{"id":29999,"date":"2022-12-06T12:09:15","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T17:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=29999"},"modified":"2022-12-06T12:37:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T17:37:17","slug":"shannon-holsey-u-s-must-honor-treaty-promise-to-cherokee-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/12\/06\/shannon-holsey-u-s-must-honor-treaty-promise-to-cherokee-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Shannon Holsey: U.S. must honor treaty promises to tribal nations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tLegal & Procedural Factors Related to Seating a Cherokee Nation Delegate in the U.S. House\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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EventID=115188<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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House Committee on Rules: Legal & Procedural Factors Related to Seating a Cherokee Nation Delegate in the U.S. House – November 16, 2022<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Seating Cherokee Delegate Strengthens Sovereign Rights for All Tribes\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, December 6, 2022<\/div>\r\n
By Shannon Holsey<\/div>\r\n
President, Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians<\/div>\r\n
mohican.com<\/a><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nRecently members of the House of Representatives held a hearing on seating the Cherokee Nation\u2019s long-promised delegate to Congress. As they contemplate next steps, I ask them to remember that our voices matter in policymaking. We, after all, were this land’s first people.\r\n\u00a0

<\/p>\r\nToday we are also neighbors, community leaders, co-workers, business owners and economic drivers of this country. Native Americans help shape America\u2019s past and we are engines of its future. We have long had an undeniable role in the history of the United States. Now we are asking for it to be recognized because we know representation matters. Our voices need to be heard in the nation\u2019s capital as policies are made.\r\n\u00a0

<\/p>\r\nThe Cherokee Nation holds a unique treaty-mandated right, a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. It was included in the Treaty of New Echota which was signed off on by the president and ratified by the Senate nearly 200 years ago. The delegate has not been seated yet because the House hasn\u2019t voted to seat her, it is the last relatively simple step in a centuries long process.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tChuck Hoskin: Cherokee Nation holds U.S. to treaty promise\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Almost 200 years ago, the Treaty of New Echota between Cherokee Nation and the United States government was signed.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/p>\r\nToday, as President of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, I joined with the Cherokee Nation in asking for the U.S. House to seat the delegate this year. Our tribe fully supports the exercise of tribal treaty rights, including the seating of a Cherokee delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives, and calls upon the U.S. House to fulfill its obligation to tribes, such as the Cherokee Nation, by seating its delegate this year.\u00a0\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWhy are we supporting this? It is a win for all of Indian Country. Seating a Cherokee Nation delegate in Congress represents an opportunity for the United States to honor a treaty promise, and reverse a longstanding injustice. When the U.S. federal government upholds its treaty obligations to one tribe, it upholds its commitment to all Indian tribes and all treaty rights.\r\n\u00a0

<\/p>\r\nWhen the Cherokee Nation\u2019s delegate is seated in the House, she will be a voice for all native communities on the issues that are uniquely important to us \u2013 tribal sovereignty, federal funding, and equality of opportunity. This is about lifting up the voices of Native Americans at the highest levels of our government where decisions are made. That\u2019s why there\u2019s already widespread support for this effort.\r\n

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