Shameful, Just Shameful

I was absolutely floored when I heard of Elizabeth Poscich's situation. I know the issue of descendents and property has been a controversial one since they were first given inheritance recognition in 1986. However, what concerns me is the fact that Tribal Council can invalidate a will for whatever they determine to be a loophole, and that's something that should concern Cherokees from full bloods down to first generation descendents. All but two council members, Terri Henry of Painttown and Teresa McCoy of Big Cove voted to pass it. Diamond Brown, the Cherokee County/Snowbird rep. has now said he'll lead the charge to advocate support of the protest filed last week. Diamond has admitted making a mistake voting to pass it, and the truth is he, like the other council members, was duped. He wasn't provided all of the information, and he was misled and manipulated, as well as lied to.
Well that's three council members who I know will back it. I hope more of them have enough of a conscience to get behind it as well. Most Cherokee County residents want a casino here but not like this.
One thing I have to point out is how callous this whole thing was. First of all, Poscich's husband died not too long ago. Tribal Council passed this days after she buried her husband. She hasn't even had time to grieve. Michell Hicks signed it before the 10-day protest period was over. And just to point out one more example of how ultimately callous the Michell Hicks camp is, here's a direct quote from the Committee to Re Elect Michell Hicks Facebook page (grammatical errors included):
"This story leads me to ask: Are we supposed to give Cherokee land away? Their blood degree ran out..What is the issue? and we should compensate them? Tribal Council did the right thing..Yes, If your descendents did not meet the blood degree requirements, it could and should happen to you. Anyone of us, as Cherokee's, know this."
First of all the soon-to-be evicted descendents are the late Lee Craig's people. Lee Craig has done so much for this tribe and the Cherokee Community, probably a whole lot more than these whiners on facebook. And Elizabeth, through her work as a pharmacist, and her husband, known for his generous nature, have given far more to the Cherokee people in Cherokee County than those who'd scoff at the fact they don't meet the tribe's blood quantum. As far as I'm concerned, they are Cherokee, and they don't deserve this.
I'd also like to point out to those non resident voters who may have received communications asking you to keep Michell Hicks in office will allow them to keep their land, well this is who Angie Kephart has told you to vote for, and he's the one who actually took someone's land. Ironic isn't it.
Furthermore let's put this in historical perspective for comparison. A leader of a nation forces the rightful occupants of an area of land to leave without compensating them. Who does that sound like? Kennedy? Nope. Roosevelt? Try again. Here's a hint, pull a $20 bill out of your wallet. Actually this could be worse since the people who survived Andrew Jackson's Manifest Destiny got land in Oklahoma. These people are getting nothing.