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By Line: Fort Smith, AR
January 8, 2026 5:30 AM
The Chiefs of The Chickamauga Nation recently discussed a Federal lawsuit filed by the Cherokee Nation in 2019.
The Self-Terminated Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Inc Admits in Item 22 of a Federal Lawsuit That The Chickamauga Nation IS the Cherokee Nation
Which of the more than 155 Cherokee Nations is the Cherokee Nation that signed each of the Treaties? https://www.chickamauganation.com/post/which-cherokee-nation
Below is a Federal Lawsuit Filed by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Inc., based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, which in 1902 became a Self-Terminated Tribe and eventually incorporated in the State of Oklahoma under the state’s Corporation laws. The Lawsuit specifically states that the Lower Cherokee signed 1794 7 Stat 43 as the Cherokee Nation. All twelve (12) signatories are Lower Town Chickamauga.
The Self-Termination of the Cherokee Nation is PL No 241 of 1902 Chapter 1375 AN ACT To provide for the allotment of the lands of the Cherokee Nation, for the disposition of town sites therein, and for other purposes.
This Congressional Act of Self-Termination is an agreement ratified by Cherokee Nation at an election held August 7, 1902.
“SEC. 25. The roll of citizens of the Cherokee Nation shall be made as of September first, nineteen hundred and two, and the names of all persons then living and entitled to enrollment on that date shall be placed on said roll by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes.
SEC. 26. The names of all persons living on the first day of September, nine teen hundred and two, entitled to be enrolled as provided in section twenty-five hereof, shall be placed upon the roll made by said Commission, and no child born thereafter to a citizen, and no white person who has intermarried with a Cherokee citizen since the sixteenth day of December, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, shall be entitled to enrollment or to participate in the distribution of the tribal property of the Cherokee Nation.”
Is the John Ross Cherokee Nation that filed this lawsuit as a Corporation chartered under the laws of the state of Oklahoma, even the signer of any Cherokee Nation treaty? Since the United States government has been working with the wrong “Cherokee Nation” since 1816, it is time for the United States to begin paying restitution to The Chickamauga Nation for intentionally or unintentionally working with the wrong Cherokee Nation. The group calling itself the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Inc. must return all funds and lands that rightfully belong to the Chickamauga Nation.
Time to examine the FACTS
The Case
Case 1:19-cv-02154-TNM-ZMF Document 1 Filed 07/19/19
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
1. THE CHEROKEE NATION,
Plaintiff,
v.
Case No. 19-cv-02154
1. THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR;
2. DAVID BERNHARDT, Secretary of the Interior;
3. THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS;
4. TARA MAC LEAN SWEENEY, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs;
5. THE OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL TRUSTEE FOR AMERICAN INDIANS;
6. JEROLD GIDNER, Acting Special Trustee for American Indians;
7. THE OFFICE OF TRUST FUND MANAGEMENT;
8. CASEY HAMMOND, Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management;
9. THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT;
10. THE OFFICE OF NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE; and
11. GREGORY J. GOULD, Director of the Office of Natural Resources Revenue;
12. THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY;
13. STEVEN T. MNUCHIN, The Secretary of the Treasury; and
14. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendants.
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COMPLAINT
1. This lawsuit intends to resolve accounting and related equitable claims that the Cherokee Nation (herein the “Nation”) brings against the United States of America
(herein the “United States” or the “Government”)1 (Unless listed or described separately, “United States” or “Government” refers to all Defendants, including the United States of America.) and a number of its agencies and bureaus directly and through the agencies’ and bureaus’ directors acting in their official capacity relating to the Government’s management of the Cherokee Nation’s Trust Fund (hereinafter the “Trust Fund”), including money generating obligations owed by the Government to the Nation.
2. Within the Trust Fund, the United States held and managed – and continues to hold and manage – vast resources for the Nation including, inter alia, money; proceeds
from the sale of land or profits from the land; money from surface leases for agriculture, surface, oil and gas mining leases, coal leases, sand and gravel leases, businesses, and town lots; income from property owned by the Nation; buildings; the Nation’s records; and money resulting from treaties or other agreements. Each of the items in the Trust Fund are subject to specific trust duties set out in treaties, statutes, regulations, executive orders, and agency directives as generally described herein.
3. In this Complaint, the Nation invokes its right to an accounting of the Trust Fund as a beneficiary of the Government’s trusteeship. While this is a discrete matter, the
resolution of these claims will strengthen the working relationship between the Nation and the Government and thereby further the opportunity for development and progressive
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activities that benefit the Nation, the communities in which the Nation is located, and the United States generally.
I. PARTIES2 (The Cherokee Nation’s claim for an accounting relates only to lands, funds, monies, and assets owned by the Nation and not to lands, funds, monies, and assets owned by any individual citizen of the Nation.)
4. “[T]he Cherokee people have existed as a distinct national community, in the possession and exercise of the appropriate and essential attributes of sovereignty, for a
period extending into antiquity beyond the dates and record and memory of man[.] [T]hese attributes, with the rights and franchises which they involve, have never been
relinquished by the Cherokee people, but are now in full force and virtue.” Resolution of the Cherokee National Committee at Aquohee Camp, Aug. 1, 1838. “[T]he inherent sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation, together with the constitution, laws, and usages of the same, are, … in full force and virtue, and shall continue so to be in perpetuity … [T]he Cherokee people … do not intend … as compromitting, in any manner, their just claim against the United States … .” Id.
