Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

8-2014

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Pan-African Studies

Degree Program

Pan-African Studies, MA

Committee Chair

Jones, Ricky L.

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Best, Latrica

Committee Member

Phillips, Selene

Subject

African Americans--Relations with Indians; Indians of North America--Ethnic identity; African Americans--Ethnic identity

Abstract

This research investigates the Cherokee Freedmen, who are people of African-American descent and peoples of mixed African-American and Native American descent, who were once enslaved by Cherokees in the Cherokee Nation, and who have articulated their identity and tribal citizenship status as Cherokee Natives in the Cherokee Nation. Upon emancipation, the Cherokee Nation adopted the Cherokee Freedmen as equal citizens in the Cherokee Nation under article nine from the Treaty of 1866, but this changed after citizens were recorded on the Dawes Rolls based upon blood quantum. The theoretical framework of this research is Antonio Gramsci’s theoretical perspective of cultural hegemony and core-periphery theory. Due to cultural hegemony, these citizenship rolls are still what articulate tribal citizenship status in the Cherokee Nation today. This research uses an Afro-Indigenous epistemological approach. Also, this Master’s thesis addresses the identity politics behind citizenship status today for the descendants of Freedmen as well as legitimizes their authenticity as Cherokee Native citizens, for their citizenship status has been revoked from the Cherokee Nation, because they do not meet the required blood quantum.

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