Published Books

The definitive reference work compiled by the Association. This volume traces the formation of the Goingsnake District under the 1839 Cherokee Constitution, documents the major families and communities, and preserves oral histories gathered from district descendants over three decades of research.

Publisher: GDHA Press

A focused study of Cherokee judicial sovereignty centered on the Goingsnake District courthouse. Includes primary documents, eyewitness accounts of the 1872 Courthouse Tragedy, and a legal analysis of the jurisdictional dispute that brought the event to national attention.

Publisher: GDHA Press

A curated anthology of twenty years of the Association’s newsletter, preserving genealogical discoveries, family reunions, member stories, obituaries, and historical notes that would otherwise be lost to time.

Publisher: GDHA Press

Robert J. Conley's gripping account of Ezekial 'Zeke' Proctor, the Cherokee man whose trial became the flashpoint for the 1872 Goingsnake Courthouse Tragedy. Drawing on Cherokee Nation records and oral tradition, Conley brings to life one of the most dramatic episodes in Oklahoma history.

Publisher: Pocket Books

Kent Carter's definitive study of how the Dawes Commission dismantled Cherokee tribal government and allotted lands to individual citizens. Carter, former director of the National Archives Southwest Region, draws on unique access to primary records to explain the enrollment process and why nearly two-thirds of applicants were rejected. Essential for anyone researching ancestors on the Dawes Rolls.

Publisher: Ancestry Publishing

Debo's monumental account of how allotment stripped the Five Civilized Tribes of their lands through fraud and legal manipulation. One of the most important works in Native American history, suppressed for years after publication due to its explosive accusations against Oklahoma's most prominent citizens.

Publisher: Princeton University Press

A gripping biography of Stand Watie, the last Confederate general to surrender in the Civil War. His story is inseparable from the Goingsnake District, where the Watie family held deep roots and the war's divisions tore the Cherokee Nation apart.

Publisher: Memphis State University Press

The most widely used Cherokee genealogy reference work. Includes transcriptions and indexes of the Baker Roll, Guion Miller Applications, and other key enrollment records. Essential for researchers tracing descent from Eastern or Western Cherokee ancestors.

Publisher: Cherokee Roots Publishing

One of the most comprehensive single-volume histories of the Cherokee people from pre-contact times through the late nineteenth century. Covers the Trail of Tears, the Civil War factionalism that devastated the Nation, and the post-war reconstruction that shaped districts like Goingsnake.

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Written by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, this history brings an insider perspective to events from the emergence of the Cherokee people through modern self-governance. Conley weaves oral traditions with archival records for an authoritative and accessible account.

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press

A detailed legal history of the federal court system imposed on Indian Territory as tribal sovereignty was dismantled. Directly relevant to Goingsnake District researchers: includes case studies of the jurisdictional disputes that led to the 1872 Courthouse Tragedy and similar conflicts.

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

A practical step-by-step guide specifically for researchers seeking to verify Native American ancestry. Covers the major federal and tribal record collections including the Dawes Rolls, Baker Roll, and CDIB application procedures, with special sections on the Five Civilized Tribes.

Publisher: Heritage Quest