Some opponents of the ballot question argued that attempts to remove freedmen from the tribe were motivated by racism.
March 03, 2007
Cherokees vote Freedmen out
Tribe revokes freed slaves' membershipCherokee Nation members voted Saturday to revoke the tribal citizenship of an estimated 2,800 descendants of the people the Cherokee once owned as slaves.
Some opponents of the ballot question argued that attempts to remove freedmen from the tribe were motivated by racism.
Some opponents of the ballot question argued that attempts to remove freedmen from the tribe were motivated by racism.
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8 comments:
Writerfella here --
The Freedmen lose, but they did have the opportunity to lobby their case before the Cherokee Council (read: the electorate). The electoral decision of a 'sovereign nation' must be upheld as long as that nation's constitution agrees with the Constitution of the United States, from which it draws its validity. Too bad the Chickasaws never will hold a similar election, as it would mean that they would vote themselves to be the white men that they are, and the 'tribe' almost would cease to exist...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Well, it looks like the Cherokee people have spoken. They still have an uphill battle ahead of themselves to rid their ranks of all the posers, ne'er-do-wells and wannbes.
Anonymouse
How are the Freedmen considered "posers, ne'er-do-wells and wannabes"? Their ancestors walked the Trail of Tears, they were on the Dawes Roll, and some of them had "Indian blood," it just wasn't recorded by the white racists who ran the Dawes Comm'n. And sadly, just like when the Seminole tried this exact same thing a few years ago, this controversy will end up either in Federal court or with the BIA refusing to recognize tribal elections, further degrading tribal sovereignty.
I wasn't referring to the Freedman as posers, ne'er-do-wells and wannabes. As you may well know the Cherokee have big problems with fake Indian tribes, frauds and outright crackpots claiming Cherokee heritage. Those were the people I was reffering to.
The Cherokee people have voted to revoke the citizenship of the Freedman. It is their right to vote on who is Cherokee and who is not, it is a matter of self determination, whether I or anyone else agree is immaterial. As I said before " Cherokee people have spoken."
Anonymouse
"As you may well know the Cherokee have big problems with fake Indian tribes, frauds and outright crackpots claiming Cherokee heritage. Those were the people I was reffering to."
Your point is well-taken, and I stand corrected. I get emails from these wannabees all the time. Why do they all want to be Cherokee? Couldn't some of them pretend to be Chickasaw or Hopi?
"It is their right to vote on who is Cherokee and who is not, it is a matter of self determination, whether I or anyone else agree is immaterial."
I agree completely. The only problem is, the decision is wrong, morally, culturally, ethically and (most importantly) legally. Thanks to the anti-Freedmen faction, with their blatantly fraudulent petition drive (noted in Justice Leeds' dissenting opinion from the Cherokee Supreme Court) and their ugly racist rhetoric (i.e., "Protect our daughters!") the Federal courts have now withdrawn CN's sovereign immunity to allow the Freedmen to sue. The end result, as I noted before, will be a further erosion of tribal sovereignty, no matter what happens to the Freedmen, who are now being victimized again by the Cherokee who formerly held them as slaves.
Writerfella here --
That's because you don't even have to pretend to be considered a Chickasaw! All you have to do is shake hands with Rob Schmidt and slip him a twenty...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
As long as you're a member of a federally recognized tribe like the Chickasaws, you don't need a $20.
Writerfella here --
Of course not. writerfella is Kiowa, and the Kiowa Casino has yet to open. But the Chickasaw casino operations have been in existence quite a while. How many $20 bills have been passed, therefore? Just asking...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
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