Carson Says Controversial Donation Legal

Former Congressman Brad Carson says a $50,000 donation to Barack Obama’s inauguration was legal and approved by officials of Cherokee Nation Businesses.

The donation from the business arm of the Cherokee Nation caused controversy among some tribal members because the tribal council did not vote on the issue.

But political donations from Cherokee Nation Businesses don’t need approval from the tribal council, said Carson, former chief executive officer of Cherokee Nation Businesses who authorized the donation shortly before he left the post in December.

Carson was one of three people to approve the donation. The others are Principal Chief Chad Smith and Paula Ragsdale, director of the tribe’s Washington, D.C., office.

"It’s all perfectly legal and a process approved by everybody,” Carson said.

He's been activated as a member of the Naval Reserve and expects to return to his tribal position when his service is complete, he said.

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World: Carson's Obama Donation Questioned

The Tulsa World reports today that former Congressman Brad Carson, until recently the CEO of the Cherokee Nation, authorized a $50,000 donation to the inaugural fund of President-elect Barack Obama without permission from the tribal council.

The newspaper reports that many council members were unaware of the donation until seeing news accounts of it or after receiving phone calls from their constituents.

Records show the donation is the maximum amount and the largest donation from an Oklahoma entity. It was contributed to the fund by Cherokee Nation Businesses.

Tribal officials say the donation was authorized by Carson, the former two-term Democratic congressman who left his position as CEO just before Christmas when he was called up as a member of the armed forces after giving the donation.

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Obama Opposes Move To Punish Cherokees

From The Hill ~ Barack Obama, 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.”

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Tribes Officially Oppose English-only Bill

From www.tulsaworld.com ~ A joint council of Cherokee tribes today spurned English-only legislation that is moving through the Oklahoma legislature.

The Cherokee Nation and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians passed a resolution opposing the would-be law during a meeting at the Cherokee Nation Casino and Resort in Catoosa.

"(T)he Official English policy brands Oklahoma as intolerant, closed-minded, hard-hearted, mean-spirited and oppressive to minority groups..." the resolution stated.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith, who was barred from speaking during state committee meetings regarding the legislation, blasted the proposed law during the standing-room only meeting Wednesday.

Read this entire story at www.tulsaworld.com.

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Black Caucus Goes After Cherokee Nation

By Kevin Bogardus/The Hill ~ Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have promised Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that they will try to block a Native American housing assistance bill if the measure does not include language that prevents the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma from receiving any of the benefits.

The House included such a prohibition in its Indian housing assistance bill passed in September. But the Senate version does not include similar language.

“We are writing to advise you that members of the CBC will not support, and will actively oppose, passage of a [Native American housing assistance] bill that does not include this limitation,” the CBC stated in a letter sent to Reid on March 13.

The dispute between the CBC and the Cherokee Nation arose last year after the tribe amended its constitution to exclude the Freedmen — a group of freed slaves who have been members since the Civil-War era – from tribal membership. Black lawmakers have charged the tribe is ignoring the Treaty of 1886, an agreement the Cherokees signed with the U.S. government that gave tribal citizenship to the Freedmen.

“We must send the unequivocal message to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma that failure to provide full citizenship rights to the Cherokee Freedmen will have severe consequences,” CBC members wrote Reid.

Cherokee leaders argue that as a sovereign nation they have a right to amend their own constitution.
Thirty-three of the 43 CBC members signed the letter to Reid. The Senate leader has not responded to the letter as of yet, according to House aides.

Members approved an amendment offered by Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) that bars funds for the Cherokees when the House took up the housing assistance bill in September. Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) also was successful in adding language that delays the funding prohibition until tribal courts render a decision on the fairness of the Cherokee’s efforts to exclude the Freedmen.

The Senate bill, which has now been reported out of the Indian Affairs Committee, does not include language similar to Watt’s provision. Negotiations in the Senate are ongoing between Republicans and Democrats, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aide.

