MEDIA ADVISORY
August 20, 2007 Contact Person: John Gomez, Jr.
8:58 pm (PST) (951)941-4943
AIRRO speaks during Town Hall Meeting on Cherokee Freedmen
Muskogee, OK- A member of the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization ("AIRRO") gave a prepared speech to Congresswoman Watson ( D- CA ) and other elected officials on the growing problem of rights violations in Indian Country.
The Muskogee meeting was one of two meetings in which Congresswoman Watson invited the public to attend and comment on the ".this important issue of law" which affects all people, not just Cherokee or Freedmen.
Mary Riley, a Pechanga/Temecula Indian whose family was stripped of their tribal citizenship by Pechanga tribal officials in 2006, expressed the support she and many others, including AIRRO, have for the Cherokee Freedmen.
Ms. Riley called the issue one of civil rights, "Not because the Freedmen are descendants of slaves, it is a civil rights issue because the Freedmen are Indian as well."
In addition, Ms. Riley reminded those present that the Freedmen are not the only Indians suffering from human and civil rights abuses. Thousands of individual Indian people from throughout Indian Country have been victimized by arbitrary and unjust acts of tribal officials.
Along with the Cherokee Freedmen, California Indians seem to be the hardest hit as the spread of human and civil rights violations seem to coincidence with the passage of ballot initiatives that legalized Indian casinos in California .
Ms. Riley concluded her remarks by calling for the acknowledgement and enforcement of the Freedmen's rights as a step to meaningful enforcement of the rights of all Indian people.
For additional information on the Cherokee Freedmen issue please visit: http://www.freedmen5tribes.com/index.html
For more information or to join the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization please visit www.airro.org or email pechangajg@msn.com