Cherokee officials open to lawsuit from Freedmen
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Filed Under:
Law
Officials of the
Cherokee Nation, but not the tribe itself, can be sued by the Freedmen, the
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today.
In a unanimous decision, the court said the tribe cannot be joined as an indispensable party to a lawsuit filed by descendants of former Cherokee slaves. The
Freedmen plaintiffs sued the
Interior Department to enforce an
1866 treaty.
Neither the treaty nor the
Thirteenth
Amendment to the
U.S.
Constitution, which outlawed slavery, waived the tribe's immunity, the court said. But tribal officials can be sued over "allegations of ongoing constitutional and treaty violations," the court said.
"[T]he Thirteenth Amendment and the 1866 Treaty whittled away the tribe’s sovereignty with regard to slavery and left it powerless to discriminate against the Freedmen on the basis of their status as former slaves," the decision stated.
D.C. Circuit Decision:
Vann v. Kempthorne (July 29, 2008)
Related Stories:
Letter: Cherokee Nation risks sovereign rights
(6/23)
Obama meets Congressional
Black Caucus (6/20)
Letter: Rep. Watson
wrong on Cherokee Freedmen (6/13)
Sen.
Obama claims Democratic nomination (6/4)
Rep. Watson: Obama wrong on Cherokee Freedmen
(5/14)
Cherokee chief praises Obama as
'good president' (5/12)
Obama wants
courts to resolve Freedmen dispute (5/9)
Letter: A solution to Cherokee Freedmen issue
(5/8)
Appeals court hears Cherokee
Freedmen dispute (5/7)
Appeals court to
hear Cherokee Freedmen case (5/6)
Campbell: Congress destroying the Cherokee Nation
(5/2)
Artman's tenure marked by Freedmen
dispute (4/30)
Artman resigns after a
year as head of BIA (4/29)
Opinion:
Cherokee Nation's boat of federal funds (4/25)
Cherokee Freedmen dispute a threat to NAHASDA
(4/24)
Opinion: The history of the
Cherokee Freedmen (4/23)
Rep. Frank backs
Freedmen in Cherokee funding fight (4/22)
Freedmen issue weighs heavy on Capitol Hill
(4/14)
Tim Giago: CBC goes after
Cherokee Nation (4/14)
Cherokee tribes
denounce Freedmen legislation (4/10)
Cherokee chief to address Freedmen at conference
(4/7)
Black lawmakers press Senate on
Freedmen (4/4)
Cherokee Freedmen dispute
up for hearing (3/27)
Opinion: Being
Cherokee more than the blood (3/26)
Lawmakers press Artman on Freedmen issues
(3/19)
Freedmen protest outside of Rep.
Boren's office (3/3)
Black lawmakers to
meet with Artman over Freedmen (1/23)
Copyright © Indianz.Com
Subscribe