DOES A YEAR MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Back to Capitol Hill

 

Meeting Congresswoman Maxine Waters after Hearing ing on Capitol Hill

How ironic that last year July 28th a hearing occurred on Capitol Hill. Many descendants of Freedmen descendants from all Five tribes attende in support of language in the NAHASDA bill to include text pertaining to the Freedmen of the Five Tribes. We did have an opportunity to meet various members of Congress, including Congresswoman Maxine Waters and others, in suppor of language mentioning the Freedmen in the NAHASDA bill.

And now---a year later on July 27th of 2022 a hearing THIS TIME ,exclusively ABOUT the Freedmen will occur in front of the Senate's Commission on Indian Affairs. No one from the community of disenfranchised Freedmen have a voice at the table.

The speaker for the Freedmen will be Marilyn Vann, President of the Descendants of Freedmen Association. She is also an enrolled Cherokee citizen. She will have 5 minutes to speak.

The chiefs will also have 5 minutes---but collectively as a group--- in total, they have 25 minutes to speakm while the speaker on behalf of disdenfranchised Freedmen will have only 5 minutes.

It shall be interesting to see how things will unfold next week on Capitol Hill. Myself, along with a few others will be present and observing the hearing, for the second year in a row a meeting ABOUT us, but EXCLUDING us.

We can only hope that something of itnerest and benefit, will emerge from this event.