“The Court (Washington, D.C.) also held that the Cherokee Nation’s denial of the Freedmen’s right to vote constituted a ‘badge of slavery.’” Velie said. “Badges of slavery are prohibited under the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The current motion seeks relief for further violations of the Treaty and 13th Amendment by expelling the Freedmen during the appeal.”

Marilyn Vann, lead plaintiff and elected leader of the Freedmen Band of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, said it is her duty to stand up for her ancestors who walked and died on the Trail of Tears and the future generations of Cherokees as “we fight for the treaty rights negotiated by our leaders in 1866.

“I will not stand by and watch as others attempt to strip me of who I am,” Vann said.

Freedmen began receiving letters March 21, stating their citizenship status had been changed following the March 3 election, the filing states.

A court exhibit, a letter from the Cherokee Nation to Freedmen plaintiff Charlene White, states “because of the Constitutional Amendment, you are no longer eligible to receive medical benefits from the Cherokee Nation.”

The filing claims unless restrained by the federal defendants or the court, the Cherokee Nation will deny all Cherokee Freedmen their right to vote or run for office in the scheduled June 23 tribal election.

The court earlier refused to stop the special March 3 election in which the Freedmen were disenfranchised, However, the court noted that even assuming that the outcome the Freedmen feared came to pass, “the Freedmen have a remedy if the election results in the deprivation of their constitutional rights.”

That outcome has come to pass, the latest filing states. Federal defendants “are doing absolutely nothing to protect the rights of plaintiffs and other Freedmen.”

Court appoints attorney for Freedmen in lawsuit

A Tahlequah attorney was appointed to represent a class of 270 Freedmen appealing their disenfranchisement as Cherokee citizens.

“I haven’t hidden my support for the Freedmen,” Nate Young III said after being appointed by the Cherokee Nation District Court. “I voted ‘no’ on the amendment. I plan to file my petition Friday before the close for request for absentee ballots.”

Young is seeking a temporary injunction to halt the June elections.

He said he will be asking the court:

• Not to disenroll the Freedmen before a fair hearing on the merits of the case.