The Cherokee Nation tribe never owned slaves, but certain individual members did. During the Civil War, the Cherokees were allied with the Confederacy. An 1866 treaty between the tribe and the federal government gave the freed slaves and their descendants "all the rights of native Cherokees."
In 2007, a tribal amendment was voted on for which more than 76 percent of Cherokee voters approved stripping those descendants of Cherokee citizenship. The tribal supreme court upheld the 2007 vote to expel the descendants of former slaves. Principal Chief Chad Smith, tribal leader at the time of the vote, said the vote dealt with the fundamental right of every government to determine its citizens, not about racial exclusion.
The freedmen’s descendants do not agree. They won’t be able to vote for principal chief on September 24. They will lose services available to tribal members.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) froze $33 million in funds while the department studies this issue. Some members of the U.S. Congress believe the change in tribal membership violates the freedmen’s civil rights. The temporary Cherokee principal chief, Joe Crittenden, says the tribe has enough money to carry it for "a few months" without cutting services or jobs related to HUD. He also said tribal leaders have been talking regularly to local and regional HUD offices.
-- summarized from an Associated Press story at: http://news.yahoo.com/cherokees-expel-descendants-slaves-tribe-221550348.html
In 2007, a tribal amendment was voted on for which more than 76 percent of Cherokee voters approved stripping those descendants of Cherokee citizenship. The tribal supreme court upheld the 2007 vote to expel the descendants of former slaves. Principal Chief Chad Smith, tribal leader at the time of the vote, said the vote dealt with the fundamental right of every government to determine its citizens, not about racial exclusion.
The freedmen’s descendants do not agree. They won’t be able to vote for principal chief on September 24. They will lose services available to tribal members.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) froze $33 million in funds while the department studies this issue. Some members of the U.S. Congress believe the change in tribal membership violates the freedmen’s civil rights. The temporary Cherokee principal chief, Joe Crittenden, says the tribe has enough money to carry it for "a few months" without cutting services or jobs related to HUD. He also said tribal leaders have been talking regularly to local and regional HUD offices.
-- summarized from an Associated Press story at: http://news.yahoo.com/cherokees-expel-descendants-slaves-tribe-221550348.html
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