Color commentary: Can Cherokees outlast opponents?

FOR Chad Smith, no gray area exists in the premise behind the Cherokee Nation's vote to exclude the descendents of freed slaves from the tribe's membership rolls. For a California congresswoman, the issue is entirely black and white.

Smith, re-elected June 23 as principal chief, says Cherokees simply want "to be an Indian tribe composed of Indians.” U.S. Rep. Diane Watson has introduced legislation to cut ties between the federal government and Cherokees.

The Cherokee decision in March to restrict membership to Indians ran into a firestorm of criticism from the politically correct crowd — not unlike some Indians have done to institutions that gave their sports teams names like "Savages” and "Warriors.” The Cherokee base in Tahlequah is near a state university whose teams were formerly known as "Redmen.”

The Bureau of Indian Affairs says it has no intention of cutting off funds to Cherokees, but this story is far from over. For the second time, tribal members have voted to take the feds out of the tribe's constitutional approval process. The BIA rejected results of the first vote because the now excluded Freedmen were disenfranchised.

Voting shows overwhelming support among Cherokees for the recent proposals, but legal challenges keep the matter in limbo. In general, we think any group has a right to establish membership standards. This would include, for example, an all-male country club.

But with federal funds come strings and the kind of meddling initiated by Rep. Watson. Whether Smith and the Cherokees can outlast their critics will be interesting to watch.

Washington, D.C., a resident once replied to a visitor complaining about overcrowding, would be a great place if it weren't for all the tourists. The dilemma is that what attracts people to a place tends to attract so many that it's hard to see the attractions. Venice has a related problem. An Associated Press dispatch says day-tripper tourists are trashing Venice but spend so little while there that the city finds it hard to keep itself attractive to tourists. A city best known for its canals and architecture is sinking in more ways than one. Trashy tourists breeze through and violate the rule of leaving only footprints and taking only memories. Fines are in place to discourage littering and graffiti, but 20 million visitors can't all be made to behave. Reminds of us visitors to Muskogee's Honor Heights Park who snap photos of the azaleas and then toss Polaroid remains on the ground in front of the flowers.

Winning the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere buried in Tulsa for 50 years is definitely a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it's the most famous car in the country right now (that won't last). On the other hand, virtually nothing of the car survived its entombment. This reminds us of when Feed the Children, in 1998, was given a historic office building that needed $15 million in improvements. We said at the time that this was like getting a $5,000 gift certificate good only for the purchase of a $50,000 car. The Plymouth now belongs to the heirs of Raymond E. Humbertson, who in 1957 guessed what Tulsa's 2007 population would be and was off by fewer than 3,000. Humbertson has been dead since 1979. The car now looks as though it's been dead since 1958. Still, its notoriety gives it some value. Feed the Children sold the office building. Will the Belvedere, trapped in a "carsophagus” for a half century, be on e-Bay within the month?

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama did some backpedaling recently after campaign documents surfaced that were critical of front-runner Hillary Clinton<