Saturday, June 27, 2009

Kimberly Teehee is actually the #2 position in Indian country

Jackie Johnson Pata said [Kim Teehee's] job was really going to hone in on those [domestic] policy issues. Pata also said, Kim's job was like the No. 1 position in Indian Country.

Well that was before Larry Echohawk's second [or were there more?] swearing in ceremony, after which Larry issued his first editorial declaring that "The historical Cherokee Nation as it existed in 1934 no longer exists as a distinct political entity."

Echo Hawk declared a new nation, a new government, a new-tribe-that-will-have-to-negotiate-a-treaty-because-they-didn't-exist-before, until now, when Larry says they do! Larry presented the "New and Improved" Cherokee Nation with two governments for the price of none! A drum roll should have played before he declared the C-N-O! The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the United Keetoowah Band!

Wow! Shiny enit?

So, I'm curious, if Kim Teehee is No.1, what does she do if an "underling" declares her tribe "moot?" If there is no Historical Cherokee Tribe, since he just dissolved it in his own mind, which tribe does Kim Teehee declare herself a part of? And how does Larry handle the real No.1 position in Indian Country from such a long distance from the President's desk?

Now I'm confused, is there a historical Cherokee Tribe and if it did "sunset" doesn't that mean that since it dissolved, they don't have trust status? If it dissolved, they don't have a government-to-government relationship with the Federal Government right? So, if it really did dissolve before our very eyes, Larry Echo Hawk just outran Congress in the race to dissolve a Tribe.....wow.......he's quick.

Didn't a past BIA employee declare plenary decision-making over tribal governments such as the Northern Cheyenne? Are we right back where we were trying to get away from? Wow, he does work quickly.

Have a "nice" day, and thank you for visiting the "historical" Cherokee Tribe formerly known as a sovereign nation, declared "moot" by a second and successive Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Larry Echo Hawk.

2 comments:

NDNLady said...

In the landmark 1976 Harjo decision, the federal court accused the BIA of "bureaucratic imperialism" for "acting like" the governments of the 5 Tribes no longer existed when Congress had clearly and expressly continued them. It is mindboggling to me to see Echohawk ignore over thirty years of settled federal case law recognizing the lawful reorganizations of these tribes as the historic entities not as "successors in interest". If this is Echohawk's idea of respecting the "government-to-government" relationship with Indian Nations, we're all in trouble. Way to go, Larry. It only took you one day to make a mockery of Pres. Obama's campaign promises to Indian people.

ndn writer said...

FRIT? Federal Reserve Information Technology? Really....interesting...