by Chula Harjo

Created on: August 07, 2008   Last Updated: August 08, 2008

If you read mainstream media news reports about the Cherokee Freedmen, you may be scratching your head by now and wondering why the Cherokees are so racist. How could they just up and kick all the black people out of the tribe? They aren't racists and they haven't kicked out the black people. You need to read this information.

Who are the Cherokee Freedmen?-As you read about this group in current articles, it is important to define who they are. The Cherokee Freedmen currently fighting for citizenship are descendants of former slaves held by some Cherokee individuals. The Cherokee Freedmen as mentioned in current news articles are sometimes referred to as non-Indian Freedmen because they are not blood descendants of an individual listed on the Dawes Rolls as a By Blood Cherokee, Delaware, or Shawnee.

Are the Cherokee Freedmen the descendants of Cherokee Nation's slaves? -The Cherokee Nation never had slaves. Some Cherokee individuals who lived in the Cherokee Nation did, though. In 1863, the Cherokee Nation emancipated all slaves within its territorial jurisdiction. In 1866, those Freedmen and their descendants were made citizens of the Cherokee Nation. Many freed slaves from around the United States flocked to Indian Territory following the Civil War, but only those Freedmen who were living in Cherokee Nation during a specific time frame were granted citizenship into the Cherokee Nation.

Is the Cherokee Nation breaking the Treaty of 1866? -This is the major claim of the Freedmen suing for citizenship, but the Cherokee Nation asserts that this claim is false. Ongoing court cases will determine whether or not the Cherokee Nation has broken the Treaty of 1866, and the Cherokee Nation has stated that it will abide by the court's ruling.

Here are the major points of both sides of the debate:

Article 9 of the Treaty of 1866 stated, "...all freedmen who have been liberated by voluntary act of their former owners or by law, as well as all free colored persons who were in the country at the commencement of the rebellion, and are now residents therein, or who may return within six months, and their descendants, shall have all the rights of native Cherokees." To the Freedmen, this means that they (as the descendants of former slaves and free colored persons) have the right to citizenship because of this article.

However, the Cherokee Nation argues that subsequent legislation reversed the terms of this Treaty. One such reversal is seen in the Section 26 of the Congressional

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