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TAHLEQUAH, OK - Michael Johnson is an engineer, a history buff, and an unenrollable Cherokee. Though he can

Michael Johnson, with his family Elaine, Jacqueline and Charlotte, on a recent visit to Tahlequah.

trace his roots to a Cherokee family, he doesn’t meet the requirements for enrollment in any of the three federally recognized tribes of Cherokees. And he doesn’t care.

"I don’t have resentment because I am not in a tribe", said Johnson. "I don’t get caught up with people who say 'they won't let us do this, they won't let us do that'. I've found that if you want to re-associate with Cherokee people, you just have to work at it."

Johnson's worked at it through his love of history. He has collected important historical documents relating to Cherokee history, ranging from original Congressional register documents relating to Cherokees that traveled the Trail of Tears to a U.S. Indian Service report card from a young Cherokee dated 1916, and donated them to the Cherokee Historical Society.

"When we see something of Cherokee interest on eBay, we try and figure a way to get it," Johnson said. "How could people sell stuff that belongs in a museum? Since I've acquired these items, it’s always been the plan to donate them and make them available to other Cherokees. The Cherokee Nation was a good, logical place for this sort of information. These are things that need to be here so people will be able to research."

Johnson and his family find ways to participate in traditional Cherokee activities, including stomp dances at the Shaky Hollow Stomp Grounds in Conroe, Texas, near his Houston home. They also make occasional trips to Tahlequah, including a recent visit to donate historical documents.

"It's a nice trip. We get to see lakes and hills and trees. There are a lot of nice people here," Johnson said. "We're going to get another set of stick-ball sticks, while we're here, too. If you want to get to know your Cherokee family you have to treat them like family. Being with people is so important. Eventually, they’ll accept you and overlook other things like, like not having a (CDIB) card. I don't think raising controversy is a good idea."

That is why Johnson and his family steer clear of groups that claim to be tribes but aren’t federally recognized. "I've always felt it was easier to make friends than enemies," he said. "There’s a ton of hucksters out there preying on people. They offer spirituality, promises of recognition, the possibility of wealth through casinos, whatever. I don’t want to align myself with people with political or money motivated goals."

Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Principal Chief Chad Smith thinks the Johnsons are handling the reality of their situation well by participating in Cherokee culture without aligning themselves with a group that is seeking recognition.

"There are people like the Johnsons with undeniable Cherokee heritage who don’t meet enrollment requirements", Smith said. "That doesn’t mean they can’t claim their ancestry."

"Through anomalies caused by ethnicidal policies of the United States Government, the traditional Cherokee Nation has been fragmented. That’s why there is an Eastern Band of Cherokees in North Carolina. We are all one people, separated by geography. The historical Cherokee Nation is currently headquartered here in Tahlequah. But just as a person with grandparents who immigrated to the United States from Germany can not claim German citizenship, people whose Cherokee ancestors emigrated from the Cherokee Nation before the Dawes Rolls were taken can not claim Cherokee citizenship." Chief Smith said.

"We encourage these people to follow the example of the Johnson family and many others," said Smith. "Take the time to learn about real Cherokee culture. Learn about it from traditional Cherokees."

Johnson concurs. "Just digging in to the culture is plenty work for me," he said. "Finding and preserving Cherokee historical documents eats up a lot of my luxury time as it is."