MUSKOGEE Okla.
A federal official has recommended that a Cherokee Nation
vote to remove federal oversight from the tribe’s constitution and amendments
be approved.
On June 23, tribal voters affirmed a 2003 constitutional
amendment that removed a federal approval requirement from the Cherokee Nation
Constitution.
In a letter to Principal Chief Chad Smith, Jeanette Hanna of
the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office said her office
had reviewed the election and forwarded its recommendation to Carl Artman, the
assistant secretary for Indian affairs at the Department of the Interior.
BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling said Friday that Hanna’s
letter was only a recommendation and that Artman would have to make the final
decision.
“From my understanding, it’s to be done pretty quickly,
too,” she said. “Mr. Artman is looking it over and moving toward a
decision.”
Smith said in a statement released Friday that the tribe was
made stronger by having the federal oversight removed.
