Newsletters

• Update to Members May 15, 2005 containing the actual laws governing membership.
• February, 2005
• December, 2004

Recent developments

• New! Late Breaking News!
• Read the letter from the Office of Federal Acknowledgment. This is a standard letter being sent to all members who have launched a protest against the handling of the membership.  It has valid information that clarifies a lot of misinformation from the headmen. 
  
  
• New! Court date set!

• The Oversight Committee has been informed that a new Court Hearing for the Lost Cherokee has been scheduled for January 24, 2006, in Clinton, AR at 1:00 P.M. After numerous delays over the past several months, the Headmen will be asked to explain publicly why there are huge discrepancies in membership rolls which they submitted to the BIA for Federal recognition in June, 2004. Hundreds, even thousands, of Lost Cherokee member names were arbitrarily deleted from the submitted rolls. Many people who had been issued membership cards felt confused and even betrayed. Clear, consistent reasons have never been given for the Headmen's actions. Finally, we hope, the truth will come out at the Jan. 24 hearing. All members who wish to attend the hearing should email the Oversight Committee at oversightcommittee@lostcherokee.org.
• New! — Read the Synopsis of Office of Federal Acknowledgment Letters and Memorandums
• New! — Read a fax of the Sept 8 letter from the Department of the Interior page 1, page 2.
• New! — Read the article "When is an Indian not an Indian?" from the Arkansas Times.
  • The article reports that "misinformation" was spread by the "Lost Cherokees Maxwell and Davis".
• Several things are happening with the court action beginning in Van Buren County Court, Clinton, AR.
  • First,Maxwell's deposition scheduled for February 17 has been rescheduled for March 2, when both Maxwell and Leon Stockton will be deposed.
  • Second, the defendants (Headmen and Council) have submitted several documents as part of the injunction request. Leon is driving to Clinton today, February 18, to inventory and evaluate the documents for compliance with our injunction requests.
  • Third, the Court has issued a limited restriction on the information that we can publish on the web site regarding financial records of the Lost Cherokee. As a nonprofit group, they have this right of privacy. However, much of the information will be made public in the forthcoming court proceedings, so not to worry about that.
  • Fourth, a court hearing date has been requested to determine if the defendants have complied fully with the documents they have submitted. Hopefully, this will be a "where the rubber meets the road" test—if they try more evasion tactics, the court may come down hard.
  • Fifth, the defendants (Headmen and Council) have moved the offices of the Lost Cherokee from Clinton to Dover, AR. The reason(s) for this are unclear, so the Oversight Committee will be staying on top of this one. Thank you for your support and stay tuned into the web site
  • Please remember to send in your contributions to the legal fund—your help is needed, now more than ever, in this crucial stage of our legal fight to protect our rights. Here's how to send contributions.
    
    
• Court Action Starting!
• Letter from the headmen to the BIA, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act

  Several members have contacted the O.C. after talking with the present Headmen. The major question asked is, "'Why were only 731 names taken to the BIA when there were originally 3,125 who met the requirements?' (These requirements were set up by the Membership Committee in 2001-2002). Cliff Bishop was present at all the Membership Committee meetings..... and the 3,125 names were all approved by the Headmen and Council.) Now, evasive answers are being given, such as:

  "Don't worry, your name will be added later."

  "The 731 names submitted was only the initial list."

  To show that these answers are not truthful, the O.C. has added a fax of the actual cover letter which was submitted to the BIA by the Headmen, date-stamped "RECEIVED July 30, 2004". Please note that the second paragraph of the letter states that "...This submission contains the complete, current membership list...."

  View the fax: Page 1  Page 2  Page 3  Page 4  
  (To save the fax, right-click on each link above, select Save Target As..., then save the file to your computer.)

  The intent is obvious.....the Headmen meant this list to be the final and complete one submitted to the BIA.

  To show further the untruthfulness of the Headmen's statements to concerned members, we have included a copy of the actual CFR's (Code of Federal Regulations) governing the list of names submitted in applications for Federal recognition. You can read for yourself—once a list of names is submitted, that's it. It cannot be added to later, as the Headmen would have you believe.

  Finally, concerned members may wish to call the BIA themselves, as Brad Hawiyehi did when he found out that his name was not among the 731 submitted. Brad talked with Ms. Alison Pierce, and asked, "If the present petition of 731 names were to be approved....could other names be added later?" Ms. Pierce's answer was, "The list approved would be final....the tribal enrollment submitted would be the tribal enrollment."

  If you wish to call the BIA to verify this information, the number is (202) 513-7650.

   

If you have comments, suggestions, or news items, send email to: comments@lostcherokee.org.