ᎬᎵ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ

Ꭷ I put this on facebook (tm) lol

How many fullblood Cherokees did we have near contact?
About 30,000 I think.
How many fullblood Cherokees did we have after the trail of tears?
Less than 20,000 I think.
How many fullblood Cherokees do we have now?
...Around 10,000-20,000 or so, never enough though.

How many Speakers do we have now?
...do we know what ᎠᏂᎦᏚᏩᎩ means?
Will we continue to exist?
Yes, biologically.
Will we continue to exist?

I know that the original concept of ᎬᎵ full blood was a social definition.  I have discussed this as a student, an instructor and as an eavesdropper in more than one college level course. Even some of my discussions, informal and among friends, in a community setting has added support to this idea.  Language was until recently a defining factor, but in the murky depths of our collective past, kinship - specifically clan - was paramount.  Although biology was always a part of the criteria for evaluation, appearance was always trumped by clan and language fluency, but in the absence of aforementioned attributes, appearance/biology have become the foundation for identity and Cherokee classification.  Since the Dawes Allotment Act this has been encapsulated and packaged as a new formal pedigree - CDIB.  ᎣᏏᏳ
ᎠᏯ ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ ᏥᎪᏪᎸᎦ