Recommendation backs Cherokee opposition to federal review
Cherokee opposition to federal review backed

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Published: July 21, 2007

MUSKOGEE, Okla. - A federal official has recommended that a Cherokee Nation vote to remove federal oversight from the tribe's constitution and amendments be approved.

On June 23, tribal voters affirmed a 2003 constitutional amendment that removed a federal approval requirement from the Cherokee Nation Constitution.

In a letter to Principal Chief Chad Smith, Jeanette Hanna of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office said her office had reviewed the election and forwarded its recommendation to Carl Artman, the assistant secretary for Indian affairs at the Department of the Interior.

BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling said Friday that Hanna's letter was only a recommendation and that Artman would have to make the final decision.

"From my understanding, it's to be done pretty quickly, too," she said. "Mr. Artman is looking it over and moving toward a decision."

Smith said in a statement released Friday that the tribe was made stronger by having the federal oversight removed.

"While we did not ask for the BIA's approval to remove them from our constitutional process, we are glad that they recognize our sovereign right to self-governance," he said.

The tribe and the federal agency have visited the question of federal oversight several times. Tribal officials maintained that they did not need to remove oversight again because Cherokees had decided the issue in the 2003 tribal election.

The Cherokee Nation submitted the 2003 election results for secretarial approval but did not receive it. The tribe's high court later ruled that the approval requirement was removed and no longer needed.

Despite that position, Cherokee Nation voters again were asked to approve the question in the June election. At that time, they also re-elected Smith and selected 15 of 17 tribal council members.

Removing federal oversight would not affect the tribe's federal funding, according to a Cherokee Nation press release issued Friday. The tribe receives about $300 million annually in federal funding.