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CII£BOKEE PIIOENIX ANJO INDIANS’ADVOCATE.
permanent residence. This was
done by Gen. Washington, by Mr.
Jefferson, by Mr. Madison, by Mr.
Monroe, as can be shown from pub
lished documents, and probably by
the elder Adams and bis son.
To treaties, laws, usage, every
public and every private pledge, are
to be added the dictates of reason and
common sense, and the principles of
iprmutable justice. All these stand
on the side of the Cherokees. Still
Georgia demands all the land which
lies within what are called her char
tered limits. The nature of tnis de-
m'nn'd wifi 6'e examined hereafter.
WILLIAM PENN.
From the New York Observer.
A BRIEF VIEW,
Of the present relations between the gov
ernment and people of the United
States and the Indians within our na
tional limits.
In the various discussions, which
have attracted public attention with
in a few months past, several impor
tant positions, on the subject of the
rights und claims of the Indians, have
been clearly and firmly established.
At least, this is considered to be the
case, by a large portion of the intelli
gent and reflecting men in the com-
mWity. Among the positions thus
established are the following; which,
for the sake of precision and easy re
ference, arc set down in regular
numercial order.
1. The American Indians, now
Jiving upon lands derived from their
ancestors, and never alienated nor
surrendered, have a perfect right to
the continued and undisturbed posses
sion of these lands.
2. Those Indian tribes and nations,
which have remained under their own
form of government, upon their own
soil, and have never submitted them
selves to the government of the whites
have a perfect right to retain their
original form of government, or to al
ter it, according to their own views of
convenience and propriety.
3. These rights of soil and of sove
reignty are inherent in the Indians,
till voluntarily surrendered by them;
and cannot be taken away by corn-
pacts between communilics of whites,
td which compacts the Indians were
Sot a party.
. 4. From the settlement of the
English colonies in North America to
the present day, the right of Indians
to lands in their actual and peaceable
possession, and to such form of gov
ernment as they choose, has been
admitted by the whites; though such
admission is in no sense nccCssary
to the perfect validity of Ike Indian
title.
5. For one hundred and fifty years,
innumerable treaties were made
between the English colonists and the
Indians, upon the basis of the Indians
being independent natious, and having
a perfect right to their country and
their form of government.
6. During the revolutionary war,
the United States, in their confederate
character, made similar treaties,
accompanied by the most solemn
guaranty of territorial rights.
7. At the close of the revoliittoha-
jy war, and before the adoption of
the federal constitution, the Unite#
States, in their confederate character
made similar treaties with the Cher
okees, Chickasaws and Choctaws.
8. The State of Georgia, after the
efose of the revolutionary war, and
before the adoption of the federal
constitution, made similar treaties, on
the same basis, with the Cherokees
and Crefeks.
9. By the"constitution of the United
Stntes, the exclusive power of ma
king treaties with the Indians was
conferred on the general governmeut;
and, in the execution of this power,
the faith of the nation has been many
times pledged to the Cherokees,
Creeks, Chickasaws, Choctaws, and
other Indian nations. In nearly all
these treaties, the national and terri
torial rights of the Indians are guar
antied to "them, either expressly, or by
implication.
10. The State of Georgia has, by
numerous public acts, implicitly ac
quiesced in this exercise of the trea
ty-making power of the United
StntcSt
11. The laws of the United Slates
as well as treaties with the Indians;
{ prohibit all persons, whether anting as
ndividuals, or as agents of any state
from encroaching upon territory se
cured to the Indians. By these laws
aevere penalties are inflicted upon of
fenders; and the execution of the laws
on this subject, is specially confided
to the President of the United States,
who has the whole force of the coun
try at his disposal for this purpose.
The positions here recited are
deemed to be incontrovertible. It
follows, therefore:
That the removal of any nation of
Indians from their country by force,'
would he an instance of gross and cru
el oppression:
That all attempts to accomplish
the removal of the Indians by bribery
and fraud, by intimidation and threats,
by withholding from them a knowl
edge of the strength of their cause,
by practising upon their ignorance,
and their fears, or by vexatious im
portunities, interpreted by them to
mean nearly the same thing as a
command;—all such attempts are
acts of oppression, and therefore en
tirely unjustifiable:
That the United States are firmly
bound by treaty to protect the In
dians from force and encroachments
on the part of a state; and a refusal
they are; though the whole power of
the United States is pledged to defend
them in their possession; yet it is sup
posed by some, that they would act
wisely, if they would yield to the pres
sure, quietly surrender their territory
to the United State, and accept a
new country beyond the Mississippi,
with a new guaranty.
