Talk:Cherokee descent

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Comment[edit]

A challenge with your new article is that Cherokee ancestry means having ancestors that are Cherokee, so the overwhelming majority of enrolled tribal citizens have Cherokee ancestry. Nothing in the term implies that someone would not be an enrolled tribal member. Actually, when it gets down to it, I cannot think of a single person with Wikipedia article who actually has documented Cherokee ancestry who isn't enrolled in a tribe—except for Native people enrolled in other tribes, such as Joy Harjo or Eddie Chuculate. Yuchitown (talk) 17:00, 30 December 2018 (UTC)Yuchitown[reply]

@Yuchitown The only person I can think of that probably does have verifiable Cherokee ancestry without being enrolled would be Buddy Holly. It's technically possible to be descended from Cherokee without being enrolled Cherokee, but it isn't terribly common. Such special cases are dwarfed and swamped by the vast wave of white and black people claiming to be "part Cherokee" without any documentation. Almost everyone listed in the American people of Cherokee descent category has unverified, self-reported ancestry as far as I can tell. Probably just the usual Southern family folk tales. This makes that category a huge mess, because there's often no way to prove it one way or the other. Often times the cited references are just the person claiming to be "a touch Cherokee" or whatever. But it makes me wonder if this page should be titled something like Cherokee ancestry myth, or if maybe that should be its own page. Bohemian Baltimore (talk) 09:40, 10 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Only on Wikipedia can you have a three-year gap in conversation! :) Basically, I think "descent" articles and categories are compromises to ease the public in understanding that unsubstantiated claims of Indigenous identity are, more often than not, baseless. The real work needs to be done through journalism, not here. Also, Buddy Holly?? Lots of people fled Indian Territory during the Civil War never to return, but his family is not among them. Yuchitown (talk) 23:27, 10 October 2021 (UTC)Yuchitown[reply]

There are tribes with blood quantum requirements where "descent" is entirely meaningful. That could include both Eastern Band and UKB. For the Cherokee Nation, it's a bit more cut and dried. As the article originator, I agree with Yuchitown that this article represents a compromise that respects NPOV while educating readers on an often misunderstood topic.Vizjim (talk) 09:24, 15 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Descendant needs to be defined, not blanked[edit]

@Vizjim: I don't understand why you have twice now reverted Yuchitown and myself.[1],[2] We are not calling unenrolled descendants "pretendians". I'm not sure why you are reading that into the wording there. But if someone has no documented ancestors, relatives, or community involvement, they aren't a descendant. That needs to be included in the text. A documented descendant exists in the grey area in between enrolled and non. - CorbieVreccan ^☊ ☼

@Vizjim:, you stated, "you could have a parent who is an Eastern Band member but you do not meet the blood quantum requirement, therefore becoming "of Cherokee descent" without being a pretendian". The child of a tribal member would not have to self-identify. They would have documented proof that they are indeed a descendant. On the other hand, an individual with no ancestral paper trail, who is unknown by the community they are claiming and can in to way show ties to the community they are claiming - those would be individuals who self-identify and who are, more than likely, pretendians. Of course there are exceptions to the rule such as scoop kids. Indigenous girl (talk) 21:43, 29 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I have added some more sourced material from Kim TallBear and David Cornsilk to contextualize the issues of community acceptance and recognition. Many descendants participate in community, and are accepted. Real descendants have relatives, and are not pretendians. - CorbieVreccan ^☊ ☼ 22:33, 29 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Listing known "Cherokee" Pretendians[edit]

The Pretendian article lists a number of prominent Pretendians, but shouldn't this article have a section mentioning Pretendians who have been exposed for specifically claiming to be Cherokee? People like Smith, Warren, Depp, Churchill, etc. Bohemian Baltimore (talk) 21:38, 5 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]