Copyright © 2005 NLThomas
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News from the Cherokee Nation, OK
Copyright © 2005 CNO
TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - A federal judge has dismissed a case brought by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma in which the UKBCIO tried to claim money originally awarded to the Cherokee Nation for damages related to the Cherokee Nation’s ownership of the Arkansas riverbed.Judge Nancy Firestone "squarely rejected" the UKBCIO’s case, dismissing it at the request of the Cherokee Nation and writing that the "dismissal qualifies as a final judgment sufficient to trigger the release of funds to the Cherokee Nation’s tribal trust account."
The UKBCIO’s case had diverted $2 million of the Cherokee Nation’s $20 million Arkansas riverbed settlement to a special fund for any entity that claimed an interest in the Cherokee Nation’s share of the riverbed. This ruling means that money will revert back to the Cherokee Nation.
"This ruling gets rid of one of the many petty challenges to the Cherokee Nation's sovereignty," said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. "We have remained focused on our priorities of language, jobs and community and this ruling means we have one less minor distraction as we continue to serve as the government of the Cherokee people."
In dismissing the case, Firestone noted that the Arkansas riverbed and banks
"...were never allotted and in 1906 Congress provided that the unallotted lands of the Cherokee tribe and other tribes ‘shall be held in trust by the United States for the use and benefit of the Indians respectively comprising each of said tribes and their heirs...’" Firestone also cited previous Supreme Court rulings which
"...determined that the Treaty of New Echota conveyed title to all lands within its meets and bounds description, including the bed and banks of the Arkansas River, to the Cherokee Nation."
Firestone wrote that the UKBCIO based its claims to the Arkansas riverbed "on the same statutes and treaties" that gives the Cherokee Nation sole ownership interest in the Arkansas riverbed and banks within its borders, and that the Cherokee Nation that owned the Arkansas riverbed and banks at the time of allotment is the same Cherokee Nation that exists today.
"The Cherokee Nation also correctly notes that in the Settlement Act, Congress recognized the Cherokee Nation as a "federally recognized Indian tribe... [that] has maintained a continuous government-to-government relationship with the United States since the earliest years of the Union."
"This decision affirms our sovereignty and the court sent a clear message, once again, that today's Cherokee Nation is the same historic Cherokee Nation that has existed since time immemorial and that no other organization can lay claim to our treaty rights," said Melanie Knight, director of Government Resources for Cherokee Nation.
"It certainly would have been a disappointment, and a departure from existing law, for the court to have held otherwise. The Cherokee Nation has exclusive and sole jurisdiction over Indian country within our fourteen county area," said Diane Hammons, director of the Cherokee Nation Justice department.
"We hope this sends a clear signal to the UKBCIO that they should not spend time and resources attempting to tear down the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation, but should instead focus on their traditional role of working with the Cherokee Nation to serve the Cherokee people," Knight said.
The full ruling from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims can be found on the Cherokee Nation’s web site.
| Related Cherokee Nation contact information: |
|
Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org
Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager |
Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org
Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation |