• The Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, of Dahlonega, is run by Johnny Chattin, who wears unnaturally black braids, calls himself the tribe's "Attorney General" and has held court hearings in his dining room.
• The Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee Inc., of Cumming, is fronted by Lucian Lamar Sneed, a former attorney who bragged he "tied up 67 dot-com names, every combination of Georgia and Cherokee and Indian you could think of" to keep rivals off the Internet.
• The Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee Indians Inc., of Dahlonega. This group is run by the Davis family, a longtime Dahlonega clan that has applied for federal recognition, which could lead to a bid for gambling, although they deny wanting that.
• The Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, Echota Fire Inc., a sub-charter with connections to an out-of-state tribe, which was quickly excluded as a contender by the Indian council's expert.
The experts' study determined that Davis' group was most legitimate, a designation that the Indian Council accepted during a vote in November.
The Davis family has enrolled members in CN. My guess is most of the rest are Wannabes. Virtually the entire US Army was deployed to Georgia in 1838 to force the Cherokee off their land at bayonet point. They were EXTREMELY thorough in their ethnic cleansing. While it is possible (in fact likely) that some Cherokee snuck back later, the history of these "state tribes" smells highly suspect.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletePaul,
ReplyDeleteI skimmed what you said and agree with it. But, I would just like to add something.
I think it is ridiculous to assume that any culture is static--that it does not change with time and with new influences--even in situations where no conquest has occurred.
My family is from the old guard in Oklahoma and, like many, they intermarried with the Cherokee. I suspect that, in addition the usual reasons people marry, this was done many times as a means by which property and influence could be consolidated.
At any rate, my family is a mixed family. Mixed bloods born of mixed bloods. I would not say they would fit the mold of a traditional Native person by any stretch of the imagination but, at the same time, I would not say that they fit the mold of a white person, say that a white person in other parts of the country might. Regardless of the skin tone of the family member, I think it is safe to say that all of us have a slightly different consciousness.
The problem, from where I sit, is that a lot of Indians insist that all people of Cherokee ancestry conform to a certain stereotype. And, yeah, I mean stereotype. Things are just not that simple--and human relations never are.
One thing is for sure, though I miss the West dearly, I am glad to be away from in for this reason. At least, here in the East, I am free to be myself. No one here has any preconceived notions of what I am supposed to be.
The point that I was trying to make is that this new constitutional government, where the appointed commissioners,traders and interpreters for the Cherokee national Council-this was in 1825-27.They hijacked the Nation at this point,engaged in land treaties for millions of acres and above all,they have stolen the show,as the good guys!!! that is sick.Sure, cultures do change as did the Chinese,Japanese,Filipino,Hawians,and so on.In this case this new form of government was non demcratic and unsanctioned by the previous government.Any way my book, as I was just notified , was inducted into the Smithsonians: Museum of the American Indian library.Here is the link.http://www.sil.si.edu/libraries/nmai/files/2007-04_RecentAcquisitions.pdf
ReplyDeletecorrection in my blog letter headline and return answer.The words "Letter" and "were" are mis-spelled .These early morning blogs get ya every time...lol.Moderator: can you please correct them for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Paul T. Vickers
I am the Tribal Historical Preservation Officer for The Georgia Trbe of Eastern Cherokee, P.O. Box 1993, Dahlonega, Georgia 30533 (TGTEC), State Recognized pursuant to O.C.G.A. 44-12-300.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of issues that need clarification about which group is the State Recognized Cherokee Tribe in Georgia. The Georgia Council on American Indian Concerns (CAIC) has no authority to recognized American Indian Tribes, they are not a public authority, public agency, or public corporation as defined by the Georgia State Constitution,1983, Art. IX, Sec.III, Para I. CAIC is only an advisory council to the Governor.
I proved that the study the CAIC was a false study and also impeached the credibilty of their "so-called" expert (Mr. Flood) as submitting false credentials, he even claimed to be an attorney and a member of the Mohawk Bar Association in New York State when no such bar association exists. I have documentation from the Mohawk Tribal Government to prove this. The Georgia Governor nor the members of the Georgia Legislature paid any attention to the CAIC false findings and our tribe is still State Recognized by O.C.G.A. 44-12-300.
This was just another attempt by Indain Heritage Groups [501(c)(3)Corporations] to assume the identity of a legitimate tribe.
There are at least two compelling reasons why these illigitimate groups are trying to steal the identity of a legitimate tribe
(1) They reason that if they can get legtimate tribal status , they can build a casino and run Class III gambling in Georgia. Our tribe(TGTEC)made gambling illegal under our tribal constitution, we do not want gamblin in Georgia; and (2)It is clearly stated in Public Law 101-644 Section 106 (B) any Indian group that has been formally recognized as an Indian tribe by a State legislature or by a State commission or similar organization legislatively vested with State tribal recognition authority;---.
