Where I grew up, in northwestern NC, nearly all people, black or white, had documented or legendary Cherokee ancestry. It's a shame that it sounds so much like old-school segregationist talk, but I suspect there's an attempted money-grab going on behind the scenes. They're within their rights to determine who belongs to their tribe and nation, regardless of how it sounds to us, or what we think, imho.
Yup, I also could care less what the Cherokee Nation decides to do. It's their business. But ferreting out this little tidbit and broadcasting it as a "story" suits the WayPoo agenda.