Freedmen vs Cherokee Nation

Chickasaw official fires back at Oklahoma anti-Indian group Former U.S. Assistant Interior Secretary of Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb, a Chickasaw and a Republican, was the featured speaker at the Republican luncheon Dec. 3 at Coaches Restaurant in Norman. McCaleb was invited to speak following earlier comments to the Republicans from representatives of One Nation, an Oklahoma-based anti-Indian group. One Nation literature claims it was formed to "push back" against what One Nation members call "the massive expansion of tribal authority." for the rest of the story: http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/456/Article.aspx (check out that new online Phoenix newspaper...)

But in his reply, Gray stated that none of the listed smoke shops transfer cigarettes to other tribes. Instead, they sell to individuals whose business of what they do with the cigarettes is their own. The Osage smoke shops sell to customers who come into their place of business "and in some cases those customers are from other Tribes who are not under Compact with the state of Oklahoma," Gray wrote. "What these customers do with the cigarettes after they leave Osage jurisdiction is of no concern to the Osage Nation. It remains the Osage Nation's position that the smoke shops are required only to purchase and sell cigarettes that bear the correct stamp under the Compact. As long as the cigarettes bear the correct stamp, Osage retailers can sell to any willing customer who comes to their smoke shop, as long as they are not another Osage retailer." for the full story: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080831_11_A1_Fourye637939 (Nanny State - ...

Some have said that it is ridiculous to change so many things, yet continue to smoke, but I don´t know that that is truth. I know it is "common" and accepted knowledge that smoking kills, but I also know there are a lot of accepted truths out there that aren ´t really true, so it leaves one to wonder. Our government spends an awful lot of money to discourage smoking and smoking bans have gotten so invasive that now even some renters are not allowed to smoke in their homes. Both my curse and my blessing in this life is that I like things to make sense and it´s hard for me to see sense in a society that seeks to ban cigarette smoking, yet approves of aspartame, fluoride, mercury and overwhelming amounts of pharmaceuticals. It´s hard for me to understand how my little cigarette in an outdoor café will cause more damage to those around me than the exhaust from hundreds of cars and trucks passing by on the street. Or how a cigarette can cause more damage to those around me than t...

Remember: Rep Diane Watson is a democrat

John McCain listened to the heart of America and picked Sarah Palin - Wow.... And what did the Obama campaign do, the same thing they did to Hillary Clinton - they immediately dissed her...can you believe that... women in the democratic party have been battered for so long, they're suffering, Battered Wife Syndrome! How do they justify voting for a ticket that continues to diss women! John McCain did what the Dems could not do....he's helping to shatter that glass ceiling! He stands for Good Judgement for America and Americans! Yep, those Native American Vets know what they're doing when they back John McCain!

Cowan's 'Indian wars' http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/letters/local_story_242120756.html?keyword=topstory Editor, Daily Press: Cherokee Nation Councilor Cara Cowan calls me a “fake Indian” and a “wannabee” in press interviews and live broadcasts of tribal council meetings. With 30 or 40 real issues facing Cherokee people, I can’t see why she spends much of her time attacking me. Record gasoline prices (she has something to do with gas prices? ) , a plummeting U.S. dollar, food prices, utilities and heating fuel prices through the roof (...lol...so Cara has something to do with this...lol...gee, Cara, I didn't know you were so powerful...lol), juvenile and adult-onset diabetes rampant, out-of-control Cherokee obesity, rising bouts of sexual predation, teen depression and pregnancy, racial slurs and attacks on all manner of non-tribal members (we don't have jurisdiction over you non-tribal members or this would not be happening!) , the rise of Indian drug gangs a...

