Reps will ask Justice not to investigate Indian tribes

House members from Oklahoma will call upon the Justice Department not to investigate several Native American tribes for alleged mistreatment of the Freedmen — descendants of freed slaves once owned by Indians.
 
The planned request, announced Tuesday by Reps. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.), comes a day after The Hill reported on an April 30 letter signed by several prominent liberals on Capitol Hill, such as Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), that asked Attorney General Eric Holder to began a full-scale investigation into the tribes for alleged civil rights abuses against the Freedmen.
 
{mosads}“In the 110th Congress, there was an understanding reached to allow the current judicial proceeding to be completed, with regard to the Cherokee Freedman, before Congressional action was taken. This letter to Attorney General Holder is an affront to tribal sovereignty. Tribes across the U.S. should be deeply concerned by this kind of reckless action. I am calling on tribal nations across the U.S. to stand up against this attack on self-governance. Congressman Tom Cole and I plan to send a letter to the Attorney General urging him to honor President Obama’s earlier stated position on this issue,” Boren said in a statement.
 
Boren, in particular, has been a resolute defender of the Cherokee Nation. Lawmakers criticized the Oklahoma-based Indian tribe for amending its constitution in March 2007 to exclude the Freedmen.
 
Last Congress, the Oklahoma Democrat amended a measure by Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) that would have barred public housing funding for the Cherokee. Boren added language that postpones the funding ban until the federal courts rule on the Freedmen’s Cherokee citizenship. Both chambers in Congress came to a similar agreement when they passed housing legislation last year.
 
During the presidential campaign, Obama said Washington should not intervene in the matter and let the courts decide the dispute between the Freedmen and the Cherokee. That elated Native American leaders but angered lawmakers in Congress.
 
The Cherokee, along with four other tribes, were targeted by the lawmakers for investigation in their letter to Holder because of their alleged mistreatment of the Freedmen.