"Recent letters to the editor have characterized Cherokee Nation’s Truth in Advertising for Native Art Act and other tribal activities as personal attacks on individuals. Tribal identity and citizenship are determined by the tribal government and citizenship. Outsiders do not determine what is or is not Indian for a tribe. Citizenship is determined by criteria established by the Cherokee Nation government. The Cherokee Nation has defined its citizenship using laws extending back to 1839 in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Intruders do not determine citizenship.

Cherokee history is well-documented. It is clear the Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah; the United Keetoowah Band, Tahlequah; and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee, N.C., are the only existing Cherokee tribal governmental entities in the U.S. Each of these tribal governments has its own citizenship criteria. To be a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, one must have at least one direct ancestor listed on the Dawes Commission rolls. The Dawes Roll was validated by the 1880 Cherokee Census.

There is no historical basis for any “lost” group of Cherokees in any state. For example, Cherokees have no historical relationship with Kentucky. And Kentucky does not recognize “tribes” or any group of Indians. There is no such thing as a “Kentucky Cherokee.” Though there may be people with Cherokee ancestry in Kentucky, family histories of Cherokee ancestry do not entitle anyone the right to claim to be citizens of the Cherokee Nation or call themselves Cherokee artists, under laws of the Cherokee Nation.

The Truth in Advertising for Native Art Act was necessary to protect artists who are Cherokee citizens from the proliferation of fraudulent Cherokee groups and individuals proclaiming themselves Cherokee to profit off the growing “Indian art” market. To learn more about the U.S. constitutional and tribal sovereignty issues surrounding fraudulent tribal groups, visit www.taskforce.cherokee.org."

Get the Story:
Cara Cowan Watts: Citizenship defined (The Tahlequah Daily Press 9/10)

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Letter: Indian blood doesn't mean Indian artist (9/9)
Forum addresses Cherokee Nation identity issues (9/2)