© TCNPress.Org
By Line: Charleston, Franklin County, Arkansas
June 22, 2025 7:50 AM
https://www.chickamauganation.com/post/the-chickamauga-nation-tcn---a-day-of-making-news
The Chickamauga Nation (TCN) - A Day of Making News
Summer Solstice, June 21, 2025, will be remembered by generations of Chickamauga as the day they reclaimed their identity, heir and descendant rights and privileges, and jurisdiction over their Treaty, Promised, and Land Patent Lands.
Local News Reports
Chickamauga Tribe asserts land rights in fight against proposed Franklin County prison
Chickamauga Nation sends federal notice to enforce treaty jurisdiction
A Day of Making News
The day started at 7:30 a.m. in the Curtis Coffee Shop in downtown Charleston with a cultural display of artifacts collected over the last 250 years. The Curtis Coffee Shop provided an area where the Tribe could display their artifacts, and as patrons ordered coffee and various breakfast items, they could ask questions and receive answers about the items on display.
The daily events then moved to the Bell Museum in downtown Charleston. The Bell Museum is a surprisingly large museum replete with items documenting the history of the South Franklin County capital. Dr. David Jurney led a discussion about the historic and cultural history of the Chickamauga in Franklin County, especially around the proposed prison site.
Dr. Jurney’s research and the Chickamauga Anthropology team’s documentation of Stone Box Graves, Chickamauga Cemeteries, and burial sites have led to some unbelievable discoveries. There is an astrological ceremonial site within 300 feet of the proposed Prison site, which dates to 6,000 – 8,000 B.C. There was a glyph depiction of the Winged Serpent, part of the ancient religion and culture of the Chickamauga and the Southeast Ceremonial Complex, originating in the Mayan and Aztec Creation stories.
At the Bell Museum, two major announcements were delivered to The Chickamauga Nation. The first was a proclamation of the lands in the Treaty and Promised lands traded to the Tribe West of the Mississippi River, beginning in the early 1800s through the 1820s, which is a Holy Land. One of the Chiefs is quoted as saying, “There are so many Sacred Sites, so many Chickamauga burial sites, so many culturally relevant sites, so many historically significant sites, that the only accurate comparison is Jerusalem, the Holy Land of the Bible.”
The second major announcement is that the Chickamauga Nation will resume its jurisdiction of all Treaty Lands, Promised Lands, Traded Lands, and Land Patent Lands. This public announcement at the weekend event was the culmination of more than five years of legal consultations with dozens of retired Native American Legal experts, including federal lawyers who practiced Native American Law, and Federal Judges. A Certified Letter informed the President, Secretary of the Interior, and all members of the Senate and House Committees on Indian Affairs to both their DC offices and their Home Offices of the tribe's intentions.
The letter states:
This declaration shall serve as notice of the intent of The Chickamauga Nation, a Federally Recognized Indian Tribe which has not been placed on the List of Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, to inform the President of the United States, Senate of the United States, House of Representatives of the United States, Secretary of the Department of the Interior of the United States, governor of the state of Oklahoma and its citizens, governor of the state of Arkansas and its citizens, and the governors of all of the states in which we retain jurisdiction in accordance with McGirt v. Oklahoma, that we shall enforce our Treaty Rights guaranteed to us as the Supreme Law of the Land as enumerated in 7 Stat 18, 7 Stat 39, 7 Stat 42, 7 Stat 43, 7 Stat 62, 7 Stat 288, 7 Stat 93, 7 Stat 95, 7 Stat 101, 7 Stat 103, 7 Stat 138, 7 Stat 139, 7 Stat 148, 7 Stat 156, 7 Stat 195, 7 Stat 311, 7 Stat 413, 7 Stat 414, 7 Stat 474, and 7 Stat 478 as well as the Land Patent issued to us on December 31, 1838—additionally, the enforcement of all rights granted to Tribes by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Be Informed by this Service of Notice: 7 Stat 311 identifies the Lower Town Chickamauga, called the Western Cherokee, as Indians. The Congress, the President of the United States, the Department of the Interior, and its Secretary have refused to place The Chickamauga Nation on the List of Federally Recognized Tribes, violating established federal law and Supreme Court rulings.
Be Informed by this Service of Notice: The United States military abrogated the Treaty Rights of The Chickamauga Nation beginning on June 22, 1839 and in violation of existing Treaties, illegally gave our government and lands guaranteed to us by 7 Stat 311, 7 Stat 413, 7 Stat 414, 7 Stat 474, and 7 Stat 478 as well as a Land Patent issued to us on December 31, 1838 for 14,374, 135 acres for lands included in the above mentioned treaties all done without the expressed will of the Congress of the United States but that the Congress of the United States has become duplicitous in the abrogation of the said treaties.