In support of this supposition, it is
argued, that they can never remain
quiet where they are; that they will
always be infested by troublesome
whites; & that the States, which lay
claim to their territory, will perse
vere in measures to vex and annoy
them.
Let us look a moment at this state
ment. Is it indeed true, that in the
very prime and vigor of our republi
can government, and with all our
boasted reliance upon constitutions &
laws, we cannot enforce as plain an
act of Congress as is to be found in our
national statute-book? Is it true, that
while treaties are declared in the con
stitution to be the supreme law of
the land, a whole volume of these su
preme laws is to be at once avowedly
and utterly disregarded? Is tho Senate
of the United States, that august bo
dy, as our uewspapers have called it
a thousand times, to march in solemn
procession, andburna volume of trea
ties? Are the archives of state to be
searched, and a hundred and fifty rolls,
containing treaties with Indians, to be
brought forth aijd consigned to the
flames on Capitol 1 Hill, in the presence
of the representatives of the people,
and all the dignitaries of our national
government? When ambassadors from
foreign nations inquire, what is the cauie
of this burning? are we to say,“ Forty
years ago President Washington and
the Senate made treaties with the
Indians, which have been repeated &
confirmed by successive administra.
tions. The treaties are plain, and
the termsi reasonable. But the In,
dians are weak, and their white neigh
bors will be lawless. The way to
please these w hite neighbors is, there-
iore, to burn the treaties, and then
call the Indians our dear children,
and deal with them precisely as if no
treaties had ever been nude.” Is this
the answer to be given to the honest
inquiries of intelligent foreigners? Are
we to declare to mankind, that in our
country, law is totally inadequate to
answer the great end for which human
laws are made, that is, the protection
of the weak against the strong? And
is this confession to be made without
leeling and without shame? It cannot
be. The people of the United Stales
will never subject themselves to so
foul a reproach. They will not know
ingly affixto the character of a repub
lican government, so indelible a stig
ma. Let it not be said, then, that
the laws of the country cannot be
executed. Let it never be admitted,
that the faith of the nation must he
violated, lest the government should
come into collision with White intru*
a Btate having hut six or seven souls | ders upon Indian lands;-—with intru-
to a square mile, counting whites and | ders, whose character is admitted to
blacks, and w ith a soil and climate : be lawless; and who can be invested
act To dispose of and distribute the j capable of sustaining a hundred to the j with power, in no other way than by
thus to protect them would he equal
ly an act of bad faith as a refusal to
protect them against individuals: and
That the Cherokeetf have there
fore the guaranty of the United States
solemnly and repeatedly given, as a
security against encroachnrfents from
Georgia and the neighboring states.
By virtue of this guaranty the Cher
okees may rightfully demand, that
the United States shall keep all in
truders at a distance, from whatever
quarter, or in whatever character,
they may come. Thus Secured and
defended in the possession of their
country, the Cherokees have a per
fect right to retain that possession as
long ns they pfease. Such a reten
tion of their country is no just cause
of complaint or offence to any state,
or to any individual. It is merely an
exercise of natural rights, which
rights have been not only acknowl
edged but repeatedly and solemnly
confirmed by the tlnited States.
Although these principled are clear
and incontrovertible, yet many per
sons feel an embarrassment from con
sidering the Cherokees as livirig in the
State of Georgia. All this cmhaross-
ment may be removed at once by
hearing in mind, that the Cherokee
country is not in Georgia, in any
sense affecting sovereignty, right of
soil, or jurisdiction; nor will it right
fully become a part of Georgia, till
the Cherokees shall first hate ceded
it to the United States. Whenever
that event shall take place, it will
immediately fall into the State of
Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama;
not by virtue of any compact to which
the Cherokees have been a party, but
in conscquenee of compacts now ex
isting petweeff these states and the
United States. This matter is placed
•p a perfectly clear light, by the ti
tles of various laws of Georgia, Which
hare been enacted to dispose of lands
obtained from the Creeks. Even so
late as the year 1825, the fol
lowing tittle is found in the stat
ute-book of Georgia: viz: “An
ting intercourse with the Indian tribes,
tho Cherokee country i6 no more un
der the jurisdiction of Georgia, than
it is under the jurisdiction of Missou
ri, or Pennsylvania; nor can it be un
der the jurisdiction of any state, or of
the United States, till it shall have
been surrendered to the United
States by trenty. Let this sup
posed embarrassment tberefofe, be
finally dismissed.
