<p>Each tribe has standards for membership. Generally one must be at least 1/8 Indian, and be able to document that their ancestor was a registered member of that tribe when the federal government did the Dawes Roll or some other census of Indians. Then there is an application that must be approved by the tribal government, which may include a participation requirement. </p>
<p>I believe the Cherokee Nation has less stringent blood guidelines. But if your GG grandparent is actually 100% registered Cherokee (and you must be able to prove this, not easy with records that old and especially Indian), then your great grandparent would be 1/2, grandparent 1/4, parent 1/8, you 1/16, your child 1/32. That’s a pretty slim tie and you’d have to have documentation for every person in that line.</p>
<p>My kids are 1/8 Indian and, while their Dad was partially raised in the culture by his grandmother, they were not. They have some interest in their heritage because of it, but it doesn’t make them Indian and they are not registered members. Imo, this type of scholarship search is unlikely to succeed and not really applicable to those who don’t already have some tribal affiliation.</p>