NATIONAL
CONGRESS OF BLACK WOMEN, INC.
NATIONAL
CONGRESS OF BLACK WOMEN, INC.
1224 “W” Street. SE _ Washington, DC 20020 _
202-554-0159 _
info@npcbw.org
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michelle Battle
March
9, 2007
301/562-8000
NATIONAL
CONGRESS OF BLACK WOMEN, INC. STRONGLY OBJECTS
TO
DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF BLACK INDIANS
Washington, DC – Today, Dr. E. Faye
Williams, National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. sent a
letter to Congressional Black Caucus Chair, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick,
requesting that the CBC intervene in the disenfranchisement of tribal members
who are known to have African ancestry. Williams
whose maternal grandmother was Cherokee, said, “We, African Americans have
always identified with the pain of our Native brothers and sisters regardless of
which tribe they belonged, and to hear that just 3% of the Cherokee Nation of
Oklahoma voted to expel the tribal members known as Cherokee Freedmen is
extremely disheartening to me”.
Williams said further, “Now, we find
that these descendants of the African
slaves and free Blacks who lived in their nation were dependent on Indian Health
Services to treat serious conditions such as glaucoma, diabetes, hypertension
and more, are now without health care. We must be concerned about this because these are all diseases
that are at epidemic proportions in the Black community, as well as in the
Native American population. Additionally,
the status of the citizenship of
the Freedmen of all five tribes (Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, Chickasaw
Nation, Creek Nation, and Seminole Nation) has been one of a breach of treaty
and negligence.”
Williams
urged the Congressional Black Caucus to look carefully at the upcoming request
from the Five Nations of Oklahoma, to restore funding for the Johnson O’Malley
Education Fund, and urged CBC members to vote to deny fully funding to the
Johnson O’Malley Education Fund until ALL of the citizens of the tribes are
treated as full citizens, including the Freedmen. She reminded the CBC that
while the Seminole Freedmen had their citizenship restored, they have received
no benefits
In
her letter to CBC Chair, Kilpatrick, Williams said, “We urge you to join your
colleagues in Congress in a close scrutiny of these federally recognized tribes
that enjoy Federal funding, but ignore African-Native American individuals, with
historical ties, and with Treaty Rights, otherwise Oklahomans will continue to
be required to pay federal tax dollars so that the tribes can use federal tax
monies to discriminate against African-Native Americans. No
other citizens in this country are required to subsidize their own mistreatment
in such a way; this must not stand. The expulsion must be rescinded, and all
rights restored.”
She
went on to say “The Congressional Black Caucus has been a major supporter of
the Indian Health Services traditionally, but we urge you to take note that many
persons of African American ancestry, who also have Native American ancestry now
have been purged for no other reason than the color of their skin.
Please help to resolve this travesty by withholding support of the
restoration of funds to IHS until this issue of the Freedmen of the Five Tribes
of Oklahoma can be addressed. We
cannot allow this unjust situation to continue. The federal government has a
trust responsibility through treaty obligations and federal statutes to provide
heath care to American Indians whether they are living on a reservation or
elsewhere, and whether they are mixed with white or African ancestry”.
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