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What benefits would a child receive from having a cherokee indian id card?

I have a court order to put my childs bio father on the birth certificate and the bio father is willing to get our child an indian id card. I just want to know if this is worth my time. The father and I are seperated, never married. I printed out a long application for the cherokee id card. Any help is welcome.

Public Comments

1. He might not have to pay federal taxes later on and would be a candidate for scholarships. Check into it.
2. I believe that they receive(depending on area)Money from state indian owned casino's and fishing and hunting lic. at a discount or even free.also other benifits but not sure on the rest.it does depend on the state.
3. I am not sure about what benefits the cherokee indians get, I do know that Choctaw Indians get Free Healthcare, food comidies if they are low income, housing assistance when they need it, help building or buying a home, and many other benefits. There is another tribe in Oklahoma I am not sure which one that gives all school age children a allowance every summer for school clothes. Benefits vary from tribe to tribe. I would not refuse to get the card you never know what good may come of it. Also if your child is Indian it is an important thing for them to know it and be proud of it. check out www.cherokee.org
4. An ID card is different than tribal enrollment. An ID card is simply an ID card that identifies a person as having a certain blood quantum of a particular tribe. The ID card, generally called a CDIB (Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood), can be used to verify a person's tribal heritage. A CDIB is NOT tribal enrollment, its an ID card. Tribal enrollment is being a citizen of a sovereign tribal nation. Each tribe sets its own tribal enrollment requirements. There are 3 federally recognized Cherokee tribes: Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Eastern Band of Cherokee (North Carolina), and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee (Oklahoma). If your son's father is an enrolled citizen of one of those three Cherokee tribes, your son may also be eligible for enrollment. It is also possible that he may not be eligible. It is also possible that the tribe your son's father is affiliated with is one of the 20+ Cherokee organizations that call themselves tribes when, in fact, they are not. If this is the case then "tribal enrollment" is about as valuable as a Safeway card. However, best case scenario, your son's father is enrolled in a federally recognized tribe and your son is eligible for enrollment and subsequently becomes enrolled, he qualifies for health care through your local Indian Heath Service. (No local IHS? Sorry, benefits are non-transferable.) Depending on the tribe he may also be eligible for certain tribal programs. Most of the services require you to go to them. Keep in mind that all of the 'benefits' come from the tribe directly. Of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes, only 1, EBC, distributes percapita checks to its enrolled citizens from income gained from tribal business ventures. The other two do not Outside of that, your son, assuming he becomes enrolled in a federally recognized tribe, would be eligible to apply (not automatically receive) for certain opportunities reserved for citizens of sovereign tribal nations such as certain college scholarships and housing loans. And, just to dispel any myths: There is no free college nor are there montly checks for American Indians