It's not about DNA tests that might only represent some statistical noise. 'It's not about descent from someone who abandoned the tribe 150 years ago. 'We expect people to give deference to our institutions in determining who can claim to be a Cherokee,' says Cornsilk. (Other tribes have their own requirements for membership, but they're usually along similar lines.) Any other 'proof' of belonging - family trees, photographs of relatives in feathered headdresses, DNA tests - simply won't be considered. You can also apply for citizenship if you marry a tribal member. Sadly, descendants of people on the Freedmen Rolls were denied full citizenship in the Cherokee Nation and several other tribes from the 1980s until 2017, when a court ruling restored their rightful claims.Īccording to the Cherokee Nation, if you can successfully trace and document your lineage back to individuals on either of those rolls, you can apply for citizenship. Ferguson, a Cherokee with even a single 'negro' ancestor was placed on the Freedmen Rolls, even if the rest of their lineage was full-blooded Cherokee.
Following the 'one drop rule' of Plessy v. The Freedmen Rolls are separate lists of names that include the descendants of freed Cherokee slaves (yes, some Cherokee owned slaves).
