Dear Editor:

John Cornsilk is absolutely correct when he says that Cherokees should ask questions if they don 't understand what the so-called "United Cherokee Nation" is.

First, there are at least two other groups (we generally refer to them as "wannabe" groups) who call themselves the "United Cherokee Nation, " including a group in Florida whose "chief" is named "eye of eagle."

There are three, and only three, federally recognized groups of Cherokees: the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (located in North Carolina), and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (located in Tahlequah).

A brief background will reveal things about this particular group, calling itself the "UCN" that should alarm any Cherokee citizen.

In 2000, this UCN's self-appointed "Principal Chief" Robin Mayes and others opened a storefront in Tahlequah, used the name "Cherokee Nation" and defrauded about a hundred innocent people by selling them "tribal tags," which left the unsuspecting buyers vulnerable to state fines and having their vehicles impounded.

They also sold Cherokee coins, "adela," again, purporting to represent the Cherokee Nation. Not content with simply defrauding local people, they went so far as to send letters to the Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Secretary of the Interior, claiming to be the "real" Cherokee Nation and demanding that recognition and federal funding be diverted to their little group. The courts found the group civilly liable for deceptive practices and they were ordered to cease their fraudulent actions and make restitution to the people they 'd bilked. Mayes actually filed bankruptcy and moved out of state.

Apparently, the ringleaders have now decided that if they can't call themselves the Cherokee Nation, they will start over as the United Cherokee Nation. John Cornsilk and Mayes, according to their own website, were elected to their dubious UCN offices by a whopping vote of eight people in September of 2007.

Interestingly enough, although Cornsilk and Mayes say they believe Cherokee Nation is a "bogus entity," that hasn't stopped them, and others associated with UCN, from running for office in the Cherokee Nation, accepting Cherokee Nation services and assistance and filing numerous lawsuits in the Cherokee Nation courts. In fact, by their own admission, to become a member of their group, you have to show them your Cherokee Nation citizenship card!

The public should take anything this group does with a grain of salt. Those seeking authentic information about tribal culture, history and government should always look carefully at the source. In the instance of this UCN, the judge said it best back in 2000, "The defendants' actions pose a real and substantial danger of eminent harm to the citizens of Oklahoma as well as the citizens of Cherokee heritage.

A. DIANE HAMMONS

TAHLEQUAH

A. DIANE HAMMONS is attorney general of the Cherokee Nation