I thought I would take this opportunity to say
something
about what it means to be Cherokee according to the law: Cherokee law.
I don't
intend to offend anyone, even though I know I probably will. That is an
unfortunate,
but necessary by-product of every Cherokee citizen’s obligation to
defend our
Nation and identity.
Being Cherokee has nothing to do with what an individual thinks of
themselves
or their own personal claims of heritage and blood. Cherokee law says
that you
must be recognized by the Cherokees in order to be a Cherokee. There is
no
other legitimate law that can or does make someone a Cherokee;
certainly not
the individual claims of lost descendants of long ago Cherokees or
their
equally non-Cherokee counterparts, the infamous wannabe.
It would be an infringement upon the rights of the Cherokee people akin
to
treason for an individual Cherokee to offer any form of official
recognition to
someone who does not meet the test of our law regarding who is and who
is not a
Cherokee. People ask me regularly why I will not give an inch to the
individual
claiming to be a Cherokee, but who does not meet the lawful
requirements of the
Cherokee people. My response is simple, straightforward and direct, I
cannot go
against the will of the Cherokee people and only the Cherokee people,
en masse,
can change that law. Here are my responses:
Cherokee said:
Someone needs to tell blue feather a DNA test doesn't prove you are
Cherokee
and if you're not a tribal member you are not legally a Cherokee.
David replies:
Cherokee is correct and on point. Being a Cherokee is a state of being
rooted
in law. As I said above, only the Cherokee people can make the
determination of
who is and who is not a Cherokee. That is a collective right belonging
to the
Cherokee people and I, as an individual, do not have the right to
abridge that.
Having some DNA link to Indian ancestry does not make someone a
Cherokee. In
fact, the DNA tests being offered today cannot tell tribal ancestry;
and they
cannot reliably tell Indian ancestry. But again, even if they could
prove that
an individual has some DNA from a long ago Cherokee ancestor, only the
Cherokee
people can recognize it as making that person a Cherokee. So far, the
collective voice of the Cherokee people, as spoken through the three
legitimate
governing documents of the Eastern Band of Cherokees, United Keetoowah
Band of
Cherokees and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, does not recognize DNA
tests as
legitimate proof of being a Cherokee. Therefore, neither I, nor any
individual can
assume the mantle of authority to do so either.
Cherokee said:
So he is breaking the Indian Arts and Craft act by portraying himself
as a
Cherokee.
David replies:
Cherokee is correct. If someone is claiming to be a Cherokee/Indian for
the
purpose of marketing their artwork, and that individual is not a member
of one
of the federally recognized Cherokee governments, then he/she is
violating the
law and should be punished with the full measure of the law. The Indian
Arts
and Crafts Act are designed to protect the culture and art of authentic
Indians
by recognizing the authority of the Cherokees themselves to determine
who is
and who is not a Cherokee. When the Cherokees themselves make
provisions in our
laws to recognize the descendants of long ago Cherokees or even any old
person
who claims Cherokee heritage, then the Indian Arts and Crafts Act
cannot touch
them and I will be the first to welcome them into the Nation. Until
then, they
are aliens to this Nation as surely as the illegal immigrants from
Cherokee said:
Knowing elders and chiefs from federally or state recognized tribes, or
fake tribes
do not make one Cherokee either. Sounds like he's almost on the verge
of
dropping names here to add some clout to his wannabe image.
David replies:
Cherokee is correct here. Under the Keeler, Swimmer and Mankiller
administrations, letters were written for fake Cherokee artists
attesting to
their so-called "Cherokee heritage." Mankiller was called on the
carpet for her violations of Cherokee law and the practice, thankfully,
ended
with her. Simply having the succor of one of the misguided leaders of
an Indian
tribe does not make someone an Indian. Just as I do not have the right
to go
against the will of the Cherokee people in the determination of who is
and who
is not a Cherokee, neither does an elected official. In fact, an
elected
official has an even greater burden to NOT give succor to the
non-citizen who
claims to be a Cherokee because they swore an oath to uphold and defend
the
tribe's constitution, which is the LAST WORD on who is and who is not a
Cherokee.
