The tribal court granted an abbreviated time for Freedmen registration to vote — 11 days. But many Freedmen descendants have not been able to enroll as tribal citizens, so were not able to register to vote, in that 11-day enrollment period, Vann said.

“Many (Freedmen) have requested information on which individuals (candidates) we recommend should be elected to Cherokee Nation office,” Vann said.

Vann issued the following list of preferred candidates: Stacy Leeds for chief and Raymond Vann for deputy chief; councilors in District 1, Bill John Baker, David Walkingstick or Audra Smoke Conner; District 2, Bobby Leach and Joe Crittenden; District 3, Phyllis Yargee and David Thornton; District 4, Mickey Igert; District 5, Linda O’Leary and Melvina Shotpouch; District 7, Thelda Boen; District 8, Roy Herman; District 9, Chuck Hoskin and At-large, Taylor Keen and Sean Nordwall.

A draft of a bill being circulated by U.S. Rep. Diane Watson, D-California, includes stripping the Cherokees of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid, and suspending the tribe’s gaming rights. The bill also would require the U.S. Department of Interior to report to Congress on the status of Freedmen’s rights in all tribes.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has not sanctioned the tribe’s 2003 Constitution, because an amendment in it takes away a requirement in the 1975 constitution that the president or his designee would approve Cherokee constitutional amendments.

Meanwhile, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith, says that the right of Indian self-government is not negotiable.

“Cherokees should vote yes again on June 23 to remove federal oversight and approval of our Cherokee Nation Constitution,” Smith wrote in a guest column to be published in Sunday’s Phoenix.

Reach Donna Hales at 918-684-2923 or Click Here to Send Email