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Group seeking recognition stirs trouble in Tenn.
Friday, February 13, 2004

A group called the Cherokee Wolf Clan is trying ot stop the state of Tennessee from getting involved in Indian issues.

The group has obtained obtained an injunction against the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs. Chief Joseph Manycoats says only Congress and the federal government can regulate Indian affairs.

To be a member of the clan doesn't require Indian ancestry. The Native American Indian Association and other Indians in the state oppose the group.

Get the Story:
Tribal recognition may be withdrawn (The Nashville City Paper 2/13)

Relevant Links:
Tennessee Commission on Indian Affairs - http://www.tncia.org
Cherokee Wolf Clan - http://www.cherokeewolfclan.org/index1.htm

Related Stories:
Tenn. commission asserting control over recognition (01/22)

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One Hot Mama

For those of us living here in Tennessee-my home state by the way, this is just another in a long line of wannabe groups trying to get status. Alot of ndn's in Tennessee are "lost birds", people who fled during the removal and hid out, thus losing contact with their tribes, or those who just stayed up in the hollows and were passed over. A few were "relocated" here during the Roosevelt and Eisenhower eras where they got jobs, married, and lost contact with their people, and others were taken from their families on rez's in other states and adopted out to white folks who lived here or who moved here. So most are not enrolled in any tribe, federal or state-recognized. My kids' dads were members of federally-recognized tribes, so they have their enrollment there. I've got all the documentation to apply for citizenship in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and am deciding wheher or not to do it. Like I said in another post, citizenship in a tribe should be about what I can do for the tribe, not what I can get out of it. But having to deal with these idiots all the time maybe I should so I have the "legal" authority as a "documented" Cherokee Native American to shut them up if I can't shut them down.

We DO make a difference between those of us who grew up in families where we kept our traditional cultures, even though it had to be kept hidden, and those who acculterated(referred to as white indians). Then there are those who go around claiming to have Native ancestry, usually to "justify" collecting Native American artifacts or other ways dishonoring to real NA's. Seriously, there's this "amateur archeologist" named Mickey something-or-other who claims he has the right to dig up Native burials and sacred sites because he is 1/8th Creek. Claims he's "reclaiming and preserving" his lost heritage.

The real indians here don't go around trying to get tribal status, because we know we don't meet the criteria for it. We do have organizations, like the Alliance for Native American Indian Rights, which fights to protect burials and sacred sites, The Native American Indian Association, Tennessee Native Veteran's Society, and several other grass-roots organizations trying to protect and promote Native American culture and cultural resources throughout the state. Like ndn's everywhere else, lots of us get together in circles to socialize, pray, and pass on the traditions of the people, the geneologies and histories of our families, and we connect with other families and circles across the state-and it's not uncommon to discover that a stranger is closely related to you, so that you start finding where all those loose threads are tied in and get to hear about more of your family.

I'm glad that we don't have to hide our cultures anymore, but now everyone else wants a piece of it. Wannabe's, New Agers and other neo-pagans, grave-robbers, and people out to make to quick buck-you name it, they all want to claim NDN blood as if it gives them some form of legitimacy to be here. It sorely tries my patience to have to deal with such folks, more so than it tries me to deal with plain old ignorant white folks. I'm really glad that there are some recognized NDN's living here who can speak up and call these frauds what they are and that the elected officials will actually listen to them since they are recognized members of federal or state-recognized tribes. That citizenship and CDIB card can go along way sometimes when you're talking to politicians and other folks in charge.

Unfortunately in Tennessee it doesn't count for squat when trying to protect sacred sites. But that's another tirade.

Badmutha

Do join them. It's a matter of nationhood and citizenship, and that's what the wannabes don't understand. It takes more than just DNA to make a Cherokee.

As for shutting them up, don't hold your breath. These people have been deceiving for so long that they believe their own lies. You could be standing in the rain with these people and they'll insist that the skies are clear. You ought to hear the crap this tribe has heard from these clowns not only in Tennessee but also Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, etc. etc. etc. As long as it's "cool" to be an Indian, it'll continue.

Badmutha

Now you see why we're not supposed to marry within our clans!
What a bunch of sheeeeeutt!:Flame

One Hot Mama

Come now, Badmutha, this IS the South and we keep it all in the family. Surely you've heard of "kissing cousins":p