To the United States Senate and House of Representatives,
I am a member of the Cherokee nation currently residing in the state of Georgia. Over the past several years, I have watched as the citizens of Georgia have begun coming onto Cherokee land and slowly attempting to take over. Although I do know that a cause of this sudden disruption was the discovery of gold on our land, this does not change the fact that our fathers, yours and mine, have taken part in multiple agreements over the years which established these land boundaries. However, it has recently become aware to me that it seems we have entered into a Treaty of New Echota, which promises us land in the West, money, and compensation for our lands lost, given that we remove ourselves from our native land within two years time. I have several grievances regarding this agreement, the first of which being that the treaty is not a true binding settlement.
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For one, this treaty was not authorized by our chief, John Ross, before it was put into effect. Considering that he is to the Cherokee nation that your President is to the United States, there is no way that this so called contract can even be considered a proper treaty if it was administered without his knowledge or permission. Moreover, of the 17,000 members of our Cherokee nation, only around 500 of us participated in the support of this treaty. That is a very small percentage; nowhere close to 50 percent of our people are in favor of your treaty. Even in the small percentage of those who do favor the agreement, our chief John Ross is not one of them. Therefore, this Treaty of New Echota that is now being enforced on my people is in no way a valid