1:15 Citizenship in the Cherokee Nation is not based on blood, but still, language in the tribe's laws, constitution, and policies was central to an ongoing cultural and legal debate over whether the descendants of Cherokee Freedmen, those formerly enslaved by the tribe, were considered tribal members. Monday's unanimous ruling upholds the 1866 treaty the tribal nation signed with the federal government affirming their right to citizenship. "One hundred and fifty-five years after the 1866 treaty, Native Cherokees must fully step into the promise they made on the ‘far end of the Trail of Tears,’" Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Justice Shawna Baker wrote, referencing the U.S. Supreme Court’s