TRIBE TO BANISH DRUG DEALERS

CHEROKEE -- A tribal law awaiting ratification would banish members
of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians from the reservation if
convicted of dealing drugs.

Members would have to petition for court permission to return under
the law. Nontribal members would be escorted off the Cherokee Indian
Reservation immediately if they are suspected of selling drugs.

The law is a radical step for the tribe. The 13,500 members of the
Eastern Band identify themselves culturally with their homeland.

"Tribal communities such as ours have remained a cohesive group for
thousands of years," spokeswoman Lynne Harlan said. "Potential
banishment is a serious issue because it disenfranchises the
individuals from this tribal community and often their families."

Tribal Council passed the Controlled Substances Act last week.
Principal Chief Michell Hicks is expected to sign off on the law in April.

"The law shows that the tribe will not shrink from asserting its full
legal authority to arrest, prosecute, sentence and remove drug
offenders from tribal land," he said in a statement Wednesday. "Our
communities deserve the protections this law provides."

The new law also would strengthen the tribe's ability to convict and
punish drug dealers by imposing minimum mandatory jail time for
people convicted of crimes involving drugs.

The Upper Sioux Community in Minnesota passed similar measures last
year, and the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe in Nevada was considering
a banishment law. The Lummi Nation of Washington and the Chippewa of
Grand Portage, Minn., have also banished drug dealers.