Group is protesting Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith's recognition
Freedmen descendants say chief’s efforts shouldn’t be supported
SEAN ELY
Comments
43
Published: June 5, 2009
A small group of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association gathered late Thursday morning outside the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in protest of Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith.
Inside, Smith received a Red Earth "Ambassador of the Year” award — given to an individual who has made significant contributions to presenting a more positive image of American Indians.
But according to
Marilyn Vann, president of the protesting association, officials should not support his efforts.
"Chad Smith has done nothing but bring disgrace to Indian countries through his actions on the freedmen people — calling freedmen people, not Indians; treaty breaking, spending taxpayers’ money that ought to be going to services instead of actions against the freedmen.”
The controversy deals with the descendants of slaves. In 2006, however, the Cherokee Nation voted to limit tribal rolls to those with Cherokee blood.
Vann said that the freedmen came to
Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears with the rest of the tribes who suffered and fought hard for rights. The black freedmen have asked Congress to uphold treaties signed in 1866, allowing them access to tribal funding and continuing tribal citizenship — giving them health benefits, education and housing.
Smith said it was an honor to receive the award because he is working toward a "happy and healthy people,” where everyone helps each other through tough times.
But in response to the protesting, Smith said it is not a complicated matter.
"If they can prove geniality, they’re a member of the Cherokee Nation,” he said. "We have even paid genealogists in the
Tulsa area to help descendents of freedmen and African American heritage determine the truth through documentation. The real issue here is the freedmen who have no Indian blood.”
Vann said the freedmen think it’s a matter of not being able to give big gaming money from casinos as other tribes can do.
"We don’t operate casinos, but does that mean we shouldn’t have justice?” she said. "Does that mean our rights should be taken away from us?”
Smith said anyone can drive a
Volkswagen, do the chicken dance at Oktoberfest, drink German beer and claim German heritage, but it doesn’t make them German.
"The same type of thing applies for the Cherokee Nation,” he said.
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Maybe this time its early enough in the session we'll see the demise of the CNO...And the Cherokee People can set about to repair the damage by CNO. to see the bill click link http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-2761 its about the same as the old!
Hopefully the Weezle Smith is sweatin a little blood!
I know he already spinnin the lies and BS on http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/3744/Article.aspx
__________________________________________________________________________________ John Cornsilk Real Cherokee Citizen CNO member UKB too!
What the hay, tilde you got a special redneck dictionary or whut? reduntant is not in my webster or my ole trusty readers Digest Thesaurus neither!! that was what I was talkin bout you tryin to be a dang spellin cop when its evident you can't speel either!
__________________________________________________________________________________ John Cornsilk Real Cherokee Citizen CNO member UKB too!
__________________________________________________________________________________ John Cornsilk Real Cherokee Citizen CNO member UKB too!
shawnees and then after the civil war the Freedman. and this land in okla was the land that the Old Settlers of Ark. Traded a part of there lands for the counties of the oklahoma area ant the cherokee strip and as everything else was stollen from the old settlers they finialy after our last chief at gore which was the last strong hold the old settlers were forced to give up to John Ross and the Old settlers were being killed by our own people so we had no choice but to go back to what lands we had left in Ark. and then The Chief that John Ross so blatently stole the headquarters with the help of the Fed. Gov. Chief Bowels a1/2 blood had to give up chiefdom ship to a 1/8 who was nt enough indian to hold the position of chief. and sence 1839 there has been no one in the office that was enough indian to hold the position and the three or four that were were just like the one in office today Greedy and what he doesn't keep for himself and a group of his sturdie followers that get there cutof the funds that are comming into the Cherokee coffers now and which the Chief along with a few of his cronnies give away to the State or to the white eliment to of the state and the crooked Lawyers that has helped to change the Treaties to read as they want and the Constitution to be so they can keep robbing the other 5 tribes that are leagly a part of the CNO and the other five tribes are the old settlers or what is now called the WCNOM - the Kituahs - the Shawnees the Delawares - and last but not least the Freedman of Cherokee blood. People like this should be shunned instead of giventhem any kind of Honers.
