Comments from Convention Presentation

The Post of "Wednesday, September 19, 2007" was the written presentation made to the Tennessee Native American Indian Convention at Henry Horton State Park on 15 September 2007.

The printed statement and my spoken words presented a question as well as potential answers.
The question was/is "Who are the Native American Indians in Tennessee?"

I gave three of the listing below in writing and via my blog, but I added the fourth one while I was speaking at the convention.

• Federally Recognized Native American Indians
• Other State Recognized Native American Indians; and
• Native American Indians whose Ancestors are Historic Native American Indians who remained a part of Tennessee even after others were forced into exile.
• Those who are Culturally Native American Indian

I received an email from a commissioner on 22 September 2007 stating that he'd heard about my "trinitarian definition of Tennessee indians". As I stated above I added the fourth while I was speaking at the convention.

Does the definition above rule out Native American Indians whose Relatives and Ancestors are from outside of Tennessee?

Do the lines on the map make a difference in who is Native American Indian, or are we pressed by necessity to conform to those lines because of the laws under which we are governed?

Please, lend me your opinions: Who are Native American Indians in Tennessee?