A lobbyist for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma filed suit against the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs for recognizing six groups as tribes.

Mark Greene says the commission violated the state's open meetings law by failing to inform the public about its intentions to hold a meeting during which the groups were recognized. The lawsuit also says the commission failed to deliberate in public about its vote to recognize the groups.

Three of the groups that the commission recognized claim some sort of Cherokee ancestry. The Cherokee Nation says the groups are not legitimate.

The tribe hired Bob Tuke, a former state chairman of the Democratic Party and a former U.S. Senate nominee, to pursue the lawsuit.

Get the Story:
Suit filed against Indian Affairs panel (The Knoxville News 7/1)
Cherokee sue over ruling on new tribes (The Chatanooga Times Free Press 7/1)
Native Americans dispute recognition of new tribes in TN (The Tennesseean 7/1)

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