[3] In 2001, she applied for citizenship in the Cherokee Nation but was denied because her ancestor was listed as a Freedman on the Dawes Rolls without a "degree of Indian blood" designation.

[2] In 2003, Vann filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, asking them to enforce the 1866 Treaty that granted citizenship rights to Cherokee Freedmen and their descendants.

[2] In 2017, Vann's federal lawsuit, Cherokee Nation v. Nash, was successful, with the court ruling in favor of citizenship rights for Freedmen descendants.

[1] The Cherokee Nation supreme court, however, ruled that such language should be removed, affirming the full citizenship rights of Freedmen descendants based on the Treaty of 1866.

[1] This decision upheld the outcome of the 2017 federal case which ensured Freedmen descendants' right to run for office and other privileges of tribal citizenship.

[1] She has emphasized the importance of understanding the extent of tribal sovereignty in environmental matters, particularly in the context of the 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma decision, which reaffirmed the legal standing of the Muscogee Nation and has implications for other tribes.