Prior to 1 July 1999, the Texas Band of Choctaw Indians was a part of the Texas Cherokees and Associate Bands. The by-laws as recorded below, were those of the band in 1977 as it struggled to survive after the adoption of the Cherokee Nation constitution in 1975.

The document below was made null and void by numerous subsequent organization documents leading up to the current constitution of the Texas Band of Choctaw Indians. Therefore, it is only for reference and has no binding authority on the band in 2001.

Bill Thompson resigned by 1979 from the Executive Committee but was re-appointed in 1995 to replace the late Cecil Vinson. He remained in that position until his death in 1997.

Section 2: The is organized exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes, more specifically to the preservation of the remaining Texas Cherokees and allied bands culture and organization in lieu of the acceptance of the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

Section 1: Membership shall consist of all remaining Texas members of the Mt. Taber community.

Section 1: The General Assembly shall be composed of all members of the band who have reached the age of twenty one by the date of the annual meeting.

Section 2: The General Assembly shall have final authority in matters of related to this document.

Section 3: The General Assembly shall continue to meet annually and a place and location to be determined by the membership.

Section 4: Special Meetings. The Chairman or the Executive Committee may call special meetings.

Section 5: Notice. Notice of each meeting shall be given to each voting member, by mail, not less than ten days before the meeting.

Section 1: Executive Committees Role, Size, and Compensation. The Committee is responsible for overall policy at the direction of the Assembly, and delegate's responsibility for day-to-day operations to the Administrator and various sub-committees. The Committee shall have up to five and not fewer than three members. The Committee receives no compensation other than reasonable expenses.

Section 2: Meetings. The Committee shall meet at least semi-annually, at an agreed upon time and place.

Section 3: Elections. Election of new committee members or election of current committee members to a second term will occur as the first item of business at the annual meeting of the band. Executive Committee members will be elected by a majority vote of the band members present.

Section 4: Terms. All Board members shall serve six year terms, but are eligible for re-election.

Section 5: Quorum. A quorum must be attended by at least three of the Committee members before business can be transacted or motions made or passed.

Section 6: Notice. An official Executive Committee meeting requires that each committee member have written notice two weeks in advance.

Section 7. Officers and Duties. There shall be five officers of the Texas Cherokee Executive Committee consisting of a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Speaker. Their duties are as follows:

The Chair shall convene regularly scheduled meetings, shall preside or arrange for other members of the Executive Committee to preside at each meeting in the following order: Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Speaker.

The Vice-Chair will chair committees on special subjects as designated by the committee.

The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping records of committee actions, including overseeing the taking of minutes at all meetings, sending out meeting announcements, distributing copies of minutes and the agenda to each committee member, and assuring that corporate records are maintained.

The Treasurer shall make a report at each Committee meeting. Treasurer shall chair the finance committee, assist in the preparation of the budget, and help develop fundraising plans, and make financial information available to Committee members and the public.

Section 8: Vacancies. When a vacancy on the Committee exists, nominations for new members may be received from band members by the Secretary two weeks in advance of a Committee meeting. These nominations shall be send out to band members with the regular annual meeting announcement, to be voted upon at the next annual meeting. These vacancies will be filled only to the end of the particular committee member's term.

Section 9: Resignation, Termination and Absences. Resignation from the Committee must be in writing and received by the Secretary. A Committee member shall be dropped for excess absences from the Executive Committee if s/he has three unexcused absences from meetings in a year. A Committee member may be removed for other reasons by a majority vote of the band membership.

Section 10: Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Committee shall be called upon the request of the Chair or one-third of the Committee. Notices of special meetings shall be sent out by the Secretary to each band member postmarked two weeks in advance.

Section 11: The Executive Committee, following the adoption of these by-laws shall consist of the following in accord with section 4.

Foster T. Bean, Chairman

Mack Starr, Vice Chairman

Saunders Gregg, Secretary

John T. Crim, Treasurer

William C. Thompson, Speaker

Section 1: The Committee may create committees as needed, such as fundraising, housing, etc. The Executive Committee Chairman appoints all sub-committee chairs.

Section 2: The five officers serve as Texas Cherokee Executive Committee. Except for the power to amend the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, the Executive Committee shall have all of the powers and authority of the Assembly in the intervals between meetings of the General Assembly, subject to the direction and control of the Assembly.

Section 3: Finance Committee. The Treasurer is chair of the Finance Committee, which includes three other band members. The Finance Committee is responsible for developing and reviewing fiscal procedures, a fundraising plan, and annual budget with staff and other Committee members. The General Assembly must approve the budget, and all expenditures must be within the budget. Any major change in the budget must be approved by the General Assembly. The fiscal year shall be the calendar year. Annual reports are required to be submitted to the Executive Committee showing income, expenditures and pending income. The financial records of the organization are public information and shall be made available to the membership and the public.

Section 1: The registered agent of the band in the state of Texas shall initially be, Foster T. Bean, Kilgore, Texas 75662

Section 1: These Bylaws may be amended when necessary by a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the Secretary to be sent out with regular Band announcements.

These Bylaws were approved at a meeting of the Texas Cherokee General Assembly on June 7, 1977 in the city of Kilgore, Gregg County, Texas.