| Cherokee people's at-large congressional district | |
|---|---|
| Delegate | Kimberly Teehee (designate from theCherokee Nation) Victoria Holland (designate from theUnited Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians) |
TheCherokee delegate to the United States House of Representatives is an office established via theTreaty of New Echota in 1835. The office was intended to represent theCherokee people and was instrumental in negotiations of land transfer and sovereignty in the Treaty. The office went vacant until 2019, with the appointment ofKimberly Teehee of theCherokee Nation. Teehee and tribal leadership attempted to get her seated in the116th and117th United States Congresses. In 2021, theUnited Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians designated their own delegate, lawyerVictoria Holland.
TheCherokee andChoctaw Native American tribes have treaty rights to send delegates to Congress. The right to a non-voting delegate to Congress was promised to the Cherokee by theTreaty of Hopewell in 1785 (affirmed in 1835'sTreaty of New Echota) and to the Choctaw under theTreaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830, "whenever Congress shall make provision for [a delegate]". Congress has never provided for the appointment of delegates from Indian tribes.[1] The Choctaw tribe has never appointed a delegate to Congress[2] and the Cherokee had not until 2019.[3] However, the Choctaw did send a non-congressional delegate to Washington for most of the 19th century as an ambassador to represent them before the U.S. government, the most noteworthy beingPeter Pitchlynn.[4]
In addition, the first treaty signed between the United States and a Native American nation, theTreaty of Fort Pitt (1778) with theLenape ("Delaware Nation"), encouraged them to form a state that would have representation in Congress; however, it is unclear if the treaty would allow a delegate without the formation of a U.S. state.[5][6][7]
A similar situation actively exists at thestate legislature level with theMaine House of Representatives maintaining seats for three non-voting delegates representing thePenobscot (since 1823), thePassamaquoddy (since 1842), and theMaliseet (since 2012).[8] The rights of the tribal delegates has fluctuated over time but appears to have been born from a practice inMassachusetts General Court (Maine was a part ofMassachusetts until 1820).[8] Unlike the situation at the federal level, Maine's state-level tribal delegates are established by state law rather than treaties.[8] As of 2015, only the Passamaquoddy seat is filled; the other two Nations have chosen to currentlynot fill their seats in protest over issues of tribal sovereignty and rights.[9] TheWisconsin Legislature, theLegislative Assembly of New Brunswick inCanada, and theNew Zealand Parliament were allegedly reviewing Maine's indigenous delegate policy for their own adoption (though New Zealand had already establishedMāori electorates since 1867).[8]
There remain, however, untested questions about the validity of such delegates. If tribal citizens are represented in the House by both a voting member and a non-voting delegate, that might be seen as contrary to the principle of “one person, one vote”. Disagreement on whichfederally recognized tribes would appoint the relevant delegate could also occur (e.g. the Choctaw delegate might represent only theChoctaw Nation of Oklahoma, say, or also theMississippi Band of Choctaw Indians; similarly with theCherokee Nation and theUnited Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians).[10] In 2022, theCongressional Research Service published "Legal and Procedural Issues Related to Seating a Cherokee Nation Delegate in the House of Representatives", addressing these concerns and logistical issues.[11]
On August 25, 2019, theCherokee Nation formally announced its intention to appoint a delegate, nominatingKimberly Teehee, the tribe's vice president of government relations, as its first delegate.[12] According to the process used for other non-voting delegates, the House of Representatives must vote to formally admit Teehee.[13] Some congressional leaders have expressed concerns about Teehee being appointed by a tribal government rather than elected by tribal members; Teehee has contended that, since the Cherokee Nation is asovereign nation, her appointment as a delegate should be viewed analogous to anambassadorship.[5] An ambassadorial view of Native delegates is consistent with prior history of Native envoys to Washington and Maine's state-level tribal delegates.[4][9] Principal Chief of the Cherokee NationChuck Hoskin Jr. has also argued that the appointment method rather than a popular vote is consistent with the Cherokee Nation's constitution.[14]
Teehee's appointment to the House was not finalized in the116th Congress and has been reported to have been delayed by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[15] Teehee remained unseated as of September 2022,[16] when the Cherokee Nation government reiterated their insistence that Congress seat her.[17][18][19] 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.[20][21] Hoskin spoke at the event and afterward, several members of the House supported a decision to seat Teehee as soon as possible, including by the end of the year.[22]
While Teehee represents the Cherokee Nation, in 2021, Oklahoma'sUnited Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians selectedVictoria Holland as a delegate, arguing that they represent the same people as the Cherokee of the Treaty of New Echota.[22]
A thirdfederally recognized Cherokee tribe is theEastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) in North Carolina, who have not nominated a delegate. They have reached out toJames McGovern of theHouse Rules Committee about the topic of congressional representation and made the issue a key point of their 2023 legislative agenda.[23][24]
| Delegate | Tribe | Party | Term | Congress | Electoral history |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | December 29, 1835 – August 29, 2019 | 24th–116th | Vacant |
_(cropped).jpg) Kimberly Teehee | Cherokee Nation | Democratic | August 29, 2019 –present | 116th 117th 118th 119th | Appointed by Principal ChiefChuck Hoskin Jr. in August 2019 and approved unanimously by committee. Teehee was not seated during the 116th Congress or in any subsequent Congress. |
| Victoria Holland | United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians | 2021–present | 117th 118th | Appointed by committee in 2021. Holland was not seated in the 117th Congress and has not been seated in any subsequent Congress. |