5. The Nation and the Government entered into numerous treaties and other agreements throughout the years and continue to enter into various agreements. At other
times, the Government unilaterally took control of the Nation’s Trust Funds pursuant to statute, regulation, administrative order, or executive order and without the agreement of the Nation.
6. The Nation is acknowledged by the United States Government as a federally recognized Indian Tribe.
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7. The Nation’s reservation boundaries encompass all or part of fourteen counties in what is now the northeastern part of Oklahoma.
8. The Cherokees have a vibrant and unique cultural, social, and military heritage. The Nation is one of the so-called “five civilized tribes,” along with the Chickasaws,
Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles.
9. The Department of the Interior (“Interior”) is a federal agency with the responsibility to provide for the effective management of, and accountability for, the
proper discharge of trust responsibilities to Indian tribes, including the Nation. The trust responsibilities of Interior include the obligation to properly manage assets held in trust for the Nation and to account for, manage, and reconcile the Nation’s corresponding trust accounts and records. This responsibility is undertaken, in part, by many of the “subbureaus” and “sub-agencies” of Interior. David Bernhardt is currently the Secretary of Interior, and is added hereto as a Defendant in his official capacity, and not personally.
10. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is a sub-bureau of, and an agency within, Interior that has the responsibility for carrying out substantial trust responsibilities to the Nation. Tara Mac Lean Sweeney is currently the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs and is named as a Defendant in her official capacity, and not personally.
11. The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians is a sub-agency within Interior that has the responsibility of carrying out substantial trust responsibilities to the
Nation. Jerold Gidner is currently the Acting Special Trustee for American Indians, and is added hereto as a Defendant in his official capacity, and not personally.
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12. The Office of Trust Fund Management is a sub-agency within Interior that has substantial responsibility for the management of the Nation’s trust accounts.
13. The Bureau of Land Management is a sub-agency within Interior that has substantial responsibility for the management of the Nation’s trust assets. Casey
Hammond serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management exercising the authority of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management,
and is named as a Defendant in his official capacity, and not personally.
14. The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is an office within Interior that succeeded to many of the duties and responsibilities of the former Minerals Management Service (MMS). The ONRR currently, and the MMS before it, has substantial responsibility for the management of the Nation’s trust assets, including the management of land, natural resources, oil, gas, and coal and the revenues that may be derived from that land. Gregory Gould is the Director of the ONRR, and he is named hereto as a Defendant in his official capacity, and not personally.
15. The Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) is a federal agency with the responsibility to provide for the effective management of Indian tribal trust funds and
accountability for the proper discharge of trust responsibilities on behalf of Indian tribes, including the Nation. The trust responsibilities of the Treasury include the responsibility to properly manage, account for, and reconcile the Nation’s Trust Funds. Steven T. Mnuchin is currently the Secretary of the Treasury, and is named as a Defendant in his official capacity, and not personally.
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16. The United States of America is that legal entity constituted on September 17, 1787, and which articles of constitution came into effect on March 4, 1789, thereafter
being amended and modified from time to time. Pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of such Constitution, the United States Congress has the authority for the United States of America “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.” Pursuant to that power, the United States of America has pervasively managed and controlled the Trust Funds. The United States of America has acknowledged its obligation to account to the Nation for the management and control of the Trust Funds, including in various treaties and agreements with the Nation, in federal statutes, and by the decisions of its Courts.
II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION
17. Trust relations between the Nation and the United States were formalized in numerous treaties between 1785 and 1871, in later agreements, and in unilateral actions
by Defendants.
18. The first treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Hopewell, 7 Stat. 18 (Nov. 28, 1785), which focuses on peace and the treatment, release,
and exchange of prisoners and the enslaved. Article 4 addresses “hunting grounds” of the Cherokee and provides a description of this tract of land. The United States agreed the Cherokees were to have exclusive control over this land. The ninth article provides that the United States has “the sole and exclusive right of regulating the trade with the Indians and managing all their affairs in such manner as they think proper.”
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19. The second treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Holston, 7 Stat. 39 (July 2, 1791). This treaty also focuses on peace between the parties.
Article 4 outlines the borders of the Cherokee Nation – boundaries which were to be officially marked by the parties. The Nation agreed to cede any land “to the right of” that boundary. Consideration for the cession included the United States’ commitment to pay the Nation $1,000 each year. Article 7 provides United States assurances to Cherokee Nation that the Nation will maintain sovereignty over all lands not ceded.
20. The third treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Philadelphia, 7 Stat. 42 (Feb. 17, 1792), which amended the Holston treaty to increase the
United States’ annual payment to $1,500 for the lands ceded at Holston.
21. The fourth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Philadelphia, 7 Stat. 43 (June 26, 1794), which was a second amendment to the Treaty of
Holston and required the mapping of the land ceded. The financial consideration for the Holston land cessions was increased to $5,000 annually, payable in “goods suitable for the [Cherokee Nation’s] use” (Art. 3).
22. The fifth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Tellico Blockhouse, (Nov. 8, 1794). It is a peace treaty between the United States and Lower Cherokee which ended the Chickamauga wars and restated boundaries from the Holston Treaty which were never fully ascertained.
23. The sixth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Tellico, 7 Stat. 62 (Oct. 2, 1798). Despite the Treaty of Holston and its amendments, the
Government’s assertion of the physical boundaries of the Nation’s Lands still had not
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been fully laid out or marked by the United States in the 13 years available to do so. Because the United States failed to mark the boundaries, non-Cherokee settlers were enabled to enter Cherokee land. Additional land cessions were agreed to, in exchange for the United States’ “protection”. Article 4 describes the ceded land. In Article 6, the United States agreed to a onetime payment of $5,000 in “goods, wares and merchandise” and an annual payment of $1,000 in “other goods.” These payments were “in addition to the annuity already provided for.” The United States also “guarantee[d] of the remainder of their country forever.” The 1798 Tellico Treaty reaffirmed the prior treaties, indicating it was “additional to, and forming a part of, treaties already subsisting between the United States and the Cherokee Nation”.
24. The seventh treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Tellico, 7 Stat. 288 (Oct. 24, 1804), in which the Cherokee Nation ceded land containing
“Wafford's Settlement” and received from the United States a commitment to make payments of $5,000 (one time) and $1,000 (annually).
25. The eighth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Tellico, 7 Stat. 93 (Oct. 25 1805), in which the Cherokee Nation ceded land to the United
States. In consideration for the cessions, the United States agreed to pay the Nation $3,000 immediately plus $11,000 within ninety days, as well as a $3,000 “annuity.” It is believed that the term “annuity” meant at that time an obligation by the United States to pay the Nation $3,000 each year after the treaty. In the year 1805, the United States agreed the yearly ‘annuity’ amounted to $10,000. 7 Stat. 43, 62, 93; Cherokee Tr. Funds, 117 U.S. 288, 296, 6 S. Ct. 718, 720 (1886).
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26. The ninth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Tellico, 7 Stat. 95 (Oct. 27, 1805), where the Nation ceded land for the creation of the State Assembly of Tennessee and the United States agreed to pay the Nation $1,600.
27. The tenth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Washington, 7 Stat. 101 (Jan. 7, 1806). In it, the Cherokee Nation ceded land and
received total financial consideration of $10,000 to be paid in yearly installments of $2,000. In addition, the United States agreed to build a grist mill “for the use of the
Nation” and the United States agreed to provide the Nation with “a machine for cleaning cotton.” Article 4 provides that the United States “will secure to the Cherokees the title to the said reservations” (set out at the beginning of the treaty) “in such manner as will be equitable.”
28. The eleventh treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Elucidation of a convention with the Cherokee Nation, 7 Stat. 103 (Sept. 11, 1807). The Elucidation clarifies the lands Cherokees ceded by the Washington Treaty of 1806 to include the land between the Tennessee River and Tennessee Ridge. In consideration for ceding any claims to this land, the United States agreed to pay $2,000 upon demand by the Nation. The Nation reserved hunting access on the land ceded “until by the fullness of settlers it shall become improper.”
29. The twelfth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Washington, 7 Stat. 138 (Mar. 22, 1816), where the Cherokee Nation ceded its last
remaining lands within the limits claimed by South Carolina. The United States
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“promise[d] and engage[d] that the State of South Carolina shall pay to the Cherokee nation” $5,000.
30. The thirteenth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty with the Cherokee, 7 Stat. 139 (Mar. 22, 1816), which attempted to resolve the dispute over the boundary between Creek and Cherokee on the Coosa River. This agreement established a manner to lay out and mark the boundary. This was a resolution to the dispute which arose from the Treaty of Fort Jackson. Additionally, Article 5 provided that the United States would pay damages for losses the Cherokee Nation incurred as a result of the Creek Wars.
31. The fourteenth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Chickasaw Council House, 7 Stat. 148 (Sept. 14, 1816), where the Cherokee Nation
ceded land and the United States agreed to pay the Nation $5,000 as well as “an annuity” of $6,000 per year for ten years “as compensation for any improvements.”
32. The fifteenth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of the Cherokee Agency, 7 Stat. 156 (July 8, 1817). It provided financial incentives and
practical assistance to those Cherokees who chose to emigrate west (to what became Arkansas) and offered one acre in the western lands for every one acre ceded in the eastern lands, as well as compensation for improvements that were left behind. Article 4 provides a method for dividing the yearly “annuity” payments between those who removed and those who did not. The treaty provides that the “parties,” which includes the Nation, shall have “free navigation of all the waters mentioned.”
