I think it would be safe to say that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) has suffered more than our share of “irreparable harm” at the hands of the U.S. government.
However, in the recent ruling in court, the government sided with the Catawba tribe, saying in their written opinion, that the EBCI didn’t show that by them allowing the Catawba to purchase Cherokee land, how that would cause us “irreparable harm.”
You think Donald Trump would allow China to purchase land beside the White House and build an embassy there? The answer is obvious, as it should be with the Catawba Casino case.
I pray our legal team, along with tribal leadership has rethought their defense measures, got them in order and can easily, repeatedly show that by allowing a tribe to purchase land smack dab in the middle of another tribe’s ancestral homelands is not only an insult to that tribe, but it is an insult to all Native American peoples, not to mention the numerous agreements this court decision violates; Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, EBCI compact with the state. The list goes on.
Of course, the government thinks we don’t understand what “irreparable harm” is. Maybe that’s because we’ve suffered so much of it at their hands. They think it is ok to just keep breaking their promises to Native American people.
Hasn’t all the recent civil unrest been caused by racial inequality?
I pray our leadership has taken the necessary steps to provide the government with the required information that will show this action, along with all the broken promises of the past is “irreparable harm” to the EBCI! Because, just like all the broken promises to our Tribe, they can’t be reversed!
Harold R. Rattler
Lexington, Ky.
