[Josiah]

JOINT COUNCIL OF THE CHEROKEE NATION
AND
THE EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS
Resolution 1# 00-08

A RESOLUTION OPPOSING FABRICATED CHEROKEE "TRIBES" AND "INDIAN'S"

WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians since time immemorial have exercised the sovereign rights of self-government on behalf of the Cherokee people; and

WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are federally recognized [Indian Nations with a historic and continual government to government relationship with the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, the Joint Council unites the Legislative Branches of government of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, representing approximately 294,000 Cherokee people throughout the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, the two Cherokee Tribal governments share a common history prior to forced removal in 1838, and then separate histories to the present, yet our common language, culture, and traditions have made the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians distinct
and unique Native people from other Indian Tribes and other people, as was declared by the Joint Council in Resolution No. 3-92, adopted on August 11, 1992 in Cherokee, North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, the Cherokee Nation has been aware of a growing number of non-Indian groups claiming to be Cherokee tribes or bands and that these groups have been organizing and attempting to gain federal recognition, this problem being acknowledged by the Joint Council in
Resolution No. 008, adopted on October 3, 1988 in Cherokee, North Carolina and

WHEREAS, the Department of the Interior through the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Branch of Acknowledgment and Research maintains the responsibility for addressing specific applications for federal recognition and Ihe Cherokee Nmion and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians fully support the federal recognition process; and

WHEREAS, the history of the Cherokee Nation and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is well documented and no other tribes or bands of Cherokee Indians exist aside from those already federally recognized, which includes the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma; and

WHEREAS, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee Nation in Joint Council assembled in Resolution No. 4-96, adopted on October 4, 1996 have previously expressed opposition to the "state recognition" process by the State of Georgia or other states in the United States who may seek to recognize a group of 'Cherokee' that do not already have federal recognition;

WHEREAS, public funding by pseudo-Cherokee Tribes is of epidemic proportions and often involves membership fees; misleading presentations to school children and interference in a multitude ofgovernment functions including child welfare cases; and

WHEREAS, the sovereignty and reputation of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, as well as members the general public continue to be in jeopardy due to the acts of individuals who organize and administer fabricated Cherokee tribes; and

WHEREAS, untold millions of federal dollars that are appropriated for the benefit of tribal people are being diverted from their intended purpose, including money distributed by federal agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Native Americans, the Department of Labor, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Joint Council of the Cherokee
Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians do hereby support the federal recognition process ofthe Department of the Interior as administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch of acknowledgment and Research, and endorse the criteria used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as appropriate; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cherokee Nation and Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians denounce the state or federal recognition of any further 'Cherokee' tribes or bands, aside from the those already federally recognized, and commit to exposing and assisting state and federal authorities in eradicating any group which attempts or claims to operate as a government ofthe Cherokee people; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that no public funding from any federal or state government should be expended on behalf of non-federally recognized 'Cherokee' tribes or bands or the individual members thereof; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cherokee Nation and Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians shall call for a full accounting of all federal monies given to state recognized, unrecognized or SOI(c)(3)
charitable organizations that claim any Cherokee affiliation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the federal and state governments should
stringently apply a federal definition of "Indian" that includes only citizens of federally recognized Indian tribes, to prevent non-Indians from selling membership in 'Cherokee' tribes
for the purpose ofexploiting the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no 501(c)(3) organization, state recognized or unrecognized groups shall be acknowledged as Cherokee,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any individual who is not a member of a federally recognized Cherokee tribe, in academia or otherwise, is hereby discouraged from claiming to speak as a Cherokee, or on behalf of Cherokee citizens, or using claims of Cherokee heritage to
advance his or her career or credentials.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall be the policy of the Joint Council of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.


CERTIFICATION
The foregoing resolution was adopted by the Councils of the Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians at the Joint Council Meeting held in Catoosa, Oklahoma on April 9, 2008, having __joint council members present, constituting a quorum, by the vote of
___yea; nay; abstaining.

Meredith A. Frailey
Speaker
Council ofthe Cherokee Nation
ATTEST
Mike Parker
Chairman of the Tribal Council
Eastern Band ofCherokee Indians
Approved and signed by the Principal Chiefs this 9th day ofApril, 2008.
Chadwick Smith
Principal Chief
Cherokee Nation
Michell Hicks
Principal Chief
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Links:
http://taskforce.cherokee.org/LinkCl...d=106&mid=2118

http://taskforce.cherokee.org/LinkCl...d=106&mid=2118

http://taskforce.cherokee.org/LinkCl...d=106&mid=2118

http://taskforce.cherokee.org/LinkCl...d=106&mid=2118

http://taskforce.cherokee.org/LinkCl...d=106&mid=2118


Fraudulent Indian Task Team (F.I.T.T)

A battle for what it means to be an Indian tribe and a struggle for benefits provided to Indians is currently being waged by groups seeking to take away the identity and benefits that have been reserved to federally recognized Indian tribes. Hundreds of false Indian groups are claiming to be sovereign tribes and are teaching their own fabricated culture and history as if it were Indian. They apply for and receive aid from the same sources that fund the historic treaty based obligations intended for Indians. Yet they do not measure up to the credentials required of true tribes.

