Nancy, Jackie, and others researching Cherokee families... Does anyone know how many bands of Cherokee there are in MO and AR, for sure? Has any band ever been accused of not being legit? Do you recommend a person join a band close to home, or one that is based where your people lived? I recently had someone write me about some of his Cherokee ancestors; do any bands base membership on whether a person was on any earlier rolls than Dawes/Guion Miller? In this case, the Drennen Rolls? What do bands use to verify a person's ancestry? I know folks have to submit proof of descendancy from a certain ancestor, via census records, birth and death certs, etc. But say a person's people aren't on any of the rolls that have been published in Bob Blankenship's "Cherokee By Blood" Series...are there other rolls that bands other than the Western Nation, the Eastern Nation, and the United Keetoowah tribes use? They would have to go on something other than hearsay; after all, they don't just accept someone's application, do they? There is more I need to know about this; others on this list who are looking, and would like to learn. After all, most of us with White River Valley ancestors have Cherokee, Shawnee, Delaware, Creek, or maybe even Osage in us at some point... Would y'all consent to maybe posting some stuff about these things? I realize that's a lot to ask, but there's a lot that people just don't learn about the process or what to do and not do. A lot of bands now have websites, but they aren't answering the questions I have, it seems. Or maybe I'm not asking the right questions. (Maybe you could also help me figure out if I should attempt to get a grant to study the early Cherokee in MO and AR? <G>) Vonda