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(THE CONVERSATION) In 1835, the Cherokee Nation was promised a delegate in Congress as part of the same treaty – Treaty of New Echota – that led to the death of thousands on the Trail of Tears. Nearly 200 years later, the Cherokee are still fighting to make that promise a reality.

"The Treaty of New Echota is a living, valid treaty, and the Delegate provision is intact because it has never been abrogated," Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin wrote in testimony submitted to...