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33. The sixteenth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Washington, 7 Stat. 195 (Feb. 27, 1819), which affirms the Treaty of the Cherokee
Agency (1817), but fails to define any western boundary of the Cherokee Reservation in Arkansas. The Tellico land reservation is “ceded to the United States, in trust for the Cherokee Nation as a school fund; to be sold by the United States and the proceeds invested as is hereafter provided in the fourth article of this treaty.” Article 4 states: The United States stipulate that the reservations, and the tract reserved for a school fund, in the first article of this treaty, shall be surveyed and sold in
the same manner, and on the same terms, with the public lands of the United States, and the proceeds vested, under the direction of the President of the United States, in the stock of the United States, or such other stock as he may deem most advantageous to the Cherokee nation. The interest or dividend on said stock, shall be applied, under his direction, in the manner which he shall judge best calculated to diffuse the benefits of education among the Cherokee nation on this side of the Mississippi. Under Article 6 of the 1819 Washington Treaty, the “annuity to the Cherokee nation shall be paid, two-thirds to the Cherokees east of the Mississippi, and one-third to the Cherokees west of that river.” The Treaty also provides for the development and lease of a roadway to the Unicoy Turnpike Company.
34. The seventeenth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Washington, 7 Stat. 311 (May 6, 1828), which redraws the western boundary of the State of Arkansas, and then establishes the western Cherokee lands to the West of Arkansas as a “home that shall never, in all future time, be embarrassed by having extended around it the lines, or placed over it the jurisdiction of a Territory or State, nor be pressed upon by the extension, in any way, of any of the limits of any existing Territory or State” in what would later become the State of Oklahoma. The United States promised “to possess the
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Cherokees, and to guarantee it to them forever, and that guarantee is hereby solemnly pledged, of seven millions of acres of land, to be bounded as follows . . . .” The United States also granted to the Cherokee Nation “a free and unmolested use of all the Country lying West of the Western boundary of the above described limits, and as far West as the sovereignty of the United States, and their right of soil extend.” The United States agreed to pay for the value of improvements lost in Arkansas and to build a new grist and saw mill. Article 5 specified a number of payments (including famously a payment of $500 to Sequoyah for the Cherokee Alphabet). The money the United States promised the Nation was to be used for various things, including a school fund, to buy a printing press, and to construct new buildings. In Article 9, a 2-by-6-mile reservation of lands to the United States is made for Ft. Gibson for the “accommodation of the military force.”
35. The eighteenth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Ft. Gibson, 7 Stat. 413 (Feb. 14, 1833), that renewed the United States’ guarantee to the Nation of the seven million acres, the perpetual outlet for the Nation west of those lands, and the free and unmolested use of the country west. Cherokee Tr. Funds, 117 U.S. 288, 300, 6 S. Ct. 718, 722 (1886). The 1833 Treaty also resolved a boundary line dispute between the Cherokee Nation and the Creek Nation. Article 4 required the building of blacksmith shops and for installing “railway corn mills.” Article 6 provided for a 1-square-mile area of land to be set aside for the “Cherokee Agency.”
36. The nineteenth treaty between the Nation and the United States is The Unratified Agreement with the Cherokee of 1835, Sen. Doc. No. 120 (Mar. 14, 1835). This was an unratified document that did not become legally binding, but would have provided for the
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removal of the remaining Eastern Cherokees to the Western lands that were identified in the 1828 Treaty at Washington. It would have created a $4.5 Million fund, and would have commuted the Cherokee Nation’s educational annuities to a fund administered by the United States. It also provided the Nation with a reversionary interest in the Union Mission Station as well as Fort Gibson if the respective reservation were ever abandoned.
37. The twentieth treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of Camp Holmes (or the Treaty with the Comanche and others), 7 Stat. 474 (Aug. 24, 1835). It included the Cherokee Nation as a party and at Article 4 provided that “It is understood and agreed by all the Nation or tribes of Indians parties to this treaty, that each and all of the said Nation or tribes have free permission to hunt and trap in the Great Prairie west of the Cross Timber, to the western limits of the United States.”
38. The twenty-first treaty between the Nation and the United States is the Treaty of New Echota, 7 Stat. 478 (Dec. 29, 1835). This is the final Cherokee removal treaty
where the Cherokees “in the East” agree to removal to the “west.” The Treaty of New Echota is very similar to the unratified Agreement with the Cherokee from March 1835. The Treaty of New Echota ceded all land east of the Mississippi to the United States in exchange for $5,000,000, two tracts of land, and the use of “all the country west of the western boundary.” The first tract of land is the Seven Million acres described in the treaties of 1828 and 1833. The Treaty of New Echota states that land was to be “conveyed by patent.” The second tract is approximately 800,000 acres, which the United States conveyed to the Nation “by patent, in fee simple.” Article 3 of the Treaty of New Echota provides that all lands, including the “outlet” were to be conveyed in “one
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patent.” That patent excepted the Military reservation at Ft. Gibson. And, Article 3 provided that if Ft. Gibson were abandoned, the land would revert to the Cherokee
Nation. Article 10 created a “permanent fund” for the Cherokee Nation that shall be invested “in some safe and most productive public stocks of the country for the benefit of the whole Cherokee nation.” Article 11 commuted Cherokee Nation annuities for education into a one-time, lump sum payment. Article 12 also created a fund of $100,000 for the “poorer class of Cherokees as shall remove west.” In a supplementary agreement (May 23, 1836) this “poor persons’ fund” was subsumed into the Cherokee National fund.
1794 7 Stat 43 Proclamation Jan 21 1795
Whereas the treaty made and concluded on Holston river, on the second day of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, between the United States of America and the Cherokee nation of Indians, has not been fully carried into execution by reason of some misunderstandings which have arisen:
ARTICLE I.
