Opinion: Outrage over ouster of Cherokee Freedmen

Thursday, March 22, 2007  

"I am a proud Oglala Lakota and Black woman. I understand that the Black community and the Native community are far in distance from each other, but I also understand it was planned that way.

How can the Cherokee tribe deny membership with Freed Slaves? More than 76 percent of voters decided to amend the Cherokee Nation’s constitution to remove the estimated 2,800 Freedmen descendants from the tribal rolls, according to results recently posted on the tribe’s Web site. Black Cherokees stood side by side during the Trail of Tears. This wicked devil doesn’t want the Black man to ever feel like he is belonging to anyone. But the truth is in the pudding. Approximately 90 percent of Black Americans have Native American blood. No matter what they try to do, you cannot deny blood.

We must take this issue head on!! We cannot let these tribal presidents that have one drop of Indian blood in them make racist decisions. Blacks and Native people have been executed, hoodwinked, bamboozled and pillaged. So, I am asking the Cherokee Nation, if you know this, why kick your Brother if he is already down?"

Get the Story:
Yo’ Nas Da LoneWolf McCall-Muhammad: The Cherokee Nation pulls Blacks out of tribe—Have we gone backwards? (Final Call 3/21)

Sovereign Immunity Court Decision:
Vann v. Kempthorne (December 19, 2006)

Jim Cason Letter:
Cherokee Nation Constitution (August 30, 2006)

Cherokee Nation Judicial Appeals Tribunal Decision in Freedmen Case:
Allen v. Cherokee Nation (March 7, 2006)

Relevant Links:
Cherokee Nation - http://www.cherokee.org
Freedmen Of The Five Civilized Tribes - http://www.freedmen5tribes.com
Freedmen Conference - http://www.freedmenconference.com

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