Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. announced that the tribe is taking a historic initial step to enact the Cherokee Nation’s treaty right to send a delegate to the U.S. Congress.
The Cherokee Nation delegate is referenced in both the Treaty of Hopewell from 1785 and the Treaty of New Echota from 1835 between the Cherokee Nation and the federal government. The Treaty of 1866 also reaffirms all previous treaties between the Cherokee Nation and the United States.
For nearly two centuries, Congress has failed to honor this promise. Yet the obligation to seat a Cherokee Nation delegate remains as binding today as it was in 1835.
It is time for the United States government to honor its promise and seat the Cherokee Nation’s delegate, Kim Teehee, in the U.S. House of Representatives.