And whereas the undersigned Henry Knox, Secretary for the department of War, being authorized thereto by the President of the United States, in behalf of the said United States, and the undersigned Chiefs and Warriors, in their own names, and in behalf of the whole Cherokee nation, are desirous of re-establishing peace and friendship between the said parties in a permanent manner, Do hereby declare, that the said treaty of Holston is, to all intents and purposes, in full force and binding upon the said parties, as well in respect to the boundaries therein mentioned as in all other respects whatever.
ARTICLE II.
It is hereby stipulated that the boundaries mentioned in the fourth article of the said treaty, shall be actually ascertained and marked in the manner prescribed by the said article, whenever the Cherokee nation shall have ninety days notice of the time and place at which the commissioners of the United States intend to commence their operation.
ARTICLE III.
The United States, to evince their justice by amply compensating the said Cherokee nation of Indians for all relinquishments of land made either by the treaty of Hopewell upon the Keowee river, concluded on the twenty-eighth of November, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, or the aforesaid treaty made upon Holston river, on the second of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, do hereby stipulate, in lieu of all former sums to be paid annually to furnish the Cherokee Indians with goods suitable for their use, to the amount of five thousand dollars yearly.
ARTICLE IV.
And the said Cherokee nation, in order to evince the sincerity of their intentions in future, to prevent the practice of stealing horses, attended with the most pernicious consequences to the lives and peace of both parties, do hereby agree, that for every horse which shall be stolen from the white inhabitants by any Cherokee Indians, and not returned within three months, that the sum of fifty dollars shall be deducted from the said annuity of five thousand dollars.
ARTICLE V.
The articles now stipulated will be considered as permanent additions to the treaty of Holston, as soon as they shall have been ratified by the President of the United States and the Senate of the United States.
In witness of all and every thing herein determined between the United States of America and the whole Cherokee nation, the parties have hereunto set their hands and seals in the city of Philadelphia, within the United States, this twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four.
H. Knox, Secretary of War, [L. S.]
John McCleemore, his x mark, [L. S.]
Tekakisskee, or Taken out of the Water, his x mark, [L.S.]
Walahue or the Humming Bird, [L .S.]
Nontuaka, or the Northward, his x mark, [L. S.]
Chuleowee, his x mark, [L. S.]
Cinasaw, or the Cabin, his x mark, [L. S.]
Ustanaqua, his x mark, [L. S.]
Skyuka, his x mark, [L. S ]
Kullusathee, his x mark, [L. S.]
Chuquilatague, or Double Head, his x mark, [L. S.]
Siteaha, his x mark, [L. S.]
Keenaguna, or the Lying Fawn, his x mark, [L. S.]
Chatakaelesa, or the Fowl Carrier, [L. S.]
Done in presence of—
John Thompson,
William Wofford, of the State of Georgia.
Arthur Coodey, Interpreters,
W. McCaleb, of South Carolina.
Cantwell Jones, of Delaware.
Samuel Lewis, of Philadelphia.
All 12 of the Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga
Tekakisskee, or Taken out of the Water, Nontuaka, or the Northward, Cinasaw, or the Cabin, Skyuka, Chuquilatague, or Double Head, John McCleemore, Chuleowee, Ustanaqua, Kullusathee, Siteaha, Chatakaelesa, or the Fowl Carrier
The Reality of the Signers of the Treaties
1785 7 Stat 18
ARTICLE 1.
The Head-Men and Warriors of all the Cherokees
At Least 28 of the 37 (73%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga;
Koatohee, or Corn Tassel of Toquo, Tuskegatahu, or Long Fellow of Chistohoe, Ooskwha, or Abraham of Chilkowa, Newota, or the Gritzs of Chicamaga, Konatota, or the Rising Fawn of Highwassay, Tuckasee, or Young Terrapin of Allajoy, Toostaka, or the Waker of Oostanawa, Untoola, or Gun Rod of Seteco, Kostayeak, or Sharp Fellow Wataga, Chescoonwho, Bird in Close of Tomotlug, Tuckasee, or Terrapin of Hightowa, Chesetoa, or the Rabbit of Tlacoa, Chesecotetona, or Yellow Bird of the Pine Log, Sketaloska, Second Man of Tillico, Chokasatahe, Chickasaw Killer Tasonta, Onanoota, of Koosoate, Ookoseta, or Sower Mush of Kooloque, Umatooetha, the Water Hunter Choikamawga, Wyuka, of Lookout Mountain, Tulco, or Tom of Chatuga, Will, of Akoha, Amokontakona, Kutcloa, Kowetatahee, in Frog Town, John, of Little Tallico, Skelelak, Akonoluchta, the Cabin, and Cheanoka, of Kawetakac,
1791 7 Stat 39
ARTICLE I.
There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between all the citizens of the United States of America, and all the individuals composing the whole Cherokee nation of Indians.
