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Friday, October 24, 2003

A group called the Sugar Creek Band of Cherokees of Tennessee is hoping to draw attention to its bid for federal recognition.

The band's members don't qualify for membership in federally-recognized Cherokee tribes. But Chief Joe ''Sitting Owl'' White says they are deserving of federal status.

The group has begun an arts and crafts program, opened a Boy Scout retreat and has started a museum. White says he is waiting on the Bureau of Indian Affairs to act on a petition for federal recognition, but the BIA has apparently asked for more documents.

There are no federally recognized tribes in Tennessee but Nashville is home to the BIA's Eastern Region headquarters and the offices of the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET).

Get the Story:
Lawrence Cherokees seeking American Indian nation status (The Tennessean 10/24)

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