The Cherokee freedmen

[Lamplighter]

It is absolutely none of my business, but this is a story I find to be absolutely fascinating...

Count of votes for Cherokee Nation principal chief to start Sunday, expected to take 3 days
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS**

Last Updated: October 07, 2011 - 11:35 am

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Cherokee Nation election officials say it likely will be Wednesday
before unofficial results from the Sept. 24 election of the tribe's principal chief are known.

The Freedmen were former slaves of the Cherokee Nation listed in the Treaty
between the Cherokee Nation and the US government, at the close of the US Civil War.
The Cherokee constitution gave the Freedmen citizenship in the Nation and full voting rights.

The two men running for office of Principal Chief in this election are long term opponents.
If the "Cherokee Freedmen" were excluded from voting it would undoubtedly tip the balance,
which in turn could decide if all Freedmen would (again) loose citizenship in the Cherokee Nation.

The initial exclusion of Freedmen came in August, 2011
with a change in the interpretation of the Cherokee Constitution .
The US Bureau of Indian Affairs then warned the Principal Chief that their $33 million grant
would be withheld (frozen) if the Freedmen were excluded from voting.
For some reason or other , the Freedmen were re-instated as full-voting members. !!!

Cherokee Nation freedmen to meet in Bartlesville
Friday, October 7, 2011 3:00 PM CDT

According to a press release about the event, the [Freedmen] organization fights
for the enforcement of 1866 treaty rights of African Cherokee Indian people
whose ancestors were listed as freedmen tribal members on the Dawes Indian tribal rolls
more than 100 years ago by the U.S. government.

Cherokee, freedmen agree to move forward with election
Sequoyah County Times
by Sally Maxwell, Managing Editor

The right of the descendants of former slaves to receive Cherokee Nation citizenship rights
has been debated over the years and citizenship was terminated
in August [2011] for approximately 2,800 freedmen.
Freedmen were guaranteed citizenship again in September.

The freedmen, some of whom have relatives on the Dawes Rolls,
are descendants of the slaves once held by Cherokee citizens,
and freed after the Civil War.
Some freedmen claim they are members of the tribe by treaty.
The Cherokee Nation responds that all members of the nation
must trace ancestry back to the Dawes Rolls.
Both the Cherokee Nation and freedmen base their arguments
on an 1866 treaty and changes to the Cherokee Nation Constitution.

This whole thing sounds very much like the US current immigration debate
over Hispanics and their children born within the US.

[ZenGum]

The US Bureau of Indian Affairs then warned the Principal Chief that their $33 million grant
would be withheld (frozen) if the Freedmen were excluded from voting.
For some reason or other , the Freedmen were re-instated as full-voting members. !!!

Herding cats is easy if you have a sardine.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

It is absolutely none of my business, but this is a story I find to be absolutely fascinating...

Ditto. Been sorta following this for a while...


ETA: I started to say this could be the teensiest bit my bidness, but that teensy bit ain't Cherokee. So it's back to really none of my bidness...

[TheMercenary]

If you can prove that you are the tiniest bit of American Indian you can get a lot of government benefits. People did all kinds of things to prove their connections when I was living in OK. Amazing what people will go through to get that hand out.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

If you can prove that you are the tiniest bit of American Indian you can get a lot of government benefits. People did all kinds of things to prove their connections when I was living in OK. Amazing what people will go through to get that hand out.

And amazing what people will do to ostracize others who are not all that different from themselves... maybe not for the $.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

And amazing what people will do to ostracize others who are not all that different from themselves... maybe not for the $.

Oh come on now my Bleeding Heart Friend..... it was not "ostracizing", it was a reflection on my personal experience as a young impressionable high school student in the 1970's.

[Lamplighter]

CNN
By John Stremlau
The Carter Center
October 19, 2011

Black Cherokees exercise hard-won right to vote

<snip>
Simmering beneath the election process all along has been the crucial issue
of voting rights for the former slaves known in the tribe as Freedmen,
who are Cherokee citizens of African origin and who have had to fight in the courts to be able to vote.
<snip>
But what made this election far more significant than a contest
for political power and wealth was the voting rights of the Freedmen.
<snip>
[The Carter Center deemed the Sept 24th election] ...
to be transparent and an accurate reflection of the will of the Cherokee people,
including the Freedmen. ...
The elections commission declared Bill John Baker the winner in an election.

Another source writes...

The principal chief, similar to a U.S. president, administers a $600 million annual tribal budget,
has veto power and sets the tribe's national agenda.
The chief also oversees the tribe's casinos, health care facilities and thousands of the nation's employees.

But the defeated incumbent wasn't done...

[Former Principal Chief Chad] Smith filed the appeal Monday,
asking the tribal court to prevent Baker from being sworn into office
until a federal court decided whether descendants of slaves
once owned by tribal members, known as freedmen, are Cherokee citizens.
<snip>
Hours after Smith's appeal was denied,
Baker was sworn in as the tribe's Principal Chief Wednesday night.

