The Nature of Representation: The Cherokee Right to a Congressional Delegate

Abstract

This Article presents the history, controversies, and significance of the Cherokee Nation's treaty-based right to a Congressional delegate. First, it details Cherokee removal from Georgia to west of the Mississippi along with how removal was seen by Cherokees and non-Cherokees at the time. Then, it describes the history of the treaty negotiations that led to the delegate provision in the Treaty of New Echota and places the Cherokee delegate in context by comparing it to other non-voting delegates in Congress. Third, the article considers the challenges the Cherokees would face in seeking to realize the delegate right. The article concludes that even if the challenges - political and Constitutional - prevent the Cherokees from realizing their delegate right, the moral responsibility the U.S. would have to off-set disallowance of the Cherokee delegate suggests that the Cherokees would benefit from pushing for such a delegate.

Keywords: Congress, Representation, Cherokee, Indian, Removal, Delegate, New Echota