05 March 2007

Indian Giver

You'd think members of an "oppressed minority" would be a little more sensitive to the plight of the people they once, well, uh... enslaved.
-- Members of the Cherokee Nation of native Americans have voted to revoke tribal citizenship for descendants of black slaves the Cherokees once owned.

A total of 76.6% voted to amend the tribal constitution to limit citizenship to "blood" tribe members.

Members can obtain government benefits and tribal services including housing and medical support. Slaves were held by a number of native American tribes and were freed after the Civil War in 1866.
I guess there is no Cherokee word for irony.

RELATED: What exactly do you get for being Cherokee?
A lot of government assistance. Like the members of other Native American tribes, Cherokees have access to free health care at tribe-run clinics and hospitals. Prescription drugs, eyeglasses, and hospitalizations are all covered under this system, which the tribe operates with funding from the federal Indian Health Services.

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