The leader of a group called the Cherokees of Alabama says its federal recognition effort is going "extra good" and that an answer from the Bureau of Indian Affairs is due within six months.

The BIA sees it differently. The group has submitted a petition for recognition but there are 16 tribes ahead in the process, a spokesperson said.

There are other deadlines the group faces, like missing a payment on a $2.35 million loan that it assumed during the purchase of a golf course for $13.1 million. Chief Bobby Sterling told The Gadsden Times that the note is “a day or two overdue, but that’s no big thing,"

The federally recognized Cherokee Nation says the group is not legitimate.

Get the Story:
Cherokees say they are not bankrupt (The Gadsden Times 10/8)

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Editorial: Cherokees of Alabama and recognition (07/02)
Chad Smith: Cherokees of Alabama not legitimate (7/1)
Cherokees of Alabama seek federal recognition (6/12)