By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Seven months after voting for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to (EBCI) leave the NCAI (National Congress of American Indians), Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) has approved legislation for it to remain in the organization.
Dinilawigi voted unanimously to approve Res. No. 273 (2026) during its regular session on Thursday, Aug. 6 for the EBCI to remain in NCAI. This vote reversed the decision made when Dinilawigi voted unanimously to approve Res. No. 96 (2026) during its regular session on Thursday, Jan. 8 that approved the EBCI to leave the tribal organization after its current dues run out on Sept. 30.
Res. No. 273, submitted by Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks states, “Since Res. No. 96 (2026) was passed and ratified, EBCI leaders and NCAI leaders have met and discussed concerns and priorities; and the EBCI Tribal Council and Principal Chief have jointly determined that withdrawing from NCAI at this time would not be advantageous to the EBCI or to other federally recognized tribes that are NCAI members. This resolution expresses the authority and desire of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to maintain its membership in NCAI.”
During discussion on Res. No. 273 on Thursday, Paxton Myers, EBCI chief of staff, noted, “We are in full support of this…NCAI did come here and met with us and listened to our concerns, took those concerns back, and have made drastic steps to implement some of our changes that we wanted them to implement.”
He said NCAI has agreed to review the membership of other state recognized groups. “I think we need to present to NCAI some further clarification on the Southeast Caucus in general when they have the Annual Meeting in October to remove those state groups from the Southeast Caucus – put them in another Caucus or whatever they want to put them in and allow only federally recognized tribes in the Southeast Caucus. That way, we get the control back of that Caucus and have a voice again in NCAI.”
For context, a search of the current NCAI tribal directory lists the following state recognized groups identifying as having Cherokee ancestry:
- Cherokee Tribe of Northeast Alabama in Haleyville, Ala.
- Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama in Falkville, Ala.
- Four Winds Tribe, Louisiana Cherokee in Rosepine, La.
- Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee in Cumming, Ga.
- United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation in Guntersville, Ala.
There are 13 members of the Southeast Caucus with 7 being federally recognized.
On Thursday, Ugvwiyuhi Hicks commented, “They are making progress as it relates to changing some of the stipulations around state recognition and how that impacts, especially the Southeast Caucus. I think we need to stay at the table.
I think we’re got to keep ourselves at the table. Let’s continue to push what we think is right. The Eastern Band has created a reputation in Indian Country which I think is very positive…I think we continue to keep that momentum moving forward.”
Res. No. 96 discussed the frustration that led to the EBCI wishing to leave the organization to begin with. It states in part, “…the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians supports the mission of NCAI, but the Tribe is discouraged by the shifting priorities of NCAI.”
It continues, “NCAI has moved away from serving the interests of federally recognized tribes which it was founded to serve and that have a trust relationship with government-to-government status with the United States of America; and the interests non-federally recognized groups often diverge significantly from the interests of federally recognized tribes, and the divergence harms federally recognized tribes and diminishes their sovereignty.”
The One Feather reached out to NCAI on the names of the state-recognized groups that have been removed recently but has not heard back by press time.
