The Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation is the federally recognized government of the Cherokee people and has inherent sovereign status recognized by treaty and law. The Cherokee Nation capital is located in Tahlequah Oklahoma. Today the Cherokee language still thrives among its members.
The Cherokee culture thrived many hundreds of years before initial European contact in the 16th century. When gold was discovered in Georgia in 1829, outsiders started coveting the Cherokee homelands. With the period of “Indian removals” settlers, prospectors, and others were allowed to encroach on Cherokee land. In the end, at the order of President Andrew Jackson in direct defiance of a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, thousands of Cherokee men, women and children were rounded up in preparation for their “removal” (“[Justice] John Marshall has made his decision; let him enforce it now if he can.” – Andrew Jackson).
The Cherokee were herded at bayonet point in a forced march of 1,000 miles. This horrific event is known as the Trail of Tears, and ended with their arrival in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). Thousands of Cherokees died during and after this enforced march due to the effects of the journey.
The Cherokee soon re-established themselves in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and nearby Park Hill. The Cherokee rebuilt a progressive lifestyle from remnants of the society and culture left behind in Georgia. Unfortunately, after the Civil War, more Cherokee lands and rights were taken by the federal government in reprimand for the Cherokee who chose to side with the Confederacy. What remained of Cherokee tribal land was eventually divided into individual allotments, doled out to Cherokees listed in the census compiled by the Dawes Commission. It is the descendants of those original enrollees who make up today’s Cherokee Nation tribal citizenship.
Today the Cherokee Nation is the largest tribal nation in the United States with more than 317,000 citizens, over 8,000 employees and a variety of tribal enterprises ranging from aerospace and defense contracts to entertainment venues. Cherokee Nation’s economic impact in Oklahoma and surrounding areas is more than $1.5 billion annually and is the largest employers in northeastern Oklahoma. The Cherokee Nation offers many services to its citizens and to other Native Americans throughout its tribal jurisdiction in northeastern Oklahoma. These services include but are not limited to: Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation, Community Services, Education, Health Services, Human Services, Commerce Services and Career Services. The Cherokee Nation dedicates resources through both federal funding and tribal revenue to provide these and other services to the citizens who need them most.
http://www.fivecivilizedtribes.org/FiveTribes/Choctaw/ChoctawHistory.aspx
Bill John Baker (Principal Chief)
Tel: (918) 453-5000
Fax: (918) 458-5580
PO Box 948
Tahlequah, OK74465-0948
Website: http://www.cherokee.org
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 the 1900s and the death of William Charles Rogers in 1917, the Federal government began to appoint chiefs to the Cherokee Nation in 1919. The service time for each appointed chief was so brief that it became known as “Chief for a Day.” Six men fell under this category, the first being A. B. Cunningham who served from November 8 to November 25.[6] The short service times were often just long enough to have one sign a treaty, usually to cede more land.
The Cherokee Nation capital is located in Tahlequah Oklahoma.
W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex (including Tribal Administration offices, Tag Office, Gift Shop, Warrior’s Memorial and Tribal Council Chambers)
17675 S. Muskogee Ave.
Tahlequah, OK 74464
The Cherokee Language Program consists of the Office of Translation, Community Language, and Language Technology. Together they offer a variety of services including translation of Cherokee documents, the creation of Cherokee language teaching materials, community and employee Cherokee language classes, and the development and support of Cherokee language on digital devices such as smart phones, tablets, and computers.
The goal of the Cherokee Language Program is the perpetuation of our language in all walks of life ranging from day to day conversation, ceremonially, as well as in online arenas such as social media. If you wish to contact us, please email language@cherokee.org.
Today the Cherokee Nation is the largest tribal nation in the United States with more than 317,000 citizens, over 8,000 employees and a variety of tribal enterprises ranging from aerospace and defense contracts to entertainment venues. Cherokee Nation’s economic impact in Oklahoma and surrounding areas is more than $1.5 billion annually and is the largest employers in northeastern Oklahoma. The Cherokee Nation offers many services to its citizens and to other Native Americans throughout its tribal jurisdiction in northeastern Oklahoma. These services include but are not limited to: Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation, Community Services, Education, Health Services, Human Services, Commerce Services and Career Services. The Cherokee Nation dedicates resources through both federal funding and tribal revenue to provide these and other services to the citizens who need them most
Cherokee Nation citizenship does not require a specific blood quantum. It does require that you have at least one direct Cherokee ancestor listed on the Dawes Final Rolls, a federal census of those living in the Cherokee Nation that was used to allot Cherokee land to individual citizens in preparation for Oklahoma statehood.
To be eligible for a federal Certificate Degree of Indian Blood and Cherokee Nation tribal citizenship, you must be able to provide documents that connect you to a direct ancestor listed on the Dawes Final Rolls of Citizens of the Cherokee Nation with a blood degree. This roll was taken between 1899-1906 of Citizens and Freedmen residing in Indian Territory (now northeastern Oklahoma) prior to Oklahoma statehood in 1907. If your ancestor did not live in this area during that specific time period, they will not be listed on the Dawes Rolls.
Many applicants do not qualify for CDIB/Citizenship as their ancestors did not meet the enrollment requirements of the Dawes Commission and were not listed on the Dawes Rolls. Certain requirements had to be met in order to be placed on the Dawes Roll, such as being listed on previous Cherokee rolls and proven residency in the Cherokee Nation.
CDIB/Tribal Citizenship are issued through natural parents. In adoption cases, CDIB/Citizenship must be proven through the biological parent to the enrolled ancestor. A copy of the Final Decree of Adoption, and a State Certified, Full Image/Photocopy of the Birth Record must accompany the application. All information will remain confidential.
INSTRUCTIONS & RESEARCH REFERRAL:
Complete the application/ancestry chart in ink and provide the following documents.
- A parent or legal guardian may complete and sign the application/ancestry chart for minor child applicants and provide the following documents.
- Attach the ORIGINAL STATE CERTIFIED FULL IMAGE/PHOTOCOPY OF THE BIRTH RECORD of the applicant and a copy of an immediate family member’s CDIB/Citizenship card.
- If no one in the family has received CDIB/Citizenship, attach ORIGINAL STATE CERTIFIED DOCUMENTS (BIRTH/DEATH) CERTIFICATES beginning with the applicant back to the enrollee.
- If your enrollee ancestor died after 1962, submit the ORIGINAL STATE CERTIFIED DEATH CERTIFICATE. This is needed to assist us in our review.
- Mail the applications and the original documents to the Cherokee Nation Registration Department. Should further information be needed to complete the applications, we will contact you for specific documents.Should we be unable to issue you CDIB/Citizenship, a letter of explanation will be sent to you by restricted/certified mail. Information on an appeals process will accompany the letter, if you do not agree with our findings/decision.Processing time may vary. The Registration Department does not provide research services. You can do research on your computer or contact your local library for access to a computer to do your research on the internet:You can access the “DAWES ROLLS” at: archives.gov.General Contact
registration@cherokee.org 918-458-6980 OR 1-800-256-0671
Bill John Baker (Principal Chief)
Tel: (918) 453-5000
Fax: (918) 458-5580
PO Box 948
Tahlequah, OK74465-0948
Website: http://www.cherokee.org