Cherokee Nation News Release
Contact: Mike Miller (918) 384-7861
mike.miller@cn-bus.com
©2009 Cherokee Nation - All Rights Reserved
June 08, 2009
Federal Court Rejects UKBCIO's Claim to jurisdiction
An appeals court says the U.S. did not comply with the law that governs housing assistance.
Chad Smith is well-respected. However, John and Archie, are not. Losers...with a Big L on their foreheads. Now there is the shame and disgrace boys.
__________________________________________________________________________________ John Cornsilk Real cherokee
No fear here, Robin.
One set is much like Chad they are Bastards.
You see everyone knows Chad was adopted into the Smith family.
Just look at his Birth Cert. and you will see.
I think his people are Mexicans.
He may be good in you view but ask his other set of kid's what they think.
I talked to one of Bobbie Smith's inlaws and he say's everyone hates Chad 2wife Smith.
His other set of children are the ones really hurt by his Bigamist way's.
Many of the Cherokee Freedmen have Cherokee blood in their veins. Not all of the them are merely the descendants of slaves from Africa. Government treaty made the Freedmen members of the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory. __________________________________________________________________________________
I the Elder Cornsilk says! BUT that is totally inconsequential to the fact of the matter, they are just as all we Cherokee, Cherokee by fact of law, we are all descendants of the Cherokee Citizens enumerated on the Dawess Rolls and blood aint got a dam thaing to do with it.
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Have you read the 1866 Treaty? As I keep saying all this information can be found at www.cornsilks.com, and so you don't have to sort through the complete Treaty you can see the pertinent Articles to the Freedmen here; www.cornsilks.com.1866excerpt.html...And Joe if you will read and pay some dang tention, NO WHERE in ANY Document will you find a blood requirement to be a Cherokee Citizen, in the 1866 Treaty, nor in the 1839 Constitution, nor the revise 1999 version of the 1975 BS called a Constitution, the ONLY reference to BLOOD requirement is in the Constitutions:"Elected Officials will be Cherokee by blood". the Cherokee have NEVER had a blood quantum, and DO-NOT today no matter what Smith and the CNOT SUCKIN Fools may say.
__________________________________________________________________________________ John Cornsilk Real cherokee
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And folks this is all in MY family Story, YES I am related to the Smiths some of them, my maternal Grand mothers's sister Sarah "Holt" Smith wis married to Redbird Smith's #4 Son George Smith; Therefore the family tale was how did Khia impregnate this woman while over in Europe...He denied it, and Redbird proclaimed Nelson Johnson was NOT a Smith. Nelson changed his name to Smith after all had passed on that would or could object. Infact Nelson grew up hating the Smiths becaues they had denied him, and this name change was probably the weezle Smiths idea with him being a skuzzy lawyer!!
__________________________________________________________________________________ John Cornsilk Real cherokee
Got to wondering just what is his family genealogy? I hear some of the Smith family won't claim him, the very family he claims to descend from, isn't that odd?
The way you try to place the blame on me for bring up the fact is unfathomably.
Bigamy is still A crime in Oklahoma.
How do you in Oklahoma A Common Law State Define A Bigamist??
Cherokee attorney will run for Chief again: By Donna Hales Phoenix staff writer. Smith also may face an uphill hurtle in the court of public opinion. In addition to his wife and three Children, ages 5, 11, and 18, Smith confirmed Wednesday he has a second family of three children, ages 6, 10 and 11. ????
Steve Russell: Fighting the fake Indians in tribal court
Friday, June 5, 2009
Filed Under: Opinion
"I will leave the question with a gentle suggestion for non-Indians who wish to employ Indians. Few Indians are offended by being asked if they are enrolled in connection with a non-tribal employment application. If they are in fact enrolled, that should shift the burden to anybody who claims they are not Indian. If they are not enrolled, the burden should be on them to prove they are Indian by reference to some existing Indian community. Is this rocket science?
