"The real question becomes, then, will the vote tally seeming to favor Bill John Baker be sufficient to make irrelevant the votes of the descendants of the Cherokee Freedmen, hopefully mooting this inter-judicial showdown.

I have advocated that tribal courts, in narrow circumstances, should resist federal court orders where the federal court appears to have no other source of jurisdiction but for pure federal common law, such as National Farmers Union. I was thinking, and continue to think, that certain questions of tribal court authority should not concern federal interests — subject areas like tort claims by tribal members against nonmembers who have burned down the entire reservation or tortiously damaged tribal government property and vital materials. But I’d hate to see tribal sovereignty go to the wall to defend the decision of one tribe to clumsily racialize its membership criteria."

Get the Story:
Commentary: Cherokee Nation SCT Quashes Injunction Issued by Federal Court in Cherokee Freedmen Case (Turtle Talk 10/12)

Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Decisions:
Vann v. Salazar (October 11, 2011)
Cherokee Nation Registrar v. Nash (August 22, 2011)

Related Stories:
Bill John Baker set to become new leader of Cherokee Nation (10/12)
Kimberly Horton: Cherokee Nation, racism and the Freedmen (10/12)
Cherokee Nation without HUD funds amid Freedmen dispute (10/11)
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Cherokee Nation anticipates results of election by Wednesday (10/7)
Opinion: Greed and racism with removal of Cherokee Freedmen (10/6)
Cherokee Nation extends balloting in ongoing Freedmen dispute (9/28)
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Judge approves order for Freedmen vote in Cherokee election (9/22)
Cherokee Nation allows Freedmen to vote in Saturday's election (9/21)
Federal judge to hear arguments in Cherokee Freedmen lawsuit (9/20)
NPR: Cherokee Nation facing scrutiny for ousting the Freedmen (9/20)
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Judge sets hearing on Freedmen motion for Cherokee election (9/6)
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Jay Tavare: Divide and conquer -- disenrollment among tribes (8/25)
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Decision allows Cherokee Nation to remove Freedmen from rolls (8/23)Steve Russell: The circus that has become the Cherokee Nation (9/15)