Cherokee Nation’s path to seating congressional delegate

Long before Europeans arrived on this continent, Cherokee people built thriving communities and established our own government. After the creation of the United States, a series of federal policies attempted to dissolve our government, tear down our families and society, and consign Cherokee Nation to the history books. Those attempts all failed; the Cherokee people persevered, and our sovereign government has endured.

Today Cherokee Nation is the largest tribal government in America with more than 400,000 citizens. We have rebuilt our institutions as a modern, democratic form of government with executive, legislative and judicial branches. We now have the capacity to hold the U.S. government accountable for the rights it has guaranteed through treaties, most notably the 1835 Treaty of New Echota.

This was the treaty that allowed vast swaths of prosperous Cherokee homelands to be seized by the United States government. It led directly to the forced removal of Cherokees to Indian Territory along the Trail of Tears. Thousands of Cherokees died during this removal, including many beloved elders and children.

Cherokees paid a dear price for the rights guaranteed by this treaty, so we will never give up those rights. One provision that Cherokees successfully bargained for with the federal government was a guaranteed right to have a Cherokee delegate in the U.S. Congress.

In 2019, I nominated Kim Teehee to be the tribe’s first-ever delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Tribal Council of the Cherokee Nation unanimously approved this nomination. Now it is time for Congress to make good on its treaty by seating Delegate Teehee.

Cherokee Nation’s representation in Congress would be a non-voting House delegate, similar to what the District of Columbia and U.S. territories have today. The Cherokee Nation delegate would be able to vote in committee but not on the House floor. She could address House members from the floor. Although Delegate Teehee represents the Cherokee Nation government, she could champion a wide range of issues critical to all Native people and the 574 unique sovereign governments across Indian Country.

Delegate Teehee is extremely well-qualified, having served in staff leadership roles for Native American policy in both the White House and on Capitol Hill. She deserves her rightful seat as the first Cherokee Nation Delegate to Congress.

By putting forward a delegate, we are simply asking the federal government to follow its own law and treaties. Over 180 years ago, the president of the United States made this treaty and the U.S. Senate ratified it. The only part of the government left to act is the United States House of Representatives.

Cherokee Nation is proactively working to make this happen, and I believe we will get there. Delegate Teehee and I have met with numerous members of Congress and coordinated with House leadership from both parties. We have worked closely with experts in House procedures and the law, and we have not seen any opposition. Sadly, the pandemic delayed our efforts, but we remain encouraged. We owe it to our ancestors who sacrificed so much to push forward.

This historic action hinges on a simple idea: The United States should keep its word to the Cherokee Nation. I believe our great country is strongest when it fulfills its legal and moral obligations. The United States has broken many treaties signed with the Cherokee Nation, as it has with all federally recognized Indian tribes. This represents an opportunity for the United States to keep a treaty promise and reverse a longstanding injustice.

The right to a delegate has no expiration date, and is confirmed in three separate Cherokee treaties, including the Treaty of New Echota, which is also our removal treaty. Seating our Delegate would give some small measure of justice to our ancestors who perished during the forced march.

The position of delegate is also included in the current Cherokee Nation Constitution, drafted in our 1999 constitutional convention. As Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, I proudly took an oath to uphold that Constitution. Cherokee Nation has kept its promises, and now we expect Congress to do the same.

Hoskin is Cherokee Nation principal chief.