Re: As We Go Along..........
-
In reply to:
As We Go Along..........
Preston 3/06/07
Hi Preston,
It is probably a good idea for all to go and read the Curtis Act (27 Stat 645), which dissolved the Five Civilized Tribes governments, and dividedtribal lands on allotment to individuals. The Act created the commission which was charged with overseeing this process.The Commission was headed by Henry Dawes, by whose name itbecame known.
When the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma was re-created, its membership, i.e. its citizens, were delineated as Cherokees by blood whose direct legal ancestors were Cherokees by blood on the the Dawes Roll.The important consideration here, vis a vis the Freedmen, is that they were not Cherokee by blood, and therefore were not eligible to be considered citizens of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.The situation is the same with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees of Oklahoma, and I think for the Eastern Band in North Carolina as well.And the vote on Saturday concerned the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and its legal citizens.I would actively support anyone who can prove they are direct lineal descendants of a Cherokee Freedman calling themselves "a descendant of a Cherokee Freedman", but I would not agree that the person has any right to call themselves a Cherokee citizen or a Cherokee by blood or even of Cherokee descent.
So the Freedmen were not ever Cherokees by blood.Prior to the Curtis Act they inhabited Cherokee land given to them via the U.S. government following the Civil War.So they were legal residents of the Cherokee Nation, but not Indian citizens.
I'm in the process of reading the Indian Claims Commission findings you posted (by the way, thank you). The Indian Claims Commission's sphere of authority does not extend to determining who is or may be a citizen of a sovereign Indian nation.In general, the ICC adjudicates asset disputes, such as land & resources issues, Indian fishing rights, mineral rights, etc.Each sovereign Indian nation is it own authority on who is or may become a citizen.Even the U.S. court system, under both national and international law, lacks the authority to dictate to a soverign nation who is or is not a citizen of that nation.
So, in one respect, at least, the Cherokee vote is clearly well within the sovereign rights of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma people, those persons who are card-carrying citizens of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.I'm not one, so I don't get a vote.On the other hand I'm stoutly in favor of sovereign nations taking care of their own affairs without interference on the parts of non-citizens and other nations who lack any legitimate voice in those affairs.
Just another point of view.The actions taken around the civil war and its aftermath attempted to redress the inhumanity of involuntary servitude - slavery of African (for the most part) citizens who were immorally stolen from their homes.One legally & morallyinsupportable circumstance does not, in my opinion, justify the taking of anotherlegally & morally insupportable act.
You have done a good job of bringing some other information forward on this topic.In my opinion, what matters is what took place 3 March 2007, and the infamy on both sides surrounding the Civil War is of no relevance here.I understand that opinion flies in the face of current politically correct thinking - but it is consistent with my system of ethics, which goes back a very long way.
More Replies:
-
Re: As We Go Along..........
RAYMOND 3/08/07
-
Re: As We Go Along And Along...........
Preston 3/07/07
-
Re: As We Go Along And Along...........
G Davis 3/09/07
-
Certificate of Citizenship/CORRECTION
Preston 3/10/07
-
Re: LIES AND MISINTERPRETATION OF THE FREEDME
RAYMOND 3/10/07
-
Re: LIES AND MISINTERPRETATION OF THE FREEDME
G Davis 3/10/07
-
Re: LIES AND MISINTERPRETATION OF THE FREEDME
RAYMOND 3/10/07
-
Re: LIES AND MISINTERPRETATION OF THE FREEDME
-
Re: LIES AND MISINTERPRETATION OF THE FREEDME
-
Certificate of Citizenship
Preston 3/09/07
-
Certificate of Citizenship/CORRECTION
-
Re: As We Go Along And Along...........