These 17 Surnames Appear on the Cherokee Rolls — Is Yours One of Them?

Between 1898 and 1914, the Dawes Commission recorded the citizens of the Cherokee Nation in ledgers that still decide tribal citizenship today. In this documentary, we count down 17 surnames that appear on those rolls again and again, and the real families behind them: chiefs, ministers, lawmen, and outlaws. Then we look at what a name on the rolls actually proves, why so many family stories mention Cherokee blood, and how you can search the original records yourself, for free. Sources: https://www.archives.gov/research/nat... https://www.okhistory.org/research/dawes https://www.okhistory.org/publication... https://www.cherokee.org/all-services... https://www.doi.gov/tribes/cherokee https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/...