Cherokee phoenix, and Indians' advocate. [volume], September 02, 1829, Image 1

About Cherokee phoenix, and Indians' advocate. [volume] (New Echota [Ga.]) 1829-1834

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CHEROKEE PHOIX, AND INDIANS' ADVOCATE,
PRINTED UNDER THE PATRONAGE, AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CHEROKEE NATION, AND DEVOTED TO THE CAUSE OF INDIANS E. BCtTJJIKCTT El>lTOH
VOI*. II. NSW ECHOTiL, WEDMESDJLY SEPTEMBER 2, 1829. j$Q. 22.
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AGENTS FOR THE CHEROKEE
PHCENIX.
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receive subscriptions and payments for the
Ch.?rolcee Phoenix.
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S. C.
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Mr. Thos. R. Gold, (an itinerant Gen
tleman.)
Jeremiah Aiistil, Mobile, Ala.
R v. Cyhus Kingsbury, Mayhew, Choc
taw Nation.
Capt. William Robertson, Augusta,
Georgia.
Col. James Tubk, Bellefonte, Ala.
INDIANS.
From the National Journal,
The present Mminislralion and the
India.is.—ln order that the American
people may understand the fundament
al change which their Indian relations
are to undergo under the ••reforming
o O
hands of Gen. Jackson, we publish
this raoi'iHijSf !iis 'Talk 'to the Creeks,
and the letter of Mr. Secretary Ea
ton to the Cherokee Delegation. In
contrast with these extraordinary pa
pers we also publish President Mad
htri's celebrated - Talk" in SolS, to
the Indians; a performance which, for
beauty of style, and for the justice
a>id enlightened humanity of its princi
ples, is as charaeterestie of its au
thor as the peculiarities of President
Jackson's "Talk" and his Secretary's
letter are suitable to these distinguish
ed functionaries.
General Jackson, after announcing
his elevation to (he Presidency, in
terms which the phrase of European
Royalty, ''by the Grace of God," is
varied to suit the Indian taste says to
his Red children with military brev
ity, "where yon now arc, you and my
White children are too near to each
other to live in harmony and peace."
The author of the Talk seems to
have suspected that this was rather
a summary disposition of a question of
right, fctr shortly after, he adds,
"where you now are your White
brothers have always claimed the
Jand" This declaration must have
surprised the Creeks, as their Father
had just assured them that he always
S'*oke "with a straight and not with a
forked tongue," and they perfectly
kne v that the United States had nev
er claimed that land. On the contra
ry, the Indian title to it is recognized
by the Constitution of the United
States, ami by many of their treaties
with the Indians, from the treaty at
New York, in 1790, to that made at
♦Vashington, in 1826. Equally ground
less with the declaration just referred
to is the pretension of Alabama to
' extend their law, over the Creeks
—a people not citizens of the State,
and not amenable to its laws. "My
White children in Alabama have ex
tended their law over your country.''
Nothing can more clearly show the
extravagance of the principle, con
tended for, than the terms in which
it is couched. The country is styled
the country of the Creeks—"your
country"—and yet is made subject to
the law of Alabama, and they are
threatened with banishment if they
decline submitting to it! ''lf you re
main in it, 1 ' (i. e. in your own coun
try,) "you must be subject to that
law. If you remove across the Mis
sissippi you will be subject to your
own laws, and the care of your Fath
er the President."
The letter of the Secretary of War
to the Cherokee Delegation, is an ex
position of the principles avowed in
the President's Talk. Mr. Eaton
contends that during the Revolution
ary war the Cherokees were the
friends and al! : es of Great Britain;
that Great - Biitain claimed entire
sovereignty within the limits of the
thirteen United States; that by the
Declaration of Independence, and
subsequently, by the treaty of 1783,
all the rights of sovereignty pertaining
to Great Britain, became vested re
spectively in the original States of the
Union, including North Carolina and
Georgia, within whose territorial lim
its, as defined and known, the Chero
kees were then situated; that their
subsequent residence on their lands,
with "the right of soil and the privi
lege to hunt," was only permissive;
that the treaty of Hopewell, conclud
ed in 1785, allotted and defined their
limits and hunting grounds, secured
them "in the privilege of pursuing the
same, and from encroachments by the
Whites;" that it conceded a possessory
right only to the Cherokees, leaving
the sovereignty, wlice it was before,
k those States within whose limits
they were situated; that a durable
peace was not entered into with them
till 1791, when the United States
gave a guaranty, "favorable to the
occupancy and possession of the coun
try," but (hat they neither made nor
had the power to make a guaranty ad
verse to the sovereignty of Georgia;"
that in 1802, Georgia ceded to the
United States all lier Western terri
tory on a condition which was accept
ed, "ttiat th6 United States shall at
their own expense, extinguish lor the
use of Georgia, as early as the same
can be obtained on reasonable terms,
the Indian titles to all <he lands with
in the State of Georgia." The Sec
retary then states that the establish
ment by the Cherokees of an indepen
dent substan'ive government, within
the limits of Georgia, against her will,
had. induced her, through virtue of
her sovereignty, to extend her law o
ver their country; on the hypothesis
that Georgia cannot rightfully exer
cise such a power, he warns the Che
rokees that "the arms of this country
can never be employed to stay any
State of this Union from the exercise
of those legitimate powers which at
tach and belong to their sovereign
character;" —and he concludes by
urging on the Cherokees, as the Pres
ident had done on the Creel s, a re
moval beyond the Mississippi, as the
only assurance to them of protection
and peace.
No we venture to-aver, ev
er emanated from the War Depart
ment, so abundant in mistakes t>f fact
and reasoning, as this letter of Mr.
Secretary Eaton. The fallacy,
which is the snbtratum of the whole
argument, (if argument it can be call
ed,)is that any title to lands in this coun
try exist, besides that derived down
from compacts with the aborigina
proprietors, and the less unequivocal
title founded in European occupancy.
Great Britain, says Mr. Eaton, claim
ed, during the Revolutionary War,
'•entire soveieignty within the limits
of what constituted the thirteen Uni
ted States."' The only right ever
pretended by Gieat Britain, to lands
in North America, were in the case
of inhabited territory, the right creat
ed by treaties and other agreements
with the natives, and in the case of
vacant territory, that of first occupa
tion; the latter description of right
belonging, according to the European
principle, to discoverers, and in many
instances being expressly confirmed
by Royal charters. The sovereignty
thence arising was mrnifestly only
operative against the pretensions of
other foreign nations, and neither coiir
tlicted or affected to conflict with
the distinct national character of the
aborigines. It was sovereignty, thus
explained, that by the Declaration of
Independence was assuiriod, and by
the treaty of i783 devolved on the li
nked States; or as the Secretary, in
the superabundance of his Constitu
tional learning affirms, on "(lie origin
al States of the Union, including
North Carolina and Georgia." But
at no stage of the history of the sove
reignty, was the national Indian char
acter ever considered to be merged
[ in State membership, or any claim
set up to appropriate, without their
consent, the soil remaining in posses
sion of the Indians, and vvl ii h they
had not bargained away. Indeed re
peated instances of a disavowal, ex
pressed or implied, of such pretensions,
are contained in treaties made by the
United States with the Indians, to say
nothing of the Constitution of the for
mer. In the treaty dL Hopewell,
made in 1785, (to the preamble and
one section of which the Secretary
refers in a tone of triumph, but little
justified by other parts of it,) the in
dependence of the Cherokees on any
State is recognized by a provision en
titling them to send to Congress a
deputy of their own choice It is al
so recognised by an article in the same
which it has suited Mr. Eaton to pass
over slightly, as securing them "Irpm
encroachments by the whites," but
which expressly commit to their oun
jurisdiction any citizen of the United
States, or other person not being en
Indian, who should attempt to settle
on, or refuse to remove from, their
hunting grounds. In the treaty of
Holstein, made in 1791, "the United
States solemnly guarantie to (he Che
rokee nation, all their lands not here
by ceded," but, says Mr. Eaton,
they "forbore to offer a guarantie ad
veise to the sovereignty of Georgia."
What estimate the United States
formed of the sovereignty of Georgia
as adverse to the Indian title, is man
ifested by the new Constitution which
they had formed about two years be
fore, and which vested in the Presi
dent and Senate, and withheld from
the States, the power of making trea
ties, and omitted the provision con
tained in the 9th article of the Con
federation, "that (he legislative right
of any State, .within its own limits,
benbt infringed or violated" by the
exercise of the power therein given
to Congress, of "regulating the trade
and managing all their affairs with the
Indians—not members ef any States."
It is observable that after the war,
and during the operation of the Con
federation, Georgia had made various
abortive efforts to propitiate Congress
to her aggressions on the Indian title.
The provisions, in this same treaty,
turning over to the Cherokee jurisdic
tion citizens of the U. States, or other
persons, not being Indians, who should
settle on the Cherokee lands, is not
noticed by the Secretary. He is e
qually forgetful of the prticle in the
treaty of Tellicb, ifiade In 1798, in
which the United States stipulate
with the Cherokees, "to continue the
guaranty of the remainder of their
country forever, as made and contain
ed in former treaties," and of similar
stipulations made in subsequent trea
ties. He seems to consider ail these
solemn facts as annulled by the agree
ment made in 180$, between the li
nked States and Georgia, in which it
was proposed by Georgia, and assent
ed to by the l T nfted States, "that the
United States shall, at their own ex
pense, extinguish for the use of Geor
gia, as early as the same can be peace
ably obtained oil reasonable terms,
the Indian title to ali the lands within
the State ol Georgia." This agree
ment' manifestly admits an existing
Indian title; supposes that such title
can be extinguished only by the con
sent of the Indians themselves; defines
110 time lor its extinguishment; asserts
no power or right in Georgia to at
tempt to extinguish it, in the contin
gency of a failure on the part of the
U. States to do so, "•peaceably" & "on
reasonable terms," and above ail is
an agreement to which the .Indians
were not parties.
y How such a compact can be sup
- posed by any mind, and especially by
11 that of a licensed lawyer, to be a re
- vocal ion of existing treaties between
- the United States and Georgia, would
i; ideally surprise us, had we not prtevi
t ous reasons I'or suspecting that the
- Hbtiorubie Secretary was far more
- distinguished for the rashness than for
] llie perspicuity of his intellectual cf
1 foils. We are, to speak candidly, a
r liltle afraid that his notions of law and
- logic are sometimes sadly undigested.
f In this very letter, while arguing that
- the Indians have only a possessory and
- hunting right, he concedes to them
, expressly the right of soil, the very
5 thing they are contending for; and in
r reasoning on the hypothesis that Geor
- gia has no light to extend her law o
, ver the Lherokees, states that should !
I -4he, however, do so, without right, the
r United States will suffer her to pro
i ceed, because they \\ ill not obstruct
• her in the exercise of her legitimate j
■ power.
The high handed mandate, scarce
ly shrouded under the will of advice
that the Indians should remove to oth
er lands provided by their "Gieat
Father," is enforced by an alleged in
compatibility between their new insti
tutions and the claims of Georgia.—
It is unnecessary now to discuss the
question of rigiit, disregarded by this
assumption; for the Committee on In
dian.aiinirs in Congress last session,
emphatically say that they "do not
perceive,that the regulations adopted
by the Cherokees under the forms of a
constitution and laws, change in any
manner their relations to the United
States." But the facts, Which fully
sustain this opinion of the Committee,
seem to be the chief cause of the
acrimony with which' the State of
Georgia has of late years pushed her
pretensions. The progress of the
Cherokees in civilization, under the
auspices of former administrations,
has awakened murmurs in Georgia
which must surprise and distress eve
ry liberal mind. A Committee of the
Legislature complained in December
1827, that the United States had con
trived "so to add to thte comforts of
the Cherokees, and sb to instruct them
in the business of husbandry, as to at
tach them so firmly to their country
and their homes, as almost to destroy
the last ray of hope that they will
ever consent to part with fhe Georgia
lands." These "contrivances" on the
part of the United States are the ap
plication of a beneficent system, which
the American Government, at its in
ception, solemnly agreed ivith the In
dians to put in practice; of which the
was a favorite object with
Washington and his successors; and
O '
which is recommended to zealous ob
servance by every consideration of
philanthropy, sound policy, and na
tional faitli. Such is the system that
the present Executive, in aid of sel
fish passions, now threatens to subvert.
If the policy, uniform from the colo
nial to the present times, is to be sud
denly changed; if Federal protection
of the Indians is t;q be substituted by
• State despotism; if treaties are to be
: violated that lotteries may thrive}
■ then indeed this may well be called
■ the era of Revolution, but who ca»r
say that it is the era of Reform?
t- Indian Wrongs.—We are rattier''
r- surprised to see the religious papers
3 - so nearly silent as to the policy of the
s, present administration, in reference to
u Indian affairs. The plan of virtually
compelling the Creeks to migrate to
g the Rocky mountains for fartherly pro
e tection, will be to establish a prece
- dent which may soon be extended to
s the C'herokees, and for ought we see
s to every tribe whose land happens to
- be coveted by avaricious speculate)/
- among the whites. One would thmlc
; that the guilt of African slavery was
i enough for the nation to bear, without
i the additional crime of injustice to ihe
3 aborigine. And what it' this policy
should be pursued? What would be*
- coine of Indian improvement? Wjlf
r the wilderness of the Rocky mountains?
. be a good place to acquire a knorii.
i edge of agriculture, the art? ant!
I sciences of civilization, and the fffipr
trfnes and duties of Christianity? Nc?
! such thing. It is all hollow p.eteniff
> —sheer selfishness! The Giiorgii
• speculators may say what they please,
and the new administration maV !>e»
come their abettors; but the triinsafcf
I tions now on foot, unless we hnvg to
tally mistaken the subject, will be ah
foul blot oii our nation's character.
t 1 rum tlie New York Observer.
L'or- l>e fodiont.—A writer who (ifwe
, o _ have rightly guessed the man) is pfl
>u!d In ' r P% qualified l'or the task, has"
j sent to (he editors of the National In-
telligencer a series ofEss.yson the
j pending and ripening conirciersy be»
c tueen the United States and the In
j dians. Th"6 editors have promised to
! insert them, end we mry expect the
first number in the course 6f a few
days. Meanwhile, we may learn
something of what is coming from the*
following note to the editors accompa-"
I living the Essays.
| I. This is a subject which must be
abundantly discussed in our country.
s | 2. It will be among lite most im
i- portant, and probably the most eon
i, j tested business of the twenty -first,
t Congress. Some able members of
d Congress, to my certain knowledge,
a wish to have the matter discussed.
3. I expect to make it appear, by
a particular examination of treaties,
j that the United States are bound to
! Secure to the Chferokees the integrity
j and inviolability of their territory, till
} they voluntarily surrender it.
4. In the course of this invest'ga
lion I shall not agree with the present
Executiv e of the United States, in
the construction which he gives to
treaties, but shall be sustained by the
uniform tenor of our negociations with
the Indians, and legislation for them,
i from the origin of our government to
. the present day.
5. My discussions will not assume
a party character at all; and when
ever I speak of the President, or the
Secretary of War, it shall always be
by their official designation, and in a
respectful manner. Though I think
that the President has greatly mistak
en his powers and his duty in regard
to the Indians, I have no wish concern
ing him, but that lie may be a wise
and judicious ruler of oar grbwing re«
public.
The country is "ripe for the discus
sion and impatient for it." We had
ourselves been gathering materials for
a series of articles on thin subject,
but are glad that the matter has fall
eft into better hands. We burn when
we think of the wrongs which have
been heaped upon the poor Indians.— 1
We hope that they will not attempt
to avenge themselves, but there is
One who will surely be their aveng
er.
Western Rcc.