Official Efforts of the Cherokee Nation to Remove the Freedmen Now In Place
Efforts to expel the Freedmen of the Cherokee Nation are now officially on the agenda. A meeting that is scheduled for April 27th, 2006 has on the agenda, three proposed amendments for the upcoming Rules Committee meeting, and all will be in an effort not only to remove Cherokee Freedmen from the tribe, but also to block any further efforts for presence of African-Cherokee people from entering the tribe in the future.
On the upcoming agenda is a resolution calling for an amendment to Article III §1 stating that the Cherokee Constitution add a Cherokee BLOOD requirement to be eligible for Citizenship with the Cherokee Nation.
This resolution will be the effort to oust all persons of Cherokee Ancestry who have African blood. There will be an effort to retain the Cherokee citizens who have Shawnee blood, as well as Delaware blood. The efforts to purge any presence of African blood, is a direct result of the ruling in March from the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court that found that Cherokee Freedmen were indeed citizens of the nation.
Part of the wording that will be examined will be the following words:
"Citizens of the Cherokee Nation shall be only those originally enrolled on, or descendants of those enrolled on, the Final Rolls of the Cherokee Nation, commonly referred to as the Dawes Rolls, for those listed as Cherokees by blood, Delaware Cherokees pursuant to Article II of the Delaware Agreement dated the 8th day of May, 1867, and the Shawnee Cherokees pursuant to Article III of the Shawnee Agreement dated the 9th day of June, 1869."
The adoption of these words will allow the official legislators Cherokee Nation to join the ranks of the many groups embracing Afri-phobic behavior. However, the emotion appears to run deeper than a phobia towards persons of African ancestry, and suggests an outright disdain and hatred for their African Cherokee citizens. It is no surprise that hate groups such as the Aryan nation, or political states that had organized systems of racial separation, such as apartheid in South African, the former Rhodesia and other places thrived on hatred of another race. It is a surprise for many Americans to learn that one of the largest of the Federally recognized tribes in the United States---a tribe that has received much public sentiment for decades because of the losses in the forced removal on the Trail of Tears--- can blatantly embrace its own organized form of apartheid, and is making all attempts in the 21st century America to oust all Cherokee citizens who have African blood and whose ancestors were placed on a roll that referenced the slave ancestry of some of their ancestors. The Cherokee slave owner descendants of course are all still welcomed.
Although the Cherokee constitution does begin with the words stating that "The law of the United States is the law of the land," the leadership of the Cherokee Nation is spearheading a new effort to strike the presence of a portion of its citizens because of their color, hair texture, and ancestral ties to Africa. Despite the fact that they are Cherokees and have been members of the nation for over 200 years, this effort now seeks to remove African-Cherokees as "the will of the people."
Secondly is a resolution calling for an Amendment to the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation Article VII stating that the Sovereign immunity of the Cherokee Nation shall be waived any by enactment of the Tribal Council.
This resolution will allow the tribal council the opportunity to remove protections of the citizens and allow the tribal council to reject any lawsuits at its own whim. So even if citizens are harmed, and file suit, such as with the Freedmen of the tribe, or any other segment of the tribe, the tribal council will claim "sovereignty" and simply dismiss the charges. By imposing a requirement of a waiver of sovereign immunity, this will not only empower the Council to destroy the protections afforded the Cherokee people in their constitution, it will give the Council the power to say NO to any lawsuit it chooses.
Thirdly a resolution calling for a special Election on proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation. There is already a backlog of applications for citizenship. The new applications for citizenship from Freedmen will further delay processing of applications. The sudden "special" election will allow new rules to be put into place quickly, so that the tribe will be able to remove the Freedmen quickly while the "backlog" will prevent new citizens from getting the right to vote.
This is a sad day in 21st century America. Racism will be protected in the name of tribal sovereignty.