"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - CN Will Abide By Court's Decision on Constitution

TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - The Cherokee Nation announced today that it has received notification from federal officials that the BIA is denying approval for a Constitutional amendment that Cherokee voters approved four years ago and that was implemented by tribal court order nearly a year ago. The Cherokee Nation was not seeking approval of the amendment, which removed the federal government from the Constitutional approval process.

Tribal courts subsequently ruled that Cherokee Nation could take away the approval authority it had granted the federal government.

“The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court spoke clearly that the BIA had no authority to approve the Cherokee Nation Constitution,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “If the BIA has its way, the Cherokee Nation cannot even amend our own constitution. This is contrary to federal policy and court decisions handed down time after time over the last 30 years. It is insulting and wrong, and we will take all appropriate steps to defend our nationhood and right to self-determination.”

The BIA letter has little practical effect, as tribal courts have ordered the Cherokee Nation to implement the amendment and it has been effective for nearly a year.

“What is at stake here is the sovereignty and self-determination of all Indian tribes,” Smith said. “The BIA is calling into question the right of Indians to be able to decide, through the exercise of their cherished democratic freedoms, the content of their own constitutions. This lies at the core of our fundamental right to self-governance, a principle which has been upheld and respected by the U.S. government for decades. As Cherokee people, we must stand behind the order of our own Supreme Court.”