Senator Barack Obama okays Civil Rights Violations?

Please weigh in on what you think about Senator Obama's stance on the Freedmen Issue. Is this consistent with his stance on Civil Rights issues? Maybe he didn't get all the facts on this case or was misled by his Cherokee advisors.

Please POST your thoughts on this in the comments sections


Barack Obama Upholds Rights of Cherokees, All Native American Tribes, Who Violate Civil Rights of their Members

by First Americans Advocate May 2, 2008 at 04:57 pm

Article

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) has stated his opposition to H.R. 2824, an attempt by his fellow Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) (Who supports HILLARY! Surprise!) to sever government-to-government relations with the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma because of an on-going dispute between the tribe and the “Cherokee Freedmen.” In a March 13, 2008 Letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, members of the Congressional Black Caucus stated that “members of the CBC will not support, and will actively oppose passage of NAHASDA” unless the bill contains a “provision that would prevent the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma from receiving any benefits or funding” until they extended tribal membership to the Freedmen. The letter contained the signatures of 35 CBC members, but not the signature of White House hopeful Senator Barack Obama. Still, the Native American community began raising questions about an Obama Presidency that could potentially support CBC efforts to undermine the rights of tribal governments to determine their own membership. Asked to clearly state his position on H.R. 2824, Obama’s campaign issued the following statement: "Tribal sovereignty must mean that the place to resolve intertribal disputes is the tribe itself,” Obama said. “Our nation has learned with tragic results that federal intervention in internal matters of Indian tribes is rarely productive - failed policies such as Allotment and Termination grew out of efforts to second-guess Native communities. That is not a legacy we want to continue."

With respect to the Cherokee Freedman issue, Senator Obama said that while he is opposed to unwarranted tribal disenrollment, congressional interference was not warranted at this point. "Discrimination anywhere is intolerable, but the Cherokee are dealing with this issue in both tribal and federal courts. As it stands, the rights of the Cherokee Freedmen are not being abrogated because there is an injunction in place that ensures the Freedman's rights to programs during the pendency of the litigation. I do not support efforts to undermine these legal processes and impose a congressional solution. 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."

OP: Congress has show tremendous RESTRAINT! They've done absolutely NOTHING while tribes have decimated Indian people. Where do Native Americans GO for justice when tribes do not follow their OWN Constitution? Pechanga VIOLATED their own constitution and then say they follow the law?