MuskogeePhoenix.com, Muskogee, OK

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July 3, 2009

Cherokee Nation likely to appeal BIA decision

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The Cherokee Nation's attorney general says it's likely the Tahlequah-based tribe will appeal a decision about its historical status made by the new head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.



In a letter, BIA head Larry EchoHawk said the tribe was not the historical Cherokee tribe, which he said no longer exists as a distinct political entity.



That decision essentially put the Cherokee Nation and the smaller United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees, also based in Tahlequah, on equal footing concerning authority over the jurisdictional area of the historical Cherokee tribe.



Cherokee Nation Attorney General Diane Hammons says EchoHawk's letter has no legal effect for now, but its contents are damaging to the tribe. She says the tribe will exercise its rights to appeal the decision and take every legal and political remedy available.



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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com

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