TAHLEQUAH – Before a crowd of about 100, Cherokee Nation officials gathered on the Cherokee National History Museum grounds for the signing of a proclamation on June 19 during a ceremony observing Juneteenth and to announce the release of the findings by an equality task force.
The task force was assembled in February with a request from the administration of Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. to find out the extent to which tribal services are being used by Cherokee Nation citizens of Freedmen descent and to offer recommendations on possible improvements.
“On July 19, 1866, Cherokee Nation signed the treaty known now as the Treaty of 1866 giving people enslaved under our former laws, and all of their descendants, ‘all the rights of native Cherokees,’” Hoskin said. “The Treaty of 1866 didn’t say ‘some’ of the rights of native Cherokees; it didn’t say, ‘some of the rights, some of the time,’ and most assuredly, the Treaty of 1866 doesn’t say that Cherokee descendants have to beg for their rights at the ballot box. That’s a true statement, and we need to say it every chance we get. Equality is the order of the day at the Cherokee Nation. The work toward equality and freedom goes on at the Cherokee Nation.”
Hoskin during 2020 signed the Executive Order on Equality, restating the commitment of the CN to equal opportunities and protections under Cherokee law. This February, he expanded the order to form the task force, which has studied whether Cherokee Nation citizens of Freedmen descent have adequate and equal access to tribal services and programs.
The task force has collected information and sought to identify where services may be falling short, and to offer ideas and strategies that can address service deficiencies facing Cherokee citizens of Freedmen descent.
“There are areas where we are meeting the mark when it comes to meeting the obligations of citizenship available to Freedmen, and there are areas where we are falling short,” Hoskin said. “As proud as we are of all of the efforts we have made to ensuring we serve all citizens of the Cherokee Nation, Deputy Chief (Bryan) Warner and I are not afraid to take a critical look at what we do. On the issue of Freedmen and equality, we believe firmly that we cannot hope to heal if we close our eyes to the history of slavery, if we close our eyes to the consequences of slavery. We cannot make progress if we are unwilling to examine whether our efforts at healing today are adequate. This task force report gives us some important answers, and some guidance, and challenges us to ask even more questions.”
The task force worked with the Cherokee Nation Registration to determine there are more than 15,600 Cherokee Nation citizens of Freedmen descent in the U.S. The figures included 3,000 inside the CN’s reservation in northeast Oklahoma and more than 12,700 at-large citizens.
Cherokee Nation Freedmen Community Liaison Melissa Payne led the task force. Members included Secretary of State Shella Bowlin, Deputy Secretary of State Canaan Duncan, Cherokee Nation Registrar Derrick Vann, Cherokee Nation Environmental Protection Commission Member Marilyn Vann, Chief Information Officer Paula Starr, and Director of Self Governance Ashawna Miles.
“I’m truly grateful we have leadership that is just as passionate about our ancestors as we are, and the importance of sharing history so that the healing process can continue amongst all Cherokee citizens,” Payne said.
The task force findings are available at:
Video of the CN Juneteenth celebration is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiMbTjswN6A.
The celebration also included remarks by Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Shella Bowlin, Duncan, Payne and a poem by Cinda Rose. The ceremony ended with Hoskin signing a proclamation declaring June 19, 2024 as Juneteenth Independence Day in the Cherokee Nation.
