Posted on 08/25/2019 9:08:37 AM PDT by bitt
The Cherokee Nation announced Thursday that it intends to appoint a delegate to the US House of Representatives, asserting for the first time a right promised to the tribe in a nearly 200-year-old treaty with the federal government.
It was a historic step for the Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation and its nearly 370,000 citizens, coming about a week after Chuck Hoskin Jr. was sworn in as principal chief of the tribe. The Cherokee Nation says it's the largest tribal nation in the US and one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes.
The move raises questions about what that representation in Congress would look like and whether the US will honor an agreement it made almost two centuries ago. Here's what's at stake.
Why is this happening now?
The Cherokee Nation's right to appoint a delegate stems from the same treaty that the US government used to forcibly remove the tribe from its ancestral lands. As a result of the 1835 Treaty of New Echota, the Cherokee were ultimately made to leave their homes in the Southeast for present-day Oklahoma in exchange for money and other compensation. Nearly 4,000 citizens of the tribe died of disease, starvation and exhaustion on the journey now known as the Trail of Tears.
A delegate in the House of Representatives was one of the ways the US government promised to compensate the Cherokee Nation.
So why is the tribe only taking up the offer now?
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Yup.
They lost the culture wars.
We do not want to make the same mistake.
Can’t be any worse than DC’s delegate, that crazy Norton lady.
This is my question.
The 14th amendment says "Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed."
Is the Cherokee Nation exempt from taxes? If so, are they being excluded from the census?
On the question of delegate versus representative, does a non-voting delegate count as representation, or does the concept of "no taxation without representation" still hold if delegates as non-voting members is not representation?
If the Cherokee Nation really wants full participation in Congress, they can always renounce sovereignty and run for Congress as full citizens. They would be trading tax exemption and casino gambling for federal representation with full participation.
-PJ
John D. Loudermilk should be credited.
Democrats have that thought on house districts. They want over a thousand. Yieks! I’m not sure congress is up to it. I mean it’s a mess now.
>>Can’t be any worse than DC’s delegate, that crazy Norton lady.<<
If you look at the electoral college map state by state, county by county, the counties of Oklahoma are all solid red, so it’s a good bet if the Cherokee nation can land a rep in Congress, that person will be a Republican.
Does Lithuania want representation in Congress too? Are they a Nation? Or a protectorate? They should be talking to the UN.
>>Is the Cherokee Nation exempt from taxes? If so, are they being excluded from the census?<<
The answer to both questions is no. There can be exemptions from a few taxes if it involves actual tribal business, but generally no, there is no tax exemption.
The thing I didn’t mention is that the size increase shouldn’t be all at once. And it should come with a law demanding that House districts be drawn with the shortest practical length of boundary line to enclose the proper number of Persons.
On account of the first the constant adding of new districts over the course of years till they reach a certain size and no more would greatly disrupt the seniority arrangements. On account of the second it would mean the end of gerrymandering.
Toss in appointment of Senators, and more Senators, which would again let State and regional parties flourish becausethey could hope for national importance on the backs of local successes and we could possibly weaken the hold of the two big parties.
Also, it might be a good idea to allow for the number of Senators to increase over time with the size of the House.
A delegate is NOT the same as a Representative. They have no vote.
He was GREAT! I actually wrote in to the Smothers Brothers and asked for a transcript of one of his speeches. They sent it!
On the reservation you are exempt from state taxes. Still have to pay federal though.
Off the reservations you have to pay all state, federal and local taxes.
Treaty says “delegate”....not a representative. Not the same thing. A delegate has no vote.
In New Zealand, Maori people can register in either a Maori district or in a general district. Everybody else votes only in the general district. They overlap. The number of Maori districts roughly reflects the number of Maori voters. I kind of like the idea, but I kind of don’t like the idea.
There cannot be a nation within a nation. They are American, or they are Cherokee. Choose one.
Tribes are not taxed. Individual Indians are taxed. I have an indian friend here in upstate. She worked and paid taxes.
They were ALL given citizenship in 1924.
-PJ
Descendants of Indians have to be 1/8 Indian to be eligible for their benefits.
My old friend wasn’t sure about his son, so had him tested. Then he could buy beautiful reservation-owned land. Otherwise, land could only be rented to him.
Beautiful. Congress resembles The Village People. All they need is a cowboy now.
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