"During the summer weeks, we were given a barrage of radio, TV, newspaper and sign advertisements for various candidates for “Tribal” or “nation” government chief elections. In some cases, the election results turned out to be only a primary and a run-off has been necessary, such as in the Muskogee or Creek Nation election for chief.

In others, such as that of the Cherokee, there have been problems with claimed vote irregularities, disenfranchised voters, the setting aside of the ballots for chief and call for a new election, the tribal government deciding that the so-called “freedmen” (descendants of former slaves to tribal members), and finally, the intervention of the federal government in the form of the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) over the matter of the “freedmen.”

In the matter of the “freedmen” voting, someone in the BIA finally and unilaterally decided to withhold several million dollars of payments to the tribal government unless the “freedmen” were allowed to vote in the repeat election. As a result, the Cherokees repeated an election and freedmen were allowed to vote in the election for principal chief.

This whole scenario has had a distinct and nasty smell in it to me."

Get the Story:
Robert McDowell: Tribal membership can be a difficult situation (The Tulsa Beacon 10/13

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)
Cherokee Nation begins counting of ballots for principal chief (10/10)
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)
Cherokee Nation faces contempt order in Freedmen vote dispute (9/27)
Cherokee Nation sees increase in turnout for second election (9/26)
Results of Cherokee Nation principal chief vote due October 10 (9/23)
Column: Freedmen dispute a sad story for the Cherokee Nation (9/23)
Letter: Cherokee Freedmen dustup about sovereignty not race (9/23)
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)
Cherokee Nation starts sending provisional ballots to Freedmen (9/16)
NYT: Tribal rights vs. racial justice in Cherokee Freedmen battle (9/16)
Blog: Rush Limbaugh offers take on Cherokee Freedmen dispute (9/16)
Steve Russell: The circus that has become the Cherokee Nation (9/15)
Cherokee Nation to allow Freedmen to cast provisional ballots (9/15)
Editorial: Cherokee Nation faces pressure on fate of Freedmen (9/15)
Acting Cherokee Nation chief vows to protect tribe's interests (9/14)
BIA warns Cherokee Nation about disenrollment of Freedmen (9/13)
Lawmakers want HUD to restore funding to Cherokee Nation (9/12)
HUD won't release funds to Cherokee Nation in Freedmen flap (9/8)
Judge sets hearing on Freedmen motion for Cherokee election (9/6)
Freedmen eye lawsuit in federal court over Cherokee election (8/30)
Freedmen seek appeal for loss of Cherokee Nation citizenship (8/29)
Jay Tavare: Divide and conquer -- disenrollment among tribes (8/25)
Turtle Talk: Tribal courts, treaty rights and treaty rights disputes (8/25)
Cherokee Freedmen lose right to vote in upcoming chief election (8/24)
Decision allows Cherokee Nation to remove Freedmen from rolls (8/23)Steve Russell: The circus that has become the Cherokee Nation (9/15)