What legal rights does the Cherokee Indians have?

Answer 1

This is a complicated question because you need to understand the different types of Cherokee (or any native American's) from a political (law) standpoint.

1) US Citizens that claim to also be Indian. There are several Indian tribes that claim to be US Citizens as well, under title 8 of the United States Code, there is no such thing. Dual Citizenship is not allowed (even though some claim it is, title 8 forbids it).

It is also important to understand that the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is a political subdivision of the United States Government, they are only allowed to function under administration of the BIA and have sworn allegiance as a political subdivision through the BIA process of "Recognition."

2) Non US Citizen's. Indian tribes that have refused to submit to the United States as a political subdivision, or to become such under BIA rules of "Recognition" as well as some of the newly formed Tribal Governments (Lakota Republic, Confederated Nations, etc), and those who have refused to be US Citizens. These tribes (aproximately 3,500 of them) are the only "Indian Tribes" left.

Those people who are US Citizens have the same property rights as any other US Citizen, which is to say none (see recent US Supreme Court decision); with the special exception in that they must get approval of the BIA (US Department of the Interior) to do anything with the land as it is owned by the BIA (not the native American).

Non-US Citizen tribal peoples are not allowed to own anything (land included), normally they are arrested when they try to register land deed, and the deed is destroyed (IE: registration is refused).