Mock trial for Ned Christie

Trial of Ned Christie called to order after 118 years

Mock trial will be an educational experience for the communityNed Christie will finally be tried in the Cherokee courts on the accusation of the murder of U.S. Deputy Maples. Christie was accused of the murder, but was never tried by a jury of his peers, until now–June 25 and 26, at the Cherokee National Capitol at 100 South Muskogee Ave., in Tahlequah.And:Christie was assassinated on Nov. 3, 1892, after a five-year standoff with the federal government following the allegation of murder of Daniel Maples in May 1887. Denied the right to an Indian court trial due to the federal government’s intervention, Christie was bound to the jurisdiction of the United States Court for the Western District of Arkansas in Fort Smith, Ark., which had oversight of Indian Territory under Judge Isaac C. Parker. Refusing to stand trial in a “white man’s court” under the “Hangin’ Judge,” Christie elected to remain at large while justice was sought. In 1918, 26 years after Christie’s assassination, an individual who was also at the scene on the night of Maples’ murder exonerated Christie for the crime with testimony of the facts and the naming of the true killer.Some background on Christie:

Ned ChristieNed Christie (December 14, 1852–November 3, 1892), also known as NeDe WaDe (Cherokee), was a Cherokee statesman. Ned was a member of the executive council (1885) in the Cherokee Nation senate, and served as one of three advisors to Chief Bushyhead. He was notable for holding off US forces after being accused of murdering a US marshal. This gave him notoriety as an outlaw, and he was eventually killed by US Marshals.