http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-weighs-in-against-cbc-legislation
-on-cherokees-2008-05-09.html

Obama weighs in against CBC legislation on Cherokees

By Kevin Bogardus
Posted: 05/09/08 01:19 PM [ET]

Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), the front-runner for the Democratic presidential
nomination, has weighed in against legislation proposed by the
Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) that would punish the Cherokee Nation of
Oklahoma.

CBC lawmakers have proposed a number of provisions this year that would cut
off federal funding to the tribe because of its decision in March 2007 to
remove the Freedmen — descendants of freed slaves once owned by tribe
members — from Cherokee membership.

But Obama disagrees with those measures. In a statement to The Hill
provided by his Senate office, the Illinois Democrat said that although he
opposes unwarranted tribal disenrollment, Capitol Hill should not get
involved.

“Discrimination anywhere is intolerable, but the Cherokee are dealing with
this issue in both tribal and federal courts . . . I do not support efforts
to undermine these legal processes and impose a congressional solution,”
said Obama. “Tribes have a right to be self-governing and we need to
respect that, even if we disagree, which I do in this case. We must have
restraint in asserting federal power in such circumstances.”

Obama’s position on the Freedmen issue was first reported by the blog
NowPublic.com and has since been confirmed by The Hill.

Representatives for the Cherokee have made a similar argument in that the
complicated issue needs to be resolved in court, not by Congress. Until
that litigation is settled, the Freedmen still have tribal citizenship
rights.

Members of the CBC have said the tribe betrayed an agreement it signed with
the U.S. government by removing the Freedmen. The Treaty of 1866 gave
tribal citizenship rights to the group, according to the CBC.

The Cherokee disagree, however, pointing to legislation passed by Congress
in the early 1900s and court rulings that revoked citizenship rights for
Freedmen descendants.

Nevertheless, lawmakers have offered measures to stop federal funding for
the tribe until the Freedmen are accepted back into the Cherokees' ranks.

For example, Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) has sponsored a bill that would
cut off roughly $300 million in federal funds to the Cherokee. Plus, Rep.
Mel Watt (D-N.C.) passed an amendment to a Native American housing bill
that would halt federal housing assistance to the tribe.

Watt, who has endorsed Obama for president, downplayed any difference the
senator has with the CBC on the battle over the Freedmen.

“This is not a fight between us and Barack. I think he is on our side,”
said Watt. “This is a fight between the Congressional Black Caucus and the
Cherokee.”

In a March letter, Watt, Watson and other CBC members warned Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that Watt’s funding ban for the
Cherokee must be included in the Senate version of the Native American
housing bill. Otherwise, the caucus would lobby against the bill.

Thirty-five CBC members signed that letter. Obama was not one of them.