Cherokee Nation, freedmen descendants and U.S. government ask judge to rule on citizenship issue in lawsuit
By CHRIS CASTEEL NewsOK.com on Sep 17, 2013, at 2:30 AM Updated on 9/17/13 at 3:13 AM
Marilyn Vann: "It's been 10 years, and we're still dealing with jurisdiction and procedure," said the Oklahoman who is the namesake of the original case. "If a decision can be made about what rights the freedmen have, a lot of the other things can be worked out or declared moot."
WASHINGTON - The Cherokee Nation and the descendants of slaves who have been suing the tribe for more than a decade have taken an extraordinary step to get a decision from a federal judge.
Cherokee freedmen descendants - referred to simply as "freedmen" - the tribe and the federal government filed a joint request for a judge to address the central issue in the dispute - whether an 1866 treaty between the tribe and the U.S. government gave the freedmen the right to tribal citizenship.
The legal filing, made Friday in U.S. District Court here, notes that the original case was filed in 2003 and that issues about the Cherokee Nation's sovereign immunity have gone to a federal appeals court twice.
"However, despite a decade of active litigation, very little else has been addressed in that case," the brief states.
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ccasteel@opubco.com
Original Print Headline: Cherokees, freedmen ask judge to rule on issue