A ceremonial inauguration is planned for Nov. 6 in Tahlequah, OK.

A long battle pitting one group against another may be over.

A federal court has yet to decide the "citizenship" of the Freedmen,
but it is likely the decision will be in favor of the Freedmen,
based on the original wording of the Treaty signed between the
Cherokee Nation and the US Government at the end of the Civil War.

The representative of The Carter Center said:
The Cherokee election is significant because the vote was credible,
and more important, for the rejection of ethnic nationalism
as a route to democratic development.

[TheMercenary]

So basically you still failed.... Ok, I got that.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

So basically you still failed.... Ok, I got that.

???
Who is "you" ?
What still "failed" ?

But then if you got "that", I guess not all is lost.

[Lamplighter]

This has been a long road, and as Chief Baker said "not always a positive image"
Actually, the US Congress could learn a lot from all this.

Tulsa World
11/7/11

Cherokees come together at Baker inauguration ceremony

TAHLEQUAH - The Cherokee Nation stood largely united Sunday night
as freedmen, state leaders, all the Cherokee chiefs and thousands of Cherokees
welcomed for the first time their new principal chief, Bill John Baker.

Baker's speech at Sequoyah High School promised unity and prosperity among the Cherokees,
who have been split in many ways throughout their modern history.

Baker addressed the recent controversial election and former Chief Chad Smith,
thanking him for his sacrifices and making a better nation during his time as chief.
The crowd applauded loudly despite Smith's absence at the event.
Baker further asked for the nearly half of all Cherokees who did not vote for him to give him a chance.

"If you voted against me, I respect that and only ask that you now give me an opportunity to gain your trust," he said.

.

[Lamplighter]

This was a turbulent time for this community, but in the short run it has come out well.
The Carter Center focused only on the election processes, itself.
It has given it's blessings to the results, and come to some rather obvious conclusions.

Maybe those who attempted to divide and exclude will reconcile with the results,
and in the long run this election will help build a stronger Nation.

NewsOn6.com
Russell Hulstine
3/15/12

Carter Center Issues Final Report On Cherokee Nation Elections Last Year

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma - The Carter Center has released its final report
regarding the Cherokee Nation's 2011 principal chief election in 2011
and in that report, issued a list of recommendations and changes
before another election is held next year.

The report, titled "The Carter Center Limited Observation Mission
To The Cherokee Nation Special Election for Principal Chief"
says throughout the election process, the Cherokee Nation's Election Commission
was strained by a series of last minute court ruling, but it still managed
to hold an election that followed the law.

In November 2011, Chief Bill John Baker was inaugurated as the tribe's principal chief.
It took months of controversy, two elections, and multiple recounts before Baker could take office.

During the middle of that process, the Cherokee Nation's Election Commission
asked the Carter Center to observe the election process.
The Center says in their report, there exists a communication gap between
the Cherokee Nation Election Commission and the Tribal Council
regarding the creation of election-related legislation.

.

[Lamplighter]

It takes the current Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Bill John Parker,
to show Sen Scott Brown (R-MA) that you can't tell heritage by just looking.



NY Times
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
September 26, 2012

Scott Brown Says He ‘Regrets’ His Staff’s ‘Unacceptable’ Behavior

BOSTON — Senator Scott P. Brown’s campaign issued a statement
Wednesday evening saying he “regrets” what he called “unacceptable” behavior
by some staff members who participated in the tomahawk chops
and Indian war whoops at a campaign rally.<snip>

Mr. Brown said Tuesday that he did not condone such behavior but added
that Ms. Warren was the one who needed to apologize for claiming to be,
as he phrased it at last week’s debate, “a person of color” which, he said, “clearly she is not.”

As he put it on Tuesday when he said he would not apologize:
“The apologies that need to be made and the offensiveness here is
the fact that Professor Warren took advantage of a claim, to be somebody
– a Native American — and using that for an advantage, a tactical advantage.”<snip>

Mr. Brown is also airing a television ad on the matter and began
his first debate by saying that Ms. Warren’s claims regarding her
ancestry showed she was of questionable character.<snip>

Or was this another Republican attempt at "plausible deniability" ?

[Cyber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

It takes the current Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Bill John Parker,
to show Sen Scott Brown (R-MA) that you can't tell heritage by just looking.

Wow, I coulda told him that. I'm a documented 1/8 Choctaw and it doesn't immediately show.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Cyber Wolf

I'm a documented 1/8 Choctaw and it doesn't immediately show.

How.

[richlevy]

"If you voted against me, I respect that and only ask that you now give me an opportunity to gain your trust," he said.

Well, I guess that kind of sentiment is OK for the Cherokee Nation, but it will get you kicked out the Republican party.

This is why real 'Indians' don't do the tomahawk chop and Brown's supporters do.