Annual casino payouts provoke power conflict in Cherokee community - 2004-03-27
Following decades of poverty, a scramble for newfound casino wealth has transformed one of the nation's most storied tribes against itself in a fight over bloodlines and who can be seen as a real Cherokee.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians - a 13,000-member tribe based for centuries in what is now the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina - is contemplating DNA tests to weed through its numerous "absentee" members.
Read the full story at Lucianne

Growth of Indian casinos provokes battles over tribal membership - 2004-03-27
Hundreds of American Indians are battling for their spot on tribal rolls at a time when membership can mean instant riches for those who belong to casino-owning tribes.

Many of those who have been booted from tribes in California claim the motive is greed -- an effort by tribal leaders to lower membership so they can maintain more casino profits for themselves and other favored members.
Read the full story at The Californian