Photo: Chuck Hoskin Jr, Principal Chief of Cherokee Nation (Oklahoma)
Sometimes Indian tribes challenge the Indianness of other Indigenous people. It’s not a pretty picture, trying to erase the vision a people have of themselves.
These attempts often fail. Just recently, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) failed to eject state-recognized Indian tribes out of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).
At NCAI’s last convention in November 2023, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr. had sponsored a now-failed bill to remove Tribes that are recognized by individual states, but not by the federal government.
In particular, Hoskin Jr set his sights on the United Cherokee AniYun WiYa Nation and Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, tribes he called “frauds from across the country.”
CNO has been particularly persistent at attacking other Indians they consider inauthentic.
NCAI also voted down two amendments which would have limited voting rights for state-recognized tribes, and limited NCAI office holding only to members of federally recognized tribes, such as the Cherokee of Oklahoma.
The largest Indian tribe in the United states is Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma, with 450,000 members. CNO has otherwise been rather generous with its membership. This includes Cherokee of mixed ancestry.
NCAI 145 tribes as members, with 24 tribes being state-recognized only. There are 575 federally-recognized Indian tribes in the United States.
There’s no reason for tribes to fight each other over recognition by an oppressor which often worked to eliminate them all. It’s especially disturbing when these attacks come from tribal governments. We can do better.
Sources:
Hunter, Chad, “Bid to Limit Influence of State Tribes at NCAI Fails,” Cherokee Phoenix, November 22, 2023. cherokeephoenix.org
U.S. Dept of the Interior, interior.gov
