I would like to thank the State Journal. On comment 2, I have an archived document, signed and notarized by Nelson Hermilla, head of the Civil Rights Divion in the US department of Justice in DC, that states the CNO did not exist until 1976 and that 1100 white people voted the old Cherokee Nation out of existence in 1914. What "taskforce" did not tell you is if one generation of your ancestors missed enrolling, you can not enroll. And why does any tribe use the Dawes act for their enrollment criteria when it was repealed as a fraudulent roll in 1934? Why are hundreds of CNO members involved in setting up these cons? Gary W. Ridge testified in federal court that the Eastern Band helped design the card he made for himself in 1988 and then sold by him nationwide. It reads "Department of the Interior-Bureau of Indian Affairs-Southern Cherokee Agency". We will be updating our website with the connections between all that are claiming to be Southern Cherokee, 99% of which lead back to Gary W. Ridge. James Conway of Sheperdsville, KY was federally convicted of conspiracy and money laundering using the Southern Cherokee name and, like Mr. Buley, was brought in by Ridge.

Somehow sir, you miss the point. Once again, I am saying there is no such thing as "Southern Cherokee/Treaty Party" wherein "Treaty Party" is a reference to the "Treaty Party" of the 1834 treaty. The "Treaty Party" basically was over on paper with 1846 Treaty of Peace among the Cherokee even though the old hatreds did not necessarily end. Of course, the Southern Cherokee did and do exist. And if you don't connect to the 1867 Tompkins rolls or the Cherokee Mounted Rifles commanded by Stand Watie, then you are not Southern Cherokee (also known as the "disloyal" during the treaty talks) as referenced in the 1866 Treaty. The 10th Circuit Court upheld our treaties in 2004. There is no treaty or any court ruling in the history of our treaty rights that will support your claim. I have been told by one of your local historians that the Transylvanians would not have associated with an african-american or an Indian, let alone had tea with thim. Contact the Henderson County Historical Society or check with the Henderson Library who donated those documents to them. And while you're at it, you may want to check if they were typed on an electric typewriter.

Excuse me?? I proved YOUR point??? You seem to have managed to contradict yourself and have stumbled all over your arrogance! Was it not YOU that said "....There is no such thing as "Southern Cherokee/Treaty Party" and never has been. This was dreamed up by a group of conmen to bring in more people and more money...."? And now, you say that there is such a "thing" and you fish the Arkansas River referenced in that Treaty. If there is any kind of law suit, I sure hope you are among the legal advisors. But, know that I will respond no further to you. I do love and appreciate my own Cherokee Heritage and, if your own lineage is Cherokee, I respect yours and our mutual ancestors. I may be "mixed blood" but every drop is as red as yours. I ask NOTHING of you..I NEED nothing that is yours.

The reference I make to "Southern Cherokee/Treaty Party" is a made-up term used by many cons who attempt to make the Southern Cherokee of the Treaty of 1866 and the "Treaty Party" from the Treaty of 1834 seem to be one and the same in order to widen the base of persons that can be drawn in by not limiting to actual Southern Cherokees. The two cannot be made one as many have tried to do. And yes sir, I am very aware of the involvement of Kentucky and many other states. I am also aware we cannot sue a state but we can and will sue the people in the seat of government in that state. And thank you for the excerpta from the 1866 treaty as you prove my point pertaining to the jurisdiction of the Southern Cherokee. I fish the Arkansas River referenced in the treaty and it is still here in the Canadian District, Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma. Just as the US government always works from the US seat of government in DC, the Southern Cherokee jurisdiction under the treaty is in Oklahoma, not Kentucky. The people that want to know the truth can go to www.southerncherokeeok.com.

You will need to argue with the Inited States Government over your statement that there is no such thing as "Southern Cherokee/Treaty Party". In the Treaty of 1866, below are just a few of the several references:

ARTICLE 8.
No license to trade in goods, wares, or merchandise merchandise shall be granted by the United States to trade in the Cherokee Nation, unless approved by the Cherokee national council, except in the Canadian district, and such other district north of Arkansas River and west of Grand River occupied by the so-called southern Cherokees, as provided in Article 4 of this treaty.

ARTICLE 19.
....And the Secretary of the Interior shall also be authorized to pay the reasonable costs and expenses of the delegates of the southern Cherokees.

I can substantiate everything I say with FACT! You simply throw out your meaningless arguments like a politicians forked tongue. Above are only two areas of the Treaty of 1866 which PROVE you are simply lying about this being "....dreamed up by a group of conmen....". Further, The Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky does NOT have a charge for our Tribal Cards. One must PROVE Cherokee ancestry and, if proven, tribal enrollment is FREE!! The other persons you mentioned may have some fees (which WE disagree with) but I do not speak for them. You, sir, need to keep you facts separate from your own fiction. Do not associate the Southern Cherokee with other persons who might have transparently fraudulent designs. You speak of Jim Wilson of North Carolina. He has nothing to do with my Nation and I certainly didn't mention him, did I?
You fight air.

