Sovereign Flex

The picture above comes from an article by Al Jazeera titled ‘Sovereign flex’: How a tribe defied officials through cannabis which documents the initiative by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to defy state law and establish their own cannabis dispensary. This inspiring story helps document the struggle for some tribes, and the risks they assume when asserting their tribal sovereignty in conflict with the state surrounding them.

Notable Lines from the article:

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is one of 574 federally recognised tribes in the US, each with inherent sovereignty: In other words, they have the right to self-govern.

To the US government, that means tribal land falls under federal jurisdiction — but not state authority.

“I’ve worked with cannabis for a long time, and this is the first time I’m doing it with, and for, my tribe,” said cashier Eric Bird, 34. He smoothed his uniform and choked up. “It’s a dream come true.”

A local district attorney warned, however, that people could still be prosecuted if they took their marijuana purchases off Cherokee land.

“In North Carolina, the cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana remains illegal, and we will continue to enforce state law off Qualla Boundary,” District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said in a statement.

“I’ve been to psychiatrists and taken pills but only cannabis calms the body,” he said, gesturing at his prosthetic leg.

Was he scared of arrest? Not at all. “It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

SOURCE: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2024/6/17/sovereign-flex-how-a-tribe-defied-a-us-state-with-a-cannabis-superstore

https://www.c-span.org/video/?446792-1/2018-farm-bill