Again, it is supposed, that the ex
istence of a little seperate communi
ty of Indians, living under their own
laws, and surrounded by communities
of whites, will be fraught with some
great and undefined mischief. This
supposed evil is set forth under
learned and hard names. It is call
ed an anorialy, ammperium inimperio,
and by various other pedantic epi
thets When the case is accurately
examined, however, all the fog clears
away, and nothing appears in the
prospect but a little tract of country
full of civilized Indian, engaged in
their lawful pursuits, neither molest
ing their neighbors, nor interrupting
the general peace and prosperi
ty-
If the separate existence of the
Indian tribes were an inconvenience to
their neighbors, this would be but a
slender reason for breaking down all
the barriers of justice and good faith.
Many a rich man has thought it very
inconvenient, that he could not add
the farm of a poor neighbor to his
possessions. Many a powerful nation
has felt, it to be inconvenient to have a
weak ail'd dependent state in its neigh
borhood, and has therefore forcibly
joined the territory of such state to
its own extensive domains. But this
is done at the expense of honor and
character, and is visited by the histo
rian with his severest reprobation.
In the case before us the inconven
ience is altogether imaginary. If the
United States were examined, with a
view to find a place where Indjans
could have a residence assigned them,
so that they might be as little as pos
sible in the way of the whites, not a
single tract, capable of sustaining in
habitants, could be found more se
cluded than the present country of the
Cherokees. It is in the mountains,
among the head waters of rivers di
verging in all directions; and some
parts of it are almost inaccessible.
The Cherokees have ceded to the
United States all their best land.
Not a twentieth part of what remains
is of a very good quality. More
than half is utterly worthless. Per
haps three-tenths may produce mo
derate crops., 'file people of the
United States have a free passage
through the country, secured by trea
ty. What do they want more? If the
Cherokee country were added to
Georgia, tho accession would be but
a fraction joined to the remotest
corner ol that great state;— a stale
now scarcely inferior in size to any
state in tpe Union except Virginia;
lands lately acquired by the United
States, for the use of Georgia, df the
Creek nation of Indians, by a treaty
made and concluded at the Indian
Spring, 6n the 12th da^ of February,
1825.” 'fhe act was approved by
Governor Troup on the 9th of June,
the same year. The first section of
the act begins thus; “That the terri
tory acquired of the Creek nation of
Indians, by the United States, for the
use of Georgia, as described in arti
cles of a treaty entered into and con
cluded between commissioners on the
part of the United States and the
chiefs, head men and warriors of the
Creek nation of Indians,”^.
These extracts give a fair account
of the whole matter. If the territory
was acquired from the Creek nation,
it was manifestly the property of the
Creek nation before it was thus ac
quired. If it was acquired by the U. S.
Si through the instrumentality of a trea
ty, it w as because the treaty-making
power is, by the federal constitution
vested exclusively in the United
States, and because the Creeks, be
ing a nation, could not dispose of their
country in any other manner than
by treaty. If it was acquired for the
use of Georgia, it follows that Geor
gia had not the use of it previously.
In fact, Georgia had never thought of
legislating for the Indian country, till
two or three years after the date of
this law. According to the 11th ar
ticle of the treaty of Holston, and to
mile with fhe greatest case,
is no mighty inconvenieuce,
square
Ther
therefore, in the arrangement of
Providence, by which the Cherokees
claim a resting place on the land; fended
which Gcd gave to their fa
thers.
tamely yielding to their acts of en
croachment and aggression.
The laws can be executed with
perfect case. The Indians can be de-
The friiith of the nation can
be preserved. Let the president of
the United States, whenever the In-
shall be
And as to the learned chimera of J dians shal l be threatened, issue his
mperium inimperio, it is, and always | proclamation, describing the danger
has been, one of the most common j a,, d asserting the majesty of the laws,
things in the world. The whole of i Let him refer to the treaties and the
modern Germany is nothing else but J ac J$ °f Congress, which his oath of
one specimen after another of imperium office obliges him to enforce; let him
inimperio. Italy has an abundance of recite the principal provisions of
specimens also. As to our own coun
try, we have governments within gov
ernments of all sizes, and for all pur
poses, from a school district to our
great federal union. And where can
he the harm of hitting a few of our red
neighbors, on a small remnant of their
own territory, exercise the rights
which God has given them? They
have not the power to injure us; and,
if we treat them kindly and jusily.
they will not have the disposition.—
They have not intruded upon our ter
ritory, nor encroached upon our rights.
They only ask the privilege of living
unmolested in the places where they
were born, and in possession of those
rights, which we have acknowledged
and guarantied.
