Congress must honor its 244-year-old promise to the Indigenous leaders of Delaware Nation
In 1778, the Continental Army agreed to provide the Lenape tribe with a congressional delegate. So why are lawmakers honoring a later pledge to another tribe first?
In the autumn of 1778, the Continental Army — desperately in need of Indigenous allies to help fight British troops and to safely move through unfamiliar territory — dispatched two diplomats to negotiate with the leaders of the Delaware Nation.
The result — the Treaty of Fort Pitt, signed in what is now Pittsburgh on Sept. 17, 1778 — was the very first treaty between the United States and an Indigenous tribe. In the last article of the treaty, the United States recognized the Delaware Nation’s sovereignty and promised us a delegate in Congress.
As the elected president of the Delaware Nation, a federally recognized Indigenous tribe and one of three sovereign Lenape tribes whose homeland is in the Delaware River Valley, I frequently share this bit of history to help others understand why other Indigenous tribal leaders have demanded a delegate to Congress.
At the time the Treaty of Fort Pitt was signed, the British controlled several key ports and forts around Delaware Nation territory. In addition to safe passage, the Delaware Nation gave the Continental Army corn, meat, horses, and other support for the war effort. We also provided warriors to the United States to assist it in its struggle for independence.
“For a key period of the Revolutionary War, the Delaware Nation was a vital ally to the United States.”
All of this is documented in the treaty, which also confirmed that our aid was of great importance to the peace and security of the United States. Indeed, for a key period of the Revolutionary War, the Delaware Nation was a vital ally to the United States. Without our assistance, the war effort may have faltered.
Yet today, Congress is moving to seat a delegate from another tribe, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. That tribe relies on a treaty promise from 1835. The Delaware Nation cannot support seating the Cherokee Nation’s delegate unless Congress seats our Delaware delegate first.
In November, the House Rules Committee held an informational hearing on potentially seating the Cherokee Nation delegate. The committee failed to reach out to the Delaware Nation and denied our request to testify at the hearing.
The hearing resulted in numerous media stories about the Cherokee Nation delegate. Virtually all the stories have ignored the fact that the Delaware Nation has a much older and stronger treaty promise of a congressional delegate.
Such stories have also promoted the mistaken idea that a Cherokee Nation delegate can somehow represent the interests of all Indigenous tribes. Today there are 574 federally recognized Indigenous tribes. Each tribe has a unique history, treaties, and needs.
“The idea that another tribal delegate can represent the Delaware Nation falsely assumes that all tribes are the same. We are not.”
The idea that another tribal delegate can represent the Delaware Nation falsely assumes that all tribes are the same. We are not. The Delaware Nation does not want a delegate from another tribe making decisions about us. A Cherokee Nation delegate does not have intimate knowledge of our culture, history, or needs. We believe other tribes feel the same.
The Cherokee Nation’s alleged right to a delegate has been described as “unique,” but nothing could be further from the truth. The Cherokee treaties apply to all three successor Cherokee tribes: the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee in Oklahoma.
Other tribes, including ours, have congressional delegate treaty promises that are almost identical to the one relied on by the Cherokee Nation. To seat the Cherokee Nation’s delegate before seating the other Cherokee tribes’ delegates would violate the treaty promises made to all Cherokee people. Further, seating the Cherokee Nation delegate before our Delaware delegate would violate the promise made to us in the Treaty of Fort Pitt, 57 years before the treaty the Cherokee Nation relies on.
If the United States Congress wants to stand up for treaties, the first one would be a good place to start.
Deborah Dotson is the president of the Delaware Nation, a federally recognized Indigenous tribe, and one of three sovereign Lenape tribes whose homeland is in the Delaware River Valley.