Class 4 Cherokee Right To Exist and Organize

The discrimination against our people must stop!

It is as much my right under the constitution to live and celebrate my native american heritage as it is to celebrate my euro heritage .

It seems rather superfluous to me, that we can only call ourselves Cherokee descendants and not Cherokee. Then what are we? I do have on Indian ancestor that came back to the southeast from Indian Territory, but many of my ancestors never left. My family is heavily from Georgia and Alabama. Historically, Georgia has had the largest Cherokee population. I am VERY frustrated that my own kin accuses me of being fraudulent. Are there Indian groups that are? Of course. But if we have documented heritage and a well-defined core group (in my case, Cherokee descendants from Georgia), then I fail to see how we meet the criteria of the BIA. We are not "Pretindians", we are not "wannabes", we are not "White-Indians". I have been to Pow-wows where I was treated with contempt for claiming to be Indian, mainly by the Indians that looked like me! (Mostly Eastern Band Cherokee, a few Apache). The only people that were nice to me, were an EBCI woman, a Lumbee man, and a Western Cherokee (probably the most stereotypical looking Indian there!). Many of us Class 4 descendants meet the criteria for federal recognition, but how do we compete against a tribe of 315,000? By banding together, not as a tribe, but as a people that want our RIGHTS to be RECOGNIZED as a tribe.

We need our rights

I am mixed-blood Cherokee whose relatives were not placed on any Rolls due to the fact that NO ONE came into the Okefenokee Swamp to try and enroll anyone. Too many were missed and too many who had no Native blood at all were enrolled. We are the ONLY group of People ?Race who has to "PROVE" our heritage. This needs to stop and we need to be allowed to live as the People we are...Cherokee!

iam of cherokee blood my grand mother was full blood and i will not let people tell me just be cause your grand mother and great grand mother was full and you look the way you do i will not stand by and let people tell me i cant clame native side on my mother side and my fathers side i have grand mother great grand mother full blood cherokee no one will tell me im a fake i will stand a fight for my people and that is true

I have seen this since Chad Smith became Chief and started this racist idea. I meet him with other California Cherokee's in Sacramento California. When The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma invited all of us to listen to him and others running for office. He was a funny type of attorney myself being in Law Enforcement for 25 years. Mr. Smith started running down the way the Oklahoma Government was ran and was crooked. Later I see he got voted out of office on some of the same allegations.

I am a member of the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky

I have been the Chief Justice of 'Nato Indian Nation for over 20 years. I am a direct descendant of Chief Pathkiller of the Tsalagi people. Our tribal government was formed to benefit indigenous people irrespective of tribal affiliation. I have met and spoken with officials within the CNO and dispute their right to control my ancestry and its associated sovereignty. This statement was made by Larry Echohawk as the head of the BIA in relation to the UKB, "It is well settled that a successor in interest enjoys the rights of the historical tribe. See United States v. Washington, 520 F.2d 676 (successors in interest enjoy treaty rights of predecessor tribes.)" So much for any tribe to dictate their historical existence.

It is my Right to live and practice my Native American Heritage.

We are Cherokee, whether Cherokee Nation likes it or not.

I have my fathers card from the Etowah Cherokee Nation Pigeon Forge, Tn. I am Cherokee and I am proud to be Native American.

I agree that CNO has lost their way and allowed greed to blind their judgment.

I was here in Tahlequah , ok. when CNO took over the tribal complex in 1975. I know how cno got started. they had no previse rolls so they had to use the dawes roll. they had no form of government so they had to set one up. they also ran the other cherokee all over town. there two cno after one Cherokee. I know that Wayne Potetee and Richard Allen was a part of fake Cherokee finders. I am Chickamauga and decendent of Pohatten.

We are Cherokee, whether we have the government's permission to say so are not! A piece of paper does not make us Cherokee.

I stand with you