| @PurppuraSuihku: The #1 spot for the Cherokee -- and the fact that the population count is so much higher -- is due largely to the fact that the census allows people to self-identify as a particular tribe, even if they are not formally on the tribal enrollment (the number of people officially listed as members of the recognized Cherokee tribes is about half a million fewer, and it's my understanding that their standards for enrollment aren't as strict as some other tribes as well.) Why is there such a discrepancy, and why the Cherokee and not other tribes? It has to do with America's odd love/hate affair with other cultures. There was a time in the late 1800s, early 1900s, when it was fashionable to have Native American ancestry. The Cherokee, being one of the "Five Civilized Tribes", were one of the most socially acceptable tribes, so socialites who wanted to add a little flair to their ancestral history often claimed to be part Cherokee. Most of them were lying outright about having Indian ancestry, some had ancestry of less fashionable tribes, and it's just possible a few were telling the truth. A few generations down the line, and you have a bunch of people who think they're part Cherokee because great-grandma said she was, and they don't realize she was probably making it up. To put it briefly, and perhaps a bit unkindly, the result is that nearly every white American who falsely thinks they're an Indian thinks they're a Cherokee. |
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