American Indian Law In A Nutshell
Today's Article deals with the Federal Recognition of The Chickamauga Nation. We will be studying the first Chapter of William C. Canby, Jr.'s book.
It is vital for us to learn about our History and our relationship to the 17 Treaties we have signed with the United States, the Annuities Paid to the Chickamauga from 1785 - the mid 1840s, the Lands held in trust for the Chickamauga on both sides of the Mississippi River, our government which has existed since before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and that the Chickamauga have never been terminated by the Congress of the United States.
First, Tribes are independent entities with inherent powers of self-government, which the Chickamauga have demonstrated since the 1730s.
Second, Tribal independence is subject to the powers of the Congress. The Supreme Court ruled that Congress has Plenary Powers over Tribes. Wex Law defines Plenary Power as, "Complete power over a particular area with no limitations."
Third, only the Federal government can deal with Tribes and Tribal Issues.
Fourth, the federal government has a fiduciary responsibility to protect the tribes and their properties including protection from states and their citizens.
The Chickamauga Nation has a jurisdictional controversy and conflict with the government of the United States and its Congress. The failure to place The Chickamauga Nation on the List of Federally Recognized Tribes who have been determined to receive special services and benefits from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
This is a jurisdictional dispute with the Congress, the President, The Secretary of Interior, and the Federal Courts.
It is interesting that there is not singular definition for an Indian Tribe. Much of this is rooted in the federal recognition process and the Bureau of Indian Affairs of which we are in jurisdictional dispute with concerning our placement on the LIST.
Here is the conundrum of The Chickamauga Nation, we are Federally Recognized by the Executive and Legislative Branches of the United States government, but not on the List of Tribes receiving benefits and Services from the BIA.
The status of our Federal Recognition does bind state courts from having jurisdiction over the affairs of the Nation.
Here is the problem for our Nation, the Department of Interior's inferior agency called the BIA is not in line with the Executive Branch's recognition of the Chickamauga as Treaty holders, annuity recipients, trust land recipients, recognized government, and never being terminated. It is for this reason, that The Chickamauga Nation is being denied benefits and services and ultimately the recipients of a continued ethnic cleansing by the United States government.
Here again, we hold 17 treaties, Congress debated War and Peace with the Chickamauga and determined, peace by issuing legislation demanding defensive positions only against the Chickamauga, the executive gave orders for John Watts and other Chickamauga Chiefs, Warriors, and Headmen to only negotiate with the Secretary of War, and finally, traded lands east of the Mississippi with Chickamauga Chiefs for ands west of the Mississippi. The United States has worked with us in the past and is now working with us through the USDA to assist the Chickamauga of our Nation with essential services and benefits.
Any of these events, or a combination of them signifies the existence of a special relationship between the federal government and The Chickamauga Nation and must therefore confer upon The Chickamauga all rights and privileges entitled to federally recognized tribes.
The failure of the federal government to recognize a particular group of Indians as a tribe CANNOT deprive that group of vested Treaty Rights.
We have maintained our distinct community and defining characteristics of our traditionalsitic Mound Building Culture with direct ancestral descendancy through blood, even when the cherokee committed ethnic cleansing our our people during a coop de taut against our treaty rights, treaty lands, and treaty established government and continued killing our people. That is when we finally went into hiding from the cherokee and the United States and her state governments since it was legal to kill Indians and take their lands without guilt being assigned by the state governments.
Here is another illustration of the Department of Interior usurping the Plenary Power of the Congress in that the LIST was originally established by the BIA in the 1970's without the direct assent of Congress as to who was and who was not added capriciously to the LIST. Congress in 1994 granted the Secretary of Interior statutory authority to keep the list and make sure it is accurate, the Secretary since thaat date has published a LIST which is NOT accurate. There are Tribes who hold treaty rights who are not on the LIST and there are Congressionally Terminated Tribes who have not legitimate ahuthority to be on the LIST.
The discussion here is called the Part 83 Process for Federal Recognition of Tribes through the Office of Federal Acknowledgement. Since The Chickamauga Nation is already a Federally Recognized Tribe, it is illegal for the Tribe to go through this administrate process since the law specifically states the purpose of the law is to determine if a Tribe is federally recognized.
Therefore: Due Process is being denied The Chickamauga Nation by the law responsible for providing Due Process.
Here may be one alternative - Seek a court order forcing the President to place us on the LIST. Another alternative is seek declaratory judgement and have a federal judge place us on the LIST. Both are options for Tribes which have the financial resources to do so.
The Chickamauga Nation has been Federally Recognized since 1785 because the treaty of Hopewell places us under the jurisdiction of the United States. Until 1978, that was the criteria for Federal Recognition, being under the jurisdiction of the United States.
We ask that the Acknowledgement Process show where they have acknowledged the cherokee, either Oklahoma or North Carolina as having completed this process since both were terminated tribes in the early 1900s 1902 and 1906 for the Oklahoma group and 1924 for the North Carolina group. Their governments were terminated and have never been re-recognized by the Congress of the United States?
Here is why we have done over 620,000 pages of academically verified research, to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have existed since time in memorial and continue to exist to this very day.
We find it absolutely reprehensible that a cherokee named Lee Fleming is director of the Office of Federal Acknowledgement since the cherokee are responsible for the historical genocide of the Chickamauga and the continued ethnic cleansing of the Chickamauga.
Here is where the Congress of the United States has failed The Chickamauga Nation because it has never terminated the Chickamauga and therefore the Congress must immediately place The Chickamauga Nation on the LIST to establish equity and provide Due Process to the Chickamauga.
During the cherokee coup de taut against the Chickamauga in 1839, the Chickamauga retained their government and identity while in hiding. We continued to hide in plain sight and never ceased to exist all the while retaining a government in hiding.
The Chickamauga announced to the United States government through their Chief Bloody Fellow that even if the Chickamauga intermarried and became white, not a drop of Chickamauga blood would be lost and that all Chickamauga are full blood.
Since the Chickamauga are Federally Recognized, we are Chickamauga of The Chickamauga Nation. Our identity holds.
Here is where I must immediately call out the United States and the cherokee in Oklahoma and North Carolina. Both cherokee tribes self-terminated, 1902, and 1924 respectively and in 1906, the Curtis Act re-terminated the Oklahoma group. The government of these groups is not recognized by Congress, but the United States through the BIA provides them with benefits and services as though they are federally recognized Indian Tribes of which they are not. They are no longer Indians.
Here is an issue for some people who are part of a Tribe and leave the Tribe, they may no longer be Indians. It is imperative that a person not leave a tribe or even if they do not leave, adopt non-Indian ways.
The Chickamauga Nation Tribal Community is distinct in that our people are identified as Chickamauga, for jurisdictional purposes.
Finally, please link this article and send it to every Senator and Representative. They tend to not have a basic understanding of Treaty law, and especially how it related to the Chickamauga.