Brown was the leader of the Western Cherokee, a minority faction of the Cherokee Nation settled in Arkansas Territory. The Western Cherokee had lived in the area for decades prior to the arrival of thousands of the Eastern Cherokee under the leadership of John Ross following their forced removal from their lands. Along with other Western Cherokee chiefs, Brown attempted to integrate the newly arrived Eastern Cherokee into the territory under the existing power structure and government. However, the more numerous faction following Ross eventually gained the upper hand and formed a new government recognized by the federal government. Brown spent years complaining to the federal government of the tactics of Ross and his faction and asking for a restoration of tribal authority for the Western Cherokee. In late 1844 Brown was among the chiefs of the Western Cherokee who levied accusations that Ross was using police authority in the territory to intimidate them. It is unclear why Dana addressed his letter to this now-deposed chief. It is possible that the public and emotional rift between the two Cherokee factions prompted Dana to make the proposal for Brown to lead his disaffected group to the West where they could reclaim their former authority. (Moulton, John Ross, Cherokee Chief, 109–120; Report of the Secretary of War, Senate no. 140, 28th Cong., 2nd Sess. [1845].)

Moulton, Gary E. John Ross, Cherokee Chief. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1978.

Report of the Secretary of War, Communicating (in Compliance with a Resolution of the Senate) the Report and Correspondence of the Board of Inquiry, to Prosecute an Examination into the Causes and Extent of the Discontents and Difficulties among the Cherokee Indians. Senate no. 140, 28th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1845).