Tribal citizens or ethnic opportunists? It's the question at the center of a long-brewing debate inside one of America's largest and most recognized Indian tribes. In March 2006, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma came under fire when it voted to strip away the tribal citizenship of nearly 1200 African-American members known as the Cherokee Freedmen. The group represent a dark past for the tribe, when Cherokees practiced slavery throughout the 19th century. The Freedmen descend from those times and have long claimed that a post-civil war emancipation treaty validates their tribal membership, today. Yet, the Freedmen's struggle to belong has never been more contested...until now. In the first documentary to explore a strand of American-Indian history in a way that bravely confronts tribal identity, government and power, 'Cherokees By Blood' exposes a chain of critical moments in time that today has erupted into a contemporary 'Indian War.' Based on more than two years in the making, the feature-length documentary delivers a raw but real look inside the melting pot of tribal life today and magnifies the pancake-flats of Oklahoma's Indian Country to examine this hidden chapter in the history of American race relations. Wielding candid interviews with national tribal leaders, influential members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Cherokees from all backgrounds, this important political film is built upon captured pieces of authenticity and nuanced situations that are full of details necessary to bring an unrepresented part of American life to the screen.

Forms: Documentary
Genres: Independent
Niches: African American, Native/Aboriginal Peoples, Black, Native American