[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 201 (Friday, December 23, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SUPPORTING THE CHEROKEE NATION'S 1835 TREATY OF NEW ECHOTA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM COLE

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 23, 2022

  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, as a member of the Chickasaw Nation and co-
chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus, I have always voiced 
my support for the federal government to honor its treaty obligations.
  For far too long in our Nation's history, the federal government 
accumulated a sorry record of making promises to tribes and then 
breaking those promises as soon as it was expedient to do so. Only in 
recent years has that record started to improve.
  Last month the Rules Committee held a hearing on one of these treaty 
rights: a delegate to the House of Representatives as enumerated in the 
Cherokee Nation's 1835 Treaty of New Echota. This hearing marked an 
important step in examining this specific treaty and understanding the 
legal and procedural factors surrounding this issue.
  I'm very proud that we held this hearing and want to thank Chairman 
McGovern for his leadership and the committee's willingness to 
highlight tribal sovereignty.
  The conversations that we had in the Rules Committee that day are a 
starting point for other committees of jurisdiction to study this 
matter further and address some of the lingering questions surrounding 
this. As this work continues, all such claims by tribes that possess 
them should be considered and examined as well.

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