Citizenship Status of Non-Indians
The Cherokee Nation voted on March 3, 2007 to amend our Constitution to clarify eligibility for Cherokee citizenship. An overwhelming majority voted that to be a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, you must be able to trace your lineage to one Indian ancestor listed on the base roll of our people, also known as the Dawes Roll. Our Constitution has been amended accordingly.
The Cherokee Nation is a great Indian nation that embraces our mixed-race heritage. We are proud of our thousands of citizens who share African-American, Latino, Asian, Caucasian and other ancestry. Our sole purpose is to weave together a great Indian nation, made up of many ethnic groups which are knit together through one common cultural thread -- a shared bond to an Indian ancestor on the base roll.
This Constitutional vote of the Cherokee people now faces scrutiny from non-Indians who may disagree with the way the Cherokee people decide the citizenship of their Nation. Cherokee Nation’s district court has stayed the effect of the Constitutional Amendment allowing non-Indians to remain citizens until the court rules on pending litigation.
Below are links to information regarding the sovereign right for the Cherokee people to decide their own citizenship, much like the more than 500 other Indian tribes in the U.S. that require their citizens to be Indian.
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Timeline and History of Freedmen Descendants
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Learn why Freedmen descendants without an Indian ancestor listed on the base rolls are not eligible for citizenship in the Cherokee Nation. Read more
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Myths and Facts about Cherokee Citizenship
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Cherokees and supporters speak out about the Cherokee Nation’s sovereign right to determine its own citizenship. Cherokee citizens also speak of why it is important to them that the Cherokee Nation remains an inclusive Nation consisting of a Cherokee ancestor on the base rolls. Visit this section to read stories from Cherokee citizens and other about the descendants of Freedmen issue. Click here
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We Are Cherokee
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What binds us all together is our common ancestry, family of families and a community of communities.
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Support the Cherokee Nation and Learn the Facts
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Learn about whom this bill would hurt. It would jeopardize nearly 7,000 jobs in northeast Oklahoma and end medical services to some of the neediest citizens of Oklahoma. Also read the Funding Fact Sheet.
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