Applying for Cherokee citizenship: constructing race, nation, and identity, 1900-1906

This thesis examines the Dawes enrollment period between 1900 and 1906. It is unique in that it recaptures the history from the perspective of the applicants for Cherokee citizenship. In looking at the various ways that applicants attempted to present themselves as qualified for Cherokee citizenship, it reveals that race played a significant role in defining the contours of Cherokee-ness and nation at these hearings. Race was contingent at the Dawes hearings. It excluded many applicants from citizenship and helped define the rights and social statuses of those accepted.