A little about John Cornsilk and his United Cherokee Nation (UCN).
John operates also from an old document, 1839 Constitution amended in 2000, that states any Cherokee Citizen who leaves the 14 counties (Indian Territory) is considered a traitor and is denied membership in the tribe forever.
"Article I.
Sec. 1. The boundary of the Cherokee Nation shall be that described in the treaty of 1833 between the United States and Western Cherokees, subject to such extension as may be made in the adjustment of the unfinished business with the United States.
Sec. 2. The lands owned by, held in trust for, or otherwise under the superintendence of the Cherokee Nation shall remain common property; but the improvements made thereon, and in the possession of the citizens respectively who made, or may rightfully be in possession of them: Provided, that the citizens of the Nation possessing exclusive and indefeasible right to their improvements, as expressed in this article, shall possess no right or power to dispose of their improvements, in any manner whatever, to the United States, individual States, or to individual citizens thereof;
and that, whenever any citizen shall remove with their effects out of the limits of this Nation, and become a citizen of any other government, all their rights and privileges as a citizen of this Nation shall cease:
Provided, nevertheless, That the National Council shall have power to re-admit, by law, to all the rights of citizenship, any such person or persons who may, at any time, desire to return to the Nation, on memorializing the National Council for such readmission."
This group is a faction within the Cherokee Nation and has no legal authority and does not speak for the Cherokee Nation. This is an example of too many Chiefs and not enough Indians....:)
This treaty stems from an old Ross/Ridge controversy back in 1839 and the ancient blood laws of the Cherokee Nation.
Basically the Ross/Ridge dispute is this: Ancient Cherokee Law, forbid any Cherokee from selling land without the Cherokee Council's approval. Major Ridge, who was a full blood Cherokee, saw the writing on the wall in the 1830s, he knew removal was coming, it was just a matter of time, when he signed the Treaty with Washington to trade the Cherokee land in the East for Cherokee land in the West and he also got a land patent for some of that land, this being contrary to Cherokee Blood law at the time, his action evoked the Ancient Blood law. This group of Cherokee moved West prior to the rounding up of the Cherokee in the 1838 forced removal of Andrew Jackson, contrary to a Supreme Court decision of the time. John Ross and his group remained in the old Cherokee Nation in the East, it is mainly his group that was in the forced part of the Trail of Tears to the West. There was also an Old Settler's group, that removed prior the Treaty Party departing.
At any rate, when the Ross Party started arriving in the Indian Territory Major Ridge and his family (this included all the old clan families), became the subject of the old Cherokee Blood law, Major Ridge, his son and several of the Ridge Party members were murdered for signing the treaty for the land exchange. When this began to happen many families in the Ridge Party began to leave the Indian Territory for concern for their families and retribution by the opposing party. This promoted the agreement or constitution above among the Ross faction to prompt, the exclusion from tribal membership of those who had fled the Cherokee Nation at the time Major Ridge and others were being murdered. Later generations credit Major Ridge with saving the Cherokee Nation from extinction.
Interesting how he will fight for the Freedmen, who are non Cherokee but live in Oklahoma but considers those of us who are Cherokee Citizens and live outside the 14 counties of Oklahoma as Traitors. (14 counties of Oklahoma are those counties in the NE part of the state) and in the past there has been a movement to disenroll those living outside the 14 county area and we ARE Cherokee.
For a more indepth look at this historical time period on DVD through Rich Heape Films, Inc.:
"Trail of Tears Cherokee Legacy" produced by Rich-Heape Films, Inc. is a long format Director's Cut, written by Daniel Blake Smith, it chronicles the ethnic cleansing and the hardships endured by the Indians of Southeast America in the 1830s with particular emphasis on the Cherokee Trail of Tears removal. Approximate running time 2 hours. Format: DVD
THIS TWO HOUR DOCUMENTARY EXPLORES AMERICA'S DARKEST PERIOD:
PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON'S INDIAN REMOVAL ACT OF 1830 AND THE FORCED REMOVAL OF THE CHEROKEE NATION TO OKLAHOMA IN 1838... Thousands of Cherokees died during the Trail of Tears, nearly a quarter of the Nation. They suffered beyond imagination and when they finally arrived in Indian Territory, they arrived almost without any children and with very few elders, in a way they arrived with no past and no future.
http://www.richheape.com/the-trail-of-tears.htm
John operates also from an old document, 1839 Constitution amended in 2000, that states any Cherokee Citizen who leaves the 14 counties (Indian Territory) is considered a traitor and is denied membership in the tribe forever.
