Introduction
Members of Congress, I come before you today as a leader of the Cherokee Nation to respectfully offer our perspective on the proposed Indian Removal Act. For too long, my people have witnessed the gradual loss of our ancestral lands and way of life through broken agreements made by the governments who wished to settle upon our territory. While some claim this new bill is meant to benefit Native communities, our experiences clearly show such policies always come at great cost to our sovereignty, our culture, and our very survival (Palmer, 2019). It is for this reason that I cannot in good allow a law threatening further displacement and harm. I ask only that you lend an open ear to the Cherokee voice and consider how this bill aligns with the principles of justice and equality upon which this nation was founded.
Background Information
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law that allowed the president to negotiate treaties that exchanged Native American tribal lands east of the Mississippi River for lands west of the river. This would remove Indian tribes from their homelands. For decades, Native Americans had seen their lands gradually taken through broken treaties as American settlers continued moving west (Schwartzberg, 2023). The video describes how in the Ridge’s youth, the Cherokee Nation held vast territory throughout the Southern Appalachians, but by 1805 they had lost over half their lands and their population had severely declined. As a Cherokee leader, Ridge worked to preserve what was left of Cherokee homeland for his people in the face of this constant threat of further loss from encroaching Americans.
Native American relations with the United States had been deeply troubled from the start. After siding with the British in the American Revolution, the Cherokees lost even more of their lands and Ridge witnessed American soldiers burning his town and many others. As he says in the video, “for a generation of Cherokees, that destruction was all they knew.” They saw their world disappearing before them as the Americans seized more and more territory. Despite peace treaties, Ridge understood the central conflict of the United States wanting the remaining Cherokee lands persisted. He realized the Cherokee needed a new approach to have any hope of holding onto their homeland and preserving their people and culture (Palmer, 2019).
Position Statement
As a leader of the Cherokee Nation, I strongly oppose the Indian Removal Act. Our sovereignty and very way of life are at stake if this law is passed. We have given much already in the form of lost lands and people, and removal would surely destroy what little remains of Cherokee culture and homeland. Some claim our removal is for our own benefit, that we will find prosperity in the West. But this is clearly untrue. For over two centuries Cherokee have inhabited the lands of our ancestors in the Southern Appalachians (Pratt, 2020). As the video describes, we believe the creator set the first man and woman in this very place, which remains as sacred to us today as when our story first began. To rip us from all that is familiar would be a grave injustice no different than the broken treaties and violence of our past. Others see our lands as an obstacle to their own aims. The plantation owners and farmers covet our fertile territory for expanding their settlements and crops. Yet for them this is a matter of wealth, while for my people it is one of survival.
Questions for Other Groups
As the leader of the Cherokee Nation speaking before Congress, I ask representatives of other groups to openly address some questions:
- To the Andrew Jackson Administration, what evidence can you provide that removal is truly in the best interests of Native Americans rather than other motivations? We have seen the broken treaties of the past why should we trust such promises now?
- To the plantation owners and farmers, many Cherokee lands you want are some of the most fertile why is Native removal really worth more to you than honoring agreements made long ago? What would it take to live in peace without seizing the homes of others?
- To the missionaries, you once said we could live as equals why have your calls for equality not carried the day when our homelands are at stake? Did your vision not foresee our right to choose our own destiny on the lands of our ancestors?
Potential Reactions to the Bill
If this removal bill becomes law, I fear the Cherokee Nation will have no choice but to resist with whatever means necessary to defend our rights and homeland. As the video showed, our leader Ridge fought fiercely against the destruction of our towns as a young man. Cherokee proved then we will not submit quietly to losing our lives and way of life (Pratt, 2020). Removing us at gunpoint, as was done during the Trail of Tears, will only breed more resentment that ensures future conflict.
If on the other hand, Congress recognizes the injustice of this proposal, rejects removal, and reaffirms Cherokee title to our ancestral lands, there exists a chance for peace. But the government must prove its commitment through fair treatment long denied, not merely words (Schwartzberg, 2023). Remaining here, we could continue efforts to coexist with settlers within the boundaries agreed. However, regaining trust after so much suffering will require abandoning the broken pledges and violence of the past for respect of Native sovereignty going forward.
Conclusion
Therefore, no matter the decision before you, the actions of this government and these times will echo through history. If the removal bill passes, it will confirm the message that Native lives can be cast aside when deemed inconvenient to political and economic motives. But if justice and humanity carry the day, it need not be the last stand in an endless struggle – it could mark the start of an era of mutual understanding built on respecting the rights of all peoples to their homelands and traditions. The future relationship between Native and settler societies remains unwritten. I pray the wisdom of this assembly guides the pen toward compassion instead of the failures of the past. The eyes of Cherokee generations to come will judge what path was chosen here. I ask only that you choose the path of dignity, sovereignty and peace for all.
References
03 Trail of Tears. (2016, September 13). [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdlx2bT7c6I
Palmer III, R. A. (2019). Cherokee Dilemma: The Reshaping of the Cherokee Political Landscape following the Passage of the Indian Removal Act (Doctoral dissertation, University of West Georgia).
Pratt, A. J. (2020). Toward Cherokee Removal: Land, Violence, and the White Man’s Chance (Vol. 25). University of Georgia Press.
Schwartzberg, S. (2023). Arguments Over Genocide: The War of Words in the Congress and the Supreme Court Over Cherokee Removal. Ethics International Press.
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