Bronson was born in 1897 on a farm outside Grove. Brown said that in her writings, she recalled her experiences at age 10, when the Cherokee Nation was dissolved and Oklahoma became a state. http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/features/local_story_242122221.html?keyword=topstory Again you need to read the Freedmen vs Cherokee Nation case: http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/200807/07-5024-1130149.pdf (The Cherokee Nation was here before the Europeans, after they came and remains here now - the Tribe has never been dissovled!!)

http://www.pr-inside.com/freedom-to-choose-welcomes-new-research-r769883.htm Freedom To Choose Welcomes New Research On Lung Cancer 2008-08-23 12:07:41 - A new study by scientists at the Environmental Chemistry department at Louisiana State University concludes that a new form of air pollutant, created from the fine particle residues in automotive exhaust pipes, smokestacks and household chimneys, has been identified which replicates the damage to humans caused by cigarette smoke. ‘Inhaling these pollutants exposes the average person up to 300 times more free radicals daily than from smoking one cigarette'. (1) (2) Experts at the pro-choice group Freedom2Choose have acknowledged the conclusions of this report, presented at the American Chemical Society only this week, noting that it seeks to explain the disparities with the claims of tobacco control. It is also reflected in many other studies conducted over the last 50 years which have been hidden behind the Tobacco Control movemen...

http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/search?q=scott%27s The Rest of the Story While policies that deny employment to smokers are generally legal, the requirement Sarasota is imposing on new hires - that they submit to an invasive medical test to determine their cotinine level - represents an unwarranted invasion of privacy that just may prove to violate state right-to-privacy laws. As I reported, A U.S. District Court judge for the District of Massachusetts ruled earlier this year that there are sufficient legal grounds for a lawsuit filed by a smoker against The Scotts Company to proceed based on the contention that the company violated the Massachusetts right-to-privacy statute. The plaintiff - Scott Rodrigues of Bourne, Massachusetts - was fired by Scotts after failing a urine cotinine test.The District Court ruled that there are sufficient grounds to proceed with the case to determine whether Rodrigues' firing violated Massachusetts privacy law.

How many in Indian Country make $300,000.00/year? I guess those per capita payments by California Tribes aren't too far out of line....

Because of the last paragraph in this book, After the Trail of Tears, The Cherokees' Struggle for Sovereignty 1839-1880, by Wm McLoughlin , it actually goes down in time to 1907 in the 1994 edition, I'm not sure there is much credibility here. There is no indication in his bio that he has any particularly qualifying experience to claim any understanding of Cherokee History. P. 380 *Though they (the Cherokee Nation) have legal recognition as a tribe and elect their own chief, they lack sovereignty.* WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! (this again appears to be a misguided book from the Ross party stand point...I would not take seriously any contentions made in it except those that come from a documented source and then I'd go to the primary source document to verify the information or conclusion drawn from it. Again this book merely demonstrates the continuing conflict down through the civil war of the Ross/Ridge controversy within the Cherokee Nation and now continues today. Apparently th...

Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luise�o Indians, serves on the Platform Committee, which is responsible for drafting and recommending a proposed national platform for approval at the convention. Oklahoma state Rep. Chuck Hoskin, another Platform Committee member, serves as chair of the Oklahoma State House Democratic Caucus. He formerly represented Craig and Nowata counties on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council. (His son, Chuck Hoskins, jr is a current member of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council.) http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096418051

Southern California tribes call for repeal of P.L. 280 Posted: August 18, 2008 by: Victor Morales http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417973&na=1622 Photo by Todd Krainin -- Soboba Chairman Robert J. Salgado SAN JACINTO, Calif. - After more than 50 years in effect, southern California Indian tribes are saying it's time to repeal a law that gives jurisdiction of criminal offenses in some reservations to the state. The who's who of the region's Indian country gathered Aug. 11 at the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians reservation to denounce Public Law 280, which they say is a ''throwback'' to a different era and nowadays archaic in a new day for American Indians. The open forum attended by an estimated 200, including a couple dozen tribal leaders, follows a string of violence between tribal members and Riverside County sheriff's deputies that left five Sobobas dead within a six-month span at or near the 6,000-acre Soboba reservation. Soboba Cha...

Is McCain's history with Indians a mixed blessing? By ERICA WERNER – WASHINGTON (AP) — This election year, Native Americans will have a rare opportunity to vote for a candidate who knows their issues well and has worked with them for years. Yet, Republican presidential candidate John McCain's long history with Indian country may be hurting him as much as helping. As a senator from Arizona, a state with more than 20 federally recognized tribes, McCain has spent two decades on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, including two stints as chairman. But some Native Americans are angry over McCain's attempts while chairman from 2005 to 2006 to put more regulations on Indian casinos. They say he should have been more focused on Indian health care and other needs. Some also resent McCain's decision to refuse campaign donations from tribal governments. By contrast, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, is taking their money. (Obama takes Tribes special interest funds. ...

