Opinion: Cherokee Nation vote not about race

Friday, April 27, 2007  

"The Cherokee Nation did not “purge its ranks of nearly 3000 members–all of them black.” The March 3 vote defined Cherokee Nation citizenship to include those citizens who can link their heritage to an ancestor listed on the Dawes Rolls. It doesn’t matter if you are black, red, white, or green: As long as you have an ancestor on the Dawes Rolls you can be a card-carrying Cherokee citizen.

The Freedmen have tried to use the mainstream media to turn this into a racial issue. After all, it makes great sensational news and sells newspapers. But the truth is that those Freedmen who have Cherokee ancestors shall now and forever remain Cherokee citizens. It is only those who cannot prove Cherokee ancestry who lost their right to citizenship.

Is that awful? You decide. In the end, shouldn’t everyone have to play by the same rules? There are scores of Cherokee people whose ancestors are not listed on the Dawes Rolls. This is because they either refused to sign up, or they were simply missed by the white census-takers. Unfortunately, these Cherokee-by-blood people have never been able to be Cherokee citizens either. But these people know where they came from, who their ancestors are, and they don’t need a Cherokee “blue card” to validate their existence.

The Dawes Rolls are the most authentic document we have to trace ancestors. If we didn’t use those rolls, then what would we use? Should we just open the tribe up to anyone who says they have a great, great, great-grandmother who was a Cherokee princess? We wouldn’t have an Indian tribe anymore, would we?"

Get the Story:
Cherokee Portrayal Was Misinformed And Unfair (The Harvard Crimson 4/27)

Sovereign Immunity Court Decision:
Vann v. Kempthorne (December 19, 2006)

Jim Cason Letter:
Cherokee Nation Constitution (August 30, 2006)

Cherokee Nation Judicial Appeals Tribunal Decision in Freedmen Case:
Allen v. Cherokee Nation (March 7, 2006)

Relevant Links:
Cherokee Nation - http://www.cherokee.org
Freedmen Of The Five Civilized Tribes - http://www.freedmen5tribes.com
Freedmen Conference - http://www.freedmenconference.com

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