Filling Out The Cdib: Fill & Download for Free

They usually mean the same thing. But, “registered” tends to be outdated or associated with a time when BIA was involved in the issuance of CDIB or verification of tribal status or ancestry (or, inheritance/royalty rights).Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood - WikipediaNowadays, most tribes either don’t use CDIBs at all, or they compact with BIA to do the issuance themselves. And many fold it into the overall enrollment process anyway…so, it’s rather seamless. Many younger tribal members don’t really have much to do with BIA, as they interface with the tribal government offices only.Back in the day, there was more of a distinction, that you were going too “the government” office, to get registered. You’d even have to go to your assigned home BIA agency where your family files were located. After filling out the paperwork and providing all the required documentation, you’d actually get a card signed by a government agent…who typed it up on a type writer and then laminated it. Before the mid to late 70s, most BIA agents would be non-Native bureaucrats.And for some tribes, there wasn’t even a formal government. There was just the BIA providing basic infrastructure, and the community that was maintaining social cohesion. So, there were some tribes that had no formal governments, nor enrollment cards that could be issued. You just had a CDIB, and that was it. A lot of people from this era still use the term “registered.”In fact, for the Five Tribes in eastern Oklahoma there were technically no “enrolled” tribal members from 1907 until the reorganization of the tribal governments in the 70s and 80s. The formal governments were considered effectively dissolved. And only those listed on the Final Dawes Rolls were considered enrolled. They were usually referred to as “Original Enrollees.” In the interim period, Natives from these tribes were considered “descendants”…and that is where the CDIBs came into the picture.I probably went way overboard on the details to this question, but it’s an interesting history and the terminology tends to reflect this.These days, the preferred term is “enrolled” or you could simply say one is a CITIZEN of the tribal nation.

It's easy! Just look up your maternal grandfather's name on the Dawes Rolls (Dawes Final Rolls | OHS Research Center). Produce your birth certificate naming your mother, and her birth certificate naming her parents, and the birth certificate of whichever parent names the cherokee maternal grandfather. Fill out the paperwork from Cherokee Nation (Cherokee Nation | TravelOK.com - Oklahoma's Official Travel & Tourism Site) and send it in, along with your supporting documentation.Its easier of course if your mother or grandparent already possessed a CDIB card, then you only have to link yourself to that person.

It’s the same process as getting registered as an American citizen, and getting various identification numbers (like a social security number).The first step is being born into a body that is eligible for citizenship in the nation. Then you simply follow the naturalization or citizenship bureaucracy. This is just a matter of paperwork, really.In the case of Natives, you’d be born to tribal member parents (or, at least one in some cases) and meet the basic enrollment requirements yourself. This often represents a minimum blood quantum. Most tribes use a 1/4 blood threshold. But, there are hundreds of tribes and they each have their own membership requirements or protocols. So, you have to check in with them individually, to see what is specifically required.Usually, this process is done when Native babies are born. The parents take in the baby, the birth certificate, and nowadays DNA (paternity) might be required, and fill out an application for enrollment. The tribal membership department processes the application and assigns the appropriate documentation, ID card, tribal enrollment number, etc.The use of rolls or adding names to a master roll/list will vary from tribe to tribe also. Some use base rolls which enumerated tribal members, usually in earlier eras (late 1800s to early 1900s). And new members aren’t necessarily added to this roll. But, other tribes do keep master rolls or expand the enumeration. It just depends on the tribe. In any event, these rolls are often used for blood quantum calculation. If you don’t have family listed on these rolls, you can’t get enrolled. Simple as that.In some cases, people might be of some legitimate Native American ancestry, but they don’t meet the enrollment/membership requirements. Say, you have an individual that is 1/8 blood, and the tribe requires a 1/4 minimum. In that case, they can still apply for a CDIB, either with the tribe, or the local BIA office. Of course, this is only for legitimate Native families that have their records on file with the BIA office (or, tribal membership office, if they take care of CDIBs or descendancy documentation directly). This will confirm that you are a recognized descendant. It’s a bit different than full political membership, but in some cases, it can be used to vet Native affiliation or status.However, there is a huge caveat that needs to be mentioned here.There are many Americans with lore of Native American blood that ask this sort of question (“How to get enrolled”) who actually have no tribal affiliation or even ancestry to speak of. So, first you have to confirm if you fall into this small legit Native category, that somehow just missed out on enrollment until later in life. Or, are you part of this much larger cohort of Americans with faulty lore (who wishfully think they should gain some Native status somehow)?For example, there are nearly twice as many Americans that check the “Cherokee” box on federal census forms as there are actual Cherokee tribal members of all three bands. That’s demographically impossible, but it just highlights how extensive this phenomenon of false lore is for many Americans. So, many people (millions even) might seriously think they have some “Cherokee” blood that doesn’t exist. And then when they try to pursue membership, the come up against ancestral realities….where there family members that were “said to be” Cherokee, actually weren’t Cherokee. And if they are especially adamant about the claim, they might even rationalize things further. So, that’s when you get stories about “hiding out” or passing for White, or that enumeration of rolls is exclusionary or flawed, etc.Anyway, just contact the tribal nation that you are affiliated with (or, think you are affiliated with) and see what the enrollment criteria is. If you’re eligible, then just submit required paperwork. Easy peasy!