Since the flare-up over the Freedmen last year, the Cherokees have increasing come under pressure from CBC members. Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) introduced a bill that would prohibit the distribution of federal funds to the tribe until it reverses its decision on the Freedmen. Watt has been tapped to lead a taskforce on the issue for the caucus.

In turn, the Cherokees have bulked up their lobbying presence here in Washington. The tribe has hired the Podesta Group and McBee Strategic Consulting to help sooth relations on Capitol Hill.
Congress has remained attentive to the issue, however. Before the Easter recess, Watson, Watt, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) met with Carl Artman of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to discuss the Cherokees. Staff aides are working on a final draft of a letter to Artman that will be signed by the four lawmakers shortly, according to a House aide.

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Senate Honors Cherokee Nation, Chief Smith

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith and his wife Bobbi were honored by the State Senate on Thursday as part of the 8th annual Cherokee Nation Legislative Day at the State Capitol.

Senator Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, introduced Smith and credited him and the Cherokee Nation for partnering with the state on a variety of projects including education, healthcare and transportation.

“The Cherokee Nation is the largest employer in the northeastern part of the state with over 6,000 employees,” Wilson said. “They have partnered with the state and other counties on projects that are helping to improve the lives of all Oklahomans. Chief Smith and the rest of the Cherokee Nation leadership should be congratulated for their accomplishments and continued hard work.”

The Cherokee Nation is the second largest tribe in the United States and the largest tribe in Oklahoma with over 160,000 tribal members living in the state. The tribe has annual expenditures in excess of $450 million.

Wilson said the Cherokee Nation has continued to make contributions through its partnerships with the state. A portion of the Cherokee Nation’s gaming revenue goes to the state to help fund educational and compulsive gambling programs. In 2007, Oklahoma received $11.5 million in gaming proceeds from the tribe. Wilson added that in 2006, the Cherokee Nation partnered with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to repair eight bridges in six counties throughout northeastern Oklahoma.

Smith told the Senate that education plays a key role in the success of the Cherokee Nation. He said Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah is home to 12 Gates Scholars and offers college prep courses as well as concurrent enrollment with Northeastern Oklahoma State University. In 2006, Sequoyah students earned more than $500,000 in scholarships. Since 2002, the tribe has funded over 10,000 scholarships.

In 2007, the Cherokee Nation donated $1.5 million to the University Of Oklahoma College Of Medicine to help address cancer and diabetes. It currently has four health care facilities under construction located in Muskogee, Sequoyah, Nowata and Cherokee Counties, representing a $35.5 million commitment to the people and local economies.

“We believe in coming together and working together for the benefit of our communities,” Smith said. “That’s why we have developed partnerships with our counties and cities in the state. We now serve 126,000 Indians with healthcare. We have helped build with county commissioners 500 miles of roads in rural areas and we have helped with education, healthcare and social services.”

Wilson added that in addition to the Cherokee Nation’s financial commitment to the state of Oklahoma, “The tribe has made innumerable contributions to the state’s culture, heritage and pride. Oklahoma is identified nationwide as Native America. That wouldn’t be possible without the contributions of the Cherokee Nation.”

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Cherokees Hire Black Caucus Lobbyist

The Hill in Washington reports today that the Cherokee Nation has hired a former Congressional Black Caucus official as its lobbyist, an ironic twist given the tribe recently voted to exclude black Freedman as tribal members. Details at http://thehill.com/business--lobby/under-fire-cherokees-hire-cbcs-former-director-in-lobbying-push-2007-10-17.html

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Chad Smith Reelected Cherokee Nation Chief

Chad Smith was elected to a third term as chief of the Cherokee Nation on Saturday as the tribe deals with controversy surrounding a vote to rescind the tribal membership of the descendants of its slaves. With more than 13,600 ballots counted, Smith had won 58.8 percent of the vote, while his opponent, former Cherokee Supreme Court Justice Stacy Leeds, received 41.2 percent. Smith was elected chief in 1999 and re-elected in 2003.

Chad Smith and wife image courtesy Cherokee Nation.

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