News
5 THINGS TO KNOW about the freedmen
Feb 20, 2021 Article in McAlester News-Capital by Derrick James
What are the freedmen? How were the slaves treated by the tribes? When were the slaves freed? Did the tribes grant citizenship to the freedmen? How many freedmen were recorded in Oklahoma? Read the whole article.
NATIVE AMERICA CALLING
Wed, March 17, 2021 – Momentum for Choctaw Freedmen?
MARCH 17, 2021 BY ART HUGHES
Guests:
Marilyn Vann (Cherokee Nation) – president of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association
Shelby Ward (Choctaw Freedman) – co-founder of the Oklahoma Freedmen Collective and Tennessee Representative for the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association
Get an update on the status of the ongoing Choctaw Freedmen issue.
Freedman Claims in relation to mcgirt vs oklahoma
March 30, 2021
Join us to hear the dynamic panelists Marilyn Vann, Eli Grayson and John Parrish discuss this impactful court decision from the United States Supreme Court. If you want to learn more about the case, google "mcgirt vs oklahoma". Click link below to register.
Cherokee Nation Strikes Down Language That Limits Citizenship Rights 'By Blood'
February 25, 2021
Mary Louise Kelly interviews Graham Lee Brewer, citizen of the Cherokee Nation. "The Cherokee Nation's Supreme Court ruled this week to remove the words "by blood" from its constitution and other legal doctrines. "
Black History in Indian Country event with Marilyn Vann
Marilyn Vann talks about the Freedman of the Five Civilized Tribes in depth.
"The five civilized tribes practiced slavery long before the establishment of the United States of America." Not all blacks were enslaved prior to the Civil War. "The Cherokee, Creek and Seminole Nations had some persons of African Descent acknowledged by these tribes as citizens prior to 1861."
Click the button below to hear the complete interview.
Crowded field in cherokee nation Tribal Council races
Cherokee Phoenix 2/4/21
by Chad Hunter, Reporter
TAHLEQUAH – A total of 38 Cherokee Nation citizens declared their candidacies to run for nine seats on the Tribal Council in the June 5 general election. Candidates are as follows:
- District 2 - Vicki Creel, Dusty Fore, Jami Murphy, Bobby Slover, Tonya Teaney and Candessa Tehee.
- District 4 - Incumbent Mike Dobbins and Sarah Cowett
- District 5 - Tribal Councilor E.O. Smith, Richard W. Tyler and RL Bell.
- District 7 - David Comingdeer, Gena Kirk, and Joshua Sam.
- District 9 - Incumbant Mike Shambaugh, Joyce McCarter and Lawrence Panther.
- District 10 - Dennis Ackley, Shaunda Handle-Davis, Darrel Hicks, Ann Masters Thompson, and Cody Williams.
- District 11 - Incumbant Victoria Vazquez, Mason Hudson, Mike Purcell, and Randy Junior White.
- District 15 - Danny Callison and Meredith Frailey.
- At-Large - Wallace Ryan Craig, Mary-Charlotte Grayson, Kyle Haskins, Shawna Johnson, Johnny Jack Kidwell, Robin Mayes, Matthew B. Scraper, and Marilyn Vann.
Deadline to request an absentee ballot is April 16, 2021. Request form -> https://election.cherokee.org/media/kxpmda3h/17-2021-absentee-ballot-request-form.pdf
Freedman case exhausts tribal remedy
Graham thinks his case for MCN citizens will be a win federal courts
by Lani Hansen, January 5, 2021, in Mvskoke Media
By Angel Ellis, Reporter
OKMULGEE, Oklahoma — A civil case deciding the citizenship status of Ron Graham could end up appealing beyond tribal judicial systems according to Graham who has sought tribal citizenship status over 18 years.
[ RONALD GRAHAM SR is the President of the
Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band]
Ruling in favor of Cherokee Freedmen Tribal Member Treaty Rights
On August 17, 2017, Hon. Judge Hogan ruled in favor of Cherokee freedmen tribal member treaty rights to citizenship. He held the tribal constitutional amendment which removed freedmen from tribal membership to be unenforceable due to the 1866 treaty. The tribe didn't challenge the ruling & sent the court order to tribal court.
Creek Nation Supreme court ruling against freedmen litigant Ron Graham
On September 17, 2020, the Muscogee Creek Nation Supreme Court dismissed the citizenship case of Ron Graham, descendant of Creek freedmen tribal members. The case was dismissed on technical issues, not on the merits of whether or not the 1866 treaty granting rights to Creek freedmen descendants was required to be enforced by the Creek Nation. Click on link to read materials in Graham v. Muscogee (Creek) Nation Citizenship Committee in Turtle Talk: https://turtletalk.blog/2020/09/18/muscogee-creek-nation-sct-decides-graham-v-mcn-citizenship-committee-creek-freedmen/
Vantage Point host Dr. Ron Daniels interview with Marilyn Vann & Ron Graham
September 14, 2020 — On this special edition of Vantage Point, host Dr. Ron Daniels aka The Professor talks with guests Ronald Graham and Marilyn Vann.
Topic: Black Native American Freedmen Demand Justice
Guests
- Ronald Graham, President, Muscogee Creek Freedmen Band, Oklahoma City, OK
- Marilyn Vann, President, Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes, Oklahoma City, OK
Marilyn Vann on "Burn It Down" with Kim Brown on The Real News
On November 27, 2020, Marilyn Vann, President of both the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association and African Indians of the 5 Civilized Tribes Foundation; joined Johnnie Jae, journalist and co-host of Decolonized News Hour; and Antonio Cosme, Indigenous activist, economist, and beekeeper from Detroit.
DF5CTA and AI5CTF held 1st Virtual Conference
On November 7, 2020, The Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association and the African Indians of the 5 Civilized Tribes Foundation held their First Virtual Conference with very knowledgeable panelists and speakers. Sponsored in part through a grant from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission & WPX Energy. Special Guest speaker was Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin.
Featured Speaker was Freedmen descendant John W. Franklin, Senior Manager emeritus, National Museum of African American History and Culture. Mr. Franklin spoke about the journey of African Americans from their origins in Africa.
A lawyers panel that discussed the McGirt decision included Cherokee Nation District Court Judge Luke Barteaux, former Creek Nation Assistant Attorney General John Parris, and Public Defender of the Colorado River Indian Tribe, Branton Grissum, a Creek freedmen descendant.
A panel of African Americans of tribal and nontribal heritage discussed North Tulsa community issues included attorney and author Hannibal B. Johnson, author/retired professor Art Burton, and author/genealogist Angela Walton-Raji, a Choctaw freedmen descendant.
Panelists Cherokee Tribal Councilman Joe Deere, author/journalist Randy Krehbiel, and Kristi Williams, Chairman of the Greater Tulsa African American Affairs Commission and a descendant of Creek and Cherokee freedmen, discussed race reconciliation.
Other speakers included historians Eli Grayson and David Cornsilk and Cherokee Nation citizen Reuben Gant, Exec Dir John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation.