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June 6, 2007

Cherokees add amendment to cut Fed oversight to June 23 election

By Liz McMahan

TAHLEQUAH — Cherokee citizens will be asked to vote June 23 for a constitutional amendment they overwhelmingly approved four years ago.

The tribal Council voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to place a measure on the ballot that will remove the federal government’s Bureau of Indian Affairs’ oversight of the tribe’s constitution, said Todd Hembree, attorney for the Council.

Last month, the BIA ruled not all Cherokees were given the opportunity to vote on the amendment when it was presented in May 2003.

“At that time, freedmen were not recognized as citizens,” Hembree said.

Freedmen are the descendants of the tribe’s slaves.

In March, the tribe gave a 70 percent margin to a constitutional amendment prohibiting freedmen from holding tribal membership. That amendment has been challenged in the tribal courts, and freedmen will have the right to vote in the June 23 election, Hembree said.

In that election, the Cherokee voters will decide tribal leadership, electing their chief and all council members, Hembree said.

The BIA has told tribal leaders that they will make a decision on the legality of a new constitutional amendment within 30 days if it is passed in the June 23 election.

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