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The following conversation has been lightly edited for style and clarity. In the following Q&A, Vann discusses the work of the commission, concerns for the Five Tribes of Oklahoma and challenges faced as a decedent of Cherokee Freedmen. Vann made an unsuccessful run for Cherokee Tribal Council earlier this year, but she was then nominated to the commission by Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., who told NonDoc in 2019 that he has a “great relationship” with Freedmen leaders and that he is “mindful that we need to make sure all of our services and all of our accessibility to the government is done based on that core principle of equality.”Ī University of Oklahoma graduate with a degree in petroleum engineering, Vann saw her appointment confirmed by the council on Sept. Nash, in which a judge ruled that Cherokee Freedmen have full tribal citizenship rights - a decision subsequently affirmed by the tribe’s Supreme Court. In 2017, she was a plaintiff in a landmark case, Cherokee Nation v. She has long been involved in the fight for recognition of Freedmen and is the president of the Descendant of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association. Vann spent more than 30 years as an engineer at the U.S. In September, Marilyn Vann was appointed to the Cherokee Nation’s Environmental Protection Commission, making her the first Freedman to hold a governmental office in the tribe.įreedmen in Oklahoma, meaning those who are descended from African Americans held as slaves by tribal citizens, have historically been excluded from rights and citizenship in tribal nations.

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