tribal election

Update in Vann v. Salazar — With Materials on Cherokee Principal Chief Election

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are additional materials:

Vann Reply

Vann Supplemental Brief

Joint Motion for Order

NYTs “Room for Debate” — Tribal Rights vs. Racial Justice (Cherokee Freedmen Expulsion)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

The New York Times’ “Room for Debate” series has published a series of articles on the Cherokee Freedmen controversy.

Debaters

Cherokee Nation Election Commission Allows Freedmen to Vote Provisionally

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From WaPo:

The Cherokee Nation’s election commission voted Wednesday to allow descendants of slaves once owned by tribal members to cast ballots for principal chief, but they’ll only count in the event of a court order.

Federal officials objected to a ruling last month by the tribe’s highest court that found only people of direct Cherokee ancestry could be members of the tribe and vote in the upcoming election, essentially denying ballots to some 2,800 freedmen descendants.

While the election commission’s vote doesn’t directly overturn the ruling by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court, it does allow for freedmen to cast provisional ballots in an effort to make the election results stand, regardless of how the courts ultimately rule.

“If a court decides the freedmen descendants can vote we will have the ability to certify the election,” Election Commission chairwoman Susan Plumb said. “If the court decides they cannot vote, we will still be able to preserve the election.”

Federal Government and Cherokee Nation Responses to Cherokee Freedmen Motion to Enjoin Principal Chief Election

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here are the updated materials in Vann v. Salazar (D. D.C.):

USA Response to Vann Motion

Cherokee Nation Response to Vann Motion

The Vann motion is here.

Interior Warns Cherokee Nation that Principal Chief Election May Be Invalid

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here, via Pechanga.

The text:

United States Department of the Interior

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240

SEP 0 9 2011

The Honorable S. Joe Crittenden

Acting Principal Chief, The Cherokee Nation

P.O. Box 948

Tahlequah, Oklahoma 74465-0948

Dear Chief Crittenden:

We have followed the news of the upcoming election for Principal Chief with interest and growing concern. I write to advise you that the Department of the Interior (Department) has serious concerns about the legality of the Cherokee Nation’s actions with respect to the Cherokee Freedmen, as well as the planned September 24, 2011, election.

On August 22, 2011, the Supreme Court of the Cherokee Nation issued its decision in the matter of the Cherokee Nation Registrar v. Nash, Case No. SC-2011-02. In this decision, the Court vacated and reversed the earlier decision of the Cherokee District Court, as well as the temporary injunction that maintained the citizenship of the Freedmen. We have carefully reviewed this most recent decision. I am compelled to advise you that the Department respectfully disagrees with the Court’s observations regarding the meaning of the Treaty of 1866, between the United States of America and the Cherokee Nation (Nation), 14 Stat. 799, as well as the status of the March 3, 2007, amendment to the Cherokee Constitution.

The Cherokee Constitution ratified by the voters in June 1976 expressly provides that “[n]o amendment or new Constitution shall become effective without the approval of the President of the United States or his authorized representative,” which is the Secretary of the Interior. The Department declined to approve the 2003 amendments of the 1976 Constitution, as evidenced by the August 30, 2006, letter from Associate Deputy Secretary James Cason to Principal Chief Chad Smith and the March 28, 2007, letter from Assistant Secretary -Indian Affairs (AS-IA) Carl Artman to Principal Chief Smith, copies of which are enclosed. Although on August 8, 2007, AS-lA Artman approved a June 23, 2007, amendment to the 1976 Constitution that removes the requirement for Secretarial approval of amendments, that decision is not retroactive. Thus, the decision of the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court appears to be premlsed on the misunderstanding that both the unapproved Constitution adopted in 2003, and the March 3, 2007, amendment that would make Freedmen ineligible for citizenship, are valid. The Department has never approved these amendments to the Cherokee Constitution as required by the Cherokee Constitution itself.

Furthermore, we understand that in 2010 the Nation adopted new election procedures which will govern the upcoming election for Principal Chief. Those procedures were never submitted to, nor approved by, the Secretary of the Interior or any designated Department of the Interior official as required by the Principal Chiefs Act, (Pub. L. 91-495, 84 Stat. 1091). Pursuant to the Principal Chiefs Act enacted by Congress in 1970, the Secretary is required to approve procedures for the selection of the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

We are concerned that the recent decision from the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court together with 2010 election procedures that have not been approved by the Secretary of the Interior as required by the Principal Chiefs Act, will be the basis for denying Cherokee Freedmen citizenship and the right to vote in the upcoming election. The Department’s position is, and has been, that the 1866 Treaty between the United States and the Cherokee Nation vested Cherokee Freedmen with rights of citizenship in the Nation, including the right of suffrage.

I urge you to consider carefully the Nation’s next steps in proceeding with an election that does not comply with Federal law. The Department will not recognize any action taken by the Nation that is inconsistent with these principles and does not accord its Freedmen members full rights of citizenship. We stand ready to work with you to explore ways to honor and implement the Treaty.

Sincerely,

Larry Echo Hawk

Assistant Secretary -Indian Affairs

Enclosures

Interior Letter Explaining Rationale for Not Interfering in California Valley Miwok Internal Relations

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Issued yesterday:

CVMT letter 31 Aug 2011

Our January post on the Cal. Valley Miwok election is here.

Ken Harrington Statement on Recall as LTBB Chair

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Little Traverse Bay Bands Recalls Chairman Ken Harrington

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the coverage from Indianz.

Leech Lake Appeals Court Affirms Order for a New Election

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is that order:

LL App Ct Election Order 8-4-11

And we posted the trial court order here.

Cherokee Supreme Court Invalidates Principal Chief Election

Kate Fort1 Comment

As reported on the Indianz twitter feed, the Cherokee Supreme Court has invalidated the election for Principal Chief.  Finding that it is “impossible to determine the election result with mathematical certainty or to certify a successful candidate for the Office of Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in this election,” the Court found that the election was invalid and vacated all certifications of the results.

The order is here.

Our previous coverage is here.