The Securities and Exchange Commission only has authority over publicly traded corporations. No Indian Nation in the U.S. is a publicly traded corporation, they don't sell stock, they don't trade their stock on the stock exchanges, therefore, they are not publicly traded corporations and the Securities and Exchange Commission does not get involved in their matters.

The abolition of the factory system left a vacuum within the U.S. government regarding Native American relations. The current Bureau of Indian Affairs was formed on March 11 , 1824 , by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun , who created the agency without authorization from the United States Congress . McKenney was appointed the first head of the office, which went by several names at first. McKenney preferred to call it the "Indian Office", whereas the current name was preferred by Calhoun. Like its predecessors, the bureau was originally a division of the Department of War. In 1849 it was transferred to the Department of the Interior . The bureau was renamed to Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1947 (from the original Office of Indian Affairs). for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Indian_Affairs

Cherokee Heritage Center museum store gets renovation Posted: August 20, 2008 by: Staff Reports / Indian Country Today http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417993 Photo courtesy Cherokee Tourism -- The Cherokee Heritage Center museum store will open Memorial Day weekend with a new look. A recent expansion created gallery-like displays for Cherokee art and artifacts. TULSA, Okla. - The Cherokee Heritage Center museum store opens Memorial Day weekend with a new look. The store, which serves as the main entrance to the museum, underwent a $90,000 renovation in August to create a gallery-like display for Cherokee art and artifacts available for purchase. The renovation is part of a two-phase construction and redesign project for the Cherokee Heritage Center, located in Tahlequah. ''Part of what we do here at Cherokee Nation Enterprises is help restore and revive our Cherokee history and culture, which is prominently put on display at each of our Cherokee Casino locations...

Gallery renovations complete at Cherokee Travel Plaza Email this page Print this page Posted: August 20, 2008 by: Staff Reports / Indian Country Today http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417990 ROLAND, Okla. - Renovation efforts at the Cherokee Travel Plaza's art gallery and theater are now complete. The $60,000 renovation efforts began in June 2008 and were led by Resource Design of Rogers, Ark., and Takoda Development of Ponca City. ''We now have an art gallery that is aesthetically on par with the quality and authenticity of the Cherokee artwork that is displayed and sold there,'' said David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Enterprises, which operates Cherokee Casinos and multiple other retail businesses. With the renovation, the art gallery showcases Cherokee art on pedestals with intricately placed lighting, and custom shelving allows more art to be displayed in the gallery. Also as part of the renovation, the gallery is enclosed by elevated, frosted...

Study finds minorities more likely to be paddled By LIBBY QUAID – 8 hours ago http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvb2qMCd3ccBpqlVrVh18NDLtpPwD92LPMRO0 WASHINGTON (AP) — Paddlings, swats, licks. A quarter of a million schoolchildren got them last year — and blacks, American Indians and kids with disabilities got a disproportionate share of the punishment, according to a study by a human rights group. Even little kids can be paddled. Heather Porter, who lives in Crockett, Texas, was startled to hear her little boy, then 3, say he'd been spanked at school. Porter was never told, despite a policy at the public preschool that parents be notified. "We were pretty ticked off, to say the least. The reason he got paddled was because he was untying his shoes and playing with the air conditioner thermostat," Porter said. "He was being a 3-year-old." For the study, which was being released Wednesday, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union used Education D...

POSTED August 19, 1:05 PM http://www.examiner.com/x-638-Native-American-Community-Examiner~y2008m8d19-What-do-you-knowThe-Federal-Government-trying-to-do-right-by-Native-Americans That's right, the Federal Government is making positive headlines in the Native American News. There is a little thing called the "Indian Child Welfare Act" which enables ANY federally recognized tribe to intervene in cases involving Native American Children. The Tribes have the authority to intervene in any case brought on by any State Children's Services Organization. You see, it's not that Native Americans don't want the responsibility of taking care of their own, it's that they have not had the "authority" held by the Federal Government. As someone involved with Native American Issues, and knowing several communities, I know there is cause for celebration. While not to paint the Tribes as inept (which they most certainly are not) I can just imagine how this plays ou...

