There is a difference between Cherokee citizenship and Cherokee heritage

[flyingfysh]

Elizabeth Warren only claimed the second, which is much more common. To be a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, you have to prove direct descent from someone on the Dawes Roll, which was put together around the year 1900. Many Cherokees were not put on the list. Some because they objected to the whole idea of dividing up land individually. Others were kept off the list because they had lived outside Indian Territory. So today many people with provable Cherokee ancestry are not eligible for citizenship in the Cherokee Nation.

[CherokeeDem]

1. Thanks for posting this....

I am of Cherokee heritage, but do not have all the documentation to be a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Very valid point to make regarding Warren's situation.

[avebury]

2. K&R nt

[CBGLuthier]

3. Yep. I am in the latter while my children are in the former.

Both of my paternal grandparents were 1/4 Cherokee but their ancestors did not take the trail instead ending up in W. Virginia and later Kentucky, Ohio.

But I will be damned if my own parents did not move us to Oklahoma anyway. So I end up married to a woman whose ancestors were on the rolls.

Just about any multi-generational family in Oklahoma is bound to have at least a little indian blood. This is one of the silliest campaign issues I have ever witnessed.

[LaydeeBug]

4. It's been kinda hard to find my tribe...

so I can certainly empathize with Ms. Warren.

[yellerpup]

5. Exactly!

There were lots of reasons people didn't sign up for the land distribution. We are a nation of mixed-bloods and I'm talking about all of us, not just Native Americans.

[goclark]

6. I am African American

and I am proud to be one.

My great grandfather declared in Census recods that he was a
" Full Blooded Cherokee." In fact, he must have made the cencus taker scratch out "B"/Negro and insert Cherokee.

His family always lived, according to census records that I can find , outside of the Indian Territory.

My grandfather always told us that we had Cherokee roots on his mother and father's side of the family.

I only met my g grandfather one time - the "Indian blood" must have been pretty powerful because my father and his brother were always told they "looked like an Indian." The same thing happened to me in school. I had long braids and
kids would say," You look just like an Indian."

I say all that to say, the wonderful Ms.Warren is in good company and those fools need to shut up before they are found to have Black Blood like J. Edgar Hoover etc.

Do a google of....

Did J Edgar Hoover have Black Ancestors