TGTEC qualifies uder this statute and we do advertise and sell our traditional arts and crafts under the sanctioning of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, U.S. Department of the Interior.
All of TGTEC tribal members have documented their geneological records back to members on a Federal Indian Census Roll or are documented descendants of members of the original Cheorkee Nation that inhabited Georgia and others states, where the original Cherokees were located. My family was split into two groups by the illegal Indian Removal Act and my family, bearing my surname are considered one of the First Families of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. The Secretary of War's Report of 1843 plainly states the fact that 1,400 Cherokees refused to leave Georgia during the Indian removal; it also states that approximately 1,000 Cherokees established the Qualla Boundary in North Carolina that became known as the Eastern Band of Cherokees and that 400 Cherokees remained hidden in the Souther Applachian Mountains of Georgia, our tribal members (TGTEC) are documented descendents of those 400 Cherokees. For more information on this check out the Department of the Interior website about who are Cheorkee descendents.
A 265-page rebuttal of th CAIC's bogus study was submitted to the Georgia Governor's office along with recorded and documented evidence that at least 2 member of the CAIC were promoting gamblin contrary to Georgia Law. This issue concerning the legitimate recognized Cherokee tribe in Georgia is a mute issue.
All readers and bloggers need to check the statute before making statements or formin opinions on your own.
Mr. Vickers, I applaud you and your literary masterpiece. Isn't it sad that no one whats to hear the truth. Just remember; "There is only one version of the truth, but many versions of a lie."
ReplyDeleteJust below the Local Crank's comment, Paul T. Vickers posted a long comment about a book he wrote. Here's how it began (with some editing to make it more readable):
ReplyDeleteThe biggest issue is the lack of knowledge about the Cherokee Nation: Please read my letter to Oklahoma Cherokee Chief Chad Smith.
To: Chief Chad (Corn Tassel) Smith and the Council of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
From: Paul Thomas Vickers
P.O. Box 71, Sulphur Springs, Arkansas 72768
Phone: 417-592-7178
Date: 1-10-09
RE: Proposal
Greetings Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma: Chief Chad Smith and Council members! I take this occasion to once again acquaint the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma about my book, its new discoveries, and the accomplishments that have resulted from them. Additionally, in all due respect to the Cherokee people of Oklahoma, and your Tribal Council, I find it within the realm of true honor to point out what is refutable, in regards to traditional accounts of the Cherokee Nations history. As the pillars of modern Cherokee society, it should be your duty, to honor the historical leaders of the historic, sovereign Cherokee National Council prior to 1827.
Geronimo and Chief Sitting Bull are common names in American history, [but] little has been said of the traditional Cherokee chiefs. Consequently, because of poorly researched Cherokee history books and political correctness, the individual that graces the cover of my book, Principal Chief "Standing Turkey," and his contemporaries Chiefs Glass, Dick Justice, Black Fox, DoubleHead, Taka-Toka and many others, though collectively serving as the Cherokee Nations National Council, have been whitewashed from the history of the Cherokee Nation. Astonishingly, history, outside of my book, has at times attacked the credibility of these pre-Cherokee Constitution Leaders. This has now been proven to be unfounded.
Paul, I deleted and replaced your comment for a couple reasons:
ReplyDelete1) It was about 10 times longer than I prefer comments to be. Next time, please post a short version of your comments here and link to a longer version elsewhere.
2) It was about recognizing and honoring old Cherokee chiefs, not about which Cherokee tribe in Georgia is legitimate today. In other words, it wasn't relevant to this posting.
As for your two misspellings, don't worry about them. Your original comment had dozens of typos in it, so those two mistakes didn't hurt much. :-)
It is a shame that we claim that some Cherokees are not our brothers while some our. In the time of our struggle for survival and peace with the white man our Cherokee Chiefs http://www.cherokee-indians.com/cherokee-nation/historic-cherokee-chiefs.html fought side by side for our freedom. Is not one whom has fought amongst us, "Do we not call him our brother?" We are all cherokee in the eyes of the flying eagle.
ReplyDeleteThis is for informtion to The Local Crank. Take a long look at Georgia House Bill 89, 1839 where the Davis family (Daniel Davis)and other families gave up the legal right to be Cherokees so they could own land, vote, and participate in "white" government as whites. This was self-termination as American Indians.
ReplyDeleteNotice tht the bill reads the wife of Daniel Davis, not Daniel Davis himself. He was white not Cherokee. Daniel Davis' wife was melanoid or melado. Their children were calssified as Quarteroon.
The only legitimate Cherokee tribes are the United Keetoowah Band of Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina. There are NO legitimate Cherokee tribes anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteWalter Seabolt, what documentation do you have as evidence that you descend from the historical Cherokee people? Are your ancestors listed on any Cherokee rolls? Georgia was the hotbed of grabbing Cherokee land, even before the Trail of Tears.
I believe state recognition of "tribes" is a slap in the face to federally recognized, historical tribes.