Post by blackcrowheart on Sept 10, 2006 21:15:43 GMT -5
Bush administration questions Cherokees on Freedmen
Thursday, September 7, 2006
The Bush administration is again questioning whether the Cherokee
Nation of Oklahoma excluded the Freedmen from participating in the
tribe.
In an August 30 letter, associate deputy Interior secretary Jim
Cason said African-American descendants may have been wrongly denied
a vote in a recent tribal election. He told Cherokee Chief Chad
Smith that the rights of the Freedmen should be addressed in light
of pending amendments to the tribal constitution.
The constitution was approved by Cherokee citizens in 2003. It was
submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for federal review but
officials questioned why the Freedmen, descendants of African
slaves, were denied a vote.
At the time, Smith threatened to bring a prominent delegation of
Cherokee officials, including former chief Wilma Mankiller, to
Washington if the constitution wasn't approved. He sought high-level
intervention because he claimed a regional official in Oklahoma
showed a "patronizing and very paternalistic" attitude towards the
tribe.
Three years later, Smith dropped his campaign. He said a decision
from the Cherokee Nation's top court gave the tribe the ability to
change its constitution "without interference from outsiders."
But in the letter, Cason refuted Smith's interpretation and said the
new constitution has not received federal approval. He cited a
different tribal court decision that required the Cherokee Nation to
accept the Freedmen as citizens.
"The Allen decision suggests that not all persons who were entitled
to membership in the nation were considered eligible to vote in the
2003 elections, which purported to adopt the constitutional
amendments," Cason wrote, referring to the Freedmen ruling.
Cason's letter is significant because the BIA would have to reject
the constitution if the Freedmen weren't allowed to vote. The agency
was prepared to take that step until Smith, back in the summer of
2003, sought the help of former deputy Interior secretary J. Steven
Griles, who was Cason's boss.
There isn't anything in the record to indicate Griles did anything
to help the tribe. But Smith claims that former assistant secretary
Neal McCaleb, a member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, approved
the tribal constitution.
Cason, however, said that wasn't the case either. "While we can
appreciate Mr. McCaleb clarifying what he intended, his stated
intention is not an adequate substitute for the necessary action of
actual approval," the letter reads.
The Chickasaws also have Freedmen citizens, though not as many as
the Cherokees.
The issue is crucial because the 2003 constitution would eliminate
the need to submit future amendments to the BIA. The tribe could
permanently block Freedmen from citizenship without recourse from
federal agencies.
The Seminole Nation tried to do that with its constitution. But the
BIA forced the tribe to accept its Freedmen after cutting all
federal funds.
The BIA regional office in eastern Oklahoma was taking the same
position on the Cherokee constitution before Smith took his
complaints to Washington, where Ross Swimmer, a Cherokee citizen,
holds one of the highest offices at the Interior Department.
Advocates for the Freedmen say Swimmer, when he served as chief in
the late 1970s and early 1980s, also tried to keep the Freedmen from
participating in the tribe.
Since the Allen decision this past March, more than 1,000 Freedmen
have regained citizenship in the tribe. But some tribal members are
circulating a petition to change the constitution to block the
Freedmen.
The constitution does not contain a blood quantum requirement and
membership is open to Cherokee, Delaware, Shawnee or Freedmen
descendants whose ancestors appeared on the Dawes Roll. Smith and
others have called for the Cherokees to be an "Indian" nation, by
blood.
Thursday, September 7, 2006
The Bush administration is again questioning whether the Cherokee
Nation of Oklahoma excluded the Freedmen from participating in the
tribe.
In an August 30 letter, associate deputy Interior secretary Jim
Cason said African-American descendants may have been wrongly denied
a vote in a recent tribal election. He told Cherokee Chief Chad
Smith that the rights of the Freedmen should be addressed in light
of pending amendments to the tribal constitution.
The constitution was approved by Cherokee citizens in 2003. It was
submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for federal review but
officials questioned why the Freedmen, descendants of African
slaves, were denied a vote.
At the time, Smith threatened to bring a prominent delegation of
Cherokee officials, including former chief Wilma Mankiller, to
Washington if the constitution wasn't approved. He sought high-level
intervention because he claimed a regional official in Oklahoma
showed a "patronizing and very paternalistic" attitude towards the
tribe.
Three years later, Smith dropped his campaign. He said a decision
from the Cherokee Nation's top court gave the tribe the ability to
change its constitution "without interference from outsiders."
But in the letter, Cason refuted Smith's interpretation and said the
new constitution has not received federal approval. He cited a
different tribal court decision that required the Cherokee Nation to
accept the Freedmen as citizens.
"The Allen decision suggests that not all persons who were entitled
to membership in the nation were considered eligible to vote in the
2003 elections, which purported to adopt the constitutional
amendments," Cason wrote, referring to the Freedmen ruling.
Cason's letter is significant because the BIA would have to reject
the constitution if the Freedmen weren't allowed to vote. The agency
was prepared to take that step until Smith, back in the summer of
2003, sought the help of former deputy Interior secretary J. Steven
Griles, who was Cason's boss.
There isn't anything in the record to indicate Griles did anything
to help the tribe. But Smith claims that former assistant secretary
Neal McCaleb, a member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, approved
the tribal constitution.
Cason, however, said that wasn't the case either. "While we can
appreciate Mr. McCaleb clarifying what he intended, his stated
intention is not an adequate substitute for the necessary action of
actual approval," the letter reads.
The Chickasaws also have Freedmen citizens, though not as many as
the Cherokees.
The issue is crucial because the 2003 constitution would eliminate
the need to submit future amendments to the BIA. The tribe could
permanently block Freedmen from citizenship without recourse from
federal agencies.
The Seminole Nation tried to do that with its constitution. But the
BIA forced the tribe to accept its Freedmen after cutting all
federal funds.
The BIA regional office in eastern Oklahoma was taking the same
position on the Cherokee constitution before Smith took his
complaints to Washington, where Ross Swimmer, a Cherokee citizen,
holds one of the highest offices at the Interior Department.
Advocates for the Freedmen say Swimmer, when he served as chief in
the late 1970s and early 1980s, also tried to keep the Freedmen from
participating in the tribe.
Since the Allen decision this past March, more than 1,000 Freedmen
have regained citizenship in the tribe. But some tribal members are
circulating a petition to change the constitution to block the
Freedmen.
The constitution does not contain a blood quantum requirement and
membership is open to Cherokee, Delaware, Shawnee or Freedmen
descendants whose ancestors appeared on the Dawes Roll. Smith and
others have called for the Cherokees to be an "Indian" nation, by
blood.