Cherokee Treaty of 1866, Article 9: "all the rights of native Cherokees" (Washington, July 1866)
Record: the document says itPattern: documents line upLens: our readingOpen: not yet proven
Year: 1866 · Places: Florida, Oklahoma & the Five Tribes
SUMMARYCherokee Treaty of 1866, Article 9: "all the rights of native Cherokees" (Washington, July 1866) [Connections: Five Tribes, Florida & maroons, Nov 5, 2026]
RECORDArticle 9 says that "all freedmen who have been liberated by voluntary act of their former owners or by law ... and their descendants, shall have all the rights of native Cherokees" (treaty text as quoted on the Wikipedia page below). The Oklahoma Historical Society says the Cherokee were the last of the Five to sign, in July 1866, and amended their constitution that November to give freedmen full citizenship; Joseph Brown was elected to the National Council in 1875
PATTERNthe treaty speaks of "descendants," which is the hook every later court case turns on
LENS (WW9)the US wrote the promise; the paper line between "native" and "freedman" was drawn in the same treaty
OPENpull the full Article 9 text from the printed treaty (14 Stat. 799) rather than a secondary quote
SOURCECherokee freedmen controversy (Wikipedia); Linda W. Reese, "Freedmen," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Primary: Treaty with the Cherokee, July 19, 1866, 14 Stat. 799.