There is one remaining topic, on
which the minds of many benevolent
men are hesitating; and that is; whe
ther the welfare of the Indians would not
be promoted by a removal. Though
the law of the United States reguli-j they have a right to remain where tho perpetual residence of Indians.
these treaties and acts, and declare,
In the face of the world, that he shall
execute the lnivs, and that he shall
confidently rely upon the aid and co
operation of all good citizens;—let
him do this, and neither he, nor the
country will be disappointed. Law
will triumph, and oppression will hide
its head.
But it may lie supposed, after all,
that it would be for the benefit of the
Cherokees and other tribes to remove
beyond the Mississippi, and there
enjoy the advantages which are offer
ed by the general government. These
advantages are developed in a plan
which has been some years before the
American people, and which is in sub
stance, as follows:
Congress will set apart a tract of
country of moderate dimensions, be
yond Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisia
na, (principally west of the territory
of Arkansas,) and will guaranty it as
Upon this tract of country shall he
congregated numerous tribes, now re
siding. in different states and territo
ries. The land shall be divided a-
mong tribes and individuals, as Con
gress shall direct. The emigrants
thus congregated, shall be governed
by white rulers till they are sufficient
ly amalgamated instructed, and civi
lized, to he admitted to some share
in tho ' government of themselves.
The United States will pay the ex?
penso of a removal; will furnish im-
pliments of agriculture, the mechani
cal arts, schools, and other means of
civilization. Intruders will be ex
cluded; ardent spirits will never he
permitted to pass the line'of demar*
kation; good morals and regular habits
will he promoted; and the Indians
will rise rapidly in the scale of intel
ligence and virtue. This is the plan;
and some good men have so much con J
ficlencc in it, that they advise the In
dians to embrace it, as their only re
fuge.
But before this advice is officiously
pressed upon the Cherokees and oth
er tribes, let the following things be
considered.
1. The Cherokees and oilier tribes*
are now separate communities, or
nations. They have rights as com
munities, and, under this associated
character, they hold the United
States by the strong obligations of
treaties. They can, therefore, so
long aS their present relation contin
ues, make a strong, united, and ir
resistible appeal to the justice and
magnanimity of the United States.
But the moment they consent to a re
moval, the existence of their separate
communities wifi cease. Their act
of consent to a removal may be ealled
a treaty; hut the moment the treaty
is signed one of the parties becomes
defunct. Let the terms be violated
ever so grossly, and there is no nation
of Indians to claim redresB. Indivi
duals may complain, but there is no
community; for by consent to a reuio^
val, the Indians come as much under
the government of the United States as
th* District of Columbia is. Such a
change in their condition is a great
onfe; and let no man advise to it, un
less lie has duly considered its conse
quences. From being an independ
ent people, rapidly improving in their
character and habits, they will be | df
into leading strings, and will instantly *
feel that they are vassals. From
walking abroad on their own posses
sions, as they are now wont to do, they
will fee! like paupers and mendicants,
taken by the government, and stowed
away in a crowded poor-house. At
least these feelings Seem very natural,
if they are not certain.
2. There must he much suffering,
in the removal of the 60,000 souls,
which constitute the south-western
tribes;--much exposure, sickness, turn
er, nakedness, either on the journey, *
or soon after the arrival.
3. The removal must be conducted
gradually. Of course all existing as
sociations must be broken up; and the
emigrants would he scattered along,
at considerable' intervals, and thus
compelled to form new connexions.—
This alone would greatly impede their
progress in civilization.
4. From the best accounts, which
can be obtained of the country, which is
selected for this permanent residence
of Indians, it is deficient in wood and
water, two articles of indispensable
necessity to the emigrants. It is
certain, that the Chickasaws, who
visited this country last year at the
expense of government, were unani
mously disatisfied with it as a place
for their future residence. No'man
should advise the Indians to remove
from their present habitations, unless
he is in possession of. undoubted evi
dence that the place, to which they
are to be transported, is a desirably
residence, or at least a comfortable
one. No such evidence has yet been
produced.
5. The Crowding together of differ
ent tribes, speaking languages entire
ly unintelligible to each other, and ac
customed to different habits, would
be productive of quarrels, and effec
tually impede the progress of im
provement.
6 • The proposed plan of government
is entirely visionary, and lias nothing,
in the history of human affairs, to sus
tain it. The white rulerB, who should
have the charge of controlling and
guiding such a heterogeneous mixture
of different tribes, would need to be
men of the most eminent qualifications;
— men of greatwisdom, firmness, pa*
tience, disinterestedness, and active