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NEWS AND NOTES FROM INDIAN COUNTRY December 30, 2006 Susan Bates

JUDGE RULES CHEROKEE FREEDMEN CAN SUE Federal Judge Henry H. Kennedy has ruled that the Cherokee Freedmen have the right to sue the tribe and its leaders for excluding them from tribal membership. An 1866 Treaty requires the Cherokee Nation, which had more slaves than any other tribe, to treat the Freedmen fairly. In his ruling, Judge Kennedy noted that the tribe "had not lived up to it's word.....'Almost immediately after the emancipation of the Freedmen, the Cherokee Nation began marginalizing them," the ruling stated." When the tribes top court ruled that the Freedmen must be allowed membership into the Nation because the constitution doesn't restrict membership by blood, Chief Chad Smith called for a referendum to limit citizenship to those with Cherokee, Delaware or Shawnee blood. "Many Cherokees, including those who wrote the constitution in 1975, believed that Cherokee voters understood that a vote to approve the 1975 constitution would exclude Freedmen from citizenship," Smith said after the court decision. "Many of those voting to exclude the Freedmen believe that an Indian nation should be composed of Indians." <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> JUDGE RULES FEDS SHOULD RESPECT NATIVE RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS The back bone of Indigenous Religions entails using Feathers and Animal Parts during the ceremony. Yet in a thinly veiled attempt to limit Native American Religious Freedom, most of these Sacred Items are deemed illegal to possess. Government issued permits are required for qualified members of BIA recognized tribes to obtain the Sacred Objects, yet these permits are difficult to obtain and often take years of waiting before one is issued. Recently, however, a federal judge in Wyoming ruled that criminal charges against Winslow Friday, 22, an Arapaho from the Wind River Indian Reservationan who shot a bald eagle for use in one of his tribe's ceremonial dances, be dropped. The judge also chided the federal government for not accommodating Native American beliefs in respect to the Eagle, a bird which most tribes hold in high esteem. Most tribes had certain clans or special People whose spiritual duty was to kill these animals in a Sacred Way for ceremony. "In his ruling, U.S. District Judge William F. Downes wrote: 'Although the government professes respect and accommodation of the religious practices of Native Americans, its actions show callous indifference to such practices. It is clear to this court that the government has no intention of accommodating the religious beliefs of Native Americans except on its own terms and in its own good time." <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> SADDAM HUSSEIN HANGED FOR WAR CRIMES Sunni leader, Saddam Hussein, was hanged Friday, December 29, 2006 for ordering the genocide of thousands of his enemies. His execution came quickly after the verdict, which probably surprised most of us Americans as we are used to convicted murderers being given many years to file appeals and postpone their punishment. In this country, those responsible for the genocide of our ancestors are still reverred and their pictures grace our currency and many of our cities and streets bear their names....... Go figure........ The ancient pagans had a saying: "The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine." Our time will come.... <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> In the meantime, here's wishing you a Happy New Year from New Orleans......... <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

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