During 2001, 352 members of the Cherokee History Class, sponsored by Cherokee Nation participated in a survey to not only measure knowledge of Cherokee history but to also gauge the intensity of community involvement, or social capital, defined as "…those specific processes among people and organizations, working collaboratively in an atmosphere of trust, that lead to accomplishing a goal of mutual social benefit…it is a relational term that connotes interactions among people through systems that enhance and support that interaction" (Kreuter et al., 1998). The social capital scale was based on five factors community communication, attitudes toward community government, community action, community contributions and political involvement.

The greatest percentage of participants lived in District 1, were female (70%), aged between 18 and 61 years. The education levels were from high school/GED to graduate school, with the greatest percentage in the former category. The greatest percentage of participants was clerical/non-professional employees.

When asked to rank the importance of their affiliations in order of importance, the top four were: membership in a religious group (27.8%); American citizen (22.4%); member of Cherokee Nation (10.8%); and job (10.5%). 68.2% were registered to vote in tribal elections and 54.5% reported voting in the most recent election; 67.6% had never contacted a councilperson about a problem; 77.6% had never financially supported a candidate or cause; 47.7% had never attended a council meeting; and 651% had never campaigned for a candidate or issue.

Respondents were asked their opinion on the roles and responsibilities of the Cherokee Nation to the people and the primary response was to help with employment opportunities (55.4%), followed by health care and access to medications (53.4%); adult learning opportunities (49.1%), and care for the elders (45.5%). Conversely, when asked about the roles and responsibilities of Cherokee citizens to Cherokee Nation, the responses feel into four primary categories: individual's responsibility to the community (72.6%); responsibility to the tribal government (62.8%), responsibility to self/family (30.5%), and responsibility to perpetuate the culture (26%).

Regarding the social capital factor of community communications, most participants reported an occasional exchange with neighbors, interacting through conversation, sense of commonality, willingness to seek advice and sense of loyalty to the neighborhood. In the event of an emergency, they were willing to call upon a neighbor's assistance, but during the past year, seldom exchanged babysitting or watched property while a neighbor was away.

On domains regarding attitudes toward community government, the majority perceived the Cherokee Nation to be fair (52%), and responsive (39.6%). Most participants felt that people in Cherokee Nation could be trusted, but were neutral regarding ability of people to work together. Business leaders were perceived to be interested only in financial gain.

In regards to community action and involvement, most were in agreement with the importance of belonging to community organizations, attending civic meetings, and voicing opinions.

While the majority felt they lived in a safe neighborhood, the scores were generally lower in reported time spent volunteering, or involved in community problem-solving.

When asked to self-rate their knowledge regarding Cherokee history, most participants indicated a very low rating for general Cherokee history. This improved slightly when asked about knowledge of Cherokee myths, cultural practices, and beliefs. Overall, the lowest ranked category was Cherokee literacy.

When participants were asked about what they hoped to learn in the class, one of the overarching comments that accompanied specific topics was "truth" and the need to hear the true story of the Cherokee people in an unbiased manner. In general, they expected to learn about Cherokee history but many were seeking direction in applying the knowledge to life today.