Racism in Native American Culture

On June 23rd, 2007 the Cherokee Nation voted to expell all Blacks from their tribe.

The obvious issue is whether this is a racist act. Before we get to that, however, one must wonder - how did the Cherokee aquire Black tribe members to begin with?

The answer comes from the Cherokee themselves, dealing with the issue of this vote. In the 1860's around the time of the Civil War, the Cherokee were the proud owners of about 2,800 slaves.

Yes, the Cherokee owned slaves. A lot of them.

In the aftermath of the war between the states, Oklahoma was primed to become a full member of the Union. There was just one problem - it was technically Indian Territory. To resolve the issue, and permit Oklahoma's statehood to go through, the federal government drew up a treaty with the Cherokee formalizing their reservation lands inside the new state. This treaty also had a provision requiring that the tribe include among its members the former slaves and their descendants, if these Freedmen so wished.

The Cherokee accepted, as the Blacks had been a part of their society for quite some time, and many of them had already intermarried with "real" tribe members.

Today, the Cherokee are of a different mind. They see the Blacks as undesirables forced upon them by an unfair treaty. So, they broke the treaty.

Yes - it isn't always the 'evil white man' who breaks the treaties.

So, it is my view that the Cherokee have grown quite racist over the years. After all, what is racism but a prejudicial act taken against an entire race based soley on the characteristics of that race? How can this action by the Cherokee be construed as anything else?

Native Americans are human too. They are just as capable as anyone of perpetrating a crime of ignorance and hate. Certainly, it is shocking, in this day and age, to see such a blatant act of racism carried out on such a large scale - especially by such an "enlightened and tolerant" people.