Here's some fascinating news. Newly-elected Cherokee Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., is appointing the first-ever Cherokee Nation Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. Who did he pick? A former advisor to President Obama and DNC staffer.
In a letter to Joe Byrd, Speaker of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council, Principal Chief Hoskin called for a special session of the tribal council to, among other things, appoint Kimberly Teehee as the Cherokee Nation's first-ever nonvoting delegate to the United States House of Representatives. The Cherokee Nation has long considered itself owed a Representative in Congress due to an 1835 treaty with the United States government, but it apparently has never attempted to seat -- one until now.
Teehee has a long history of involvement in Democratic Party politics.
She served as Senior Advisor to Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI) for "nearly twelve years" starting in 1998, and was appointed as Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs in 2009 by President Barack Obama to the White House Domestic Policy Council, which coordinated domestic policy-making process in the White House and offered advice to Obama.
Going further back, Teehee worked for the Democratic National Committee as their first deputy director of Native American Outreach, and served as director of Native American outreach for President Bill Clinton's 1997 inauguration.
Teehee was a $5,000 maximum donor to Hoskin during the recent and hotly-contested election for principal chief. Hoskin won after his chief opponent was controversially disqualified by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court two days before Election Day due to allegations made by a Hoskin campaign employee.
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It is interesting to note that in the most recent congressional election in the counties that make up the Cherokee Nation, not one went for the Democratic candidate, and the Republican Party received approximately 64% of the vote.
from MuskogeePolitico.com
