I am forwarding this from another H-NET listserve to demonstrate some of the
political fallout of the recent Cherokee Nation election.
Harold S. Forsythe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alkalimat, Abdul" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 9:53 AM
Subject: Re: CBC Response to Disenfranchisement of Cherokee Freedmen
From: jfjordan [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
News From Congresswoman Diane Watson
33rd Congressional District
March 13, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Bert Hammond (202) 225-7084
Lois Hill Hale (323) 965-1422
Congresswoman Watson & Congressional Black Caucus
Register Outrage Over Blatant Discrimination by Cherokee Nation
Washington, DC-- Congresswoman Diane E. Watson and 25 other members of
the Congressional Black Caucus have sent a letter to the Bureau of
Indian Affairs protesting the recent vote by the Cherokee Nation to
revoke the tribal citizenship of an estimated 2,800 black Cherokee
descendants.
"On Saturday, March 3, a very small minority of the Cherokee Nation
voted to disenfranchise their tribal members who have African ancestry
in violation of established treaty rights," said Congresswoman Watson.
"This is blatant discrimination of the worst kind."
"I and my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus question the
validity, legality, as well as the morality of the Cherokee Nation's
vote. The black descendant Cherokees can trace their Native American
heritage back in many cases for more than a century. They are legally a
part of the Cherokee Nation through history, precedent, blood, and
treaty obligations."
"In fiscal year 2006, the House Appropriations Committee estimates that
The United States Government spent $12.6 billion a year on programs in
support of Native Americans. The Cherokee Nation is one of the largest
Native American tribes in the U.S. and its members obviously receive a
significant share of federal funds."
"I have reason to believe that the Cherokee Nation's annual budget is
somewhere in the range of $300 million a year, of which 75% is derived
from federal funds. Black Cherokee descendants are now put in the
incredible position of having to pay federal taxes to subsidize their
own discrimination. This is a gross violation of their social,
economic, and human rights."
"The federal government has a trust and responsibility through treaty
obligations and federal statutes to provide for the well-being, health
care, and education of Native American tribal members regardless of
race. Fundamental social justice demands that the black Cherokees be
reinstated in the Cherokee Nation with full rights."
The letter signed by Congresswoman Watson and Members of the
Congressional Black Caucus is addressed to Carl J. Artman, Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs. The full text of the letter follows:
March 13, 2007
The Honorable Carl J. Artman
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
1849 C Street, NW
Mail Stop 4101
Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Mr. Artman:
The undersigned members of the Congressional Black Caucus are shocked
and outraged at the March 3 vote by Cherokee Nation members to revoke
the tribal citizenship of an estimated 2,800 black descendants of the
Cherokee Nation.
The black descendants are of mixed African-Cherokee heritage. Their
lineage extends back for well over a century when they accompanied other
tribal members to new settlements in Oklahoma after the Cherokee Nation
had been expelled from its traditional lands in North Carolina and
Georgia . Many African descendant Cherokees died during the forced
migration, which has become known as the "Trail of Tears."
The Cherokee Nation fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
After the war it signed a federal treaty, in 1866, committing that its
African-Cherokee descendants would be absorbed as citizens of the
Cherokee Nation. In 1983, the Cherokee Nation expelled many African
descendants by requiring them to show a degree of Indian blood through
the Dawes rolls. A tribal court reinstated them in March 2006. The
most recent March 3 vote is an apparent attempt to override the March
2006 court decision.
We question the validity, legality, as well as the morality of the
Cherokee Nation's March 3 vote to disenfranchise its African
descendants. A sizeable number of persons throughout the United States
who can rightfully lay claim to Native American tribal citizenship and
lineage are of mixed ancestry. The tribal lineage of black Native
American descendants is rich in history and precedent that equals, if
not surpasses, that of other racially and ethnically mixed Native
Americans who have sought and been granted full tribal status.
We respectfully request an interpretation from the Bureau of Indian
Affairs of the March 3 vote, particularly the legality of the vote, as
well as what actions can be taken by the Bureau to correct this
egregious violation of the rights of Cherokee Nation members of African
descent.
We are resolute in our efforts to undo this outrage.
The letter is signed by the following Members of the Congressional Black
Caucus: Diane E. Watson (CA), Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (MI), Chaka Fattah
(PA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Gregory W. Meeks (NY), John Conyers,
Jr. (MI), Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX), G. K. Butterfield (NC), William J.
Jefferson (LA), Bobby L. Rush (IL), Barbara Lee (CA), Donald M. Payne
(NJ), Julia Carson (IN), Al Green (TX), Emanuel Cleaver (MO), Edolphus
Towns (NY), Juanita Millender-McDonald (CA), Charles B. Rangel (NY), Wm.
Lacy Clay (MO), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (GA), Yvette D. Clarke
(NY), Kendrick B. Meek (FL), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH), Corrine Brown
(FL), John Lewis (GA), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX)
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