Bly said:
Cherokee - Are you saying that a blood line does not count on making a
person a
Cherokee? That only card carrying tribal registration counts?
David replies:
That is, appropriately, exactly what Cherokee has said. Cherokee is
only saying
what our laws decree. As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, EBC or UKB,
we who
are citizens of our Nations are bound by law to defend our own
institutions. If
we are silent and permit these blatant attacks against our governments
and
constitutions, the wannabe (whether fake or descendant) will weaken the
foundation of our right to govern, the right to determine for ourselves
who is
and who is not a Cherokee. Without the right to make that determination
for
ourselves as a group, we lose control of everything citizenship is
based upon
including our own government and the right to speak for ourselves.
Bly said:
Aren't you using a double standard? You are defending the Freedmen on
their
Cherokee blood when most are not card carriers, but a person of
Cherokee blood
is NOT CHEROKEE.
David replies:
Cherokee is not using a double standard at all. Cherokee has based
his/her
support for the Freedmen on the most basic premise of sovereignty, the
right of
the people, en masse, to determine who is and who is not a Cherokee.
The
Cherokee people made the determination through our constitution that
the Freedmen
are Cherokees. The Freedmen in fact, are card carrying Cherokees. Those
who
have enrolled over the past couple of months have a tribal membership
card
which proves that he/she is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation by meeting
the
criteria set by the Cherokee people in their constitution. The
Freedmen,
Bly said:
I'm not a card carrying tribal registered Cherokee, but I am by blood,
I can
trace my ancestry back to Ghi-go-ne-li without missing a person, and as
far as
I am concerned I'm just as much a Cherokee as anyone else. I'm Cherokee
by
Blood, which to me is extremely important.
David replies:
Your pride in your genetic ancestry is not misplaced. If you are
descended from
Ghi-go-ne-li, then you come from some very prominent long ago Cherokee
citizens. All of your ancestors should be equally important to you, as
they are
what makes you, you. But why should they be important to the rest of
us? If
your ancestors abandoned the tribe at some critical point in our
history, then
what qualifies you to come back now and demand recognition from those
whose
ancestors never turned their back on tribal relations. There is no
shortage of
genetic material flowing through the veins of a large number of
Cherokee
citizens that comes from Ghi-go-ne-li. One more or one less such
descendant is
of no consequence in the bigger picture. Being her descendant does not
make you
or anyone today anything special any more than my descent from Nancy
Ward makes
me special. I'm fascinated by this woman I descend from, but her
descendants
that abandoned tribal relations (and there are some) are nothing more
to the
Cherokee people than any other alien to our Nation. I cannot and will
not
violate the trust of the Cherokee people to offer any kind of
recognition to a
descendant of a long ago Cherokee when that would violate the will of
the
Cherokee people. And any Cherokee citizen who does if offensive to the
will of
the Cherokee people.
Bly said:
Your statement is something that will drive other Cherokees away from
John's
Forum at a time when all need to be drawing together and working
together.
Yes there are a lot of Wannabes and phony tribes - but in all honesty
you
should be giving a person a chance and not condemning them because of
something
they are or have said without giving them a chance.
David replies:
My motto is "Alien to the Nation until proves a citizen." We citizens
have the obligation in accordance with tribal law to question the
veracity and
validity of any claim of Cherokee heritage. His/her and my obligation
is rooted
in the necessity for the Cherokee people to protect ourselves from the
ruinous
impact of wannabeism. If you have a heart for the Cherokee people, then
you
will help the Cherokee people no matter what. A post on this board
cannot
change your desire to help. If your efforts are to obtain some kind of
recognition of your claims of Cherokee heritage, then the Cherokee
people don't
need that kind of help. You must support the Cherokee people as we are,
not as
you wish we would be. On an individual level, you are free to try and
get the
Cherokee people to change their definition of who is and who is not a
Cherokee.
I know Bill Davis would support an amendment to our Constitution to
permit
descendants of long ago Cherokees to enroll. I would sign a petition to
bring
that to a vote. In fact, such a petition would be a good thing because
it would
be granting rights, instead of the vile petition being circulated by
John
Ketcher and the Smith slate of Councilors that seeks to destroy the
rights of
an innocent people.