BIA official backs change to Cherokee constitution

Monday, July 23, 2007  

A Bureau of Indian Affairs official in Oklahoma is recommending approval of the Cherokee Nation's constitutional amendment.

The tribe voted June 23 to remove federal oversight of the constitution. In a July 11 letter, Jeanette Hanna, the director of the BIA's Eastern Oklahoma office, said she reviewed the election results and recommended approval by assistant secretary Carl Artman.

That's a different position from the one Hanna took in 2003, when the tribe first voted on the amendment. She refused to endorse the change, saying it would lead to the disenfranchisement of the Freedmen, who are the descendants of African slaves formerly held by the tribe.

Artman must make the final decision. In a May letter, he rejected the 2003 amendment out of concern for the rights of the Freedmen, who were guaranteed citizenship by an 1866 treaty.

Get the Story:
Cherokee opposition to federal review backed (The Oklahoman 7/21)
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BIA official sides with tribe: Recommendation backs Cherokee opposition to review (The Tulsa World 7/21)

BIA Letters:
July 11, 2007 | June 22, 2007 | 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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