On June 29, the Atlanta Braves made a nod to state-recognized Cherokee “tribes,” drawing criticism from the federally recognized eastern tribe, the Cherokee Nation.

Two federally recognized Cherokee tribes criticized the Atlanta Braves for the team’s inclusion of tribes that are not federally recognized during their recent “Georgia Tribe Night.”

On the Major League Baseball team’s social media page, Braves officials promoted special recognition of the Eastern Cherokee Tribe of Georgia, the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe, the Cherokee Tribal Council of Georgia and the Council on American Indian Concerns on June 29 in Atlanta. None of those groups are recognized by the federal government, but they are recognized by the state of Georgia. The Council on American Indian Concerns is a state agency.

“As part of Georgia Tribe Night, the #Braves are making a donation to support the preservation of the historical records of the Eastern Cherokee Tribe of Georgia, housed in the University of North Georgia Special Collections and Archives,” team officials said in the post.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Cherokee Nation — two of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes — opposed the team’s relocation.

Eastern Tribe Principal Chief Michell Hicks, Vice Chief Alan B. Ensley and all 11 members of the North Carolina-based tribe’s tribal council joined in a statement.

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“We are deeply concerned to learn that the Atlanta Braves have given a platform to groups falsely claiming to be tribes without adequate verification of Native identity and ancestry,” leaders said on the Eastern Band’s social media page. “Our relationship with the Braves was built to foster a true understanding and respect for the Native community.”

“This recent recognition is a serious misunderstanding and is detrimental to our collective efforts,” the leaders said. “For years, EBCI has been fighting fraudulent groups that exploit Native identity for personal gain, at the expense of benefits and resources intended for true Native tribes. Countless groups across the United States have consistently and falsely claimed to be Cherokee. Today, there are only three federally recognized Cherokee tribes—the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Nation, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee—that have historically maintained ongoing relationships with the federal government through treaties and land rights.”

Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, was outraged in his response.

“I see @Braves deciding to ‘honor’ tribal nations by parading representatives of fraudulent organizations posing as a tribe,” Hoskin said in comments posted June 29 and 30, respectively. “The Atlanta Braves should consider engaging in meaningful consultation with real Indian tribes instead of parading representatives of fraudulent organizations posing as tribes as a ‘communication’. This adds insult to injury.”

The third federally recognized tribe, the United Keetoowah Cherokee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, did not immediately respond.

COMPLAINT TO THE LAND OF THE BRAVES

A Braves spokesman, reached by phone Wednesday, referred comment on state and federally recognized Native American groups to the Georgia Council on American Indian Concerns. Part of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks and Historic Sites, the council is the only state entity specifically authorized to address concerns of Georgia’s Native Americans, according to the state agency’s website.

Regarding the specific complaints from the Eastern Band and the Cherokee Nation, the spokesperson did not speak directly to the June 29 event.

“We are proud of our long-standing relationship with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians,” the spokesperson said in an email. “We look forward to learning from them and working alongside them as we continue to educate our fans about Cherokee culture.”

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Billy Kirkland, a member of the Georgia council formed by the state in the 1990s and a current member of the Navajo Nation along with his brother and council vice chairman Donald Kirkland, said in a phone interview that he believes the Braves are only seeking to have a positive influence on Native Americans, and he notes that the groups recognized at Tribe Night are officially recognized by the state of Georgia.

Kirkland said Wednesday that he and his brother would send a more detailed statement by Friday, but the newspaper had not received one as of press time.

Lucian Lamar Sneed, chairman, executive director and tribal historian of the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, said he was not aware that the Georgia Tribe was honored at the game.

“If the group was there, we were not notified,” Sneed, who is the cousin of former Eastern Band Principal Chief Richard Sneed, said in a telephone interview.

Sneed said it was possible another tribal group from northeast Georgia was present at the June 29 game, but he wasn’t sure. Sneed said he wasn’t surprised by the reaction from federally recognized tribes to the issue.

