By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
Cherokee One Feather Asst. Editor
The Cherokee Nation is seeking a delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives that was promised in the Treaty of New Echota in 1835. Richard G. Sneed, Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), thinks that all three federally recognized Cherokee tribes should be represented by a delegate or delegates in Congress.
In a recent letter to Rep. James P. McGovern (D-Mass.), House Committee on Rules chairman, and Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), House Committee on Rules ranking member, Chief Sneed wrote, “We disagree with the position of the Cherokee Nation that it is the only Cherokee sovereign to which Article 7 (Treaty of New Echota) applies.”
The letter continues, “The Treat of New Echota is dated Dec. 29, 1835. It was created and signed in New Echota, Georgia, which was part of the aboriginal territory of the Cherokee people. The treaty uses the term ‘Cherokee nation’ (note that the word ‘nation’ is in lower case) multiple times to refer to all of the Cherokee people. This includes the Cherokee people who were later recognized as the Cherokee Nation (in what is now Oklahoma), the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (in what is now North Carolina), and the United Keetoowah Band (in what is now Oklahoma). It seems that this treaty’s reference to the Cherokee nation (meaning all the Cherokee people) has been conflated to mean only the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.”
Chief Sneed told the One Feather, “The Treaty of New Echota (1835) was one of several treaties the federal government used to divide the Cherokee people. In particular, it provided the primary legal basis for the federal government to strip the Cherokee people of our homelands and separate us from each other by hundreds of miles. In order to survive this physical separation imposed by the federal government, the Cherokee people reorganized ourselves into three geographically distinct groups – the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.”
He added, “In Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians v. United States, the 1886 Supreme Court decision, the Court focused solely on identifying which group of Cherokee people would receive funds from the sale of specific properties and does not address other articles of the treaty. The Court simply found that the treaty made some of the funds contingent upon removal and that since the Eastern Band was not a party to other subsequent treaties, they were not due a share of those specific funds.”
Chief Sneed went on to state, “In short, the Court focused exclusively on allocating funds from a specific transaction—not on which Cherokee group gets a delegate in Congress. Federal courts have issued numerous decisions over the years affirming that the Treaty of New Echota is binding on all three of the Cherokee Tribal Nations. Therefore, all three are entitled to be represented in Congress as provided in Article 7 of the Treaty, whether that means one delegate per Tribal Nation or a single delegate representing the interests of all three Tribal Nations and their citizens. It is impossible to honor this treaty with the Cherokee people without involving and addressing all Tribal Nations that now represent the ‘Cherokee people.’ That is why we look forward to working with Congress and the other Cherokee nations to find a path that fully honors the Treaty.”
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Rules Committee on Wednesday, Nov. 16. He said, “Treaties are binding commitments. The Cherokee Nation delivered on its commitment long ago in land and lives. It is time for the United States to deliver on its promise. We are grateful to Chairman McGovern and the members of the Rules Committee for holding this historic hearing. Now, we’re asking the House of Representatives to take action and seat the Cherokee Nation’s delegate.”
In August 2019, Chief Hoskin nominated Kim Teehee to serve as the delegate. A Cherokee Nation citizen, Teehee served as the first-ever senior policy advisor for Native American Affairs in the White House Domestic Policy Council during the administration of President Barack Obama.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), chair of the Committee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, said in a statement on the delegate in general, “For too long and for too many tribal nations, the United States has failed to follow its own treaty obligations. This hearing is a step in the right direction, but the commitment remains unfulfilled. Seating Delegate Teehee in Congress would send a powerful message to every tribe that the United States will honor its commitments to both Cherokee and all American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. As chair of the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, I will continue to push the United States to honor its trust and treaty responsibilities.”
The National Congress of American Indians passed a resolution on Oct. 25, 2019 in support of seating the delegate which reads, “Now, therefore be it resolved, that the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) fully supports the exercise of tribal treaty rights, including the seating of a delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives where promised, and calls upon the House of Representatives to fulfill its obligation to tribal nations, including the Cherokee Nation, by seating its named delegate in Congress.”
Chief Sneed’s letter concludes, “As the treaty and judicial precedent make clear, any action by the House Rules Committee, the House of Representatives, or the Congress to establish an Article 7 Cherokee delegate should include a delegate from the Eastern Band.”