Chief unveils project to promote history of downtown Tahlequah Tahlequah Daily Press Tahlequah, OK 08/19/2008 By BETTY SMITH Press special writer TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — People who shop and sightsee through Tahlequah’s downtown will soon receive additional insights into the rich history of the historic buildings surrounding Cherokee Courthouse Square and adjoining areas. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith Monday announced a plan by Cherokee Tourism for the History on Main Street project, which will place historic photos in downtown storefront windows. While shoppers admire the merchandise, they can learn more about life here, and what Tahlequah looked like, a century or more ago. Beth Herrington, representing the city and Tahlequah Historic Preservation, joined in the enthusiasm for the project. This was the third major action by Smith and the Cherokee Nation, along with Tahlequah city officials, in as many weeks in projects to benefit Tahlequah, Cherokee County, and this area....

Americanization can refer to the policies of the United States government and public opinion that there is a standard set of cultural values that should be held in common by all citizens. Education was and is viewed as the primary method in the acculturation process. These opinions were harshly applied when it came to Americanization of Native Americans compared to immigrant populations who arrived with their "non-American traditions". The Americanization policies said that when indigenous people learned American customs and values they would soon merge tribal traditions with European-American culture and peacefully melt into the greater society. For example in the 1800s and early 1900s, traditional religious ceremonies were outlawed and it was mandatory for children to attend English speaking boarding schools where native languages and cultural traditions were forbidden. The Dawes Act of 1887 , which allotted tribal lands to individuals and resulted in an estimated total o...

Forced assimilation is a process of forced cultural assimilation of religious or ethnic minority groups , into an established and generally larger community. This presumes a loss of many characteristics which make the minority different. Ethnic assimilation If a state or a government puts extreme emphasis on a homogeneous national identity, it may resort, especially in the case of minorities originating from historical foes, to harsh, even extreme measures to 'exterminate' the minority culture, sometimes to the point of considering the only alternative its physical elimination ( expulsion or even genocide ). for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_assimilation

Cultural assimilation (often called merely assimilation) is a process of integration whereby members of an ethno-cultural community (such as immigrants , or ethnic minorities ) are "absorbed" into another, generally larger, community. This implies the loss of the characteristics of the absorbed group, such as language, customs, ethnicity and self-identity. Assimilation may be voluntary or forced, as is often the case regarding ethnic minorities (see forced assimilation ). A region or society where several different groups are spontaneously assimilated is sometimes referred to as a melting pot . Cultural influence A group (a state or an ethnicity) can spontaneously adopt a different culture due to its political relevance, or to its perceived superiority. The first is the case of the Latin culture and language, that were gradually adopted by most of the subjugated people. The second is the case of subjugated, but older and richer culture, which see itself imitated by the new ma...

Acculturation is the exchange of cultural features that results when groups come into continuous firsthand contact; the original cultural patterns of either or both groups may be altered, but the groups remain distinct. (Kottak 2007) Beginning perhaps with Child (1943) and Lewin (1948), acculturation began to be conceived as the strategic reaction of the minority to continuous contact with the dominant group. See Rudmin's 2003 tabulation of acculturation theories.[1]Thus, there are several options the minority can choose, each with different motivations and different consequences. These options include assimilation to the majority culture, a defensive assertion of the minority culture, a bicultural blending of the two cultures, a bicultural alternation between cultures depending on contexts, or a diminishment of both cultures. Following Berry's (1980; 2003) terminology, four major options or strategies are now commonly called assimilation, separation, integration, and marginal...

