Cherokee Nation Tribal Council Speaker Joe Byrd was elected Wednesday, Oct. 21 to serve as vice-president of the eastern Oklahoma region of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) during a conference in San Diego.

Note: This is a schedule for Tribal Court, and defendants are scheduled to appear on the dates listed. It should be noted that the following defendants have only been charged with the crimes listed and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Ashlyn Nichole Carothers, 23, of Cherokee, was sentenced on Thursday, Oct. 15 to 180 months in prison for her involvement in a robbery on the Cherokee Indian reservation, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

An inmate at Sing-Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York claims Cherokee blood and has filed a lawsuit seeking to become a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Note: This is a schedule for Tribal Court, and defendants are scheduled to appear on the dates listed. It should be noted that the following defendants have only been charged with the crimes listed and should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Those named in a lawsuit involving pay raises for Tribal Council that occurred last fall are responsible for their own legal representation according to a resolution passed in Annual Council on Wednesday, Oct. 14.

The Title IV-E plan containing plans and policies for the new child welfare system for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has been approved by federal officials.

These are the committee assignments for the 2015-17 Tribal Council.