“Native American, as a term, is mostly from the 1970s,” Orr said. Orr said literary works from the past used “pejorative” terms similar to Indian to degrade Native Americans. He also said that Native American isn’t used negatively as other terms are used. More: Read all of our coverage on tribes in Oklahoma “When my grandparents were raised and born, they were Indians. As we have gotten this age gap and as millennials come, they’ve become Native Americans. Now, people refer to Indians as Native.” “Anytime something happened, we were Indian people,” Wassana said. Gov. Reggie Wassana, of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe, said that when he was growing up, he would be referred to as an Indian, but that times have changed. The history of it is that (Christopher) Columbus and his people thought they were landing in India, so they called us Indian. “If there is one thing somebody called me that doesn’t offend me necessarily, but does make me kind of chuckle a little bit, is when somebody says 'Indian,'” Keys said. Jake Keys, a citizen of the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and candidate for the tribe’s chairman position, said American Indian doesn’t mean the same as Native American or Indigenous. More: Tribes try to preserve languages amid pandemic: 'We wanted to take care of our speakers' It’s complicated because there are Indian Americans who come from south Asia.” “'American Indian' is probably the most long-standing term, or 'Indian,' but it is also misnomer,” Orr said. Raymond Orr, the chair of the University of Oklahoma’s Native American Studies, said all of the terms have justification as to why they are valid. © Logan DunnĬherokee storyteller Robert Lewis says continuing the tradition is one way to keep people connected to their heritage. Those tribes wouldn’t be considered indigenous to the state of Oklahoma but are indigenous to the United States as a whole. Tribes including the Potawatomis, Kickapoos and the Shawnees moved to Oklahoma because of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 signed by then-President Andrew Jackson. They are the Osage, Caddo, Kiowa, Comanche and Wichita. In 2003, The Oklahoman reported on which tribes are indigenous to Oklahoma. The state of Oklahoma is home to 38 federally recognized sovereign nations. The question is: What is the correct term? Those terms and others are used to describe people with tribal descent in Oklahoma and other states. See microfilm description M1831, roll 1 for the complete list of tribes.Is it "Native American," "American Indian" or "Indigenous?" (Also known as Miscellaneous Muster Rolls, Entry 301) Muster Rolls Concerning Indian Removal, 1832-1846 (Also known as Census Concerning Choctaw Removal) Sample Register of Cherokee Indians who have Emigrated to the West Please note, these records have not yet been digitized. Guion Miller Rolls, 1906-1911 Eastern CherokeeĮxamples of Rolls Related to American Indians.Dawes Rolls, 1896-1914 Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma.Kern-Clifton Roll of Cherokee Freedmen,.Roblin Roll, 1911-1919 Indians in Western Washington not enrolled or allotted to an Indian Agency.Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 Multiple Agencies and Tribes.Baker Rolls, 1924-1929 Eastern Cherokee.They can contain names, enrollment numbers, ages, family relations, locations, and more. Since the purpose of the rolls vary the information collected also varies. The BIA then used these rolls to create additional documentation-often using the same rolls for multiple purposes. These rolls were created as a result of allotments, legislation, removals, treaties, and other activities. The BIA gathered, collected, and/or created numerous rolls involving American Indians to identify members of various tribes and bands, including Freedmen.