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September 15, 2007

Rep. delays Cherokee cuts

U.S. Rep. Dan Boren did the correct thing in convincing the House to hold off cutting Cherokee Nation funds until freedmen lawsuits are resolved.

Earlier this month, the U.S. House voted to eliminate the federal funding to Cherokees that normally would be included in the housing assistance bill. But Boren pushed through an amendment allowing the funding to continue while federal courts hear the freedmen suits.

The Cherokee housing funding amounts to about $30 million, 10 percent of the annual federal funding for the Cherokee Nation.

The House approved the cut in response to a Cherokee vote earlier this year to oust freedmen from the tribe. Freedmen, descendants of black slaves, number about 2,800 in the Cherokee Nation.

After the Cherokee vote, the freedmen filed lawsuits, stating that a post-Civil War treaty gave them citizenship rights.

The Cherokee Nation is allowing freedmen to receive tribal benefits while the suits are being heard. That’s what led Boren to ask for his amendment.

Congress certainly can involve itself in the dispute. However, it makes sense to wait and see what the courts decide. Legislative action now may only add to the confusion when the courts issue decisions.

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