any type of official census on those that lost their Cherokee citizenship/membership due to the guidelines and requirements of said citizenship/membership.
Of course ask anyone that truly feels and believes they are Native American and or Cherokee and they will resoundly tell you that all of the above is not the Native way of saying one is or one is not Native American and thus Cherokee. This makes logical sense since even the Cherokee admit that the system of citizenship/membership did not even exist until the governments (both Tribal and Federal had to establish such guidelines). But as anyone knows and as Nakeysha A. Kemp (Enrollment Clerk of The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) states if we do not have such measures then anyone and everyone could claim Cherokee enrollment and the Tribe would have millions of members.
Finally, who is and who is not Cherokee sometimes comes down to whether one signed or did not sign certain Tribal, State and Federal papers and where one lived during certain dates. There is no legal documentation process for non-Cherokee to be citizens/members. Not one of the 3 Federally Recognized Cherokee Groups offer any kind of recognition process for descendants of any individuals that surrendered their citizenship/membership. This includes any that may have “disappeared” from any Tribal, State and Federal records, rolls, census or other official papers.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Various correspondences via phone, e-mail, and U.S. Mail from March 2011 to November 2011 with:
The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in Tahlequah, OK.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, NC.
The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Tahlequah, OK.
TOPICS: Featured, Genealogy, Native American Articles, Native American History
17 Responses to “…MY GRANDMOTHER WAS A CHEROKEE INDIAN PRINCESS…”
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My cousin, Lige Troxell is the Great-Great-Great Grandson of Jacob ( Big Jake ) Troxell and Cornblossom, daughter of Double Head, the last Chief of the Cumberland Plateau Cherokee. Does this qualify him to be Cherokee. If so, to which Band would he be considered for?
My cousin, Lige Troxell is the Graat-Great-Great Grandson of Jacob Troxell ( Big Jake ) and Corn Blossom, the daughter of Double Head, the last chief of the Cumberland Plateau Cherokee. Would he be considered to be Cherokee and if so to which Band would he be considered .
Hmmm. Politics. Seems like lot’s of people like it.
OK, so say you are not on a roll or enrolled. I met a creek guy last week who was unmistakably ndn. There was no doubt. He announced he was an unenrolled Muskogee Creek from OK. In this country he is not legally allowed to call himself that without possibility of being fined or arrested according to the Arts and Crafts act of 1990. BUT you don’t even have to be NDN to sell NDN art as long as a federal or state tribe tells you it’s ok. So you can be any race and sell art as Native American as long as a tribe says you can. How is this even right? Why complain about what the government did in the past if you are so eager to follow their ways now? And if you are NDN but not enrolled what the heck race are you supposed to call yourself? Ppl need to stop with the politics already and get back to the way life is supposed to be.
man! i see this all the time! im onondaga seneca from up in ny and gd from window roc az baby! o yea, navajo too, im in sc right now if i had a dollar for everytime someone said that to me i would be rich! just the other day i had this woman come to me and tell me she was the great great great grat great great great grand daughter of pocahontis! i mean come on now people! its like me going to tell every person in the world my great great great great granddaddy was george washington or custer! now who will beleave me ? lmao! one time this couple came ok. and said they were a part of the “secret sociaty band of cherokees” i man come on people!
i think the cherokee did alot of tee pee creapin then ain it! ayyyyy!
Cherokees didn’t use Teepees
LOL
lol Back when I hit the powwow trail hard I used a teepee lol so yes some Cherokees have used teepees lol Why worrie about such things when the more pressing issue is what is happening to the world today I mean this winter isnt even a winter at all. What is going on? I am glad I can pray. Maybe everyone else should do the same no matter what your background is.
White people always say that there grandma was a Cherokee Princess when there is no such thing. I’m Cherokee and I hate it when people say that. It makes them look bad! I hate that.
crazy uh? alot of the traditional dancers wear crowns with their regalia too.
Need researched facts about Native American Indian Princess Weeko. I have a lovely old print of her signed by F. Harper. What tribe was she from, when did she live, and how old is this print?
I am Cherokee mixed with a few different other blood. I may carry less then 1/4 but in my heart I know who I am. Plus also know there is no such thing as a Cherokee Princess. When you refer to haveing a Cherokee Princess as an ancestor it just simply means that she was the daughter of a Chief. The term Princess was given by the Euerpeons and their view of Rolaty.
December the 11 th 1734
Three of the Great Men of the Cherrikee Indians attended by di-
verse others of that Nation this day desired to be admitted to offer cer-
tain Proposals to the Governor and Council & being accordingly admitted
they said that all the Lands in this part of America once belong’d to
them but now it is King George’s, & his Subjects may now use it as
freely as any of their Nation us’d to do that they look upon themselves
also to be King George’s Subjects & to be as Brethren to the Saponies
Tuskaroroes Nottoways & other Indians living amongst the English that
he the person who spoke for them was told so by the King when he
went to England with S r Alexander Cumming That they come hither
now to see the Governor of Virginia as their Friends & to propose a
nearer Correspondence with the People of this Colony & are therefore
desirous to Settle on a Branch of Roanoke River that from thence
they may enjoy the Conveniency of a free Trade with this Colony They
were answered that [they] may Trade here with all freedom so long as
they continue in Peace & Friendship with his Majesties Subjects but as
344 Executive Journals, Councils of Colonial Virginia
to their removing to Roanoke it did not seem so convenient for the Hunt-
ing because they might frequently be disturbd by the Northern Indians
who Hunt Yearly thereabouts whereupon they Signified that they were
very desirous to make peace with the Northern Indians if they cou’d
find means to propose it, The Governor then told them he wou’d write
to the Governor of New York to treat of a peace with the Cherrikee
Nation & wou’d endeavour to procure a safe Conduct for their Agents
to Repair to the Northern Indians to that Purpose And then having
acquainted them that he had prepared presents for them as a Testimony
of the Friendship of this Colony toward their Nation they withdrew
Ordered
That the Interpreter who attend cd the Cherrikee Indians be paid
five Pistoles for his trouble & Service therein
My grandpa has always refered to himself as being of Black Dutch..For along time we always thought it ment they was poor..when i was working on my family tree I looked up black dutch and c ment came across that it actually was anouther term for cherokee..so i tried looking up my grandpas surname and found nothing on the rolls that i can find..however his surname was spelled in different ways .one family member would spell one way and the other would spell it anouther way..so my point is im not sure if it is even true or if grandpa would say black dutch just to be saying it..one thing for sure is i prob will never know.
Also..when I started to work on my dad mothers side of the family..her mother my gr grandma was listed in the census as either being the niece in the houshold or grandaughter in anouther household back in the ealry 1900s which gets a little confusing when it comes to her family tree one household was said to be muttalto race and anouther white..howver i spoke to a guy i met at a powwow and he said the surname was lumbee..so i looked up the surname on lumbee and there are many brooks but have no way of knowing for sure..my mom always said she was native american but since the elders no longer around.. i have no way of knowing for sure.
Why is someone that is not Cherokee posting stuff about Cherokee enrollment? just a question.