At Least 37 of the 41 (90%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga;
Chuleoah, or the Boots, Occunna, or the Badger, Enoleh, or Black Fox, Nontuaka, or the Northward, Tekakiska, Chutloh, or King Fisher, Tuckaseh, or Terrapin, Kateh, Kunnochatutloh, or the Crane, Cauquillehanah, or the Thigh, Chesquotteleneh, or Yellow Bird, Chickasawtehe, or Chickasaw Killer, Kulsatehe, Sawutteh, or Slave Catcher, Aukuah, Oosenaleh, Kenotetah, or Rising Fawn, Kanetetoka, or Standing Turkey, Yonewatleh, or Bear at Home, Long Will, Kunoskeskie, or John Watts, Nenetooyah, or Bloody Fellow, Chuquilatague, or Double Head, Koolaquah, or Big Acorn, Toowayelloh, or Bold Hunter, Kinnesah, or Cabin, Tullotehe or Two Killer, Kaalouske, or Stopt Still, Kulsatche, Talohteske, or Upsetter, Cheakoneske, or Otter Lifter, Keshukaune, or She Reigns, Toonaunailoh, Teesteke, or Common Disturber, Robin McLemore, Skyuka,
1792 7 Stat 42 (Addendum to 7 Stat 39)
Additional Article To the Treaty made between the United States and the Cherokees on the second day of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one.
It is hereby mutually agreed between Henry Knox, Secretary of War, duly authorized thereto in behalf of the United States, on the one part, and the undersigned chiefs and warriors, in behalf of themselves and the Cherokee nation,
All 6 (100%) of the Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga
Iskagua, or Clear Sky (formerly Nenetooyah, or Bloody Fellow), Nontuaka, or the Northward, Chutloh, or King Fisher, Katigoslah, or the Prince, Teesteke, or Common Disturber, Suaka, or George Miller,
1794 7 Stat 43
ARTICLE I.
And whereas the undersigned Henry Knox, Secretary for the department of War, being authorized thereto by the President of the United States, in behalf of the said United States, and the undersigned Chiefs and Warriors, in their own names, and in behalf of the whole Cherokee nation,
All 12 (100%) of the Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga
Tekakisskee, or Taken out of the Water, Nontuaka, or the Northward, Cinasaw, or the Cabin, Skyuka, Chuquilatague, or Double Head, John McCleemore, Chuleowee, Ustanaqua, Kullusathee, Siteaha, Chatakaelesa, or the Fowl Carrier
1798 7 Statute 62
ARTICLE I.
The peace and friendship subsisting between the United States and the Cherokee people, are hereby renewed, continued, and declared perpetual.
At Least 37 of the 39 (95%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga;
Nenetuah, or bloody Fellow, Ostaiah, Oortlokecteh, Chockonnistaller, or Stallion, Noothoietah, Utturah, or Skin Worm, Weelee, or Will, Oolassoteh, Tlorene, Oonatakoteekee, Kanowsurhee, or Broom, Yonah Oolah, Bear at Home, Tunksalenee, or Thick Legs, Oorkullaukee, Kumamah, or Butterfly, Chattakuteehee, Kettegiskie, Tauquotihee, or the Glass, Chuquilatague, Salleekookoolah, Tallotuskee, Neekaanneah, or Woman Holder, Kulsateehee, Tlorene, Keetakeuskah, or Prince, Jonnurteekee, Charley, Akooh, Sawanookeh, Yonahequah, or Big Bear, Keenahkunnah, Kaweesoolaskee, Teekakalohenah, Ookouseteeh, or John Taylor, Chochuchee
1804 7 Stat 288
ARTICLE 1st.
For the considerations hereinafter expressed, the Cherokee nation relinquish and cede to the United States, a tract of land bounding, southerly, on the boundary line between the State of Georgia and the said Cherokee nation, beginning at a point on the said boundary line northeasterly of the most northeast planatation, in the settlement known by the name of Wafford’s Settlement, and running at right angles with the said boundary line four miles into the Cherokee land;
All 10 (100%) of the Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga;
Tolluntuskie, Broom, J. McLamore, Quotequeskee, Path Killer, Tagustiskee, Tulio, Sour Much, Keatechee, James Vann.
1805 7 Statute 93
ARTICLE I.
All former treaties, which provide for the maintenance of peace and preventing of crimes, are on this occasion recognized and continued in force.
ART. II.
The Cherokees
All 33 (100%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga;
Fox, or Ennollee, Path Killer, or Nenohuttahe, Glass, or Tauquatehee, Double head, or Dhuqualutauge, Dick Justice, Tounhull, or Toonayeh, Turtle at Home, or Sullicooahwolu, Chenawee, Slave Boy, or Oosaunabee, Tallotiskee, Broom, or Cunnaweesoskee, John Greenwood, or Sour Mush, Chulioah, Katigiskee, William Shawry, or Eskaculiskee, Taochalar, James Davis, or Coowusaliskee, John Jolly, or Eulatakee, Bark, or Eullooka, John McLemore, or John Euskulacau, Big Bear, or Yohanaqua, Dreadfulwater, or Aumaudoskee, Challaugittihee, Calliliskee, or Knife Sheath, Closenee, Challow, or Kingfisher, John Watts, jr., Sharp Arrow, or Costarauh, John Dougherty, or Long John, Tuckasee, or Terrapin, Tuskegittihee, or Long Fellow, Tochuwor, or Red Bird, Catihee, or Badgerson,
1805 7 Statute 95
ART. 4th.
