Kimberly Teehee | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Teehee in 2012 | |
| Delegate to theU.S. House of Representatives from theCherokee Nation | |
Not seated | |
| Assumed office August 29, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1968-10-13)October 13, 1968 (age 57) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Rogers State University (AA) Northeastern State University (BA) University of Iowa (JD) |
Kimberly Teehee (born October 13, 1968) is aCherokee politician, and activist onNative American issues. She is aDelegate-designate to theU.S. House of Representatives from the Cherokee Nation. She served as senior policy advisor for Native American affairs in the administration of PresidentBarack Obama from 2009 to 2012.[1] In February 2020, she was named byTime as one of 16 activists fighting for a "More Equal America."[2]
A member of theCherokee Nation, she was born inChicago, Illinois, and raised inClaremore, Oklahoma, by fluentCherokee language speaking parents.[3][4]
Teehee is a graduate ofRogers State University, where she received anassociate's degree,[5] and ofNortheastern State University, where she was graduatedcum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1991. She earned her Juris Doctor from theUniversity of Iowa College of Law in 1995.[6] She was awarded aBureau of National Affairs Award.[4]
Teehee served as the first deputy director of Native American Outreach for theDemocratic National Committee and director of Native American outreach for PresidentBill Clinton's 1997 inauguration.[6][4] Starting in 1998, she then served as Senior Advisor to Democratic CongressmanDale Kildee of Michigan, who was a co-chair of the Native American Caucus in the House of Representatives.[3]
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In the Obama administration she served on theWhite House Domestic Policy Council.[7] Beginning July 2009, she assumed the new position of Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs and advised the president about issues pertaining to Indian country.[4]
In 2012, she accepted "a position with the Mapetsi Policy Group, a small legal and lobbying firm founded by tribal advocate, Debbie Ho, with the aim of preserving tribal sovereignty."[8]
During her tenure at the White House, she played a major role in securing re-authorization of theViolence Against Women Act (VAWA). In 2015, after leaving the White House, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians honored her for her work on VAWA, especially as it related to prosecuting non-natives who abuse native women on tribal lands.[9]
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In 2014, Teehee joined Cherokee Nation Businesses, where she served as vice president of special projects for the tribe's holding company.[10]
In August 2019, Principal ChiefChuck Hoskin Jr. appointed Teehee as theCherokee Nation's first-everdelegate to the United States House of Representatives.[11] Her appointment was approved by the Cherokee Council on August 29.[12] The Nation's right to send a delegate to Congress was provided for in theTreaty of Hopewell of 1785 and theTreaty of New Echota of 1835;[13] however, the right was not exercised until 2019. The U.S. House of Representatives will have to vote to seat Teehee as a delegate similar to those representing the U.S. territories.[14] If accepted, her role will be non-voting, similar to those of representatives fromWashington D.C.,Puerto Rico,American Samoa,Guam,Northern Mariana Islands, and theUnited States Virgin Islands.[15]
The Cherokee Nation is still attempting to have Teehee seated.[16][17] In February 2021, it was reported that Teehee was among those who advised PresidentJoe Biden and Vice PresidentKamala Harris on their campaign promises concerning Native Americans prior to the2020 United States presidential election and that her seating as a delegate in Congress had been delayed by theCOVID-19 pandemic, though she expected to be seated sometime in 2021.[18][19] Teehee remained unseated as of September 2022,[20] when the Cherokee Nation government reiterated their insistence that Congress seat her.[21][22][23] A formal hearing by theUnited States House Committee on Rules to discuss the legality and procedure for seating Teehee was scheduled for November 16, 2022.[24][25] Hoskin spoke at the event and, afterwards, several members of the House supported a decision to seat Teehee as soon as possible, including by the end of the year, but Teehee was not seated by the end of the117th Congress.[26][27] Teehee was reappointed by Hoskin as the Cherokee Nation delegate-nominee in August 2023.[28]
While Teehee represents the Cherokee Nation, in 2021, Oklahoma'sUnited Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians selectedVictoria Holland as a delegate, arguing that she represents the same people as the Cherokee of the Treaty of New Echota.[26]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Delegate-designate of theU.S. House of Representatives from theCherokee Nation 2019–present | Incumbent |
