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Freedmen and the Cherokee Nation: A History
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| 1975 |
The Cherokee people decided to approve a superseding Constitution that citizenship
should be limited to Cherokees on the Dawes Roll including Shawnees and Delawares. |
| 1988 |
The federal court in the Freedmen case of Nero v. Cherokee Nation held that
Cherokees could decide citizenship requirements and exclude Freedmen. |
| 2001 |
The highest Cherokee court ruled in a Freedmen descendant case that the
descendants of Freedmen were properly excluded in 1975. |
| 2003 |
Cherokee people approve another Constitution knowing that the Constitution was
held by Cherokee court in 2001 to exclude Freedmen descendants and inter-married
whites. |
| 2006 |
The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court writes that the 1975 and 2003 Constitutions were
not clear enough to exclude descendants of Freedmen and allowed these descendants
and inter-married whites access to
citizenship. |
| 2007 |
Three thousand Cherokees bring a petition to allow the Cherokee people to vote on
who should be a Cherokee citizen |
| 2008 |
On March 3, 2007 Cherokees and descendants of Freedmen vote to limit Cherokee
citizenship to those with a Cherokee, Shawnee or Delaware ancestor by blood regardless of
other race, blood or appearance.Vote results: 77 percent to 23 percent. |
| 2011 |
The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court overturned the decision of the lower court and
dismissed the lawsuit. The Supreme Court found that the 2007 special election was
valid, legal and constitutional. The ruling affirms that to be a citizen of the Cherokee
Nation you must have at least one Indian ancestor listed on the Cherokee Nation's Dawes Rolls. |