Update on Cherokee Freedmen
| May 16th, 2007(Thanks to Local Crank for the heads up.)
Here’s a quote from Indianz.com:
The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has agreed to restore the citizenship rights of 2,700 African descendants pending appeals in the tribal court system.
The temporary injunction will allow the Freedmen to receive tribal services and to vote in a June 23 election. It only applies to a tribal court lawsuit and not to a federal lawsuit.
Tribal members voted March 3 to change the constitution in order to deny citizenship to the Freedmen. The move overrode a tribal court decision that said the Freedmen were members because their ancestors appeared on the Dawes Roll.
Cherokee Chief Chad Smith, who advocated for the removal, is facing re-election in June. One of his opponents is Stacy Leeds, the judge who wrote the Freedmen decision.
You can also go visit Cornsilks for another perspective (they seem more skeptical).
May 16th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
It’s good news (at least temporarily) for the Freedmen, but it’s also a cynically calculated political risk by Chief Smith. He’s betting that keeping 1,200 Freedmen voters on the rolls through the election won’t be enough to defeat him, but will be enough to prevent the Federal Gov’t from blocking or annuling the election. Now, 1,200 voters may not seem like alot in a tribe of 260,000, but keep in mind that only 8,000 or so voted in the March 3 constitutional amendment election, and that was considered a heavy turnout! I don’t envy Judge Leeds; she’s going to have her work cut out for her as Principal Chief.
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