Cherokee Indians say they will not be dictated to by U.S.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/cherokee-indians-not-dictated-u-010110913.html;_ylt=Aki6OqDMKWTAgBUq.g9eiuUSH9EA;_ylu=X3oDMTRoZWNxbzk4BGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDIwMHBvb2xyZXN0BG1pdANOZXdzIGZvciB5b3UEcGtnAzgxMzEzMGJkLWI0ZGYtMzc1NC1hYTE4LWI5ZWE5ZDk0NzQzNARwb3MDOARzZWMDbmV3c19mb3JfeW91BHZlcgM0ZjMzNTJjMC1kZTZkLTExZTAtYmJmYS1lMTU3OWMzNjk3ODY-;_ylg=X3oDMTM1YjlodGEwBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDMTIzM2VjZjYtMTE3Yi0zNGExLWE0NWQtNjVmNjEwNzk4NzJjBHBzdGNhdANob21lfG9kZG5ld3MEcHQDc3RvcnlwYWdlBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

By Steve Olafson | Reuters – 7 hrs ago

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The nation's second-largest Indian tribe said on Tuesday that it would not be dictated to by the U.S. government over its move to banish 2,800 African Americans from its citizenship rolls.

"The Cherokee Nation will not be governed by the BIA," Joe Crittenden, the tribe's acting principal chief, said in a statement responding to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Crittenden, who leads the tribe until a new principal chief is elected, went on to complain about unnamed congressmen meddling in the tribe's self-governance.

The reaction follows a letter the tribe received on Monday from BIA Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk, who warned that the results of the September 24 Cherokee election for principal chief will not be recognized by the U.S. government if the ousted members, known to some as "Cherokee Freedmen," are not allowed to vote.

The dispute stems from the fact that some wealthy Cherokee owned black slaves who worked on their plantations in the South. By the 1830s, most of the tribe was forced to relocate to present-day Oklahoma, and many took their slaves with them. The so-called Freedmen are descendants of those slaves.

After the Civil War, in which the Cherokee fought for the South, a treaty was signed in 1866 guaranteeing tribal citizenship for the freed slaves.

The U.S. government said that the 1866 treaty between the Cherokee tribe and the U.S. government guaranteed that the slaves were tribal citizens, whether or not they had a Cherokee blood relation.

The African Americans lost their citizenship last month when the Cherokee Supreme Court voted to support the right of tribal members to change the tribe's constitution on citizenship matters.

The change meant that Cherokee Freedmen who could not prove they have a Cherokee blood relation were no longer citizens, making them ineligible to vote in tribal elections or receive benefits.

Besides pressure from the BIA to accept the 1866 Treaty as the law of the land, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is withholding a $33 million disbursement to the tribe over the Freedmen controversy.

Attorneys in a federal lawsuit in Washington are asking a judge to restore voting rights for the ousted Cherokee Freedmen in time for the September 24 tribal election for Principal Chief.

[thongd4me 69]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxoWto09Oyg

[Danno 1,228]

There is always a "story behind the story"

It'd be interesting to know what this one was.

Is it the Casinos, is it the demographic changes , is it the simple fact that very few Blacks have any kinship or connection to the Cherokee Nation today?

What I find interesting is who is this unnamed Congressmen who is "meddling" in the affairs of the Indian people... and who they consider members of their tribe.

I would suspect this Congressmen is Black and belongs to the "Congressional Black Caucus" which its self will not accept any member, less be black. Is anyone holding up their funding?


On a side note, seems I heard a Black Comedian do a skit about -How a huge percentage of Black folks claim they are part Indian and how ludicrous the numbers are.

[slim 1,530]

Damm Cher is hot. If only she had a daughter...

[Ironman140 45]

Damm Cher is hot. If only she had a daughter...

LMAO

[The_Dude 1,142]

Damm Cher is hot. If only she had a daughter...

Technically, I think you could still impregnate Chaz, Slim.

On Topic: I think it's a sh!tty thing to do, but they are well within their rights to determine membership.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Meddling Feds per usual....

[Sofiyya 1,687]

There is always a "story behind the story"

It'd be interesting to know what this one was.

Is it the Casinos, is it the demographic changes , is it the simple fact that very few Blacks have any kinship or connection to the Cherokee Nation today?

What I find interesting is who is this unnamed Congressmen who is "meddling" in the affairs of the Indian people... and who they consider members of their tribe.

I would suspect this Congressmen is Black and belongs to the "Congressional Black Caucus" which its self will not accept any member, less be black. Is anyone holding up their funding?

On a side note, seems I heard a Black Comedian do a skit about -How a huge percentage of Black folks claim they are part Indian and how ludicrous the numbers are.

Wow, your post is so wrong and ignorant on so many levels I don't even know where to start. Comedians aren't reliable sources of fact, BTW. Are you inferring that Black people can't be part Cherokee?

I don't blame the feds for "interfering". Tribes are quasi-sovereign, and do get funding from taxpayer dollars, so, if they are discriminating against Black members, they deserve to have their funding held up. This kind of animosity has been long prevalent on the east coast, where mixed race tribal members have been used against federal recognition of tribes that barely survived racially prejudiced policies.

When I was consulting with the Native American Rights fund, one of the tribes vying for federal recognition had this history. To combat Jim Crow, their constitution forbade membership to part Black claimants, but allowed it for part White claimants. That was the first part of their papers to be changed by the attorneys.

Tribes have more rights today. They didn't become US citizens until 1924. But, despite their nationhood, they are still part of America and bound to legal scrutiny of discriminatory practices by their benefactors who are mandated to serve all Americans.

Edited September 14, 2011 by Sofiyya

[luckytxn 2,265]

33 million disbursement check can maybe get them to change their minds.

[slim 1,530]

Technically, I think you could still impregnate Chaz, Slim.

I'm a RUBber, so that means I don't mess with anything less than dimes.

I'll have to leave that for the memebers of VJ that have stopped their journey and need a fresh start.

Meddling Feds per usual....

Yep.

33 million disbursement check can maybe get them to change their minds.

Funny how that fed money makes things happen.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I'm a RUBber, so that means I don't mess with anything less than dimes.

I'll have to leave that for the memebers of VJ that have stopped their journey and need a fresh start.

Yep.

Funny how that fed money makes things happen.

Wasn't aware that was part of your "deal" Slim.

[slim 1,530]

Wasn't aware that was part of your "deal" Slim.

Which "deal?" Don't bump ugly chicks?

[The_Dude 1,142]

Which "deal?" Don't bump ugly chicks?

Whatever you want to think Slim, it's your delusion, we're all just hallucinations here.

[slim 1,530]

Whatever you want to think Slim, it's your delusion, we're all just hallucinations here.

No, I'm dead serious (and have pics to prove it) I've never had to work the "other side" of the room. I've been top tier since day one.

I don't know your personal situation but I can say the number one problem most dudes have is they don't set their sights high enough. Go for it. The worst she can do is say no. And when she does, you just bang her sister so she'll find out what she's missing.

[The_Dude 1,142]

No, I'm dead serious (and have pics to prove it) I've never had to work the "other side" of the room. I've been top tier since day one.

I don't know your personal situation but I can say the number one problem most dudes have is they don't set their sights high enough. Go for it. The worst she can do is say no. And when she does, you just bang her sister so she'll find out what she's missing.

I don't have that problem slim. But at the same time, I realize that the only time I could score with Bar Rafaeli would be through some sort of contract arrangement.