"Article I.
Sec. 1. The boundary of the Cherokee Nation shall be that described in the treaty of 1833 between the United States and Western Cherokees, subject to such extension as may be made in the adjustment of the unfinished business with the United States.
Sec. 2. The lands owned by, held in trust for, or otherwise under the superintendence of the Cherokee Nation shall remain common property; but the improvements made thereon, and in the possession of the citizens respectively who made, or may rightfully be in possession of them: Provided, that the citizens of the Nation possessing exclusive and indefeasible right to their improvements, as expressed in this article, shall possess no right or power to dispose of their improvements, in any manner whatever, to the United States, individual States, or to individual citizens thereof;
and that, whenever any citizen shall remove with their effects out of the limits of this Nation, and become a citizen of any other government, all their rights and privileges as a citizen of this Nation shall cease:
Provided, nevertheless, That the National Council shall have power to re-admit, by law, to all the rights of citizenship, any such person or persons who may, at any time, desire to return to the Nation, on memorializing the National Council for such readmission."
This group is a faction within the Cherokee Nation and has no legal authority and does not speak for the Cherokee Nation. This is an example of too many Chiefs and not enough Indians....:)
This treaty stems from an old Ross/Ridge controversy back in 1839 and the ancient blood laws of the Cherokee Nation.
Basically the Ross/Ridge dispute is this: Ancient Cherokee Law, forbid any Cherokee from selling land without the Cherokee Council's approval. Major Ridge, who was a full blood Cherokee, saw the writing on the wall in the 1830s, he knew removal was coming, it was just a matter of time, when he signed the Treaty with Washington to trade the Cherokee land in the East for Cherokee land in the West and he also got a land patent for some of that land, this being contrary to Cherokee Blood law at the time, his action evoked the Ancient Blood law. This group of Cherokee moved West prior to the rounding up of the Cherokee in the 1838 forced removal of Andrew Jackson, contrary to a Supreme Court decision of the time. John Ross and his group remained in the old Cherokee Nation in the East, it is mainly his group that was in the forced part of the Trail of Tears to the West. There was also an Old Settler's group, that removed prior the Treaty Party departing.
At any rate, when the Ross Party started arriving in the Indian Territory Major Ridge and his family (this included all the old clan families), became the subject of the old Cherokee Blood law, Major Ridge, his son and several of the Ridge Party members were murdered for signing the treaty for the land exchange. When this began to happen many families in the Ridge Party began to leave the Indian Territory for concern for their families and retribution by the opposing party. This promoted the agreement or constitution above among the Ross faction to prompt, the exclusion from tribal membership of those who had fled the Cherokee Nation at the time Major Ridge and others were being murdered. Later generations credit Major Ridge with saving the Cherokee Nation from extinction.
Interesting how he will fight for the Freedmen, who are non Cherokee but live in Oklahoma but considers those of us who are Cherokee Citizens and live outside the 14 counties of Oklahoma as Traitors. (14 counties of Oklahoma are those counties in the NE part of the state) and in the past there has been a movement to disenroll those living outside the 14 county area and we ARE Cherokee.
For a more indepth look at this historical time period on DVD through Rich Heape Films, Inc.:
"Trail of Tears Cherokee Legacy" produced by Rich-Heape Films, Inc. is a long format Director's Cut, written by Daniel Blake Smith, it chronicles the ethnic cleansing and the hardships endured by the Indians of Southeast America in the 1830s with particular emphasis on the Cherokee Trail of Tears removal. Approximate running time 2 hours. Format: DVD
THIS TWO HOUR DOCUMENTARY EXPLORES AMERICA'S DARKEST PERIOD:
PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON'S INDIAN REMOVAL ACT OF 1830 AND THE FORCED REMOVAL OF THE CHEROKEE NATION TO OKLAHOMA IN 1838... Thousands of Cherokees died during the Trail of Tears, nearly a quarter of the Nation. They suffered beyond imagination and when they finally arrived in Indian Territory, they arrived almost without any children and with very few elders, in a way they arrived with no past and no future.
http://www.richheape.com/the-trail-of-tears.htm