Blog: Cherokee chief offers Freedmen a deal

Wednesday, June 20, 2007  

"A rumor started gaining steam yesterday over on John and David Cornsilk's Cherokee board. Apparently, Chad Smith approached the lawyers for the Freedmen with a deal: Ask Congresswoman Watson to hold off on introducing her anti-Cherokee bill, and he would work to get the Freedmen separate "federal recognition" and gaming operations. Well, the Freedmen bit, and Watson put the bill back in her pocket for seven days.

Of course, those seven days aren't up until tomorrow, two days before the election, when it will be too late to have an impact on the outcome of the Cherokee election.

I can't decide with whom I disappointed most - the Freedmen for falling for an obvious "October Surprise" by Smith, or Congresswoman Watson, for allowing this clear subversion of civil rights and the federal recognition process. What do they all think, anyway? That the Federal Recognition Fairy just appears and confers Federal Recognition on any random entity claiming tribal status?"

Get the Story:
Chad Smith's October Surprise... (Wampum 6/20

BIA Letters:
May 21, 2007 | March 28, 2007 | August 30, 2006

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