CHEROKEE ORGANIZERS TO MEET HERE SATURDAY

When Chief Beverly Baker Northup and the tribal council of the Northern Cherokee Nation meet Saturday at Trail of Tears State Park it will be the first "official" presence of the Cherokee in Southeast Missouri since thousands of Indians came through the area in a forced relocation to Oklahoma.

"It's like a city council meeting, only it's about the running of the tribe," said Timexx Rainwalker, the tribal council representative for Southeast Missouri.

Among the issues to be discussed, Rainwalker said, is whether the Northern Cherokee Nation should seek federal recognition as a sovereign nation.

Council members may also discuss Internet websites being established to provide information about Cherokee heritage and tribal issues, he said.

Northup and council members will visit Otahki Bushyhead Hildebrand's grave on the west side of Green's Ferry before the 2 p.m. meeting at the visitors center, Rainwalker said.

The decision to hold the council meeting in Southeast Missouri was prompted by Cherokee descendants' growing interest in becoming involved in tribal issues, he said.

The "Lost Cherokee" is the descendants of Indians who escaped during the Trail of Tears relocation or who were already living west of the Mississippi in Southeast Missouri and Northeastern Arkansas.

Northern Cherokee Nation officials are trying to track down those descendants and enroll them as official tribal members.

Membership in the tribe does not require a minimal percentage of Cherokee blood, but applicants do have to be able to trace their descent.

The eastern and western Cherokee Nations already have federal recognition. The Eastern Nation is made up of descendants of Cherokees who defied the forced migration, while the Western Nation's members are descendants of the Cherokee relocated to Oklahoma.

Response from descendants of the "Lost Cherokee" has been good, Rainwalker said.

"We've had a lot of calls."

There has been so much interest in Southeast Missouri that a tribal council office is now open in Cape Girardeau at 210 Independence.

"Most of the people in this area are real excited (about tribal issues), but they don't know where to go or what to do," Rainwalker said.

The office will be a site for information on Cherokee tribal and religious history and rights, scholarships and other assistance and "just a place to come and talk," he said.

"In this area, people need to understand what it means to be Cherokee," he said. "There are a lot of people who wander around and wonder who they are. They realize something about themselves when they learn about the Cherokee.

"I always thought being Cherokee is not just a matter of blood, but a matter of being. It's something that you feel inside."

Applications for tribal membership are available at the Cape Girardeau office. Call 334-4485 for more information.

Rainwalker said Cherokee descendants in the area are becoming more active, meeting with school and civic organizations to teach them about Indian heritage.

Classes on genealogy will be offered at the council office. The office also will feature Cherokee arts, music and other items for sale. Proceeds will benefit the tribe, Rainwalker said.

An estimated 6,000 Cherokee inhabited the Old Louisiana Territory at the beginning of the 19th century.

As European settlers began inhabiting the region, discrimination against the Indians grew to the point that Missouri law prohibited Indians from living in the state without federal permission.

That statute was repealed in 1909, but many Cherokee descendants kept their heritage hidden.

In 1983, the Cherokee became the only Indian tribe to receive official recognition from the state of Missouri.