“Colored: …Include all Indians with any trace of African ancestry, if living off reservation, and with more than 1/32 of African ancestry…”   

(1866 Amendment of 1705 Virginia "Degree of Blood" Law.  

Colony after colony, and state after state, followed Virginia's example.)

"DNA does not determine Native ancestry"  http://www.ipcb.org/publications/briefing_papers/files/identity.html

more information on “Blood Quantum” below;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_quantum_laws 

“Indian by Identity; A look inside Tribal Enrollment”  www.americanindiansource.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Holland_Thomas

​​​Adopted son of Yonaguska, Quallatown Civil Chief (The only white man to serve as a Cherokee Chief).  

Colonel- Thomas Legion of Cherokee Confederate Soldiers, The 69th North Carolina Regiment

"At a time when North Carolina state law forbade Indian ownership of real estate, William Holland Thomas bought, in his own name, a tract estimated to contain 50,000 acres on Oconaluftee river and Soco creek, and known as the Qualla boundary, together with a number of individual tracts outside the boundary....  For the better protection of the Indians the lands were made inalienable except by assent of the council and upon the approval of the President of the United States.  The titles and boundaries having been adjusted, the Indian Office assumed regular supervision of East Cherokee affairs." 

(Qualla Boundary is not a Reservation. The lands are owned by the East Cherokee,--now known as the Eastern Band of The Cherokee Nation--but are held in trust by the Indian Office--now known as the Bureau of Indian Affairs.)

Individual Indian People use many different terms to identify themselves.
When in doubt, ask.

*Many Indians, governments, agencies, ect., use the word "American" to distinguish (American) Indians from South American Indians, West Indians, East Indians ect.

*American Indians are members of a Tribe, and that is their primary way of identifying themselves.

*Each Tribe has an account of their creation.

*The scientific community believes that the American Indian came across the Bering Straight from Asia.  Other theories hold that the American Indian came from Europe, Africa, or continents now lost.

*The Hohokams brought water to the desert Southwest via a vast network of canals, some of which are in use to this day.

*The Anasazi, who are probably the ancestors of the Pueblo Tribes, built the cliff dwellings and large apartment complexes in the Southwest.

"One of the first acts of the Continental Congress was the creation, in 1775, of three departments of Indian Affairs; northern, central, and southern.  The first department commissioners were Benjamin Franklin and Patrick Henry.  Their job was to negotiate treaties with tribes and obtain tribal neutrality in the coming Revolutionary War.

'11 March 1824 Secretary of War John C. Calhoun created what he called the Bureau of Indian Affairs without authorization from the Congress."

For a complete history on the Indian Affairs Department "From War to Self-Determination" click on:
http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/indians.htm

There are at least 17 Cherokee Rolls.  The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation accepts the 1924 Baker Roll as its base roll.   The Cherokee Nation accepts the 1898 – 1914 Dawes Roll as its base roll.  *If you are not on these [2] rolls, you are not eligible for enrollment in the above [2] Federally recognized Cherokee Tribes.

Eastern Cherokee:

 *1924 Baker Roll--base roll for North Carolina Cherokee (Qualla Boundary)  1/16   Blood Quantum required in addition to (legal) proof of ancestry to an immediate relative on the 1924 Baker Roll. 

1817 Reservation Rolls
1817-1835 Emigration Rolls
1835 Henderson Roll
1848 Mullay Roll
1851 Siler Roll
1852 Chapman Roll
1869 Swetland Roll
1883 Hester Roll
1908 Churchill Roll
1909 Guion Miller East Roll

United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
*1898-1914 Dawes Roll
*1949 United Keetoowah Band Base Roll
At least 1/2 Blood Quantum required in addition to (legal) proof of ancestry to an immediate relative on the 2 base rolls.

Western Cheroke:

*1898-1907 Dawes Roll--base roll for Oklahoma Cherokee Reservation   

Must show (legal) proof of ancestry to an immediate relative during the 1898-1907 Dawes Roll enrollment period for Cherokee in Oklahoma.    

Other Rolls:

1851 Old Settler Roll
1852 Drennen Roll

1909 Gulon Miller West Roll