BIA denies Central Band of Cherokee federal recognition

By TESINA JACKSON
Reporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk on Aug. 6 said the federal government would not acknowledge the Central Band of Cherokee as a Native American tribe because it did not provide enough evidence of Native American descent.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Acknowledgement evaluated the group’s petition to become a federally recognized tribe and found that the CBC self-generated family histories and descent reports that attribute Cherokee ancestry to some of its ancestors are not supported by evidence.

The CBC, located in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., formed in 2000 and has 407 members. Members claim to be descendants of Cherokee people who never gave up their rights to 1806 treaty lands in Tennessee, or are descendants of Native Americans living in Tennessee who evaded removal or escaped when the Cherokee were removed from North Carolina in the late 1830s, according to its website.

According to the BIA, evidence shows that the CBC is a voluntary association of individuals who claim, but have not documented, Native American ancestry.

Bureau officials said none of the CBC’s evidence demonstrates the validity of either claim and that a June decision by the Tennessee Commission on Indian Affairs to grant state recognition to the CBC didn’t provide evidence of Native American descent.

Federal officials investigated CBC claims by locating public records to verify members’ ancestors and examining rolls of early eastern Cherokee natives. Public records showed that CBC members do not descend from any Cherokee group or any other Native American tribe.

According to the BIA, the evidence shows the group’s ancestors were consistently identified as non-Native Americans, primarily white settlers coming to Tennessee in the early and mid-1800s. At no time were they identified as Native Americans or living in a Native community, according to the BIA.

CBC Principal Chief Joe “Sitting Owl” White said his group plans to appeal the decision with additional evidence.

“We are asking for an independent audit of our petition for recognition,” he said. “We also request a complete investigation by the U.S. Attorney General to expose the fraud perpetuated by Cherokee that is in control of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Acknowledgement in this case and request prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”

According to the BIA, if the CBC provides sufficient evidence and meets federal tribal recognition criteria then the department would review the petition. If the CBC doesn’t provide sufficient evidence, then the assistant secretary would issue a final determination.

Steps to federal recognition
For a group seeking federal tribal recognition, it must meet the following seven criteria:
• It has been identified as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900.
• A main portion of it comprises a distinct community and has existed as a historical community from historical times until the present.
• It has maintained political influence or authority over its members as an independent entity from historical times until the present.
• It has submitted a copy of its present governing documents, including its membership criteria.
• Its membership consists of individuals who descend from a historical Native American tribe or from historical Native American tribes, which combined and functioned as a single independent political entity.
• The group’s membership is composed mainly of persons who are not members of any acknowledged North American Indian tribe.

• Neither the group nor its members are the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the federal relationship.

tesina-jackson@cherokee.org • (918) 453-5000, ext. 6139