Are there any locally? I would very much like to meet some of them.

So now Buley claims to be a descendant of Stand Watie? You have to be Indian first. Check out some of the pages at http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://southern-cherokee.com You can see all the people in the Ridge con are now with Buley or one of the over 200 other cons being run in the name of our tribe. You can buy a southern cherokee card from Jim Wilson of Neetribe in NC for $75 or MO for $35 or a genealogy in Oregon for $200. There is no such thing as "Southern Cherokee/Treaty Party" and never has been. This was dreamed up by a group of conmen to bring in more people and more money. Paul Boyd, USPS investigator, has the "enrollment" files from federal confiscations in both OK and LA, many of which had nothing but a birth certificate in it. And numerous CNO people have been involved or helped set up these cons.Andrew Light

Go to southerncherokeeok.com

In regards to comment #2, I suggest you read my original article. I really don't believe that the srticle in any way makes claims that we are officially state or federally recognized. However, if you honestly wish to pursue the truth, I suggest you read the entire Treaty of 1866 between the United States and the Cherokee Nation. Many times in the same treaty that created the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, there is mention of the "....so called Southern Cherokee....". The last "official" Principal Chief of that sect of the Cherokee Nation was Stand Watie. Our own Principal Chief of the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky comes from that same line of ancestry. In 1866, when the "full blood" Cherokee of Oklahoma were murdering and burning the homes of the "mixed blood" Cherokee, there were 75 wagons loaded with the "so called Southern Cherokee" who fled the Indian Territory in fear for their lives. The government of those people has remained intact since it moved to the Henderson, Kentucky area in the late 1800's. Many others from that 75 wagons returned to Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana, and other states and tried to live peacefully. We do not dispute the rights of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma to define the terms of citizenship requirements to that Nation. However, just as they (CNO) have that right not to be interfered with nor dictated to by any other government, we adamantly cling to OUR rights UNDER THE SAME TREATY, to declare that WE are the "....so called Southern Cherokee...." and really don't care if they like it or not. Your claim that there are no "lost Tribes" or splinter groups that fled from the Trail of Tears is hardly something that you or I can argue one way or the other. You can no more produce proof that NO one escaped that terrible ordeal than I can produce proof that anyone DID escape. I do not ask your own heritage but whether or not YOUR own surname appears on the Dawes Roll obviously has no bearing on whether or not you exist. My own name of "David" appears in the Christian Bible MANY times but that does not make me a descendant of Boaz.

Citizenship Verses Heritage
Cherokee People have struggled for centuries to survive and maintain their distinct identities as citizens of the Cherokee Nation. Today we face a dangerous assault on our tribal sovereignty from a proliferation of fraudulent groups attempting to claim the same treaty rights and obligations that rightfully belong to the true historic Indian nations.
Everyone has the right to their family heritage. However, "heritage" and "citizenship" are not always the same, and should not be confused or used interchangeably.
To be a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, at least one of your direct ancestors had to have publicly proclaimed their citizenship at the time of the Dawes Commission Rolls (1906). All others gave up their right and those of their descendants to Cherokee Nation citizenship. The Cherokee Nation Government establishes the criteria for citizenship.
To be more specific in our history, the "Eastern Cherokee Nation" and "Western Cherokee Nation," including the "Old Settlers" and "Late Immigrants," joined together in an Act of Union, July 12, 1839. There are no "lost' Cherokee Tribes or splinter groups that hid out or wandered off the Trail of Tears.
Some groups attempt to appropriate the collective rights of genuine Indian nations; they can inflect great harm on the very people they are pretending to be. You can honor your heritage by learning about the history, culture and language of your ancestors, but citizens of Indian nations have rights and civic responsibilities to their nations that should not be infringed upon or imitated.
There are only three Federally-recognized Cherokee Tribes: The Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians both located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina visit www.cherokee-nc.com.
Organizations rightfully claiming an association with the Cherokee Nation via Tribal Citizens At Large Groups, visit our web site www.cherokee.org and go to "Organization' and then "Cherokee Communities.' The Cherokee Nation does not question anyone's claims of heritage, but merely points out the significant difference between claiming heritage and having citizenship in a federally recognized Indian tribe. For more information contact Cherokee Nation at (918)453-5000 and http://taskforce.cherokee.org.
Review the New Fake Indian Video!