Excerpt from Sovereignty at Risk: Identity Theft, Revisionism, and the Creation of False Tribes

The Task Force consists of volunteers from various areas of Cherokee Nation as well as volunteers from other organizations and tribes. The purpose of this task force is to provide information to the general public and local/state/federal government representatives, expose false Native American tribes, also referred to as wannabe's, and defend the Sovereignty, History, and Culture of federally recognized tribes.

[Joe's Dad]

The other 2 million 'Cherokees' are going to be mad when they read this!

[Josiah]

Originally Posted by Joe's Dad

The other 2 million 'Cherokees' are going to be mad when they read this!

This has been a long time coming...
I was shocked and appalled when I read what these so called tribes have been receiving from State and Federal sources.
They have found a loophole and have been exploiting it to the fullest extent!

http://taskforce.cherokee.org/Portal...xhibit%205.pdf

[timmy tiger]

It has been a long time coming and needed to be done sometime.

Maybe now, some of it will slow down, I don't know how much will stop.

I was at a pow wow last weekend and a guy handed me his card and told me, when I told him who my Uncles were: "I don't listen to you people. I have my own ways."

His card listed him as a Chief of one of the other Cherokee "Tribes" and he started to go on and on, I didn't say anything and then he just walked away.LOL

[Josiah]

Yes but I have not seen Both Tribes get together and go after something like this ever....

V Examples of Fals "tribes"


Wall of Shame

New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans

[Josiah]

Originally Posted by timmy tiger

It has been a long time coming and needed to be done sometime.

Maybe now, some of it will slow down, I don't know how much will stop.

I was at a pow wow last weekend and a guy handed me his card and told me, when I told him who my Uncles were: "I don't listen to you people. I have my own ways."

His card listed him as a Chief of one of the other Cherokee "Tribes" and he started to go on and on, I didn't say anything and then he just walked away.LOL

There is lots to read but deep down in the resolution they are proposing that this be listed as a FELONY to falsely claim

I have never known the tribe to LIST individuals either as being false
WOW this is big!
Check this out!!
http://taskforce.cherokee.org/LinkCl...d=106&mid=2118

If you dont have power point here is the link for the free viewer: Download details: Power Point Viewer 2003

[timmy tiger]

Yeah, it has gotten out of hand, waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy out of hand.

I don't think that there's anything wrong with being descended through the Cherokee and not being enrolled, but when people start up their own "Tribes" to get something that they claim that they are entitled to, but have never been connected to, I'm sorry I have a problem with that. Just my opinion on that one.LOL

But by getting together like this, they might actually be able to do something about it.

[timmy tiger]

Originally Posted by Josiah

There is lots to read but deep down in the resolution they are proposing that this be listed as a FELONY to falsely claim

I have never known the tribe to LIST individuals either as being false
WOW this is big!
Check this out!!
http://taskforce.cherokee.org/LinkCl...d=106&mid=2118

If you dont have power point here is the link for the free viewer: Download details: Power Point Viewer 2003

WOW--well that's something. They are taking funds under false pretenses, that is for those who claim tribal status, that don't have it. And I've met quit a few, unfortunately.

[timmy tiger]

Originally Posted by Josiah

Yes but I have not seen Both Tribes get together and go after something like this ever....

V Examples of Fals "tribes"


Wall of Shame

New Age Frauds & Plastic Shamans

Josiah, on the Wall of Shame, I know one of those names.LOL I don't know the person, but someone has mentioned their name to me a few times.LOL

The groups listed to help stop it, I know one of them really well too. I knew that they would be involved.LOL

[New2itall]

Now all the other tribes had better start before they start "switching" tribes.

[timmy tiger]

Actually New2itall, it is already happening to other tribes and not just federally recognized one either, there are a couple who are close to getting their recognition or have their state recognition, in another state, but there are other groups out there claiming to be that "Tribe" and having a "Tibe" together. I know of about 6 around me that aren't claiming to be Cherokee, and that's not including the 4-6 who are claiming to be.

