Lawsuit
Cherokee Nation accepts court ruling and welcomes Freedmen for citizenship
On August 30, 2017, Honorable Judge Thomas Hogan ruled in favor of Cherokee freedmen tribal member treaty rights to citizenship. He held the tribal constitutional amendment which removed freedmen from tribal membership to be unenforceable due to the 1866 treaty. "The history, negotiations, and practical construction of the 1866 treaty suggest no other result," Hogan wrote in the 78-page ruling in the Civil Action No. 13–01313. "Consequently, the Cherokee Freedmen’s right to citizenship in the Cherokee Nation is directly proportional to native Cherokees’ right to citizenship," Hogan continued.
The tribe did not challenge the ruling and sent the Federal court order to the tribal court which voided the tribal constitutional amendments which removed the freedmen from tribal membership and blocked freedmen from holding office. The preliminary order of August 30, 2017 against the tribe was finalized in 2018 with issues between the US and the freedmen remaining to be finalized (dealing primarily with protection of the freedmen) as of early September 2018.
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media ABOUT THE CHEROKEE FREEDMEN
Marilyn Vann on Red Town Radio Blog
Dan Littlefield: Freedmen deserve Cherokee Nation citizenship
Dan Littlefield: Freedmen deserve Cherokee Nation citizenship
Biography of President Marilyn Vann
Marilyn, a member of the Cherokee Nation, is a descendant of Joseph Vann and Rider Fields, who were native Cherokee citizens by blood who immigrated to what is now eastern Oklahoma before 1860.
Dan Littlefield: Freedmen deserve Cherokee Nation citizenship
Dan Littlefield: Freedmen deserve Cherokee Nation citizenship
Dan Littlefield: Freedmen deserve Cherokee Nation citizenship
Dan Littlefield, the director of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Sequoyah National Research Center, discusses the controversy over Freedmen citizenship within the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Court Victory for Cherokee Freedmen
Dan Littlefield: Freedmen deserve Cherokee Nation citizenship
Court Victory for Cherokee Freedmen
A new federal court ruling says Cherokee Freedmen are entitled to tribal citizenship. The Cherokee Nation attorney general says the tribe will not appeal the ruling.
Guests interviewed:
Marilyn Vann (Cherokee Nation) – President of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association.
Todd Hembree (Cherokee Nation) – Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation
Matthew Fletcher (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians) – law professor at Michigan State University and author of the Turtle Talk Blog
Fight for Representation
Fight for Representation
Court Victory for Cherokee Freedmen
Very interesting discussion with freelance journalist Jenni Monet, Marilynn Vann who was lead plaintiff in the law suit, Jon Velie lead attorney in the law suit and Perline Boyattia, whose family is descended from Cherokee Freedman and is still struggling to be accepted.
Music performed by Three Generationz. Photo taken by Jenni Monet, in publication on Indian Country Today.
Slavery's Untold Story
Fight for Representation
Slavery's Untold Story
In Oklahoma, Tayo Popoola discovers the story of the slaves owned by the Cherokee Indian tribe.
Discussion of the 2017 lawsuit when the Cherokee Freedmen won a long battle to be admitted as full members of the Cherokee tribe.
Fight for Representation
Slavery's Untold Story