![\"progressive](\"http:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/progressive-pupil.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nNOVEMBER 16, 2013<\/p>\n
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Freedmen\u2019s Children and <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\nRacism in the Cherokee\u00a0Nation<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n\n![\"Rena](\"http:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/cherokee-01.jpg\")
<\/a>Rena Logan with her Cherokee Nation identification card. Photo courtesy of Sulekha.com<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nAfrican and Native American peoples came together in the Americas because of colonization and slavery. Over centuries, Black people and Native Americans created shared histories, communities, families, and ways of life. They were joined in a struggle against prejudice, laws, and twists of history.\u00a0Earlier in the colonial period some Native Americans were enslaved alongside Africans. Later on, select tribes harbored runaway slaves where intermarriage and the joining of cultures gave way to new and interesting communities of\u00a0African American and Native people<\/span><\/a>. There are still Blacks today who enjoy Indian citizenship and celebrate their mixed heritage, however, one group has been stripped of that right.\u00a0In 2007 The Cherokee Nation decided to limit its membership to people who can prove they have Indian blood. This took away the citizenship rights of about 2,800 Black Americans who are descendants of slaves once owned by wealthy Cherokees.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe Cherokee<\/span><\/a>\u00a0settled in the southeast (Georgia) before they were moved, along with many other tribes, to Oklahoma during the\u00a0Trail of Tears<\/span><\/a>. Emulating wealthy white southern plantation owners of the time, the Cherokee actually purchased slaves to work their land. By 1861, there were 4,000 black slaves living among the Cherokee, a fact that has been overlooked in numerous historical records. 1866, the Cherokee Nation signed a\u00a0treaty with the federal government that abolished slavery<\/span><\/a>, and granted former slaves and their descendants \u201call the rights of native Cherokees.\u201d\u00a0Rights of citizenship include access to health care, food distribution for the poor, and assistance for low-income homeowners. \u00a0This group became known as the \u201cFreedmen.\u201d The Freedmen had walked along side the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears and were listed on the\u00a0Dawes Rolls<\/span><\/a>, a list of names of Indian citizens who applied for enrollment in Oklahoma in the turn of the 20thcentury.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Native](\"http:\/\/kalamu.com\/neogriot\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/cherokee-02.jpg\")
<\/a>Native Americans were active participants in the American slave trade. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nToday the Cherokee Nation requires that\u00a0citizens have an\u00a0Indian ancestor<\/i>\u00a0who appears on the Dawes Rolls<\/span><\/a>. This excludes those who were listed as Freedmen, even though most were of mixed Cherokee and Black heritage. In contrast whites that shared a Cherokee heritage, being unable to be \u201cFreemen,\u201d were listed in the Roll only as Cherokee making it much easier to keep their family names on the list. \u00a0The Freedmen assert the Nation\u2019s decision prevents more than 3,500 blacks from becoming Cherokee citizens.\u00a0Marilyn Vann, who heads the\u00a0Descendants of Freedman Association<\/span><\/a>\u00a0has noted that \u201cthe majority of folks who are members of the tribe \u2026 have\u00a0lived lives of white privilege<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Many Cherokees are largely white and are \u201cpeople who have never been discriminated against in their lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nYet, the Nation has countered stating that they want to narrow the definition of Cherokee. \u201cWe want to remain an Indian tribe made up of Indians,\u201d\u00a0says Cara Cowan Watts,\u00a0a member of the tribal council. About 1,500 Blacks have been able to keep their citizenship so far, however this will be difficult for many others who are unable to trace their ancestor due to the \u201cone-drop-rule\u201d used to categorize Blacks in this country.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/a>Rena Logan with her Cherokee Nation identification card. Photo courtesy of Sulekha.com<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n African and Native American peoples came together in the Americas because of colonization and slavery. Over centuries, Black people and Native Americans created shared histories, communities, families, and ways of life. They were joined in a struggle against prejudice, laws, and twists of history.\u00a0Earlier in the colonial period some Native Americans were enslaved alongside Africans. Later on, select tribes harbored runaway slaves where intermarriage and the joining of cultures gave way to new and interesting communities of\u00a0African American and Native people<\/span><\/a>. There are still Blacks today who enjoy Indian citizenship and celebrate their mixed heritage, however, one group has been stripped of that right.\u00a0In 2007 The Cherokee Nation decided to limit its membership to people who can prove they have Indian blood. This took away the citizenship rights of about 2,800 Black Americans who are descendants of slaves once owned by wealthy Cherokees.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Cherokee<\/span><\/a>\u00a0settled in the southeast (Georgia) before they were moved, along with many other tribes, to Oklahoma during the\u00a0Trail of Tears<\/span><\/a>. Emulating wealthy white southern plantation owners of the time, the Cherokee actually purchased slaves to work their land. By 1861, there were 4,000 black slaves living among the Cherokee, a fact that has been overlooked in numerous historical records. 1866, the Cherokee Nation signed a\u00a0treaty with the federal government that abolished slavery<\/span><\/a>, and granted former slaves and their descendants \u201call the rights of native Cherokees.\u201d\u00a0Rights of citizenship include access to health care, food distribution for the poor, and assistance for low-income homeowners. \u00a0This group became known as the \u201cFreedmen.\u201d The Freedmen had walked along side the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears and were listed on the\u00a0Dawes Rolls<\/span><\/a>, a list of names of Indian citizens who applied for enrollment in Oklahoma in the turn of the 20thcentury.<\/span><\/p>\n Native Americans were active participants in the American slave trade. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today the Cherokee Nation requires that\u00a0citizens have an\u00a0Indian ancestor<\/i>\u00a0who appears on the Dawes Rolls<\/span><\/a>. This excludes those who were listed as Freedmen, even though most were of mixed Cherokee and Black heritage. In contrast whites that shared a Cherokee heritage, being unable to be \u201cFreemen,\u201d were listed in the Roll only as Cherokee making it much easier to keep their family names on the list. \u00a0The Freedmen assert the Nation\u2019s decision prevents more than 3,500 blacks from becoming Cherokee citizens.\u00a0Marilyn Vann, who heads the\u00a0Descendants of Freedman Association<\/span><\/a>\u00a0has noted that \u201cthe majority of folks who are members of the tribe \u2026 have\u00a0lived lives of white privilege<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Many Cherokees are largely white and are \u201cpeople who have never been discriminated against in their lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Yet, the Nation has countered stating that they want to narrow the definition of Cherokee. \u201cWe want to remain an Indian tribe made up of Indians,\u201d\u00a0says Cara Cowan Watts,\u00a0a member of the tribal council. About 1,500 Blacks have been able to keep their citizenship so far, however this will be difficult for many others who are unable to trace their ancestor due to the \u201cone-drop-rule\u201d used to categorize Blacks in this country.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>