Will Rogers, the world famous humorist born in Claremore, Oklahoma, was Cherokee. When asked to respond to the question, "But you are an American citizen?", Will had a quick reply:
"Well, I think I am. My folks were Indian. Both my mother and father had Cherokee blood in them. (I was) born and raised in Indian Territory. 'Course we're not the Americans whose ancestors came over on the Mayflower, but we met them at the boat when they landed."
There is no such thing as 'part-Cherokee.' Either you're Cherokee or you’re not.
It isn't the quantity of Cherokee blood in your veins that is important, but the quality of it . . . your pride in it. I have seen full-bloods who have virtually no idea of the great legacy entrusted to their care. Yet, I have seen people with as little as 1/500th blood quantum who inspire the spirits of their ancestors because they make being Cherokee a proud part of a their everyday life.
Jim Pell: Principal Chief of the North Alabama Cherokee Tribe
When the last red man shall have become a myth among the white men, when your children' s children think themselves alone in the field, upon the highway or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone. In all the earth there is no place dedicated to solitude. At night when the streets of your cities are silent, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land. The white man will never be alone
Chief Seattle, Suquamish/Duwamish 1790-1866
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