But what is to be done about the fakes, particularly fakes who have tenure in academia? I have participated in many conversations about this, particularly with Cherokees, who seem to be the most common victims. It’s odd to say this, but in my experience Cherokees are most likely to get their identity purloined, but Lakotas are most likely to get their culture stolen – often by the same people.
Tribes in modern times are in charge of their own rolls, and they can certainly in some cases make it easier to check out somebody who claims tribal citizenship. But until recently, I was at a loss to suggest how tribes could do anything proactive to discourage fakes.
I wish this idea were mine, but it belongs to Stacy Leeds, a Cherokee law professor at the University of Kansas. I mention it with her permission.
A tribe could bring a lawsuit in tribal court for an injunction against a fake who claims to be a tribal citizen. This kind of fraud harms the tribe’s reputation.
Whoa, the lawyers will say – the tribal court has no jurisdiction. That is true only if the faker is a fake. If the faker challenges tribal jurisdiction on the grounds the faker is not part of the tribal community and not bound by tribal law, there’s the self-admission of fakery. If the individual is a tribal citizen, jurisdiction can be founded both on tribal citizenship and on the fact that misrepresenting the tribe is a tort that has an impact where the tribal court is located. But if the individual is a tribal citizen, chances are we are not having this conversation.
Or, if the faker ignores the tribal court proceedings, the same result follows. The tribe gets a default judgment declaring the faker to be a fake."
Get the Story:
Steve Russell: Fighting the Ferengi Clan (Indian Country Today 6/5)
You're ancestor's came from Africa, be proud of that. You can always go back and help yourselves recreate that which was stolen.
An American Indian Nation has the sovereignty and power to choose the limitations of membership.
One other thing that I have always been perplexed by, if Treaties are a binding legal document between two Nations and if ONE of those Nations chooses to break the said document, then does the situation not revert back to the original status of both parties? If so, mustn't the United States give back the MILLIONS of STOLEN ACRES OF LAND?
Why must we wait for 'them' to break the Treaties? Why not break a few of our own?
Not rhetorical, just something to think about.
I only have one seems you Chief for Life has two?
__________________________________________________________________________________ John Cornsilk Real cherokee
___________________________________________________________________________________ John Cornsilk Real Cherokee
Participants in a Ocktoberfest are simply enjoying an apparent German tradition, Not claiming to be German......Absoluite nothing like the Freedmen in Federal Court claiming to be Cherokee by fact of Law that was mentioned by Vann in the Article, the 1866 Treaty, which is quite clear and ONLY Congress of the U.S. can change that fact see the Treaty at www.cornsilks.com, infact here is Article 9 excerpted for your reading pleasure: and be sure to note blood is inconsequential ALL Freed Cherokee Slaves are Cherokee Citizens, and so be their Descendants today.
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The Cherokee Nation having, voluntarily, in February, eighteen hundred
and sixty-three, by an act of the national council, forever abolished
slavery, hereby covenant and agree that never hereafter shall either
slavery or involuntary servitude exist in their nation otherwise than
in the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, in accordance with laws applicable to all the members of
said tribe alike. They further agree that all freedmen who have been
liberated by voluntary act of their former owners or by law, as well as
all free colored persons who were in the country at the commencement of
the rebellion, and are now residents therein, or who may return within
six months, and their descendants, shall have all the rights of native
Cherokees.
______________________________________________________________________
John Cornsilk Real Cherokee
By Donna Hales Phoenix staff writer.
Smith also may face an uphill hurtle in the court of public opinion. In addition to his wife and
three Children, ages 5, 11, and 18, Smith confirmed Wednesday he has a second family of three
children, ages 6, 10 and 11.
????
The other Nations see him as A joke.
The first thing he did was give himself and Council A raise.
He then got him A Indian House while many havw waited years on A list to get one.
He then stopped building them he offered you A Loan.
Brad Carson had hundred's of thousand spen on his campagn against Colburn but Brad lost.
No one approved this spending in the Council much like his 14 Million Loss buying Stock in Global Energy Group.
I think the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma founded in 1975 by Ross Swimmer is really just the State of Oklahoma without the Cherokee?