No Tribe of Mine

You'd think if there would be one thing Indians and blacks could agree on, it would be that slavery is bad. And we often hear from quite a few Native American activists that it's important for the US to honor its agreements made with people, especially people it screwed over.

So imagine my reaction to this.

Members of the Cherokee Nation of native Americans have voted to revoke tribal citizenship for descendants of black slaves the Cherokees once owned.

A total of 76.6% voted to amend the tribal constitution to limit citizenship to "blood" tribe members.

Supporters said only the Cherokees had the right to determine tribal members.

Opponents said the amendment was racist and aimed at preventing those with African-American heritage from gaining tribal revenue and government funding.

The Cherokee Nation has 250,000 to 270,000 members, second only to the Navajo.

...The list of descendants stems from the Dawes Commission, established by Congress more than 100 years ago.

It created two lists - one of "blood" Cherokees and one of black freedmen.

Principal Chief Chad Smith said about 8,700 people had voted - more than the turnout for the Cherokee constitution vote of four years ago.

He said: "The Cherokee people exercised the most basic democratic right, the right to vote.

"Their voice is clear as to who should be citizens of the Cherokee Nation. No-one else has the right to make that determination."

...Saturday's vote followed a ruling by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court last year securing tribal citizenship for descendants of freedmen.

Members can obtain government benefits and tribal services including housing and medical support.

Slaves were held by a number of native American tribes and were freed after the Civil War in 1866.

No one's saying the Cherokee don't have the right to be ethnocentric jackasses. Let them do what they want. But we also get to call them on it. Yeah, maybe a black guy (or descendant of a seven-eights white guy, for that matter) living off the reservation getting tribal money is a little screwed up, but isn't summarily invalidating all black Cherokees a little much? The real problem with Indian economics, as I understand it, is that the money doesn't get to the people on the reservations who actually need it. THAT'S the issue, not whether Cherokee status goes by "blood" or not. It would make far more sense to demand that only people living on the reservation count as "real Cherokees" with all the rights and privileges involved.

Frankly, Lazer, you can keep 'em.