DO YOU NEED HEARINGS ABOUT HONORING TREATIES?:

The House Rules Committee hears testimony Wednesday on whether to follow through on a nearly 200-year-old treaty promising the Cherokee Nation a non-voting delegate in the U.S. Congress.

"No constitutional or prudential barrier prevents the House from complying with its treaty obligation, and seating the delegate would be consistent with the text of the Constitution, with House's precedents, and historical practice dating back to the Founding era."

-- Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. in his opening statement

Some background here: The Treaty of New Echota, which catalyzed the forcible removal of tribal members on the Trail of Tears, says the Cherokee "shall be entitled to a delegate in the House of Representatives of the United States whenever Congress shall make provision for the same." The Senate ratified the agreement in 1836 and President Andrew Jackson signed it into law, but the delegate has never been seated.

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