Entreaty to Congress

Why Congress Must Enact the Brothertown Indian Nation Restoration Act: A Clear Constitutional, Statutory, and Moral Imperative

I. Question Presented

Whether Congress should immediately restore Federal recognition to the Brothertown Indian Nation and declare that the 1839 Act never terminated its sovereignty—an action that modern law, binding precedent, and basic fairness demand.

II. The Core Injustice

In 1839, the Brothertown Indians asked Congress for one thing: protection from removal. Congress responded by granting citizenship and allotting their Wisconsin lands—measures they were told would keep them safe on their homes forever. No one told them this would be interpreted, 173 years later, as the quiet death of their tribe. Yet in 2012, the Department of the Interior ruled exactly that: the 1839 “relief” act terminated Brothertown’s federal status, and only Congress can fix it.

That ruling leaves Brothertown in a category of one: the only previously recognized tribe in America barred from every administrative path to restoration because of a 19th-century statute that never once used the word “termination.”

III. Five Unanswerable Reasons Congress Must Act Now

Modern Law Rejects the Premise of the 1839 Decision

Every single citizen of the 574 federally recognized tribes is also a United States citizen. Citizenship and tribal sovereignty are not opposites—they are companions. Morton v. Mancari (1974) settled this a half-century ago. The 2012 determination is built on a legal fiction that died in the 1920s with the Indian Citizenship Act. Congress can and should bury it for good.

The 1839 Act Contains Zero Termination Language

The Supreme Court has been crystal clear for decades: termination of tribal status requires explicit, unmistakable congressional intent (Menominee Tribe v. United States, 1968). The 1839 Act says nothing about ending the tribe—it calls itself an act “for the relief” of the Brothertown Indians. Reading termination into legislative silence violates every Indian-law canon of construction. Congress has the power—and the duty—to correct this error.

The Executive Branch Has Already Washed Its Hands

The Assistant Secretary’s 2012 Final Determination states in black and white: “Only Congress can restore the petitioner’s governmental relationship with the United States.” That is not a suggestion. It is a direct hand-off of responsibility. Congress cannot dodge it.

Equal Justice Demands Equal Treatment

Congress has restored every other tribe terminated by statute—Menominee in 1973, Klamath in 1986, and dozens more. Leaving Brothertown as the sole exception is arbitrary and indefensible. Fairness is not a policy option; it is a constitutional baseline.

The Cost of Inaction Is Measured in Human Lives

Without recognition, Brothertown citizens—many living in poverty—remain ineligible for Indian Health Service, housing assistance, educational scholarships, and the basic suite of federal programs every other recognized tribe receives. Delay is not neutral; it is punitive.

IV. The Solution Is Simple, Tested, and Overdue

The proposed Brothertown Indian Nation Restoration Act is modeled line-for-line on the Menominee and Klamath Restoration Acts—bipartisan legislation that sailed through Congress with overwhelming support. It:

Declares the 1839 Act did not terminate the tribe,

Restores recognition and the trust relationship “notwithstanding any other provision of law,”

Provides orderly processes for governance, membership, and voluntary trust-land acquisition, and

Contains every safeguard (no retroactive money claims, no disturbance of private titles) that has satisfied Congress in every prior restoration.

V. Conclusion

There is no credible legal, historical, or moral argument for maintaining the solitary punishment of the Brothertown Indian Nation. The 1839 Act was meant to protect a small tribe from removal; it has been weaponized to exile them from the family of federally recognized nations for nearly two centuries.

Congress alone can end this injustice. The question is not whether restoration is justified—it plainly is. The only question is whether this Congress will be the one to finally right this wrong.

Respectfully urged: Pass the Brothertown Indian Nation Restoration Act without delay.