ᎢᏤᎢ ᏚᎩᎷ

Federal Recognition Status

       As of the First of January 2011 our recognition has not yet been processed by the BIA.  The states of Missouri and Arkansas have both recognized us on numerous occasions by executive mandate with Proclamations signed by governors of both states including Kit Bond from Missouri and Mike Huckabee from Arkansas.  Boone County has also formally recognized us.  In order to better serve our citizens and our Indian and non Indian neighbors throughout Old Louisiana our Nation has a policy that prohibits gambling and tobacco sales (except for ceremonial purposes) and Chief Northup has declared that the government will not now nor ever take legal action against any state or nation demanding reparations for lost land, belongings or hardships suffered at the hands of the USA and individual state governments.  Our goal is to continue to work in a spirit of unity (gadugi) with all of our neighbors to promote the well being of one another.

      On Saturday the 18th of October 2008 we completed and mailed in what we believed would be our final submission to the BIA.  They should have received the package on Thursday the 23rd of October.  They responded promptly requesting more information and we are currently compiling their requests.  

       Again on Saturday the 5th of December 2009 we completed and mailed in what we believed would be our final submission to the BIA.  We have begun a project on correcting the technical problems of our submitted material (having our rolls in the proper format, etc.) and have enjoyed a substantial amount of volunteer help in these areas.  There will be additional steps to be completed by our citizens and government and we will attempt to keep you informed as we progress by our websites and by the newsletters that we have been sending out.  We hope to better understand where we are in the recognition process shortly and we will furnish responses as soon as we have them.  We are not waiting for the recognition to go forward with our nation.  A lot of excitement is in the air with the beginning of 2011.

New Office and Contact Information

       One chapter in the history of the Northern Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory has closed as we are no longer located at Buttonwood Business Center.  Our time there was well used and we were able to organize our member files and prepare for the next step: the eventual purchase of a place of our own to tend to tribal business.  It will take time before we get to this next step, but we are approaching it and have decided that we can make better use of the many donations offered by our citizens if we are not paying rent to one officewhile saving for another.

       We would like to offer our thanks and appreciation to the Buttonwood staff and everyone in New Toogaloo who donated their free time to work without pay towards organizing our paper work and answering phone calls and responding to letters.  If you need to reach us as of February 1, 2011 please use the following information:

Northern Cherokee Nation                        of the Old Louisiana Territory
PMB242
3305 Clark Lane
Columbia, MO 65202

ncnoltnation@yahoo.com
             

As always, keep an eye on itsedugalu.com for updates on current events and changes in information!

Education Day at the Pow Wow

       In Topeka, Kansas members of the Northern Cherokee Nation of The Louisiana Purchase including the Awiakta District's Mike and Conchita Ballard were involved in the Intertribal Pow Wow and Education Day the last weekend of August that brought in about 700 children in their third grade classes along with their teachers and some 10 international students from Washington University.  For more information follow the link below.

NORTHERN CHEROKEE NATION

OF THE

OLD LOUISIANA TERRITORY

NEWS

To view the most recent Northern Cherokee Newsletter online please click on the following link:

                 DECEMBER 2010 NEWSLETTER 

                         2011 REUNION!

                            15 October 2011

Oakland Park in Columbia, MO

From 10 in the morning until 7 in the evening with a nearby play ground for children.  Go to www.ncnolt.org to see the full flyer!

CHEROKEE PROMOTERS was started by one our beloved men who is no longer with us.  Dewey Neal came up with this idea years ago in order to bring in donations.  All those who send in a donation will be part of the Cherokee Promoters and in each newsletter we will provide your name and the amount you give.  We know many of you are struggling with finances, but as we’ve often suggested, just $1 a month from each citizen would allow your tribe to excel.  At this time your Council Representative must pay their own way to travel for meetings; this means money for gas, motel and food.  We make no promises, but we hope the future for each of our citizens will bring help with education, health care, house, food, etc.  It is also our hope and desire to bring in tribal enterprises that will make the tribe money on an on going basis and provide jobs for our citizens.  Bur, for now, it is going to take all of us working together to make this happen.

If you wish to be part of our Cherokee Promoters, please send in your donation with the attached.  And, thank each of you for being part of this and helping our tribe prosper.

____Yes, I wish to be a Cherokee Promoter.

Enclosed is $_________for my donation this month and each month hereafter.

Enclosed is $_________for my one time yearly donation.

Name____________________________________________

(If you wish to have your name withheld, please let us know.)

We Are Not Going To Be Conquered

    The Northern Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory is alive and well today.  Our government continues to work hard at meeting the needs of the Northern Cherokee people and we are very proud of the volunteer work by our own people that has pushed us through challenging periods of mass poverty and racial discrimination.  The state of Missouri and the United States government in recent years have both been highly supportive of our work to regain Federal recognition as well as many Native individuals and communities throughout the United States. 

       We have been financially supported my innumerable Northern Cherokees to whom we are very grateful and we have received federal grant money that we have used to push forward our application for federal recognition.  These grants are not given freely, they are given with great scrutiny.  Unfortunately the administration and maintenance of a governing body, no matter how modest, can be costly.  As grant money has run out and additional requirements for finishing our petition for recognition have been added the leadership of the Nation has put forward money from their own pockets to maintain the course. 

       The enrollment committee has been hard at work establishing the Northern Cherokees.  Some applications are denied and some are accepted according to parameters established by the tribe to meet the requirements of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.  Some people have had concerns about the lengthy process of having enrollment cards replaced and rightfully so.  With the applications of thousands of Northern Cherokees stored in an office filled with filing cabinets all dedicated to tribal business we require a great amount of volunteer work to attend to individual issues.  Don't fret!  We are continously working on a long line of requests and making progress slowly but surely.

       We were asked recently about our enrollment process.  Proof of enrollment is the responsibility of enrollee.  We ask a donation be sent with every adult application to aid the cause of the Nation and the amount and requirements for each application are located at the website: www.ncnolt.net  A base roll is kept by the government of the main families that make up the original Northern Cherokees from whom we are all descended and we use legal documents to link families together.  We have not enrolled any Non-Indians.  Furthermore we have not enrolled any Non-Cherokees either.  This does not mean that people refused enrollment are Non-Indian or Non-Cherokee, but that they have not met the necessary requirements to establish themselves as Northern Cherokee.  Usually information regarding what is missing from an application is sent along with a proposal of non-enrollment.

       We have also been asked about the history of our leadership under Chief Beverly Baker.  Most general information concerning the Northern Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory has been written in the book "We Are Not Yet Conquere."  For those who have not read the book or are less familiar with our history, Beverly Baker is the elected leader of the Executive Branch of the Northern Cherokee and has been sustained by the Judicial Branch of Elders.  She has worked voraciously for the tribe since 1983 and has taught the government how to operate under the jurisdiction of the Unites States.  In the early 1990's she was voted out of the office of Chief and continued to work for a year with the new administration until the Judicial branch discovered an error in the previous election.  Appropriate time was given for the elected leader to correct errors in her election application and she failed to do so.  This led to the reinstatement of Chief Beverly Baker as the runner up of the election and she has not been voted out of office again since.  Chief Beverly Baker's legitimacy as Chief was recognized by Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan when he made a state declaration confirming that the Northern Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory is the one and only Northern Cherokee Nation recognized in 1983 by then Govenor Christopher "Kit" Bond.

       The government currently welcomes questions and suggestions to better serve its citizens and neighbors.  Feel free to contact us on our websites or by e-mail.