"Acting Chief Elect Joe Crittenden should respectfully submit his resignation.

How many more times will the Cherokee people put up with having their sovereign rights disregarded, disrespected and denied when it comes to the issue of citizenship?

Joe Crittenden and the non-Indian Freedmen’s midnight hour agreement that gave them citizenship in our tribe and right to vote in our special election for principal chief is a travesty of justice. The Cherokee people have voted three times by majority and have held with clear intent since the 1970’s that only Cherokee Indians who are direct by-blood descendants of the original Cherokee Indians on the Dawes Commission Roll may be citizens of our tribal nation."

Get the Story:
C.L. Russo: Crittenden owes apology to Cherokees (The Muskogee Phoenix 10/16)

Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Decisions:
Vann v. Salazar (October 11, 2011)
Cherokee Nation Registrar v. Nash (August 22, 2011)

Related Stories:
Bill John Baker certified as winner of Cherokee Nation election (10/13)
Turtle Talk: Cherokee Nation court inflames Freedmen dispute (10/13)
Opinion: Another view on the Cherokee Nation Freedmen flap (10/13)
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