Opinion: Cherokee Nation punished for ancestry

"Congresswoman Watson's H.R.2824 essentially punishes the Cherokee Nation for requiring its citizens to have Indian ancestry. Approximately 500 other Indian tribes across the USA mandate that citizens be of verifiable Indian bloodline in order to be a citizen of that tribe. The Cherokee Nation is the second largest tribe in the United States, with about 280,000 members including more than 1,500 citizens who are descendants of Freedmen who have proven Indian ancestry.

The Cherokee Nation voted on March 3, 2007 to amend their Constitution to clarify eligibility for Cherokee citizenship. 77% of the voting citizens approved this amendment with more than 8,700 citizens voting which the Cherokee website states, “was a higher turnout than the vote for the Cherokee Nation's constitution, four years ago.” The vote followed a petition drive for a ballot measure to determine who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.

H.R 2824 has drawn strong reaction from the general public. In what seems a backward process, the Cherokee Nation has been given possible penalties by lawmakers prior to official investigations or discussions with proper agencies that deal with tribal affairs. H.R. 2824 details what the lawmakers are requesting in a final phase of judgment, even going so far as to suggest enormous penalties for non-compliance, before formal discussions or investigations have taken place between the leaderships.

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) voiced strong opposition to the bill in a press statement released on June 26, 2007. In the statement, Joe Garcia, the President of NCAI stated, “It is outrageous to propose to terminate the existence of an Indian Nation. This is an uncalled for response to a legal question of treaty interpretation. When Alabama or California takes an action inconsistent with Congressional views, there is no discussion of revoking their statehood. The attempt to revoke tribal nationhood is equally inappropriate. Not since the Termination Era of the 1950’s, when the official policy of the federal government was complete destruction of indigenous peoples, have we seen such a piece of legislation. NCAI was founded to oppose termination of Indian tribes.”"

Get the Story:
Shelley Bluejay Pierce: Red Like Me? Assailing Cherokee Sovereignty (Pacifica Free Press 8/13)

Cherokee-Related Legislation:
H.R.2895 | H.R.2824 | H.R.3002

BIA Letters:
August 9, 2007 | July 11, 2007 | June 22, 2007 | May 21, 2007 | March 28, 2007 | August 30, 2006

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