The Cherokee Tribe Community

The Cherokee Tribe of today is made of 3 different groups that all descend from the same common tribe which was formed in the late 1800s. The Cherokee community has more than 300,000 tribal members, making it the largest of the 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States. Upwards of 800,000 people claim having Cherokee ancestry on US land. With Oklahoma being the largest census of acclaimed Cherokee tribe members, members reside within 14 counties of that state. The Tribes economic impact within Oklahoma and neighboring northeastern states, is at an estimated $1.5 billion.

There are over 70,000 Cherokee that reside within a 7,000 square mile area, which is a federally recognized nation covering most of northeast Oklahoma. The Cherokee Nation has both the right and the responsibility to exercise control and development over tribal assets, including more than 66,000 acres of land and 96 miles of the Arkansas Riverbed. Tribal citizenship is given if a Lineal Descendant can be proven through birth and death records and there is no Blood Quantum used. Today all three Federally Recognized tribes are viewed as separate Nations by the BIA but in reality are related by Family ties that go back thousands of years.

All three groups have made strides in building industry and businesses that employ tribal members within each tribal jurisdiction. In 2012, the leaders for all three tribes met to rekindle a blame that was lost many years ago. Although this was a historic moment, there is still a long way to go to repair those bonds that were broken. The Cherokee Nation has legislative, executive and judicial branches with executive power coming from the Principal Chief, legislative power in the Tribal Council, and judicial power in the Tribal Supreme Court. The tribe's democratically elected government is led by a Principal Chief, Deputy Chief, and Tribal Council. Bill John Baker was inaugurated as Principal Chief for his first four-year term on November 6, 2011, after a special election in which Cherokee Freedmen were allowed to vote, while issues related to their membership in the nation are being resolved.

Cherokee Nation Historic Courthouse in Tahlequah which was built in 1849, is the oldest public building standing in the state of Oklahoma. Two tribal council members represent the wide range of citizenship, which is those who live outside the tribe's 14-county jurisdictional area in northeastern Oklahoma. There have been eleven satellite communities that have been organized by the tribe in areas of high Cherokee Nation populations. These communities are composed of a majority of enrolled Cherokee Nation citizens. These communities are a way for enrolled Cherokee citizens to connect with Cherokee heritage and culture, and to be more politically engaged. These communities are located in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and central Oklahoma.

The executive branch is also composed of five independent agencies which exercise power directly from the control of the Principal Chief which are Tax Commission, Election Commission, Environmental Protection Commission, Gaming Commission, and The Cherokee Phoenix.