List of people of self-identified Cherokee ancestry

This list of self-identified people of Cherokee ancestry includes notable people who claim to have some Cherokee ancestry but are not enrolled citizens of any of the three Cherokee tribes.

Contents 

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z

• See also
• References
• External links

A

• Tori Amos

C

• Asa Earl Carter, speechwriter and member of the Ku Klux Klan, attempted to reinvent himself as "Cherokee" author under the name "Forrest Carter"^[1][2]
• Johnny Cash, singer; believed he had Cherokee heritage but dropped the claim after he had his genealogy checked and none was found
• Cher, actor and singer; actually of Armenian descent by father, Cherokee descent claim by mother dubious.^[3]
• Ward Churchill, author and professor; claims to be Cherokee-Muscogee Creek^[4][5][6]
• Kenneth Copeland, televangelist^[7]
• Kevin Costner, actor^[8]

D

• Johnny Depp, actor; has "guessed" that he has Cherokee, "or maybe Creek," heritage, despite his genealogy showing no Native ancestry^[9][10]
• Cameron Diaz, actor^[11][12][13]
• Jimmie Durham, artist^[14]

F

• Four Arrows (Don Trent Jacobs, born 1946), professor, writer^[15]

G

• James Garner, actor^[16]
• Crystal Gayle, country singer
• Superstar Billy Graham (Eldridge Wayne Coleman), professional wrestler and fine artist

H

• Ben Harper, musician
• Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970), musician, singer, and songwriter.^[17]
• Jamake Highwater, author; claimed to be Cherokee-Blackfeet^{[18][19][20][21]}

L

• Sylvester Clark Long (Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance, 1890–1932), actor, author, journalist^[22]
• Loretta Lynn, country singer

J

• James Earl Jones, actor; identifies as being of Choctaw descent^[23]

K

• Thomas King, American-born novelist and broadcaster in Canada^[24]

N

• Joseph Noonan "Waáno-Gano," artist^[25]
• Chuck Norris, actor^[26]

P

• Dolly Parton, country singer^[27]
• Lou Diamond Phillips, actor^[28]

R

• Robert Rauschenberg, artist;^[29] did not identify as Cherokee but may have had a Cherokee grandmother^[30]
• Della Reese, actress, singer
• Burt Reynolds, actor, director
• Bob Ross, painter and television personality^[31]

S

• Selena (1971–1995), singer^[32]
• Andrea Smith, associate professor, author^[33]
• Leon Polk Smith, Modernist painter^[34]

T

• Quentin Tarantino, film director^[35]

V

• Sarah Vowell (born 1969), author and journalist^[36]

W

• Elizabeth Warren (born 1949), U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, elected in 2012^[37]

See also

• Cherokee
• Cherokee heritage groups

Notes

1. Nolan, Maggie and Carrie Dawson, ed. Who's Who? Hoaxes, Imposture and Identity Crises in Australian Literature. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 2004: 16-17. Retrieved 26 June 2012. ISBN 978-0-7022-3523-8.
2. Bataille, Gretchen M. American Indian Representations. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001: 49. Retrieved 26 June 2012. ISBN 978-0-8032-1312-8.
3. "Cher: Thanksgiving the "Beginning of a Great Crime"". Native News Online. 29 Nov 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
4. Richardson, Valerie. Report on Conclusion of Preliminary Review in the Matter of Professor Ward Churchill. University of Colorado at Boulder. 2005 . Retrieved 26 July 2009.
5. Brown, Thomas. "Is Ward Churchill the New Michael Bellesiles?" George Mason University's History News Network. 14 March 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
6. Harjo, Suzan Shown. "Ward Churchill: The White Man's Burden." Indian Country Today. 3 August 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
7. https://www.billyebrim.org/sites/billyebrim.org/files/ATN_brochure.pdf
8. "Kevin Costner: Pursuing The Dream", Time Magazine, Jun. 26, 1989, p. 4]
9. "Disney Exploiting Confusion About Whether Depp Has Indian Blood". June 17, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
10. "Is 'Tonto's Giant Nuts' a Good Name for Johnny Depp's Band?". Indian Country Today Media Network. May 22, 2013.
11. Jenkins, David (2003-01-09). "Girl, interrupted". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
12. "Cameron Diaz: Hollywood crowd-pleaser". BBC News. 2005-07-29. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
13. Hawk, Mason (1998). "A Cheap Date With Cameron Diaz". NYRock. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
14. "Jimmie Durham: Colle di val d'elsa." Associazione Arte Continua. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
15. "Unlearning the Language of Conquest." University of Texas Press. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
16. "James Garner". WCHS TV. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
17. Shapiro, Harry; Glebbeek, Caesar (1995 Updated edition). Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy. St. Martin's Press. pp. 5–6, 13. ISBN 0-312-13062-7. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Check date values in: |date= (help)
18. Nagel, Joane. American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence of Identity and Culture. Oxford: University of Oxford Press, 1996: 238. ISBN 978-019512063-9.
19. Hoxie, Frederick E. Encyclopedia of North American Indians: Native American History, Culture, and Life From Paleo-Indians to the Present. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006: 191-2. Retrieved 26 June 2012. ISBN 978-0-395-66921-1
20. Weaver, Jace. Other Words: American Indian Literature, Law, and Culture. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001: 138. Retrieved 27 June 2012. ISBN 978-0-8061-3352-2
21. Jacobs, Alex. "Fool's Gold: The Story of Jamake Highwater, the Fake Indian Who Won't Die". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
22. Barbara Smith (2011). Hoaxes and Hexes: Daring Deceptions and Mysterious Curses. Toronto, ON: Heritage House Publishing Co. Ltd., page 56.
23. Levesque, Carl (1 August 2002). "Unconventional wisdom: James Earl Jones speaks out". Association Management (The Gale Group). Retrieved 2009-10-13.
24. Gruber, Eva (2012). Thomas King: Works and Impact. Rochester, NY: Camden House. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-57113-435-6. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
25. Snodgrass, Jeanne O. "American Indian Painters: A Biographical Directory." New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1968. Retrieved 15 Oct 2013.
26. Chuck, Norris. "Against All Odds: My Story". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
28. "Meet the Artist: LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS - Concert of Excellence honoree", Second Generation, Oct 2004
29. The Great Permitter - Time
30. "Robert Rauschenberg". Museum of the Gulf Coast. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
31. http://www.nndb.com/people/100/000099800/
32. Patoski, p. 20
33. "Activist Andrea Smith Speaks at PSR". Pacific School of Religion. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
34. Buck, Robert T. "Personal Recollections and Some Observations on Selected Paintings". Leon Polk Smith Foundation.
35. [The Man and his Movies. New York: Harper Collins|Harper Perennial. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-06-095161-0.]
36. "Interview: Sarah Vowell." Identity Theory. 22 May 2003 . Retrieved 10 July 2010.
37. Harjo, Suzan Shown. "What’s the Deal With Elizabeth Warren, Cherokee?" Indian Country Today. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.