Between the year
1902 and 1905 the Dawes commission enrolled citizens of the Cherokee Nation for the
purpose of allotment and the final dissolution of the Cherokee Nation. The book, And Still
The Waters Run by Angie Debo, exposed the greed and corruption in what we have learned was
one of the biggest land grabs of the twentieth century. Once the allotments had been made,
greedy speculators and politicians set about the business of swindling the unsuspecting
Indians out of their property. Within twenty years 80% of all Indian lands in Oklahoma was
in white hands.
Although American citizenship was part of the
agreement between the U.S. Government and the Cherokee Nation, many Cherokees did not
enroll willingly. Redbird Smith, the image reflected in lamp, was taken in chains to be
enrolled at Muskogee. Today our citizenship in the Cherokee Nation is based on the very
roll that was meant to do away with the Cherokee forever.
It could take you
days or even weeks scouring the web, looking at sites or reviewing names
books, talking to the elders. The likelihood you'll spend much of your
precious time ultimately to only find a few hundred names is high. Many
names are only listed as Native American and not by tribe. A lot of the
sites and books all publish the same information so your time could be
greatly wasted. You probably have lots better things to do than search
endlessly for Native Names and Meanings.
