'It means the world to the Cherokee people' || US House passes bill to return 76.1 acres to Cherokee people
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Members of the United States Congress passed a bill earlier this week that calls for the return of 76.1 acres of land to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. District 3 Republican Congressman Chuck Fleischmann sponsored that bill.
The bill would restore the historic, tribal land along the Little Tennessee River and the Tellico Reservoir in Monroe County to the Cherokee people. It passed unanimously in the House of Representatives, but it's not the first time it's passed.
The bill passed in the House in the last four legislative sessions but has never made it past the Senate. Fleischmann said the bill is long overdue.
"It has been far too long," Fleischmann said during the House vote. "The Eastern Band of Cherokee have been waiting, and had a lot of promises made to them over the years which have been broken. This is a great bill for America and a great bill that we honor our wonderful band of Eastern Cherokees."
Gene Branson is the chairman of the board at the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore, he said that the work Fleischman put into the bill means so much to the Cherokee people.
"It means the world to the Cherokee people and myself," Branson said. "We've got a personal attachment through our ancestors to the land."
Branson said they're already in talks about what the museum will do if they get the land. He said they hope to be able to expand the museum so that more people will be able to learn about the heritage of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Fleischmann issued a statement below urging his colleagues in the Senate to pass the bill.
"I strongly urge my colleagues in the Senate to realize the urgent importance of passing this bill and finally correct a historic wrong by returning this sacred land to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.”
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