[New2itall]

Sheeseh! Timmy, you know where I am coming from on this one and why it affects me personally, but this $hit has got to stop!
I was essentially kicked out of a homeschool group me and the kids were a part of because I questioned the use of a white girl (she had a great-great something that had high cheekbones-thus she was Cherokee) to "teach" how to speak the language (she was learning online) and to dance, and to drum. The people who host the class told me that my "little knowledge" was out of line. I was asked not to come back to that group's classes.
Now my kids are upset that we don't go anymore, and I can't bring myself to tell them that their favorite instructors asked us not to.

[timmy tiger]

Yeah, that's where alot of this is coming from really.

People who make the claims just to give themselves more credibility so that they can make money doing something, like teaching or presentations and things along those lines. And then you have those who go out and make up a "tribe" so that they can get "Federal" funds.

I've told this story many times: I was at a function with the center one day and a guy came up and asked the director of the youth program how he could go about getting a tribe together so that he could put up a casino and make money for the town that he lived in. I about fell over, I just walked away and let my friend handle it.LOL That's alot of what's going on.

I did what you did once. A woman came into the youth program to "Teach" the kids about something and my friend, whose from OK, called me and asked me to make a point to be there. I wasn't gonna be there 'cause I had just got home that morning from visiting my family in NC and I was tired. Well, I went and this woman started talking about something that I had just talked to one of my Uncles about and she was telling it all wrong, when I corrected her and backed it up with a name that they all knew, things changed suddenly. 6 Months later I got informed that that incident had been brought up at a board meeting to get some of us out of the program. Luckily for me, I had been there a long time and they knew that I'm not a mean or hateful person.LOL And I know many of the board members who really went to bat for me. And I was just a volunteer.LMAO

But she was combining several different "Tribes" and not talking about just one.LOL

[NorthofAda]

Wow, pretty impressive stuff!

I even saw a fake Chickasaw tribe on one of those lists for the first time...

Hopefully this will be a big blow to those seeking to create their own tribe.

[Josiah]

In my opinion:
I believe that not many people give this whole issue much thought. After all we are talking about "Cherokees" here, And everybody knows they allow just anybody to be a Cherokee!!!

Well if that were true, we would not have so many "fake Cherokee tribes" now would we!
Cherokee Nation allows absentee members, but they still have to prove lineal decendancy to an ancestor that did live in the Indian Territory during 1896 to 1907.

But this is not just a Cherokee issue! This money comes from our taxes and then it is handed to these FRAUDS that can't even prove ONE DROP of BLOOD!!

I looked through the different documents this goes waaaaay beyond just a bunch of people joining together and holding a funny powwow...
They are siphoning off money that should have gone to LEGITIMATE Tribes that could have used this money for our Children, for our Elders!

Now I am truly angry because I did not understand the depth they would go to get money!
They are growing every year more and more are forming as they realize the LOOPHOLE that each State has.
We can no longer just stick our head in the sand and say
"Ohh its just another wannabe Cherokee"!!!

[timmy tiger]

Josiah, that's been my problem all along with them.

Where I am there are many of them and I know and see what they claim and how they try to fabricate history to serve their purposes.

As stated earlier, sure there are many people out there who are decendents through the Cherokee who can't enroll for what ever reason (blood quantium, not in the territory or what ever else there may be), but this isn't about them at all. It's about the ones who are trying to make money off of the claiming to be cherokee, and as you said--can't prove one drop of blood or any connection anywhere. That's what I think it's all about.

[neling4]

I found this one particularly sad:

Sheila Alexander Alich

FoxFire Institute - Cortez, Colorado

Don't let being a German stop you from exploiting Native Americans! Sheils, a German hobbyist herself, will teach you to be a professional shaman in only 106 1/2 hours! This twinkie is particularly offensive since she preys on Germans who hate themselves and their legacy. It seems that the German youth would rather be anything but German, and they will pay any amount of money to a charlatan who can sell them another identity.

[beeleaf]

Don't care what they do to the fake tribes. But there appear to be some legitimate folks in that slide show. Haliwa-Saponi and Lumbee, for example.

[timmy tiger]

Yeah, that is a good point, but the main thing here, I think, is just about the "Fake" Cherokee Tribes, they can't do anything about any other "Tribe", I don't think. State or otherwise recognized. Just the ones that use their name and try to get away with something.

Just because a "Tribe" may not be federally "recognized" doesn't make them a "Fake" tribe. There's more to it then that and that's what this is focusing on. The ones that are self proclaiming to get money that they believe that they can get with no actual history of their people. So they make it up as they go or they get it off the internet or out of a book. At least, that's the way that I'm taking it.

[Blackbear]

More of the copied tribes need to do something like this... there needs to be more direct federal laws about using names as well.