Be Informed by this Service of Notice: The illegal “Act of Union” perpetrated by the John Ross Party of the Cherokee Nation against the Lower Town Chickamauga, called the Western Cherokee, was never authorized by an Act of the Congress of the United States.
Be Informed by this Service of Notice: When a United States Treaty is abrogated, the abrogation of such a treaty requires the reversion to the previous treaty in the line of treaties if such exist. Therefore, the abrogation of 7 Stat 311, 7 Stat 413, 7 Stat 414, 7 Stat 474, and 7 Stat 478 as well as a Land Patent issued to us on December 31, 1838 must revert to the previous treaty which is 7 Stat 156 and the lands promised to the Lower Town Chickamauga called the Western Cherokee by Thomas Jefferson in 1809 and James Monroe in 1824.
Be Informed by this Service of Notice: The 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma decision of the United States Supreme Court that the lands guaranteed to the Tribe in Treaties and lands promised by the President of the United States are under the tribe's jurisdiction. While we are currently discussing the Treaties after 1817, these treaties shall not be considered the only treaties and lands over which we retain jurisdiction, including lands east of the Mississippi River, which shall likewise fall under the McGirt decision.
Be Informed by this Service of Notice: 7 Stat 18, 7 Stat 39, 7 Stat 478, and 7 Stat 311 clearly state that we are under the protection of the United States and guarantees “protection from domestic strife and foreign enemies” and “never embarrassed by having around it the lines, or placed over it the jurisdiction of a Territory or State.” Therefore, we expect the United States military and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to protect us and our guaranteed legal rights to enforce our jurisdiction in all lands under our jurisdiction in accordance with established Treaties, both East and West of the Mississippi River.
Be Informed by this Service of Notice: The Chickamauga Nation, therefore, shall immediately resume its jurisdiction over the lands where its reservations existed in all treaties we signed, including the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, or both, in accordance with McGirt.
One of the Chiefs said, “he wanted to thank the state of Arkansas because the actions of the government of Arkansas accelerated their initial timeline by 60 – 84 months. It began with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in the fall of 2024 by violating our Federal Treaty Rights and Civil Rights to freely hunt, fish, and gather on our lands here in Arkansas by refusing to allow us to use those rights. The Department of Corrections in the fall of 2024 violated the Civil Rights of every Citizen of The Chickamauga Nation by usurping the Plenary Power of the Congress of the United States and claiming we were not a Federally Recognized Tribe, and then, once proof was provided to them, they continued with the same terminology. Then the Department of Corrections told us in October of 2024 that we were going to take the prison being built in Franklin County, and we were going to enjoy it. To me, that sounded almost identical to what the US military soldiers said when they invaded our villages and raped our women and children. They even have the audacity to say no archaeological studies show the proposed prison site has sacred sites, when in fact we have provided numerous archaeological studies by Dr. Jurney, a renowned archaeologist. Finally, the icing on the cake is a former governor’s baby daughter, saying we are not Federally Recognized and that we are ‘ABSURD.’ I guess someone in the governor’s mansion is about to find out who is ABSURD. We have been here for decades before this state came into existence and will be here for centuries after it ceases to exist.”
Luncheon adn Ceremonies
After a luncheon provided by the Tribe for the Franklin County community, the day concluded with Tribal Ceremonies. Two women were recognized as Veterans of wars against the Original Nations people. They represented The Chickamauga Nation at Standing Rock, where both were confronted at gunpoint. The younger woman, who was 13 at the time, was chased and maced for standing up for the Rights of the Original Nations people.
The next portion of the Ceremony was the installation of a newly appointed “Gorget Chief.” The English, French, and Spanish gave gorgets to the tribes' leaders in the 1700s and early 1800s, and the Chickamauga Nation identifies its “Vice Chiefs” as Gorget Chiefs. The New Gorget Chief of the West Treaty Region is one of their female leaders who has been diligently working for the Tribe for years.
During the ceremonies, a new West Treaty Region Medal Chief was also installed. Historically, the English, French, Spanish, and Americans gave peace medals to the head chiefs of a tribe to symbolize authority and honor. The New West Treaty Region Medal Chief begins his service takes over his duties on a very eventful day.
Finally, the West Treaty Region Medal Chief, who has served for 6 years, is moving into a newly appointed position of Antler Chief. The title “Antler Chief” is part of the Great Law of Peace, dating back over 800 years. The new role will represent the entire nation, not a specific Treaty Region. The New Antler Chief will be directing his attentions to legal and administrative roles
The Chickamauga Nation is represented in its National Council by different Treaty Regions, each representing various regions where they hold treaties. They have a Central Treaty Region, a South Treaty Region, a West Treaty Region, and a Southwest Treaty Region. Each Treaty Region has a Medal Chief, Grandmothers' Council, Gorget Chiefs, Clan Mothers, and Headmen and Headwomen.