Do I have to enroll my daughter in the same tribe as I am or the one closest to me?

Question

I am enrolled in the Talihina Tribe in Talihina, OK. I now live in North Carolina. I want to enroll my baby, 5 months old, into the tribe but do not know if I would enroll into my tribe or the one closest to me? I moved from Oklahoma years ago when I was a child and do not know where to enroll her. We are Cherokee if that helps?

Answer 1

If you are Choctaw you are of one of the Five Civilized Tribes.  My family are Creek but we had to enroll through the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma.

We did it by mailing the application and necessary birth certificate and genealogy info to the main tribal office in Muscogee, OK.

There are a few tribes that have several offices run by different clans  that are recognized by the government.  If you have one near you, I would go there. If not, then you will have to go through the OK office. Call them and find out what to do.

Answer 2

I would recommend your own tribe especially if you can do it by mail.

Answer 3

I believe it needs to be the one you are enrolled in. My husband is a tribal member with a Chippewa tribe and although there are several in our state, he must enroll with the one his great grandmother was a member of, so must our children.

Congrats on your daughter - 5 mos is a great age!

Answer 4

You would enroll your daughter in the same tribe you are enrolled in.  Since you are enrolled in the Choctaw Nation, you would seek enrollment for your daughter in the same tribe.  The website for enrollment in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is http://www.choctawnation.com/Programs/ds... Although you live in Cherokee, NC, your citizenship is with the Choctaw Nation and not the Eastern Band of Cherokee, the tribe closest to your current place of residence..