This treaty shall be obligatory between the contracting parties as soon as it is ratified by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States.
In testimony whereof, the said commissioners, and the undersigned chiefs and head men of the Cherokees, have hereto set their hands and seals.
All 14 (100%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga;
Black Fox, or Ennone, Broom, or Cannarwesoske, The Glass, or Tunnquetihee, Kutigeskeee, Toochalar, Turtle at Home, or Sullicookiewalar, Dick Justice, John Greenwood, or Eakosettas, Chuleah, or Gentleman Tom, Bald Hunter, or Toowayullau, John Melamere, or Euquellooka, Closenie, or Creeping, Double Head, or Chuquacuttague, Chickasawtihee, or Chickasawtihee Killer,
1806 7 Statute 101
ARTICLE I.
The undersigned chiefs and head men of the Cherokee nation of Indians, for themselves and in behalf of their nation,
All 17 (100%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga
Double Head, James Vanu, Tallotiskee, Chulioa, Chulioa, Sour Mush, Turtle at home, Katihu, John McLemore, Broom, John Jolly, John Lowry, Red Bird, John Walker, Young Wolf, Young Wolf, Skeuha, Sequechu, Wm. Showry,
1807 7 Stat 103
WHEREAS, by the first article of a convention between the United States and the Cherokee nation
All 5 (100%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga
Eunolee, or Black Fox, Fauquitee, or Glass, Fulaquokoko, or Turtle at home, Richard Brown, Sowolotoh, king's brother,
1816 7 Stat 138
ART. 2.
For and in consideration of the above cession, the United States promise and engage that the State of South Carolina shall pay to the Cherokee nation, or its accredited agent, the sum of five thousand dollars, within ninety days after the President and Senate shall have ratified this treaty: Provided, That the Cherokee nation shall have sanctioned the same in Council: And provided also, That the Executive of the State of South Carolina shall approve of the stipulations contained in this article.
At Least 3 of the 6 (50%) Signatories are Lower Town Chickamauga
Colonel John Lowry, Major John Walker Major Ridge,
1816 7 Stat 139
ARTICLE 1.
Whereas doubts have existed in relation to the northern boundary of that part of the Creek lands lying west of the Coosa river, and which were ceded to the United States by the treaty held at Fort Jackson, on the ninth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and fourteen; and whereas, by the third article of the Treaty, dated the seventh of January, one thousand eight hundred and six, between the United States and the Cherokee nation, the United States have recognised a claim on the part of the Cherokee nation to the lands south of the Big Bend of the Tennessee river, and extending as far west as a place on the waters of Bear Creek, [a branch of the Tennessee river,] known by the name of the Flat Rock, or Stone; it is, therefore, now declared and agreed, that a line shall be run from a point on the west bank of the Coosa river, opposite to the lower end of the Ten Islands in said river, and above Port Strother, directly to the Flat Rock or Stone, on Bear creek, [a branch of the Tennessee river;] which line shall be established as the boundary of the lands ceded by the Creek nation to the United States by the treaty held at Fort Jackson, on the ninth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and fourteen, and of the lands claimed by the Cherokee nation lying west of the Coosa and south of the Tennessee rivers.
At Least 3 of the 6 (50%) Signatories are Lower Town Chickamauga
Colonel John Lowry, Major John Walker Major Ridge,
1816 7 Statute 148
ART. 1.
Peace and friendship are hereby firmly established between the United States and Cherokee nation or tribe of Indians.
All 16 (100%) Signatories are Lower Town Chickamauga
Toochalar, OohuIookee, Wososey, Gousa, Spring Frog, Oowatata, Sallocooke Fields, George Guess, Bark, Campbell, Spirit, Young Wolf, Oolitiskee
ADDENDUM: All 9 (100%) of the Signatories are Lower Town Chickamauga
Path Killer, The Glass, Sour Mush, Chulioa, Dick Justice, Richard Brown, Bark, The Boot, Chickasawlua
1817 7 Statute 156
ART. 1.
The chiefs, head men, and warriors, of the whole Cherokee nation
ART. 2.
The chiefs head men, and warriors, of the whole Cherokee nation
ART. 5.
The United States bind themselves in exchange for the lands ceded in the first and second articles hereof, to give to that part of the Cherokee nation on the Arkansas as much land on said river and White river as they have or may hereafter receive from the Cherokee nation east of the Mississippi, acre for acre, as the just proportion due that part of the nation on the Arkansas agreeably to their numbers;
ART. 6.
The United States do also bind themselves to give to all the poor warriors who may remove to the western side of the Mississippi river, one rifle gun and ammunition, one blanket, and one brass kettle, or, in lieu of the brass kettle, a beaver trap,
At Least 26 of the 31 (84%) Signatories East of the Mississippi River are Lower Town Chickamauga;
Richard Brown, Cabbin Smith, Sleeping Rabbit, George Saunders, Roman Nose, Currohe Dick, John Walker, George Lowry, Walter Adair, James Brown, Kelachule, Sour Mush, Chulioa, Chickasautchee, The Bark of Chota, The Bark of Hightower, Big Half Breed, Leyestisky, Souanooka, The Locust, Beaver Carrier, Dreadful Water, Chyula, John McIntosh, Katchee of Cowee, White Man Killer
All 15 (100%) Signatories West of the Mississippi River are Lower Town Chickamauga
Toochalar, The Glass, Wassosee, John Jolly, The Gourd, Spring Frog, John D. Chisholm, James Rogers, Wawhatchy, Attalona, Kulsuttchee, Tuskekeetchee, Chillawgatchee, John Smith, Toosawallata
1819 7 Statute 195
ART. 1.
