Freedmen "Still Members" says BIA

Buried in this story about the BIA approving the constitutional amendment ending BIA approval of future amendments are these interesting statements by Assistant Secretary of the Interior Carl Artman:

"The 1866 treaty quite clearly states the Freedmen shall be members of the Cherokee Nation and shall remain so," he said. Should the Cherokees attempt to deny citizenship to the Freedmen, the BIA would take action, Artman said. "We would have to enforce it in court," he said.

and

"I think it's important for everyone to remember that we have viewed and we still view the Freedmen as members of the Cherokee Nation."

UPDATE: Cong. Diane Watson has scheduled two public meetings in Oklahoma on her bill to strip federal funding from the Tribe if the Freedmen are disenrolled. And crackpot Senator Tom Coburn (previously famous for denigrating the Cherokee as not "real Indians") has apparently taken up the Freedmen's cause. How lucky for them.