I received a press release from the Cherokee Nation about the struggle to maintain their rights to sovereignty which were being tested when California Congresswoman Diane Watson demanded that Congress punish the Cherokee for wanting to remove 300 non-Indians from their tribal rolls.Ms Watson ,who has never stood up for Indian rights in her own state of California where some tribes disenfranchised members who are Indian took this stand to try and force the Cherokee to keep the 300 non-Indian Black citizens who were listed as Freedmen descendants as Cherokee citizens. MS Watson wanted Congress to cut of funding to The Cherokee Nation if they did not re-instate these 300 people. The Cherokee Nation has the rights of a sovereign nation and her actions would be similar to demanding that Canada make 300 people or keep 300 people they claim as non-citizens as citizens. This is an issue for the Cherokee court system and not Congress.
I am glad that Congress has refused to honor MS Watson's demands.Several times in the past I tried to interview her but she would not respond.She tried to have Congress stop federal funding for housing because of this but Congress voted to allow the funding to continue for the time being.Please read Principal Chief Chad Smith's statement outlining and explaining the issue.Thank you to all the members of Congress who have helped The Cherokee Nation.
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NAHASDA Funds Continue Last week was eventful in our defense of the Cherokee Nation. We have been defending our sovereign right to self-determination, defending our citizenship laws which removed non-Indian eligibility. We were standing up to Congresswoman Diane Watson from California and others who have tried to attach language to laws that would forbid Cherokee Nation from receiving federal funds. Our main messages about this issues has been that we are a sovereign Nation that has the right to decide citizenship laws and that any conflicts with our laws can and should be decided in a court of law, not by the federal government. The United States Senate and House of Representatives passed measures last Thursday and Saturday preserving Cherokee Nation’s federal funding for housing services (Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act reauthorization, NAHASDA). The language of the measure stipulated that Cherokee Nation would receive these funds as long as a court order allowing citizenship for non-Indian Freedmen descendants remains in place throughout the tribal court case that will determine their eligibility for citizenship in the Cherokee Nation. I see the language in the bill as a sign that Congress recognizes the sovereignty and authority of tribal courts to settle internal disputes, which should be considered a victory for not only the Cherokee Nation but all tribes. It is unfortunate that Congress voted to single out an Indian tribe over a disagreement about the tribe’s internal citizenship criteria, but I consider it a good sign that they have decided that this is a matter that should be decided by the courts and not by politics. There are several elected officials who helped us defend our tribal sovereignty: Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Lisa Murkowski (D-Alaska), as well as Congressmen Dan Boren (D-Okla.), Melvin Watt (D-N.C.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) and Steve Pearce (R-N.M.). I thank them for their leadership and for proposing a solution that is not punitive to Cherokee citizens who need housing assistance. Here is some background information on this issue: Currently, more than 300 non-Indian descendants of Freedmen are suing the Cherokee Nation in tribal district court over a constitutional amendment passed by Cherokee voters in March 2007 that restricted citizenship to people who have an Indian ancestor listed on the Cherokee Nation’s base roll. That amendment effectively ended a one-year period in which non-Indians were allowed to register as citizens based on a 2006 tribal court ruling. Those non-Indian Freedmen whose citizenship is in question have full citizenship rights, including access to social services and the right to vote, because of a May 2007 tribal court order that continues citizenship while the case is pending. If you would like to read about the facts of the citizenship issue of non-Indian Freedmen, you can look it up online atwww.cherokeenationfacts.org and www.meetthecherokee.org. Chad Smith Principal Chief |
