This Just In...
...in an astonishing move, the Cherokee Nation has agreed to an injunction preventing them from disenrolling the Freedmen pending appeals in the tribal court system (though not the Federal lawsuit). The upshot of all this is that the Freedmen (some 2,700 of whom have enrolled since the Cherokee Supreme Court decision that restored their eligibility) will be able to vote in the June 23 tribal elections. Maybe, just maybe, the Nation is moving back from the brink.
UPDATE: A good thought-piece on race, racism and tribal sovereignty from Indian Country Today.
UPDATE 2: Wampum has a good rundown on the law and politics of the Freedmen controversy. And, as usual, she's right; this crisis will not end unless Judge Leeds is elected the next Principal Chief.
Labels: Cherokee, Freedmen, law, Stacy Leeds
posted by The Local Crank | 12:30 AM
2 Comments:
That's good news.
It is, but it's also a cynically calculated political risk by Chief Smith. He's hoping that keeping 1,200 Freedmen voters on the roll thru the election won't be enough to unseat him, but will be enough to prevent the Federal gov't from blocking or annuling the election, a disaster that would almost certainly cost him his job. I don't envy Stacy Leeds' challenge if she wins.
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