"Freedmen" descendants voted out of Cherokee Nation...

[Virginia Dare]

The past continues to cloud the future...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17442676/

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Cherokee Nation vote to revoke the citizenship of the descendants of people the Cherokee once owned as slaves was a blow to people who have relied on tribal benefits.

Charlene White, a descendant of freed Cherokee slaves who were adopted into the tribe in 1866 under a treaty with the U.S. government, wondered Sunday where she would now go for the glaucoma treatment she has received at a tribal hospital in Stilwell.

“I’ve got to go back to the doctor, but I don’t know if I can go back to the clinic or if they’re going to oust me right now,” said White, 56, a disabled Tahlequah resident who lives on a fixed income.

[CountAllVotes]

1. tribe is getting greedy

No more memberships taken I guess if you happen to be 1/332nd Cherokee or adopted into the tribe it seems. I guess they want to hang on to the casino money and also I bet a lot has to do with cut backs in IHS.

This really does suck because these "Freedmen" are likely part Cherokee by blood.

:kick: & recommend!

[Dhalgren]

2. This action flies right in the face of tribal tradition. Membership in the

Nation was never based upon race or blood or any of that Euro-crap. This is a pretty sad day. It was bad enough for the Cherokees to buy into the white man's idea of race slavery, anyway, but, at least they acted in the traditional way by allowing slaves to become free members of the nation. But, now, well, as I said, this is sad...

[CountAllVotes]

4. well ...

The Cherokee Nation has never considered persons of African descent to be eligible for tribal membership. However, in c. 1900 when the lists were being collected, they enrolled "Freedmen". These people were of African descent.

It seems to me that the tribe should have never allowed them to sign up to begin with if they really wanted to stick with their antiquated law re: African descent and tribal membership.

And now, 100+ years later we have the casinos and an IHS going bust. The 1930 census that was released not too long ago has allowed many tribal members to identify themselves as such, including myself. This is probably one reason for a surge in applications for tribal enrollment along with those that want from the casino monies.

I am part Cherokee myself but I don't want anything from them.

I agree, this whole thing really does suck.

I'll bet old Elias Boudinot is rolling over in his grave!

:kick:

[NorthernSpy]

5. actually, the Cherokee are breaking an 1866 treaty with the federal government...

... that guaranteed equal citizenship for freedmen. Any racist traditions of the Cherokee concerning those of African or partly African descent are irrelevant.

The federal government really will have to take action to enforce the provisions of the treaty.

[Javaman]

12. Ironic isn't it? considering the U.S. Government never once stood by any of the

treaties they made with the Native Americans. Now they have to force the NA's to stand by theirs.

[NorthernSpy]

13. well, not "never", exactly...

In any case, our awful past is not a reason to fail to defend the rights of Cherokee Freedmen descendants right now. The Cherokee were our victims. The freedmen -- and their enslaved ancestors -- were the victims of our victims.

[progdonkey]

3. wouldn't that be like revoking the citizenship of blacks?

Descendants of former slaves of a community that were subsequently admitted into that community getting kicked out.

[NorthernSpy]

9. it's not *like* revoking the citizenship of blacks; it IS revoking the citizenship of blacks...

And this action violates an 1866 treaty between the Cherokee and the United States.

[Lasher]

6. I'm glad some folks have been able to get healthcare via tribal membership

I wish all Americans had healthcare. We need universal, single provider healthcare for everyone. But this greed over casino money and other tribal advantages has gotten out of hand. It is racist to eject the freedmen whose ancestors' names appear on the census registries.

It's time to pass legislation to revoke all those treaties and stop treating the tribes as subsidized soverign nations within the US. We all need to be just Americans.

[Richard Steele]

7. TYPO- you said "subsidized" when you obviously meant SUBJUGATED.

And they ARE sovereign nations, no matter how battered. It
is not up to the USA to dissolve other nations, no matter
what B*sh thinks.

[Lasher]

10. No, I like it better the way I said it.

Some Cherokees believe they have inalienable rights that they did not extend to those from whom they took their land before the europeans arrived. That's hypocritical, and certainly not an excuse for racist policy toward the freedmen.

[Richard Steele]

11. Well, we certainly agree that this is a hypocritical and racist move. nm

[Richard Steele]

8. Good TOON on this subject today: