Amanpour and Company

>>> NOW, IN THE UNITED STATES, THE CHEROKEE NATION IS FIGHTING FOR A CENTURIES-OLD PROMISE TO FINALLY BE UPHELD.

THE SAME TREATY THAT FORCED THEM TO GIVE UP THEIR LAND IN 1835 ALSO PROMISED THEM THE RIGHT TO HAVE REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS.

KIMBERLY TEEHEE HAS BEEN DESIGNATED THE FIRST CHEROKEE NATION DELEGATE, BUT SHE IS STILL WAITING TO BE SEATED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

SHE'S JOINING MICHEL MARTIN TO EXPLAIN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TREATY.

>> DELEGATE TEEHEE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

>> YOU'VE HAD A DISTINGUISHED CAREER AS AN ADVOCATE, AS AN ACTIVIST.

BEFORE WE GET INTO THAT, CAN I JUST ASK YOU, IF YOU DON'T MIND, LIKE WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP, WHAT WERE YOU TOLD ABOUT YOUR HERITAGE?

DO YOU REMEMBER?

>> YOU KNOW, I WAS BORN IN CHICAGO, YOU KNOW.

LET ME TELL YOU WHY BECAUSE THIS HAS BEARING ON YOUR QUESTION.

BECAUSE MY PARENTS PARTICIPATED IN A FEDERAL INDIAN RELOCATION PROGRAM.

IT WAS A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO ASSIMILATE THE INDIANS BEHIND THIS NOTION OF KILL THE INDIAN, SAVE THE MAN.

SO ASSIMILATE THEM INTO MAINSTREAM SOCIETY.

YOU KNOW, THE CULTURE WAS SO CONNECTED TO US.

BUT MY PARENTS WERE RELOCATED TO CHICAGO, WHERE I WAS BORN.

AND THAT POLICY UNDERESTIMATED THE ATTACHMENTS THAT CHEROKEES HAVE TO THEIR COMMUNITIES, THAT NATIVE AMERICANS HAVE TO THEIR COMMUNITIES.

SO THE FAILURE OF THAT POLICY IS WHEN YOU MOVE BACK, YOU KNOW, TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM.

SO WE MOVED BACK TO OKLAHOMA WHEN I WAS A YOUNG GIRL.

AND I DIDN'T KNOW ANY DIFFERENT.

BOTH OF MY PARENTS, I'M STILL BLESSED TO HAVE THEM, SPOKE CHEROKEE BEFORE THEY SPOKE ENGLISH.

THEIR FLUENT FIRST LANGUAGE CHEROKEE SPEAKERS.

THEY WERE RAISED ON THEIR CHEROKEE LAND ALLOTMENTS.

THEY BOTH WENT TO CHEROKEE BOARDING SCHOOL.

I GREW UP IN A HOUSEHOLD THAT SPOKE CHEROKEE.

GRANDPARENTS ONLY SPOKE CHEROKEE.

CHURCHES WHERE THE SERMON WAS JUST IN CHEROKEE.

YOU KNOW, WE PARTICIPATED IN OUR DANCES.

WE USED OUR CHEROKEE TRADITIONAL SPIRITUAL LEADERS FOR MEDICINE BUT ALSO THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT OF IT.

WE ALSO WENT TO CHURCH.

SO I'VE LIVED IN THIS DUALITY ALL MY LIFE, AND I DON'T KNOW ANY DIFFERENT.

AND SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, EVEN WHEN I WENT THROUGH SCHOOL, MY PARENTS, YOU KNOW, OFTEN SENT ME TO CHEROKEE NATION FOR INTERNSHIPS, FOR ALL KINDS OF YOUTH PROGRAMS SO I WOULD STAY IMMERSED IN MY CULTURE AND MY HERITAGE BECAUSE THOSE THINGS WOULD OTHERWISE NOT BE PROVIDED TO ME IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.

>> YOU'VE BEEN DESIGNATED BY THE CHEROKEE NATION AS THE CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATE-DESIGNEE, AND THE TREATY THAT LED TO THE REMOVAL OF THE CHEROKEE PEOPLE FROM THEIR TRADITIONAL LANDS TO WHAT IS NOW THE CHEROKEE NATION ALSO INCLUDED THE PROVISION THAT THERE BE A DELEGATE, A NON-VOTING DELEGATE, TO THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HOW THAT CAME ABOUT?

>> WELL, IN THE 19th CENTURY, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THE UNITED STATES' RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CHEROKEE NATION WAS PRETTY ROCKY, WITH WESTERN EXPANSION, COTTON, GOLD, THERE WAS GREAT PRESSURE PUT UPON THE UNITED STATES TO USE ITS TREATY-MAKING AUTHORITY TO REMOVE THE INDIANS WHO WERE IN THE WAY OF THOSE EXPANSION EFFORTS AND GOALS OF THE UNITED STATES.

AND SO THERE WAS A SMALL FACTION OF CHEROKEES WHO ILLEGALLY SIGNED THIS TREATY WITH THE UNITED STATES.

THE TREATY WHICH WAS ULTIMATELY RATIFIED BY THE SENATE AND SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE TIME, ANDREW JACKSON.

SO TO THE UNITED STATES, IT WAS A VERY VALID TREATY.

IT'S ONE THAT'S CONSIDERED THE LAW TODAY IN THE UNITED STATES, TOOK THE FIRST STEPS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT TREATY WHEN THEY FORCIBLY REMOVED OUR PEOPLE ON THE TRAIL OF TEARS, WHERE A QUARTER OF OUR POPULATION PERISHED OF MOSTLY ELDERLY AND CHILDREN.

THAT'S THE QUICKEST WAY I CAN GIVE YOU CONTEXT.

BUT INCLUDED IN THAT REMOVAL TREATY WAS ARTICLE 7, THIS DELEGATE RIGHT THAT YOU DESCRIBED EARLIER.

>> AND THAT DELEGATE RIGHT HAS NEVER ACTUALLY BEEN OBSERVED.

IT'S NEVER BEEN RESPECTED.

SO THE REMOVAL WAS RESPECTED, BUT THE SEATING OF THE DELEGATE WAS NOT, WHICH BRINGS US TO THE CURRENT MOMENT.

THE NATION HAS DESIGNATED YOU AS THIS PERSON TO FILL THIS SEAT.

WHY AREN'T YOU THERE?

>> WELL, I THINK A PART OF THE HISTORY AND THE STORY THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER WAS THE CONTINUATION OF THE CHEROKEE NATION IN REBUILDING MODE.

IT TOOK A REALLY LONG TIME TO REBUILD THE NATION, AND CONGRESS HAD A ROLE TO PLAY HERE BECAUSE AFTER REMOVAL, CONGRESS KEPT PASSING LAW AFTER LAW DISMANTLING THE CHEROKEE NATION, REQUIRING ALLOTMENT OF OUR LANDS, TAKING AWAY OUR ABILITY TO BE GOVERNED BY OUR OWN LAWS, EVEN ELECTING OUR OWN CHIEF.

IT TOOK AN ACT OF CONGRESS TO GIVE US BACK THAT AUTHORITY.

THAT'S IN THE '70s.

THAT'S IN MY LIFETIME AND YOUR LIFETIME.

IF YOU LOOK BACK AT ALL THAT HAPPENED TO DISMANTLE US AND THEN TO REBUILD US AND PUT US IN A PLACE WHERE WE COULD ACTUALLY START FOCUSING ON OTHER THINGS.

SO, YOU KNOW, IN THE '70s, CONGRESS STARTED PASSING LAWS CALLED SELF-DETERMINATION LAWS TO HELP TRIBES WITH THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO REBUILD A NATION, TO BRING BACK THEIR HOMELANDS, TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR CITIZENS.

YOU LOOK BACK AT ALL THAT HISTORY, BUT YOU ALSO REALIZE IT WASN'T UNTIL THE 2000s THAT OUR CHIEF HAD THE LEGAL AUTHORITY TO APPOINT A DELEGATE.

I THINK THAT'S A NOT TO ALL THE REBUILDING THAT WE HAD DONE TO GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE COULD FINALLY FOCUS ON THIS TREATY RIGHT, WHICH IS STILL A VALID RIGHT TODAY.

>> WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR YOU TO BE SEATED AS A NON-VOTING DELEGATE?

BY THAT I MEAN PEOPLE IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE FAMILIAR WITH THIS.

RESIDENTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, OF GUAM, OF PUERTO RICO, FOR EXAMPLE, THE VIRGIN ISLANDS.

THEY HAVE NON-VOTING DELEGATES.

THEY DON'T HAVE FLOOR VOTING RIGHTS BUT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK ON THE FLOOR GENERALLY.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE SEATED IN COMMITTEE AND TO VOTE IN COMMITTEE.

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT IN YOUR VIEW TO THE CHEROKEE NATION AND, FRANKLY, TO NATIVE PEOPLE MORE BROADLY?

>> I THINK FIRST OF ALL, LET'S LOOK AT THE FACT THAT THE TREATY IS THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND.

IT IS THE FEDERAL LAW TODAY.

AND BECAUSE THE SENATE RATIFIED THE TREATY AND BECAUSE THE PRESIDENT SIGNED IT INTO LAW, SEATING CHEROKEE NATION'S DELEGATE ONLY REQUIRES HOUSE ACTION.

THE HOUSE CAN SEAT THE DELEGATE BY RESOLUTION.

YES, CONGRESS CAN PASS A LAW TO SEAT THE DELEGATE TOO, BUT WE DON'T NEED THE SENATE TO ACT AGAIN BECAUSE IT DID THAT NEARLY 200 YEARS AGO.

AND SO WE'RE SEEKING THE SIMILAR AUTHORITIES OF THE DELEGATES THAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED OF THE U.S.

TERRITORIES, WHICH, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE DELEGATES THAT WE'VE TALKED TO HAVE EXPRESSED SUPPORT FOR SEATING THE CHEROKEE NATION DELEGATE.

BUT WE'RE SEEKING THAT PARTICULAR AUTHORITY BECAUSE WE DO KNOW THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE LIMITATIONS ON VOTING ON THE HOUSE FLOOR AND FINAL PASSAGE, THERE IS STILL A GREAT DEAL THAT DELEGATES CAN DO THROUGH THE DELIBERATIVE PROCESS OF THE CONGRESS IN MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE AND GETTING LAWS PASSED THAT IMPACT OUR COMMUNITIES.

>> I ALSO WANT TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN IN WASHINGTON.

I MEAN YOU HAD AN IMPORTANT POSITION IN THE OBAMA WHITE HOUSE.

IN FACT, YOU WERE THE FIRST PERSON TO FULFILL THIS POSITION AS A KIND OF A REPRESENTATIVE OF NATIVE NATIONS, YOU KNOW, MORE BROADLY IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

WHY DOES THAT SEAT IN COMMITTEE, WHY DOES THAT MATTER SO MUCH IN YOUR OPINION?

>> I THINK A COUPLE REASONS.

ONE IS REPRESENTATION MATTERS.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT OUR BEST WHENEVER THESE DECISION-MAKING BODIES ACTUALLY REFLECT THE PEOPLE THAT THEY'RE SERVING.

NUMBER TWO IS THAT THE DELIBERATIVE PROCESS OF A BILL BECOMING THE LAW IS REALLY THE BEHIND THE SCENES ACTION OF WHERE THINGS GET DONE.

COMMITTEE WORK IS SO IMPORTANT.

YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION, BEING ABLE TO VOTE IN COMMITTEE, BEING ABLE TO SIT IN A COMMITTEE.

AND AS THOSE BILLS GET DELIBERATED AND VOTED ON.

THE REASON THERE'S A LEGAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN A DELEGATE AND A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HOUSE IS THAT FINAL VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE BECAUSE THAT FINAL WHATEVER HAPPENED IN COMMITTEE, OR THEY CAN CONCUR WITH IT AND MOVE IT ON.

SO I THINK IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PROCESS, ONE THAT I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING ON THE HILL FOR SO MANY YEARS AND WORKING AT MYSELF.

I CAN APPRECIATE WHAT ALL HAPPENS IN ORDER TO GET A BILL TO THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE TO FINALLY GET VOTED ON.

>> CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF WHAT YOUR TOP PRIORITIES ARE?

IF YOU WERE TO BE SEATED IN THE CURRENT SESSION, FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT WOULD SOME OF YOUR TOP PRIORITIES BE?

>> TOP PRIORITY IS FUNDING, APPROPRIATIONS.

LOOK, THE UNITED STATES HAS A LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY TO INDIAN TRIBES, AND A LOT OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY HINGES UPON THE FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT THEY APPROPRIATE TO TRIBES.

WE LIVE IN A CONSTANT STATE OF UNCERTAINTY BECAUSE CONGRESS, YOU KNOW, IS OFTEN TALKING ABOUT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS, WHICH ARE SO DISRUPTIVE TO TRIBES.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT FLOW TO INDIAN TRIBES, YOU KNOW, OVER 90%, PROBABLY 95% OF THOSE DOLLARS ARE CONSIDERED DISCRETIONARY DOLLARS.

IT IS IMPERATIVE WE PUT A MECHANISM IN PLACE THAT ALLOWS FOR EITHER FORWARD FUNDING TO TRIBES OR, IN SOME INSTANCES, MANDATORY FUNDS TO TRIBES SO THAT TRIBES ARE NOT VICTIMIZED BY THIS PROCESS OF UNCERTAINTY.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT NOW WHEN CONGRESS GOES BACK INTO SESSION IN SEPTEMBER AS A POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN.

I MEAN THOSE IMPACT US SEVERELY.

BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, LIKE OTHER GOVERNMENTS, WE LOOK AT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS, WATER NEEDS, HEALTH CARE NEEDS, EDUCATION NEEDS, FARM BILL NEEDS, AND OF COURSE WHAT WE REMEMBER UNIQUELY BEING A CHEROKEE NATION, IS PRESERVING THINGS LIKE OUR LANGUAGE AND GETTING THE RESOURCES THAT ARE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE OUR LANGUAGE.

>> SO TO THIS QUESTION OF REPRESENTATION, WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THOSE WHO ARGUE THAT, IN EFFECT, THIS WOULD GIVE MEMBERS OF THE CHEROKEE NATION KIND OF DOUBLE REPRESENTATION?

RESIDENTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DON'T -- THAT'S IT.

THEY DON'T HAVE ANYBODY ELSE TO REPRESENT THEIR INTERESTS EXCEPT THEIR ELECTED DELEGATE WHEREAS AT LEAST MEMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON CHEROKEE NATION LANDS HAVE THE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE WHO ALREADY SITS IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE, FOR EXAMPLE, AND A MEMBER OF CONGRESS.

>> WELL, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE SAY IS THERE'S NO DUAL REPRESENTATION VIOLATION BECAUSE WE'RE SEEKING TO HAVE A DELEGATE SEATED IN THE CONGRESS, NOT A REPRESENTATIVE.

YOU'RE RIGHT, WE HAVE CHEROKEE CITIZENS.

WE HAVE OVER 460,000 CHEROKEE CITIZENS IN THIS COUNTRY, AND WE ARE IN EVERY STATE.

AND THEY WILL STILL GO TO THEIR MEMBER OF CONGRESS FOR THEIR CONSTITUENT NEEDS IN THEIR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.

IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS TREATY RIGHT IS CHEROKEE NATION, THE GOVERNMENT'S TREATY RIGHT.

SO THE ELECTED LEADERS OF THE CHEROKEE NATION ARE WHO NOMINATED ME AND CONFIRMED MY APPOINTMENT.

AND MY REPRESENTATION OF THEM IS TO REPRESENT THE GOVERNMENTAL INTERESTS OF THE NATION IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.

IN A LOT OF WAYS, IT'S AKIN TO A U.S.

AMBASSADOR WHO REPRESENTS THE INTEREST OF THE NATION BEFORE ANOTHER NATION.

AND SO THAT'S THE LEGAL DISTINCTION, AND THAT'S THE DISTINCTION THAT I MAKE BETWEEN CHEROKEE NATION'S DELEGATE AND ITS ROLE AND ITS REPRESENTATION OF THE GOVERNMENT ITSELF.

>> AND WHAT DO YOU SAY -- IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE ARE OTHER BANDS WHO CLAIM THIS DELEGATE RIGHT AS WELL, THAT YOUR BAND OF THE CHEROKEE NATION ISN'T THE ONLY ONE, THAT THERE ARE OTHER BANDS WHO BELIEVE THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO APPOINT THIS DELEGATE.

HOW DOES THAT GET SORTED OUT?

>> YOU KNOW, YOU CAN JUST LOOK TO THE TREATIES THEMSELVES.

THE TREATIES ARE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE CHEROKEE NATION, AND WE ARE THE CHEROKEE NATION.

WE HAVE, THROUGHOUT TIME, CONTINUOUSLY BEEN CONSIDERED CHEROKEE NATION.

THE COURTS AND CONGRESS THAT HAVE INTERPRETED OUR TREATIES OF THE PAST, THAT HAVE LEGISLATED ON MATTERS SPECIFIC TO CHEROKEE NATION, HAVE CONSISTENTLY ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT WE ARE THE CHEROKEE NATION THAT THE UNITED STATES TREATED WITH SO MANY YEARS AGO AND CONTINUES TO WORK WITH TODAY.

SO FOR THOSE OTHER TRIBES THAT CLAIM TO HAVE OUR TREATY RIGHT, ALL I CAN SAY IS THE TREATY IS WITH THE CHEROKEE NATION.

THOSE TWO TRIBES DIDN'T EXIST AT THE TIME THIS TREATY WAS SIGNED AS THEIR OWN POLITICAL ENTITY.

AND SO THEY'RE ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINION, BUT WE HAVE A DUTY TO CORRECT ANY FALSE INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY AND LAW.

>> I RECOGNIZE YOUR POINT IS THAT THIS TREATY SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED THIS SEAT FOR MEMBERS OF THE CHEROKEE NATION.

THERE ARE MORE THAN, WHAT, 500 RECOGNIZED, YOU KNOW, TRIBES IN THE UNITED STATES.

AND I THINK WE CAN ALL, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZE THAT THE PROCESS BY WHICH CERTAIN TRIBES ARE RECOGNIZED AND CERTAIN ONES WERE NOT IS ARGUABLY RACIST AND FLAWED.

BUT EVEN HAVING SAID THAT, IS THERE AN ARGUMENT THAT OTHER TRIBAL NATIONS HAVE ABOUT REPRESENTATION?

I MEAN WOULD YOU BE THEIR REPRESENTATIVE AS WELL OR NOT?

AND COULD THAT BE PART OF THE HOLDUP THAT PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO OTHER NATIONS FEEL THAT PERHAPS THAT THEY ARE DISADVANTAGED IN A WAY AND THAT THEY EQUALLY DESERVE THIS KIND OF RECOGNITION?

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING?

>> YEAH.

WELL, CERTAINLY CHEROKEE NATION'S TREATY RIGHT IS JUST THAT, RIGHT?

WE HAVE A TREATY THAT IS THE LAW OF THE LAND, RIGHT?

WE ALSO KNOW THAT THERE ARE A COUPLE OF OTHER TREATIES OUT THERE THAT APPLY TO OTHER TRIBES.

SO THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A FLOODGATE OF TRIBES SEEKING TO HAVE THEIR TREATY RIGHT ACKNOWLEDGED.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I TOOK AWAY FROM THE HEARING IN THE HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE LAST NOVEMBER WAS WHEN, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE MEMBERS ON THE DAIS SAID AN OBSERVED CONSIDERATION OF OTHER TRIBES THAT MAY HAVE SIMILAR RIGHTS, YOU KNOW, AND THE EXAMINATION OF THOSE RIGHTS SHOULD NOT IN ANY WAY DELAY CHEROKEE NATION'S RIGHT.

OURS IS THE MOST CLEAR LANGUAGE.

WHY NOT START WITH CHEROKEE NATION, THE MOST CLEAR LANGUAGE IN THE TREATY, AND LET'S SHATTER THAT GLASS CEILING AND GET SEATED.

>> I THINK PEOPLE FORGET PERHAPS JUST HOW POLITICALLY DIVERSE NATIVE AMERICANS IN GENERAL AND MEMBERS OF THE CHEROKEE NATION IN PARTICULAR ARE.

THERE ARE SOME VERY CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS AMONG YOUR MEMBERS AND SOME VERY CONSERVATIVE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, YOU KNOW, AMONG YOUR MEMBERS, AMONG YOUR ENROLLED MEMBERS, AND ALSO WHO REPRESENT YOU IN OTHER WAYS.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK IT'S GOING TO TAKE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN?

>> WELL, I THINK EDUCATION.

YOU KNOW, WE FOCUSED OUR PREVIOUS EFFORTS ON LEADERSHIP, ON COMMITTEES, ON COMMITTEE STAFF.

WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MAJORITY CAUCUS, THIS PARTICULAR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND THEY'VE ASKED FOR OUR HELP TO EDUCATE MEMBERS.

YOU KNOW, WE -- THERE'S A LOT OF MESSAGING THAT HAS TO TAKE PLACE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND WE DON'T MIND TELLING OUR STORY OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL IT'S ABSORBED, UNTIL IT'S APPRECIATED, AND ACTED UPON.

I WAS ABLE TO BE MENTORED BY THE FORMER CHIEF OF THE CHEROKEE NATION, WILMA MANKILLER.

SHE'S A YELLOW DOG DEMOCRAT THROUGH AND THROUGH, THE MOST PROGRESSIVE PERSON THAT I'D EVER MET IN MY LIFE AT THE TIME.

ONE OF HER DEAREST FRIENDS IS ALSO A FORMER CHIEF OF THE CHEROKEE NATION, WHO SHE SERVED AS DEPUTY CHIEF TOO, ROSS SWIMMER.

HE WAS APPOINTED BY RONALD REAGAN TO BE THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INDIAN AFFAIRS.

THEY HAD THIS FRIENDSHIP.

HE WAS CONSERVATIVE, STAUNCH REPUBLICAN, AND SHE WAS THIS YELLOW DOG DEMOCRAT, BUT THEY LEARNED HOW TO WORK TOGETHER.

THEY LEARNED HOW TO WORK IN A BIPARTISAN WAY, AND THAT'S WHAT WAS TAUGHT TO ME.

YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT CHOOSE A POLITICAL SIDE, BUT YOU HAVE TO WORK ON THESE ISSUES WITH BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE.

I'M IN A RED STATE AS YOU MENTIONED, AND WE HAVE CHEROKEES WHO ARE REPUBLICANS, WE HAVE CHEROKEES WHO ARE DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS.

WE HAVE A GOVERNOR THAT'S REPUBLICAN, AND WE HAVE A CHEROKEE CITIZEN WHO IS A U.S.

SENATOR RIGHT NOW.

AND WE WORK SO WELL WITH OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION ESPECIALLY.

SO MY JOB WILL BE TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THEM AND TO MESSAGE TO THEM IN A WAY THEY CAN APPRECIATE OUR ISSUES AND TO CONTINUE TO PROVE THAT WE WORK IN A BIPARTISAN FASHION.

>> BEFORE WE LET YOU GO, YOU SAID THAT NATIVE PEOPLE ARE PATIENT, MEMBERS OF THE CHEROKEE NATION ARE PATIENT.

I GUESS YOU'D HAVE TO BE.

BUT DO YOU THINK YOU WILL SEE A DELEGATE FROM THE CHEROKEE NATION SEATED IN YOUR LIFETIME?

DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE YOU?

>> I THINK I WILL SEE A CHEROKEE NATION DELEGATE SEATED IN MY LIFETIME, AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ME.

I WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR THIS.

THE DELEGATE OF THE CHEROKEE NATION ISN'T ABOUT ME.

IT'S ABOUT THE UNITED STATES KEEPING ITS WORD AND HONORING A TREATY RIGHT AND GIVING SOME MEASURE OF JUSTICE TO THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES SO LONG AGO.

THAT'S MUCH BIGGER THAN I COULD EVER POSSIBLY BE.

SO IF I'M NOT SEATED, THEN I WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT UNTIL MY LAST BREATH TO GET THE CHEROKEE NATION DELEGATE SEATED BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE UNITED STATES OWES TO US, THE CHEROKEE NATION, BUT ALSO OWES TO, YOU KNOW, OTHER TRIBES ACROSS THE COUNTRY BECAUSE IT SAYS, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THAT THE UNITED STATES KEEPS ITS WORD.

>> KIM TEEHEE, THANKS SO MUCH FOR TALKING WITH US.

>> THANK YOU, MICHEL.