Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama


The Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama is a state-recognized tribe of people claiming Cherokee heritage, based in northern Alabama. It was among the first seven organizations that Alabama granted state recognition under the Davis-Strong Act in 1984.
Recognition by an American state government is not the same as recognition on the federal level or recognition by continually existing Indian tribes.
Both the federally recognized Cherokee Nation and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians oppose federal recognition of the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama, listing them among "fraudulent groups."

Heritage groups

Numerous organizations in the US identify as having Cherokee heritage, but have no documented ancestry or connection to the federally recognized Cherokee Nation, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, or United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. Some of these groups have applied for federal recognition but been denied.

History

After the passage of the Indian Removal Act in the 1830, the majority of the Cherokee people were forcibly removed from the Southeastern United States. The approximately 1,000 Cherokee people who remained in the Southeast formed the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and their tribe continues to live in the community known as the Qualla Boundary.
In 1980 a group of people ineligible to enroll in any federally recognized Native American tribe set up a nonprofit heritage club known as "The Echota Cherokee." In 1984, when the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission was established to represent Native American interests in the state, the group attained state recognition. The group is headquartered in Falkville, Alabama.
In 1997 the Echota Cherokee organization reported that they had 22,000 members. Only 21 members participated in the cited survey. They do not state what criteria they use for membership. Their stated accomplishments and goals at this time were that they had elected a council, and hoped to offer "instruction in the Cherokee language through the Alabama public school system."
The Echota Cherokee have a representative on the Alabama Indian Affairs Commission and the Inter-Tribal Council of Alabama's WIA Program, to assist workforce improvement.
The Echota are not federally recognized as an Indian tribe, nor are they recognized by any of the federally recognized Cherokee communities.