On November 9, 2007, Marilyn Vann spoke about the history of the Cherokee Freedmen here at MSU law college. As she did during her talk at last April’s Federal Bar Association’s Indian Law Conference, she presented a slide show of numerous materials.
Here are the materials — Marilyn Vann Materials
And here is a description of each page in the materials provided by Marilyn: Continue reading
Last December, the federal court denied the Cherokee Nation’s motion to dismiss Vann v. Kempthorne. The Nation had argued that it was a necessary and indispensable party under FRCP 19. And, because it hadn’t waived its immunity, the Nation argued that the federal case must be dismissed. The United States argued that the case should be dismissed under the tribal court exhaustion doctrine. The court disagreed.
My newly revised paper, now titled “On Black Freedmen,” should be up on SSRN in the next few days. The paper will be part of Justice Unveiled: African American Culture and Legal Discourse (Lovalerie King & Richard Schur, eds.).
From the Abstract:
In recent years, some legal, political, and cultural questions involving American Indians have begun to overlap – and conflict – with those of African Americans. The recent Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma’s vote to strip the Black Freedmen of tribal membership generated allegations of racism and calls to force Indian tribes to comply with the Reconstruction Amendments sheds light on this question. This controversy highlights a serious problem in Indian-Black political and social relationships – the discourse of Black-White racism has begun to intrude into the discourse of American Indian law. The Reconstruction Amendments, federal civil rights statutes, and federal case law—all established as a reaction to Black-White racism –– expresses important antidiscrimination principles that can conflict with the foundational elements of American Indian law: tribal sovereignty, the trust relationship, and measured separatism. To import the law of Black-White racism into American Indian law is to destroy American Indian law and, potentially, American Indian culture.
Tribal Extinction: Enrollment Issues in the 21st Century – featuring Marilyn Vann and Mike Phelan
The Native American Law Students Association and the Center for Diversity Services will welcome two speakers on Friday, November 9 to discuss perspectives of tribal enrollment, a controversial issue at the forefront of Indian Law and Constitutional Law. The event features guest speakers Marilyn Vann, recently disenrolled from the Cherokee Nation and lead plaintiff in the Cherokee Freedmen cases, and Mike Phelan, counsel for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. The event begins at 6:30pm in the Castle Board Room on the 3rd floor of the MSU College of Law. Dinner will be served and all are welcome. Please contact Melissa Velky with any questions at velkymel@msu.edu.
Details about the Cherokee Freedmen (and others) are here.
H/T to Indianz.com:
Cherokee-Related Legislation:
H.R.2786 | H.R.2895 | H.R.2824 | H.R.3002
BIA Letters:
August 9, 2007 | July 11, 2007 | June 22, 2007 | May 21, 2007 | March 28, 2007 | August 30, 2006
Sovereign Immunity Court Decision:
Vann v. Kempthorne (December 19, 2006) Cherokee Nation Judicial Appeals Tribunal Decision in Freedmen Case:
Allen v. Cherokee Nation (March 7, 2006)
Relevant Links:
Cherokee Nation – http://www.cherokee.org
Freedmen Of The Five Civilized Tribes – http://www.freedmen5tribes.com
Freedmen Conference – http://www.freedmenconference.com
Congressional Black Caucus, Annual Leadership Conference – http://www.alc2007.com
On November 9, 2007, MSU’s Native American Law Students Association will be hosting a panel discussion on tribal membership issues in light of the Cherokee Freedmen controversy.
The speakers include Marilyn Vann, the lead plaintiff in Vann v. Kempthorne (D. D.C.), and Mike Phelan, in-house counsel for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. Mike’s talk will be a more general discussion of the law of tribal membership.
Materials about the Cherokee Freedmen dispute are available on Indianz.com here. My own take on the question is here and here.
