Dear Andrew Jackson,

We, the Cherokee Indians, come to you with outrage and disappointment. Our tribe has been betrayed by our own government and wronged by your policies. You have broken treaties, have destroyed our homelands, and have taken away our right to self-determination.

The United States Government has caused immense suffering to our people. You have forcibly removed us from our ancestral lands and corralled us into small, designated territories, not to mention the savage displacement you call relocation. You have done this without consent and without considering the catastrophic consequences on our communities. This disregard for our people’s livelihood and respect for our freedom has left us feeling hopeless and betrayed.

Your policies have violated our human rights and have created a hostile environment for us. Our people are being arrested and killed for protesting your policies - policies we had absolutely no say in. We are constantly getting harassed by the military and by settlers. Our gravesites and ancestral artifacts are being destroyed - for an industry that will likely further desecrate our land to make small amounts of money with no consideration towards the blatantly illegal practices that were used to strip us of it.

We, as a people, feel completely betrayed and utterly disgusted with the needlessly cruel actions that have been forced upon us. When you gathered us like cattle and forced us into stockades, we were not allowed to gather any possessions. Allowing us time to gather important or even life-saving possessions would have come at absolutely no cost to your government, yet you still felt the need to do so. In fact, you robbed us of those possessions like cowards once we were locked away in cages.

We demand that you recognize our rights and respect our sovereignty. We demand that you make reparations for the harm you have done to our people. And we demand that you acknowledge our importance in the history of this country. No longer will we be treated as second-class citizens. We will no longer be voiceless and forgotten.

Best regards,
The Cherokee tribe

Dear Andrew Jackson,

We, the Cherokee Indians, come to you with outrage and disappointment. Our tribe has been betrayed by our own government and wronged by your policies. You have broken treaties, have destroyed our homelands, and have taken away our right to self-determination.

The United States Government has caused immense suffering to our people. You have forcibly removed us from our ancestral lands and corralled us into small, designated territories, not to mention the savage displacement you call relocation. You have done this without consent and without considering the catastrophic consequences on our communities. This disregard for our people’s livelihood and respect for our freedom has left us feeling hopeless and betrayed.

Your policies have violated our human rights and have created a hostile environment for us. Our people are being arrested and killed for protesting your policies - policies we had absolutely no say in. We are constantly getting harassed by the military and by settlers. Our gravesites and ancestral artifacts are being destroyed - for an industry that will likely further desecrate our land to make small amounts of money with no consideration towards the blatantly illegal practices that were used to strip us of it.

We, as a people, feel completely betrayed and utterly disgusted with the needlessly cruel actions that have been forced upon us. When you gathered us like cattle and forced us into stockades, we were not allowed to gather any possessions. Allowing us time to gather important or even life-saving possessions would have come at absolutely no cost to your government, yet you still felt the need to do so. In fact, you robbed us of those possessions like cowards once we were locked away in cages.

We demand that you recognize our rights and respect our sovereignty. We demand that you make reparations for the harm you have done to our people. And we demand that you acknowledge our importance in the history of this country. No longer will we be treated as second-class citizens. We will no longer be voiceless and forgotten.

Best regards,
The Cherokee tribe

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