The Dawes Rolls were controversial in their time. They were a census of Native Americans. As we have seen, over time who was or was not a Cherokee, deserving of Tribal Membership, varied. At one point anyone who was Black and lived in the territory was a member of the tribe - if they were recognized or declared within 6 months. However some Cherokee had held slaves while others married Freedmen.
Excerpt page 116 - "On January 31, 1899. a vote was held to determine what to do with the proposed Dawes Commission Treaty; the conservatives lost by 2, 015 votes in their efforts to reject all agreements with the commission. This draft agreement, though accepted by the tribe, was nonetheless rejected by Congress as insufficient. An agreement was finally settled upon and adopted in 1902. In 1901 the Dawes Commission began working towards compiling the final tribal rolls to decide who got land allotments. The commission ultimately broke down those residing on Cherokee land into three categories: Cherokees, whites, and freedmen. All told, the counted inhabitants of the Cherokee Nation numbered 41,824 total including 4,919 freedmen, 8703 "full blooded" and 27, 916 "mixed bloods" There were over 1,000 freedmen who had previously been citizen
Tribal Government ENDED.
The Cherokee (and other tribes) had their own rolls and were not in agreement with the governments, for they had expelled people or revoked tribal membership in the past, and the government tried to compare the two rolls as well.
Excerpt page 122 -
"The final Cherokee Nation rolls included 36,619 Indians, including 27,916 "mixed bloods" and 8,703 "full bloods" In addition, the commission included 286 whites and 4.919 freedman, bring the final total up to 41,824. These were made citizens of the Untieds States and (the state of) Oklahoma."
These past weeks, I've excerpted some important part of Cherokee Nation Citizenship by Aaron Kushner, a highly recommended book. There is more to the story, and if you find this of interest, please get yourself a copy or demand that your library get a copy for the shelves.
C 2026 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy
