The Freedmen of the
Cherokee Nation are still waiting for a decision in their long-running citizenship lawsuit.
The
Freedmen are the descendants of former African slaves held within the tribe. They believe an 1866 treaty confirms their status as citizens, a position
supported by the Obama administration.
But it's been more than two years and a federal judge in Washington, D.C., has yet to issue a ruling. That has left some 30,000 Cherokee Freedmen in limbo because the tribe hasn't processed their citizenship applications, KGOU reported.
"All I want to do is be recognized. You agreed to that treaty. I didn’t. They did," Raymond Foreman told KGOU.
The
tribe's highest court sided with the Cherokee Freedmen in a different lawsuit and about 2,800 were enrolled before the tribe amended its constitution to deny them citizenship. That's what led to the
pending case in federal court.
The
Seminole Nation also tried to deny citizenship to its Freedmen but the
Bureau of Indian Affairs prevented that from happening. Yet the tribe continues to deny certain services and benefits to the Freedmen.
"We are members of this tribe and they still deny us because we are black. But we can date back as far as 1666 that we are Seminole," LeEtta Osborne Sampson told KGOU.
The Seminole Freedmen tried to sue the BIA over the denial of certain services but the federal courts
ruled that the case could not proceed without the involvement of the tribe. The tribe, however, can't be joined in the case due to its sovereign immunity.
Read More on the Story:
Part of the Tribe, But Shut Out
(KGOU 8/30)
Some Cherokee Freedmen are Citizens, While Others are Left Out
(KGOU 8/10)
Freedmen Decision Hinges on Interpretation of 1866 Treaty
(KGOU 8/2)
Join the Conversation
Related Stories
Supreme
Court nominee comes with some Indian law experience (03/16)
Gyasi
Ross: African and Native Americans fought for their survival (02/10)
National
campaign launched to stop tribal disenrollment epidemic (02/09)
Federal
judge dismisses Freedmen historical accounting lawsuit (02/03)
Steve
Russell: Indian fighters take aim at tribal disenrollments (08/24)
Steve
Russell: The hypocrisy of race and Cherokee citizenship (07/28)
Four
groups in Oklahoma seeking federal recognition through BIA (07/03)
Documentary
about Freedmen struggle premieres in Oklahoma (06/18)
Indian
attorneys take a stand and denounce tribal disenrollment (04/13)
House moves quickly on
bill to renew Indian housing programs (03/24)
Dan Littlefield: Freedmen
deserve Cherokee Nation citizenship (07/15)
Radio: Cherokee Freedmen cite
treaty in fight over citizenship (06/16)
Courtland Milloy: Cherokee
Nation seeking to exclude Freedmen (05/07)
Federal judge hears arguments in Cherokee Freedmen
dispute (5/6)
Federal judge reschedules
hearing for Cherokee Freedmen case (04/07)
Cherokee Freedmen eager for
court hearing in citizenship case (03/10)
Obama supports Freedmen in
dispute with Cherokee Nation (02/03)
Judge sets oral arguments in
Cherokee Nation Freedmen suit (9/18)
