Tom Downey of Downey McGrath group has graciously taken on this issue and is currently working with Congresswoman Watson and Chairman Barney Frank. They are taking this issue to the next level.

One thing is becoming clear, that this is not a Indian issue but a
Cherokee issue along with a few other OK tribes, and Congress is
beginning to understand that the Lakota, Navaho and the other 500 plus
federally recognized tribes have NOTHING to do with this...every
congressional staff person or every Congressmen that I spoke with were
shocked to even learn of slavery of among these particular Oklahoma
tribes. The fact that the Cherokees are hypocritically screaming
termination while terminating their very own slave descendants is
laughingstock to the congressional members. Privately, even Indian
people from other tribes are telling congressional members that
Cherokees are not really Indians but just white folks with a Indian
ancestor five hundred years ago.....this whole thing has gone down a
dangerous path for the Cherokee Nation.....

Again the great news for the Freedmen descendants is that Congressional
members are able to understand this issue because of the United States
very own history with slavery and how American slaves were granted US
citizenship and to all their descendants today. Easily understood by
most reasonable thinking people.

As far as the Prodesta Group it would seem they would work with anyone
on anything. My god, they even had a African American guy from their
lobbying group escorting the Cherokee leadership around congress
selling their new brand of racism......stranger things have never
happen!

EGEli Said: