Kim Teehee was an intern combing through dusty archives when she first learned of a largely forgotten agreement between her Cherokee tribe and the federal government.

More than 25 years later, that document has placed Teehee at the center of a historic reckoning of the way Congress treats Native Americans, while raising questions about what representation in Washington really means.

It was a treaty, ratified by the Senate and signed by President Andrew Jackson in 1835, granting the Cherokee Nation a delegate to Congress.

Teehee was named to that post in September by the tribe’s chief, Chuck Hoskin Jr. The move set off a series of technical and moral questions for leaders in Congress, who are now tasked with determining whether — and how — to allow her to take her seat.

[Cherokee Nation prepares vote on its first congressional delegate]