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Obama takes on freedmen issue
TRIBAL SUPPORT
Barack Obama: “Our nation has learned withtragic results that federal intervention ininternal matters of Indian tribes is rarelyproductive . . . This is not a legacy we want tocontinue,” the Illinois senator said.
By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau
Published: 5/11/2008 2:04 AM
Last Modified: 5/19/2008 3:33 PM
The senator believes the courts, not
Congress, should resolve the controversy.
WASHINGTON -- U.S.
Sen. and Democratic presidential front-runner Barack
Obama has come out against
any congressional interference "at this point" in the ongoing controversy over Cherokee Nation citizenship for
descendants of former slaves.
"Tribal sovereignty must
mean that the place to resolve
intertribal disputes is the tribe itself," the Illinois lawmaker said in a statement
provided Saturday by his Senate office.
"Our nation has learned
with tragic results that federal intervention in internal
matters of Indian tribes is
rarely productive . . . This is
not a legacy we want to continue."
However, speaking directly to the Cherokee Nation issue,
Obama also expressed opposition to unwarranted tribal
disenrollment and described
discrimination anywhere as
intolerable.
"But the Cherokee(s) are
dealing with this issue in both
tribal and federal courts," he
said.
"As it stands, the rights of
the Cherokee Freedmen are
not being abrogated because
there is an injunction in place
that ensures the freedmans'
rights to programs during the
pendency of the litigation. I do
not support efforts to undermine these legal processes
and impose a congressional
solution."
Obama press spokesman
Michael Ortiz said the statement was prepared several
weeks ago, but Ortiz did not
say why it was prepared.
His comments, which were
reported earlier on a blog, put
Obama at odds with a number
of other members of the Congressional Black Caucus and
possibly even the position of
the U.S. House of Representatives.
Last year, the House voted
to withhold housing funds
from the Cherokee Nation until it drops efforts to deny citizenship to freedmen descendants who cannot trace their
lineage back to the Indian category of the Dawes Rolls.
Even tougher legislation is
awaiting action.
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla.,
won approval of a provision
that would delay such punitive
action until after the court
case.
Boren said Obama's position "is in line with most who
have observed this issue. I
agree that the freedmen issue
should be litigated in the
courts before congressional
action."
The Senate has yet to act on
the housing bill.
Cherokee Nation Principal
Chief Chad Smith welcomed
Obama's statement.
"The Cherokee Nation
knows Sen. Obama understands Native American issues and will be a good president for Indian Country,"
Smith said.
"We agree with Sen. Obama's overall position that the
courts should decide these issues and wish other CBC
members would agree. The
Congress should not subvert
the courts and judge the Cherokee Nation without considering the facts or the law, which
is exactly what some members have done."
Again, he warned funding
cuts would harm thousands of
young, poor and infirm Cherokees.
Smith disagrees with claims
that an 1866 treaty guaranteed
tribal citizenship to descendants of former slaves and believes his stance is supported
by previous actions by Congress.
Jim Myers (202) 484-1424
jim.myers@tulsaworld.com
By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau
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