Cherokee Freedmen Presentations BLOCKED at Barone College by Cherokee Trustee & Friends

Marilyn Vann, President of the Descendants On 3/29/2011, scheduled presentations at the Bacone College Annual Native American Symposium on the Cherokee freedmen tribal disenrollment issues were blocked by the board of trustees. According to Bacone faculty members, this cancellation was led by trustee Mike Miller, spokesman for the Cherokee Nation and former Cherokee Nation communication director  (OP: Remember their Chief Chad Smith said the Cherokee Slaves were treated well?)

The Cherokee freedmen descendants are descendants of persons of African ancestry, the majority of whom were enslaved under Cherokee tribal law prior to the Civil War. Emancipation and Cherokee citizenship was granted to the Cherokee African slaves and their descendants by a treaty agreement between the tribe and the US government in 1866. These slaves became known as Freedmen.

The official explanation given for cancellation of the presentations was that the issue is in litigation and should not be presented at the college of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association, and Chief Plaintiff of the Federal lawsuit Vann Versus Salazar stated that “We are disappointed that Cherokee nation influence has blocked an opportunity for Bacone students and faculty to be educated on the importance of the freedmen disenrollment issues.  Our issues regarding enforcement of 1866 treaty rights to descendants of former slaves as well as Washington DC Appellate court decisions on the inability of tribal leadership to break the law and hide behind tribal sovereignty are important to all in Indian country. To state that the freedmen presentations should be cancelled due to ongoing litigation is surprising as Cherokee Chief Smith has presented in forums giving the Cherokee nation spin on the freedmen issue at forums such as the Federal Bar Association, Sovereignty Symposium, and before the Native American Journalists. However, in those forums, either the freedmen were not allowed to present at all or Chief Smith was given three times more time to speak. The Cherokee nation does not want to participate in forums where both sides are allowed to present and or are given the same amount of time to present.”

We ask that all persons who support 1866 treaty rights and support rights of Students and Faculty to hear about ongoing events in Indian country and oppose this cancellation to contact Bacone College Board of Trustees and President Reverend Robert Duncan at Bacone College, 2299 Old Bacone Road, Muskogee, Okla. 74403 (918-683-4581) and state your disapproval. We encourage you to contact your elected public officials to register your concerns.

BREAKING NEWS & UPDATES: Cherokee Freedmen Win Tribal Court Lawsuit; 4,000 Applications ordered processed

From David Cornsilk comes this news:

Sources at the CNO Complex have notified me that the Freedmen have won their tribal court lawsuit. I don't have many details at this moment, but the District Court has ordered tribal registration to immediately begin processing the 4,000 pending Freedmen applications. The tribe can still appeal to the CNO Supreme Court.


The news is still breaking, stay tuned

UPDATE: Cherokee Nation District Court Judge John Cripps overturned an amendment to the Cherokee Nation Constitution passed by the Cherokee people with 77% of the vote in 2007, which denied citizenship to about 2,800 non-Indian freedmen descendants who had gained citizenship since a previous court ruling in 2006.

UPDATE II:  http://www.cherokee.org/NewsRoom/FullStory/3464/Page/Default.aspx      The Cherokee AG sounds like they may appeal.  In a lower court ruling today, Cherokee Nation District Court Judge John Cripps overturned an amendment to the Cherokee Nation Constitution passed by the Cherokee people with 77% of the vote in 2007, which denied citizenship to about 2,800 non-Indian freedmen descendants who had gained citizenship since a previous court ruling in 2006.


“We have received the district court decision with which we respectfully disagree,” said Diane Hammons, Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation. “We believe that the Cherokee people can change our Constitution, and that the Cherokee citizenry clearly and lawfully enunciated their intentions to do so in the 2007 Amendment. We are considering all options, including our right to appeal to the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court."

Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Workshop at OKLA NAACP CONVENTION

Call your Okie friends and relatives and tell them to make it to Tulsa for the workshop. Join in for dinner!

The Oklahoma NAACP Annual Convention.

Friday, October 17th and Saturday, October 17th, 2008
Tulsa's Marriott Southern Hills
1902 East 71st Street, Tulsa, Ok. 74136
Registration will begin at 9am.
A Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes workshop will be conducted on Oct. 17th from 3:30pm until 4:15pm.
Participants will include Marilyn Vann (Cherokee), Ron Graham (Creek), Sylvia Davis (Seminole) and Richard Allen (Chickasaw) and former Ok Naacp state president.

A polictical action committee forum will be held on October 18th at 10:30am.
The Saturday night banquet dinner is $50 per person.

For more info, contact Anthony Douglas, state president, 405-722-6100 or adouglas@oknaacp.org