Who is a Cherokee?

HERE is the Cherokee web-page with documents about a recent tribal law-suit concerning criteria for enrolled membership.  The long history is complex but the issue is less so.  The tribal constitution requires that any enrolled member have at least one ancestor listed on Dawes rolls as an Indian.  Some assert that this amounts to racism because it based membership on "blood."  Others note that the Dawes roll recorded those with African-American and Native-American ancestry as black thereby masking some persons' legitimate claim.  In contrast those wtih White and Native ancestry were recorded as Indian.  Still others call into the question the authenticity  of persons with a single ancestor, several generations removed and who have not
associated with tribal communities or culture claiming to be Cherokee.

All this is particularly interesting in light of our conversation in class today.  Worth noting:

page from the Dawes Rolls

1.  the tribe is a nation which is a somewhat different sort of group than ethnicity among American citizens and also different from  a voluntary organization such as the Rotary.  
2. the matter arises now that there are benefits to be gained.
3. the interaction here of those who want to claim membership with those   who have authority to grant it or to deny it from within the group.