In 1835 the US Government managed to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee Tribe that replaced the previous treaty that was supposed to be in perpetuity. This time, the Cherokee “agreed” to leave their ancestral lands in exchange for a lot of money and never come back.
There were, of course, some issues with the treaty, like it was never really completely clear that it was actually with the Cherokee nation, but hey, why let that stand in the way of progress?
This week, the Cherokee Tribe announced that it intended to nominate a person to fill a seat in Congress promised to them in 1835, but hitherto has remained unfulfilled.
