Federal Court Sides With Freedmen

Wednesday, December 20th 2006, 10:21 am

By: News On 6

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) A U.S. District Court denied a motion by the Cherokee Nation to dismiss a lawsuit filed be freedmen, who are descendants of slaves who were adopted into the tribe.

Cherokee freedmen filed a lawsuit against the United States claiming U.S. officials breached their fiduciary duty by failing to endorse a treaty and the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery. They said this happened when they were denied the right to vote in the Cherokee Nation's 2003 election for principal chief and an amendment to the Cherokee Constitution.

Cherokee officials filed a motion to dismiss the suit, and that action was dismissed Tuesday in the District of Columbia.

Jon Velie, an attorney for the freedmen, said the ruling also permits the freedmen to add the Cherokee Nation and Principal Chief Chad Smith to the lawsuit.