“Their main objection is that the Georgia tribe has not been recognized by the federal government,” Sneed said. “It’s about money and casinos. We care about heritage and history.”

A state-recognized tribe like the Georgia Tribe has strict membership requirements and can perform almost all the functions of a federally recognized tribe, Sneed said. The exceptions are seen in Cherokee, N.C., he said, in the Eastern Band’s Harrah’s casino, a major source of revenue for the tribe there, and in its state-of-the-art hospital, a boon to the Cherokee.

Despite the backlash at Georgia Tribe Night, Sneed expressed admiration for some of the Eastern Band’s accomplishments.

“With Harrah’s, the first thing they did was create the mortgage company so people could have homes, and then it was the hospital,” he said.

But Sneed takes issue with the terms “fake” and “fraudulent” applied to the Georgia tribe. He said state-level tribal groups offer Native Americans who don’t live on Indian land a place to call home, but he also said there are no shortage of fraudulent groups, including in Georgia, that cause confusion and problems.

“The state-recognized Eastern Cherokee Tribe of Georgia has no desire to have a casino,” Sneed said in a follow-up email. “The only thing we want to accomplish is the purchase of land to build a state-of-the-art Cherokee museum, event complex, library and learning center. Georgia does not have a site like this where its Cherokee descendants can learn and enjoy the great history of our Cherokee ancestors.”

Although the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe, honored at the Tribes Night, is not directly challenged by the Eastern Band and the Cherokee Nation, it claims to be a party to three treaties with the colony of Georgia and 11 treaties with the U.S. government, as well as a 1993 Georgia law recognizing the tribe at the state level, according to information on the tribe’s website and state law. The tribe is led by a five-member executive council and a nine-member tribal council that meets quarterly.

EASTERN BAND COMMITTEE

The Atlanta Braves Eastern Band Cultural Committee is working with the team, the committee said in a statement also posted online.

“Since the inception of the Atlanta Braves Cultural Committee, our primary goal has been to educate the Atlanta Braves organization and its fans about the Eastern Cherokee Tribe, our rich history and vibrant culture,” the committee’s statement read. “Ensuring that our interests are respected through this partnership has been at the forefront of our efforts.”

The committee noted the joint accomplishments of the Cherokee and Braves organizations, including funding for local tribal entities, community and youth activities, and cultural immersion experiences for Braves personnel.

“We have decided to continue working with the Braves organization,” the committee said. “It is imperative that we intensify our educational efforts to raise awareness of why state recognition of bogus groups is harmful and delegitimizes federally recognized tribes.”

Cherokee leaders in North Carolina want to use this opportunity to educate people.

“This recent event underscores the need for a better understanding of who we are and what we stand for,” the statement said. “We look forward to continuing our educational efforts through the Atlanta Braves Cultural Committee, using this as an opportunity to highlight our decades-long fight against false groups claiming to be a Cherokee tribe.”

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Hicks said the good reasons federally recognized tribes oppose state-recognized tribes stem from a hard-won relationship built with the U.S. government to treat the Cherokees as a sovereign nation.

“We understand that sovereignty is not delegated by the United States or by a state,” Hicks said. “Indeed, sovereignty is inherent in a tribal nation that existed before the creation of the United States and whose current citizens are descended from those who were part of that pre-federal community. But identifying yourself as a tribe and acting as a sovereign is not enough. Certainly, state recognition of a tribe cannot be enough, particularly when we now know that none of the state processes are sufficiently rigorous to determine whether a group’s claims to the pre-existence of the United States and its indigenous ancestry are valid.”

According to the Braves’ game schedule, July 20 is Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Night, which the team hosts at Truist Park to honor and recognize the tribe’s influence on the Southeast and to educate Braves fans about the Cherokee’s original homeland, which spanned a territory that now includes eight states. This is the fourth year the event has been held, according to the team’s website.

Contact Ben Benton at [email protected] or 423-757-6569.