The Cherokee nation cedes
At Least 7 of the 12 (58%) Signatories are Lower Town Chickamauga
James Brown, Geo. Lowry, Cabbie Smith, Sleeping Rabit, Small Wood, John Walker, Currohee Dick.
ADDENDUM: At Least 19 of the 21 (90%) Signatories are Lower Town Chickamauga
Outahelce, Chulio, [L. S.] Naire, Dick Justice, Theelagathahee, Wausaway, The Raven, Big Cabbin, Two Killers, The Bark, Teeistiskee, John Boggs, Nettle Carrier, Seekeekee, Quotiquaskee, John Walker, Currihee, Dick, Ooseekee, Toochalee,
1828 7 Stat. 311
ART. 2.
The United States agree to possess the Cherokees, and to guarantee it to them forever, and that guarantee is hereby solemnly pledged, of seven millions of acres of land, to be bounded as follows, viz: Commencing at that point on Arkansas River where the Eastern Choctaw boundary line strikes said River, and running thence with the Western line of Arkansas, as defined in the foregoing article, to the South-West corner of Missouri, and thence with the Western boundary line of Missouri till it crosses the waters of Neasho, generally called Grand River, thence due West to a point from which a due South course will strike the present North West corner of Arkansas Territory, thence continuing due South, on and with the present Western boundary line of the Territory to the main branch of Arkansas River, thence down said River to its junction with the Canadian River, and thence up and between the said Rivers Arkansas and Canadian, to a point at which a line running North and South from River to River, will give the aforesaid seven millions of acres. In addition to the seven millions of acres thus provided for, and bounded, the United States further guarantee to the Cherokee Nation a perpetual outlet, West, and a free and unmolested use of all the Country lying West of the Western boundary of the above described limits, and as far West as the sovereignty of the United States, and their right of soil extend.
All 7 (100%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga
• Chief Black Fox – Died in 1811
• Thomas Graves not a Chickamauga Chief,
• George Guess – Sequoyah not a Chickamauga Chief,
• Thomas Maw not a Chickamauga Chief
• George Marvis not a Chickamauga Chief – Claims to have been made Chief in 1830,
• John Looney not a Chickamauga Chief – Voted as the last “Western Cherokee” Chief in 1838 after Chief John Jolly, who did not sign,
• John Rogers Jr. not a Chickamauga Chief but became a Chief in 1839 and was deposed by John Ross in 1839.
1833 7 Stat. 414
ARTICLE I.
The United States agree to possess the Cherokees, and to guarantee it to them forever
All 4 (100%) Signatories are Lower Town Chickamauga
John Jolly, Black Coat, John Rogers, Glass
1835 7 Stat. 474
ARTICLE 1.
There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between all the citizens of the United States of America, and all the individuals composing the Comanche and Witchetaw nations and their associated bands or tribes of Indians, and between these nations or tribes and the Cherokee, Muscogee, Choctaw, Osage, Seneca and Quapaw nations or tribes of Indians.
All 2 (100%) Signatories are Lower Town Chickamauga
Dutch, David Melton
1835 7 Stat 478
ARTICLE 1
The Cherokee nation
ARTICLE 2
Whereas by the treaty of May 6th 1828 and the supplementary treaty thereto of Feb. 14th 1833 with the Cherokees west of the Mississippi the United States guarantied and secured to be conveyed by patent, to the Cherokee nation of Indians
All 20 (100%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga
Major Ridge, James Foster, Tesa-ta-esky, Charles Moore, George Chambers, Tah-yeske, Archilla Smith, Andrew Ross, William Lassley, Cae-te-hee, Te-gah-e-ske, Robert Rogers, John Gunter, John A. Bell, Charles F. Foreman, William Rogers, George W. Adair, Elias Boudinot, James Starr, Jesse Half-breed,
1835 7 Stat 487
Whereas the western Cherokees have appointed a delegation to visit the eastern Cherokees
All 2 (100%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga
James Rogers, John Smith.
1836 7 Stat 488 (Addendum to 7 Stat. 474)
ARTICLE 1.
It is therefore agreed that all the pre-emption rights and reservations provided for in articles 12 and 13 shall be and are hereby relinquished and declared void.
All 20 (100%) Signatories Are Lower Town Chickamauga
Major Ridge, James Foster, Tah-ye-ske, Long Shell Turtle, John Fields, James Fields, George Welch, Andrew Ross, William Rogers, John Gunter, John A. Bell, Jos. A. Foreman, Robert Sanders, Elias Boudinot, Johnson Rogers, James Starr, Stand Watie, John Ridge, James Rogers, John Smith,