The Cherokee Nation Is Terminated and Does Not Exist
What does it mean for a Native American Tribe to have its Council Fires Extinguished? It is a complete ending of it government (Council) and that it is no longer the same tribe that it once was nor did it possess any of the rights and privileges of the extinguished government.
The Cherokee Chief, John Ross in 1843 agrees the Council Fires of the Cherokee were extinguished when they Crossed the Mississippi River. Why? Because Cherokee Nation Law removed citizenship for anyone who moved outside the boundaries of the Cherokee in the Southeast. Their government ceased to exist once they crossed the Mississippi because none of the Cherokee who crossed the Mississippi were citizens any longer.
Chief William Charles Rogers, the last Chief of the Cherokee, in November of 1904 made the announcement that "the Government which our forefathers cherished . . . has been sentenced to die," because of the Cherokee Agreement with the Congress in 1902. The Cherokee agreement of 1902 officially terminated the Cherokee Nation and then again in 1906, the Curtis Act finalized the complete Termination of the Cherokee inclusive of their government, treaty rights and privileges, and territorial lands (not reservation).
When Sourcing Documents, it is vitally important to use the entirety of the document so as to not be accused of "cherry picking" or "proof texting." That is why this following article is so long, but it is well worth the read for the payoff on page 23. All of the Nations included agree that when they crossed the Mississippi River, that their Ancient Council Fires had been EXTINGUISHED
Chief William Charles Rogers' Article Begins on Page 144
Chronicles of Oklahoma Volume 17, No. 2 June, 1939
Further Proof they no longer have a territory (not reservation) is that their council agreed to the 1902 Agreement as established in Paragraph 1 of this Allotment Deed below. They began issuing Allotment Deeds to individual people as privately owned lands thus eliminating the Territory (not reservation) of the Cherokee.
It is finally time for the Cherokee in Oklahoma to admit that they no longer exist as a government. The actual truth is that they are a Private Corporation chartered in the state of Oklahoma, not an Indian Tribe. Further, they have never sought a Federal Charter as a Native American Tribe nor have they made application to enter the Part 83 process.
(C) This document was produced at the request of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on July 18, 2019, to document the History, Anthropology, Culture, Religion, and Archaeology of The Chickamauga Nation.