Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Freedmen Rely on the 1866 Treaties

Go to Link: Cherokee By Blood

Even if the Cherokee people were forced to give Citizenship and rights to their Freedmen, the Cherokee Nation should continue providing the descendants of the Freedmen citizenship's and rights in the Cherokee Nation; yes, based on the 1866 treaties that all the Five Civilized Tribes signed, which provided tribal citizenship to all persons of African descent who were formerly associated with those tribes.

The Freedmen and their descendants, rightfully rely on the 1866 Treaties, which did entitle them to Cherokee citizenship and all its benefits. However, the treaties are being disregarded, by the Cherokee Nation;even though, the Judicial Appeals Tribunal (JAT), the Cherokee Nations highest court, in March of 2006, ruled that their new law was unconstitutional. And still, the Cherokee Nation tries to further disenfranchise the descendants of Freedmen, by trying to pass an amendment to change the non-requirement for certified degree of blood to a requirement needed to become a citizen.

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