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 …show more content…
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