Cherokees vote out slaves' descendants

[Wisdom_Seeker]

US Cherokees vote to expel descendants of slaves

Sun Mar 4, 7:43 AM ET

 

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Native American Cherokees voted to expel descendants of black slaves from their tribe nation in a special election that has prompted charges of racism, according to returns made public early Sunday.

 

 

But a vote of 77 percent to 23 percent, the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma adopted Saturday an amendment to their constitution that strips membership from so-called "Freedmen," those descended from slaves once owned by Cherokees, blacks who were married to Cherokees and children of mixed-race families.

 

"The Cherokee people exercised the most basic democratic right, the right to vote," Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, said in a statement. "Their voice is clear as to who should be citizens of the Cherokee Nation. No one else has the right to make that determination."

 

However, opponents of the amendment say it was a racist project designed to deny the distribution of US government funds and tribal revenue to those with African-American heritage, US media reported.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070304/ts_alt_afp/usnativevotecherokee_070304123731

 

This is sad!!! African-Americans with Cherokee blood are no longer considered to be from the Cherokee tribe. :mad:

[Sky]

If you knew how many African Americans have Cherokee blood, you would understand this decision perfectly.

[Nin-Yaaban]

Damn this is weird, i didnt' know cherokees were slave owners.