UKB writes Congress in opposition to Cherokee Nation congressional appointment

In an interesting turn of events, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians notified Congress in a letter dated September 16th of their opposition to the Cherokee Nation's appointment of Kimberly Teehee as the Cherokee Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

RE: Cherokee Congressional Delegate; United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians

To whom it may concern:

I write in my capacity as the Attorney General of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, a federally recognized Cherokee tribal government—recognized by Congress in 1946. Act of August 10, 1946, 60 Stat. 976 (Aug. 10, 1946). Recently, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, another Cherokee tribal government—which was not organized until 1976—claimed to appoint Kimberly Teehee as a Cherokee delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The United Keetoowah Band opposes this appointment. The United Keetoowah Band further opposes any Cherokee delegate being seated in the House until such time as the United Keetoowah Band approves the delegate.

The Cherokees’ right to seat a Congressional delegate stems from Article XII of the Treaty with the Cherokee, 1785, which provides “[t]hat the Indians may have full confidence in the justice of the United States, respecting their interests, they shall have the right to send a deputy of their choice, whenever they think fit, to Congress.” Similarly, Article 7 of the Treaty with the Cherokee, 1835 (7 Stat. 438, 443) provides “they shall be entitled to a delegate in the House of Representatives of the United States whenever Congress shall make provision for the same.”

The United Keetoowah Band is the successor to the Cherokee Treaties of 1785 and 1835. If the House seats any Cherokee delegate, it should be only after consultation with and approval of the United Keetoowah Band. If you have any questions or would like to discuss, please contact myself, Chief Joe Bunch, or Assistant Chief Jamie Thompson.

Sincerely,

Klint A. Cowan
[UKB Attorney General]

(click to view larger)

With about 14,000-15,000 enrolled members, the UKB is one of three federally-recognized Cherokee tribes. The other two are the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (10,000-13,000 enrolled) in North Carolina, and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (about 300,000 enrolled members, although this figure varies by the source, with some as low as 280,000 and others as high as 320,000).

Of the Oklahoma branches of the Cherokee, the UKB gained federal recognition first, in 1946. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma followed in 1976, and there has been tension off and on ever since.

Cherokee Chief Hoskin moves to appoint former Obama advisor, DNC staffer as Delegate to Congress

Here's some fascinating news. Newly-elected Cherokee Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., is appointing the first-ever Cherokee Nation Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. Who did he pick? A former advisor to President Obama and DNC staffer, and a maximum campaign donor.

In a letter to Joe Byrd, Speaker of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, Principal Chief Hoskin called for a special session of the tribal council to, among other things, appoint Kimberly Teehee as the Cherokee Nation's first-ever nonvoting delegate to the United States House of Representatives. The Cherokee Nation has long considered itself owed a Representative in Congress due to an 1835 treaty with the United States government, but it apparently has never attempted to seat one -- until now.

Teehee is the Vice President of Government Relations for Cherokee Nation Businesses, and Director of Government Relations for the Cherokee Nation since 2014 after being appointed by Principal Chief Bill John Baker.

Teehee has a long history of involvement in Democratic Party politics.

She served as Senior Advisor to Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI) for "nearly twelve years" starting in 1998, and was appointed as Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs in 2009 by President Barack Obama to the White House Domestic Policy Council, which coordinated domestic policy-making process in the White House and offered advice to Obama.

Going further back, Teehee worked for the Democratic National Committee as their first deputy director of Native American Outreach, and served as director of Native American outreach for President Bill Clinton's 1997 inauguration.

Teehee was a $5,000 maximum donor to Hoskin during the recent and hotly-contested election for principal chief. Hoskin won after his chief opponent was controversially disqualified by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court two days before Election Day due to allegations made by a Hoskin campaign employee.

(click to view larger)

Other high profile financial supporters of Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., include Oklahoma State Rep. Avery Frix (R-Muskogee) (to the tune of the maximum $5,000), Oklahoma House Minority Leader Emily Virgin (D-Norman), disgraced former Governor David Walters, and Drew Edmondson, a former Attorney General and the 2018 Democrat nominee for Governor.

It is interesting to note that in the most recent congressional election in the counties that make up the Cherokee Nation, not one went for the Democratic candidate, and the Republican Party received approximately 64% of the vote.