A seat at the table for Cherokee Nation

Our people were the first citizens of this land. From the earliest days of this country’s history, Native nations made great sacrifices through treaty agreements that forced our ancestors to leave their land to make room for settlers.

This month marks the anniversary of the first-ever treaty between the United States government and a Native nation, when the new Continental Congress signed an agreement aligning with the Delaware Tribe in cooperation against the British military. Like so many other agreements that followed, it was quickly discarded by the United States so settlers could move into tribal homelands while Native people were forcibly removed to the West.

That same story is known to different tribes across the United States, including my own sovereign government, the Cherokee Nation. In 1835, over one quarter of our tribe perished on the “The Trail of Tears.” It remains one of the darkest chapters in American history. The Treaty of New Echota, the treaty that the federal government used to remove our people, also guaranteed, in writing, Cherokee Nation would have the right to send a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. The treaty was ratified by the Senate in 1836 and then signed into law by President Andrew Jackson. It remains valid and its rights and obligations remain intact.

At great cost, Cherokee Nation upheld its end of this agreement. The United States, sadly, did not.

There are signs, however, that America’s history of neglect towards the tribal nations with which it has signed treaties, is finally beginning to change for the better. Two years ago, the Supreme Court, in its landmark 5-4 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, upheld as binding the provisions included in an 1866 treaty between the United States and the Muscogee Creek Nation.

In doing so, Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court, explained, “Many of the arguments before us today follow a sadly familiar pattern. Yes, promises were made, but the price of keeping them has become too great, so now we should just cast a blind eye. We reject that thinking.” Now that the highest court in the nation has affirmed the importance of promises made in treaties with tribal sovereign governments, Congress must do the same.

That’s why, this week Cherokee Nation is launching a nationwide campaign to get the first-ever, treaty-mandated delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives seated before Congress adjourns in December. The Treaty of New Echota guarantees Cherokee Nation a delegate in the House of Representatives “whenever Congress provides for the same.” It is time for Congress to uphold its end of the agreement and seat our delegate.

I nominated Kim Teehee in 2019 to serve as our delegate to Congress. She was unanimously backed by the Council of the Cherokee Nation. Kim is well-respected throughout Indian Country and in Washington, D.C. policy circles alike, having served President Barack Obama as the first-ever senior policy advisor for Native American affairs in the White House Domestic Policy Council for three years, and in her role today as the Cherokee Nation’s executive director of government relations. I know that she will be a powerful voice for the Cherokee Nation government, as well as all Native Americans when she is seated in the U.S. House this year.

Much like the delegates who represent the District of Columbia and U.S. territories today, Delegate Teehee will be a ‘non-voting’ member, meaning she will not vote on the House floor, but will have the opportunity to introduce bills and amendments, serve on and vote in committees, and speak during floor debate so that Native American voices are better represented in policy conversations that matter to us.

When it comes to asserting our treaty rights, the Cherokee Nation is just warming up. We have waited nearly 200 years for the United States to uphold the commitments it made in the Treaty of New Echota. It was essential to our ancestors to negotiate this right, and as the calendar year winds down, and the midterm elections approach, it’s critical that the House not wait a single day longer. We won’t stop until we get the job done.

The time has come for Cherokee Nation to finally get a seat at the table and fulfill the promise guaranteed to us to be seated at the highest levels of the U.S. government.

Chuck Hoskin Jr. is Cherokee Nation Principal Chief.