Today the UKB has over 14,300 members, with 13,300 living within the state of Oklahoma. Joe Bunch is the current … See more

The tribe owns and operates Keetoowah Construction in Tahlequah, and the Keetoowah Cherokee Treatment Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They have an arts and crafts gallery, showcasing members' work.
They owne… See more

The word Keetoowah (Kituwa) is the name of an ancient Cherokee mother town and earthwork mound in the eastern homeland of the Cherokees. Kituwah also is considered by Cherokees to be their original name. The UKB's … See more

The UKB members are composed primarily of descendants of the "Old Settlers," Cherokees who settled in present-day Arkansas and Oklahoma around 1817. They were well established before most of the Cherok… See more

Under the Curtis Act of 1898, the government of the Cherokee Nation was dissolved in 1906, in spite of the resistance of many of its members. The only remnant left was the office of the Principal Chief, held by … See more

The UKB have struggled to maintain use and education in the Cherokee language. As of 2018, only 101 people in the UKB were counted as being fluent, with most speakers either in the grandparent generation … See more

After the federal dissolution of the Old Cherokee Nation under the Dawes Commission and allotments, Native American land claims in Indian Territory were extinguished and Oklahoma was admitted a… See more