Different Rogers is honored at Fly-In site By ALTHEA PETERSON World Staff Writer 8/18/2008Last Modified: 8/18/2008 2:08 PM Slide show: Watch a slide show and listen to audio of the Will Rogers Fly-in. Slide show: Watch a video of the Will Rogers Wiley Post Fly-in. http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080818_11_A1_Apairo756118 A marker is placed to remember Clem Rogers, who owned the farm where his famous son was born. OOLOGAH — When Doris "Coke" Lane Meyer looks back at her family history each year, she always wants to set the record straight about Rogers County: "It was named after Will's father, Clem, not after Will Rogers himself." Clem Rogers' son Will may be the star of the annual Will Rogers-Wiley Post Fly-In at the Will Rogers Birthplace near Oologah, but the main honor of the day went to his father. Clement Vann Rogers received a stone memorial marker at the site Sunday. Will Rogers' grandniece, Lane Meyer, 88, attended the ...

Which of course, Abramoff did, primarily with lucrative contracts involving Indian casinos, after which Reed and Abramoff left voluminous records. These actions of a corrupt lobbyist and a so-called pious former head of the Christian Coalition, tied up in a gambling scandal — that’s not the kind of people that John McCain ought to turn to, to raise money for his campaign efforts. (however, I suspect if the Justice department thought these folks should have been prosecuted they would have been? Did Waxman take it up with them? Apparently Abramoff was prosecuted because he was over charging a Miss Tribe?? Perhaps we should look to the salaries of Congress and ask, are they over charging us for what they do?) For the full story: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/15/mccain-abramoff-reed/

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a Republican, pushed to add the money to the AIDS bill, saying that it would be an appropriate part of legislation designed to help poor communities. ''There are reservations in this country where conditions are as dire as any place in the world,'' Thune said. North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, worked with Thune on the amendment to the AIDS bill when it was on the Senate floor earlier in August. He pushed to add the health care money, saying that there is a health care crisis on reservations. Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi, the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a supporter of the AIDS bill, also praised the Indian money. (some folks in Congress *get it*) for the full story: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417952

So Why Indian Casinos, Anyway? A majority of the casino gaming in the US is run and even regulated through the Indian reservations, usually with simple nods to the Feds. A look at American history, society, business and law enforcement. By Michael M Aug 15, 2008 http://www.onlinecasinoreports.com/news/specialreports/2008/8/15/so-why-indian-casinos-anyway.php From the earliest days of colonial period, Americans have had a rocky relationship with their Indian neighbors. The Native Americans resented European expansion; the settlers pushed west onto tribal lands. Conflict was inevitable. By 1890, the western ‘frontier of settlement' was a thing of the past, and the Indian tribes had mostly been confined to a series of reservations across most of the 48 contiguous states. These Indian reservations had, and still have, an ambiguous relationship (boy that's an understatement) with the US and state governments. Formed by treaties between the Federal authorities and the individual tri...

[Tom] Cole, R-Okla., a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, issued a scalding statement to the Tulsa (Okla.) World that accused Hogen of duplicity, ''back-door regulatory actions,'' abuse of due process, misuse of power, a breach of the government's trust obligation toward tribes and ''disregard for the rights of Native Americans.'' (way to go Rep Tom Cole!) [Nick] Rahall , D-W.Va., is chairman of Natural Resources, the principal committee of Indian jurisdiction in the House of Representatives. As the only enrolled tribal member in Congress, Cole is an active member of the committee. Rahall issued a letter to Hogen at about the same time Cole's statements appeared, directing him to withdraw controversial Class II gaming regulations and start consulting properly with tribes. (so if Natural Resources is the principal committee of Indian jurisdiction, are they going to be at the Watson hearings? Someone needs to be there to oversee the CBC!) For the ...

Well, apparently those who believe that Obama is somehow going to have any influence over the Congressional Black Caucus and Rep Watson or has done us any real favors with a statement he thinks Indian Tribes are sovereigns, they need to take a long hard look at him, Congress is going to call the shots here and if they can bully the BIA into admitting non Indians into tribes because they are Black, well, not much he's going to do about it, read the story, CBC presses BIA about Freemen, page 1, link below. Watson still pushing ahead with yet ANOTHER hearing. More waste of taxpayers dollars, more special interest cronyism. She didn't solve anything after the first hearing, now she's going to TALK some more. And the BIA, well, they're caught in the middle, they got a court case looming AND a congressional hearing, no wonder they can't find anyone to run that agency - maybe a Freedmen will get the job....wouldn't surprise me...in fact not much coming down the pike su...