![]() ![]() The decision has also put the Cherokees at odds with the federal government. But in more recent history, their citizenship rights have been repeatedly challenged. The move prompted protests among these African-Americans, who are known as Freedmen, because for long periods in the past, they enjoyed equal rights in the Cherokee tribe. Those rights include access to health care clinics, food distribution for the poor, and assistance for low-income homeowners. This strips of their citizenship rights about 2,800 African-Americans who are descendants of slaves once owned by wealthy Cherokees. The Cherokee Nation recently decided to limit its membership to people who can prove they have Indian blood. But this year it was marked by controversy and protests. The holiday draws tens of thousands of people to Tahlequah, Okla., the heart of the Cherokee Nation. Marilyn Vann, in pink, is the president of the Descendants of Freedmen Association. 2 outside a regional Bureau of Indian Affairs office in Muskogee, Okla. ![]() Black Freedmen, who are descended from the slaves of Cherokee Indians, protest their expulsion on Sept. ![]()
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