The Baker Roll: built to end the Eastern Band (North Carolina, 1924–1931)

SUMMARY16. The Baker Roll: built to end the Eastern Band (North Carolina, 1924–1931) [Connections: Who decided who's Indian, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORDNARA: "Final Roll of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina Under the Act of June 4, 1924 (43 Stat. 376)." 3,833 applications covering 11,979 individuals were filed; 3,146 individuals were enrolled. Fred Baker submitted the roll on 1 Dec. 1928; on 4 March 1931 Congress stopped allotments and made it final for membership only. Listed rejection reasons include "Applicant or applicant's parents were not in the state of North Carolina on October 23, 1874," lack of evidence of affiliation, and "Applicant's parents (one being white) were married since June 7, 1897, apart from community." The roll records "Degree of Cherokee blood." NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources: Congress "passed an act aimed at terminating the Eastern Band," with a "final allotment of land and granting of United States citizenship to all members"; the amended roll removed "many people of questionable descent."

PATTERNAbout 3 in 4 people named in applications were not enrolled. The roll was made for termination and allotment, then became the permanent membership gate

LENS (WW9)A roll built to close the nation became the list of who counts today

OPENNARA's page does not mention applicants with African ancestry; how they were treated needs deep research in the Baker Roll case files (NARA, Atlanta)

SOURCENARA, Baker Roll; NC DNCR, "Baker Roll Census of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Created".