The Cherokee Nation, under new chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., calls on the United States to fulfill its obligation under the 1835 Treaty of New Echota, to seat a tribe member as a delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. The delegate could vote in committee, join debate on the floor, and introduce legislation, but would lack an ultimate vote on bills. Can a Member of a sovereign entity sit in a lawmaking body of another sovereign government? Should the U.S. seat a delegate from each of the other tribes? Will America keep her promise to the Cherokee?
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Justice Delayed: When will the U.S. Live Up to Its 1835 Treaty with the Cherokee Nation?
The Cherokee Nation, under new chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., calls on the United States to fulfill its obligation under the 1835 Treaty of New Echota, to seat a tribe member as a delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives.
9 replies on “Justice Delayed: When will the U.S. Live Up to Its 1835 Treaty with the Cherokee Nation?”
This group of people that are a member of a native american (indian) tribe. I have a few questions. Are they considered to be citizens of the USA? Do they pay federal taxes? Are they able to vote in national and state elections. If the answer is yes to all of that, then they are already represented.
As far as the treaty. Going from just what Bill & Scott mentioned, I see no reason NOT to honor the agreement. It seems rather symbolic and it may have ramifications that we don’t see yet. But as an American, I pay my debts. My country should do the same.
To my limited knowledge. A member of a tribe who lives on a reservation. Can not get a home equity loan. They are essentially shut out of private entrepreneurship with tribal property. They have to resort to tribal councils and negotiations with states. This really shuts down american entrepreneurship for the individual tribal member.
I just found some info on the town and Indian tribe. It was the town of Salamanca and the Seneca Indians. Evidently the lease has been renewed for an additional 50 years (2041).
Back in the late 90s or early 2000 I read an article about a town in the northeast that had made a land deal with the local Indian tribe allowing the town to lease the land from the Indians for a miniscule dollar amount for a specified number of years. When the lease came up for renewal the Indian tribe decided not to renew the contract with the town and wanted the land back. The town officials refused to make good on the contract or even discuss it in a effort to invalidate the original deal with the tribe. I don’t have the specifics but that’s the gist of the article. We’ve been sticking it to the Indians since we first got here and I don’t see our government making any trustworthy agreements with them in my lifetime.
Hawaii was also sovereign when it joined the USA. It had a monarchy and descendants of that that monarchy still exists today notionally.
The Iroquois Confederation was at the first negotiation of the articles of confederation and would have been an additional ‘state’ in the federation if the British had not detained their representatives and caused their confederation to split on the point. Its likely if the USA had at the start an Amerindian state that all other Amerindians would have been folded into it later as the USA grew.
Spoiler :
Since the Cherokee can vote in elections, they essentially have the ability to seat a representative in congress with more power than what the contract originally offered.
Since they have what they were promised since 1965, the contract has been fulfilled and was several decades ago. If the Cherokee wanted to vote as a bloc they could elect one of their own every two years and probably with a minimum of campaign financing.
Our word must be our bond. It is the mark of our honor. Honor is not an outdated concept. If we signed a treaty then we MUST fulfill it. If we do not, then there is no justice and our word is worth nothing and our nation is nothing. This is true no matter who we are dealing with, sovereign nation or not. Say what you mean and mean what you say. This is a standard of integrity, whether you are an individual or a nation. You are only as good as your word, and this is a formal treaty. I can refute reparations for slavery because slavery has not existed in this country since 1865 and no one living today was a slave or a slave owner, so the onus is not on modern people. But American Indians did not get the full right to vote as American citizens until 1965, and there are many Indians who are still alive from that time who were discriminated against. I see this as a nation to nation treaty, not a racial thing. The Trail of Tears was a travesty created by Andrew Jackson to steal land from the Cherokees and if anyone deserves some fair treatment now it is the Cherokees. The minimum we must do as a nation is keep our word on a treaty. Gentlemen, seat the delegate.
I’d have to disagree with your comment regarding “genocide”, if the Cherokee people had not been “forced” to move, the people who died, would not have died. Though they did sign the treaty, did they really have a choice in the matter? What would have happened if they had not agreed to move? Most likely they would have been killed. You and I both know this is true.
As for Elizabeth Warren, having believed she was descended from someone who had Cherokee blood, I believe that SHE believed she was descended from Cherokee blood. I disagree with her politics, but I give her leeway with having believed she was descended from someone with Cherokee blood. I also was “told” I was Cherokee, though when I took a DNA test I found I had zero Native American DNA, according to the existing test data available.
The rest of what you said I completely agree with. We, being the United States, entered into a contract and it should be upheld. As for the rest of the Native American tribes, it is up to them to negotiate with the present government if they also want representation. Which in my opinion they should receive. They do live in this country and should have a say in how we run it.