![](https://www.indianz.com/News/2016/08/31/freedmenprotest.jpg)
As for the federal government, the Obama administration formally backed the Freedmen in the lawsuit, known as Cherokee Nation v. Nash. But it was the Bush administration that repeatedly attempted to hold the tribe accountable to the treaty. In 2003, after the tribe amended its constitution in a way to eliminate federal oversight, the Bureau of Indian Affairs refused to accept the changes. The agency questioned whether the Freedmen were denied the ability to participate in the referendum at the time, a move that enraged then-chief Chad Smith, who mounted a major lobbying campaign in hopes of getting his way. He never did and the constitution has remained in limbo ever since. But that didn't stop Smith from pushing the tribe to schedule another referendum to explicitly deny citizenship to the Freedmen. The overwhelming majority of Cherokee citizens supported the purge. The dispute soon became of national significance when sympathetic lawmakers from the Congressional Black Caucus got involved. They repeatedly inserted provisions in bills in order to punish the tribe and the controversy threatened to derail major pieces of legislation that benefit Indian Country as a whole. At one point, the tribe even lost access to federal housing funds because the Obama administration said it wasn't complying with a 2008 agreement that required the Freedmen to remain as citizens until the courts -- both tribal and federal -- could resolve the citizenship issue. But with Hogan's ruling in hand, Freedmen leaders and their allies are taking it as a sign that their long fight is finally over. ”I am filled with joy that my people, the Freedmen, will continue to be citizens, as our ancestors have, in the Cherokee Nation," Marilyn Vann, the president of the Descendants of the Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association, said in response to the decision. "I look forward to the healing within our proud and amazing people,” said Vann, who is one of the parties in the lawsuit. “This is a wonderful victory for the Freedmen who regained their identities as equal citizens in their nation. It is a victory against racial oppression and division," added attorney Jon Velie, who represented Vann. "It is a win for Native Americans as the federal courts have enforced both treaty rights of citizenship while maintaining Tribes and elected officials rights to determine citizenship and self-determination pursuant law. " District Court Decision:
Cherokee Nation v. Nash (August 30, 2017)
Join the Conversation
Related Stories
Donald
Trump supporter 'Michael the Black Man' offers odd views on Cherokee Nation and
slavery (August 23, 2017)Oklahoma tribes still struggling with Freedmen citizenship issues (August 31, 2016)