Stacy Leeds, the first woman to serve on the Cherokee Nation's highest court, has announced her campaign for principal chief.
Leeds has served on the court since August 2002. She also directs the Tribal Law and Government Center and Center for Indigenous Nations Studies at the University of Kansas School of Law [Biography].
Leeds authored the majority opinion in the landmark Cherokee Freedmen ruling. The court said the descendants of African slaves can't be denied citizenship if their ancestors were on the Dawes Roll.
The tribe has enrolled about 1,000 Freedmen but Chief Chad Smith recently set a special election that would alter the constitution and oust the Freedmen.
Get the Story:KU law professor hopes to lead Cherokee Nation (The Topeka Capital-Journal 1/19)
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