By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Cherokee Code of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians gives tribal leaders the authority to exclude individuals, including EBCI tribal members, from its lands. This process is sometimes referred to as banishment but is referred to as exclusion in the Code.
Basic law on exclusion
This process was added to the Cherokee Code with the passage of Ord. No. 92 (1994) on March 22, 1994. The whereas portion of that legislation states, “Federal law has long established that federally recognized Indian tribes possess inherent sovereign authority, either as a government or as a landowner, to lawfully exclude persons from Indian tribal territory in order to protect the integrity and order of its territory and the welfare of its members.”
Chapter 2 of the Cherokee Code (Exclusion Powers of Tribe) outlines these powers, and Sec. 2-1(a) states, “The Tribal Council shall have the power to exclude enrolled tribal members when necessary to protect the integrity and law and order on tribal lands and territory or the welfare of its members.”
Sec. 2-1(b) gives Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) the authority to “exclude other persons”, i.e. people not enrolled with the EBCI, as well.
Sec. 2-4 outlines the terms of exclusion and states, “The Tribal Council may exclude persons from Cherokee trust lands for limited periods of time, indefinite periods of time, or permanently, at the discretion of Tribal Council.”
Sec. 2-7 outlines who can start the exclusion process and states, “The following persons may bring a request to the Tribal Council for an exclusion action against a person who is subject to this Chapter are: (1) The Principal Chief, (2) The Vice Chief, (3) Members of the Tribal Council, (4) The Chief of the Cherokee Police Department, (5) The Tribal Prosecutor, and (6) The Attorney General.”
The Cherokee Code gives tribal leaders the right to issue an emergency temporary exclusion.
Sec. 2-9(b) states, “When a Law Enforcement Officer has probable cause to believe that a non-member has committed a Drug Offense, the officer shall bring the non-member before the designated official without unnecessary delay to determine whether a Writ of Emergency Temporary Exclusion is necessary to protect the integrity and law and order on Tribal lands and territory or the welfare of its members. The commission of any Drug Offense by a non-member shall constitute a per se threat to the integrity and law and order on Tribal lands and territory or the welfare of its members.”
Ord. No. 390 (2025) was approved by Dinilawigi on March 6, 2025 and amends the title of Cherokee Code Sec. 14-70.24 to now read Harboring, concealing, or aiding excluded persons. Sec. 14-70.24(a) was amended to read, “It shall be unlawful for any person to aid or assist a person who has been excluded from tribal lands pursuant to law to: (1) Harbor, conceal, or transport while on tribal lands…”
Exclusion Registry
An official listing of all persons who have been excluded by the EBCI was established with the passage of Ord. No. 185 (2022) on Oct. 24, 2022 which added Sec. 2-12 (Exclusion Registry) to the Code. The Cherokee One Feather is tasked with maintaining the digital registry which is housed online at: https://theonefeather.com/ebci-banishment-list/
The information contained in that registry is handled in Sec. 2-12(b) and Sec. 2-12(c). The first states that the registry “shall contain, at a minimum, the name of the person who is excluded from tribal lands, the date the exclusion resolution was passed by Tribal Council, and the number of the resolution.”
Sec. 2-12(c) states, “The Exclusion Registry should contain a copy of the resolution excluding a person from Tribal trust lands, a photograph of the excluded person, as well as any other identifying information so that the public may be informed of persons who have been excluded from Tribal trust lands.”
Enrolled Members
Sec. 2-6 deals with exclusion of EBCI tribal members and states, “If an enrolled Tribal member is permanently excluded from Cherokee trust lands, then the member’s name may be removed from the membership roll of the Tribe by resolution of Tribal Council and all privileges pertaining thereto may be suspended indefinitely. If a first-generation descendant is permanently excluded from Cherokee trust lands, Tribal Council may also, by resolution, suspend or revoke the privileges and benefits that the excluded person would otherwise have been eligible to receive as a first-generation descendant.”
To date, no member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has been banished under this process.
