Cherokee Phoenix JAN 2019

MASTER SPEAKERS Cherokee Nation’s Cherokee Language Master/Apprentice Program grads are now considered highly proficient Cherokee speakers and can teach the language. EDUCATION, 7

CHEROKEE CHEROKEEPHOENIX.ORG

JANUARY 2, 2019

PHOENIX 191 YEARS OF JOURNALISM

Dist. 7 council candidate clears Supreme Court challenge CN Election Commission had already deemed Canaan Duncan eligible.

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter TAHLEQUAH – The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 17 that tribal council hopeful Canaan Duncan is eligible to run for office.

Duncan had already been deemed by the CN Election Commission eligible to run for the vacant District 7 seat in a 4-0 vote following challenges from Robin Mayes and Tim Houseberg. The pair sought a reversal of that decision from the Supreme Court.

They claimed Duncan should be disqualified because he violated tribe law by campaigning while still an employee of the nation’s secretary of state office.

“There is a timeline here,” Mayes said during the Supreme Court hearing. “You can become a candidate the moment you start collecting money, $1,000, and

start campaigning. The election law says you can’t be a candidate and an employee.”

According to CN law, tribal employees and employees of CN majority-owned entities must resign before filing for an elective position. Duncan resigned from the nation one day before he filed, according to his attorney, Curtis Bruehl.

The challengers contended that Duncan became a candidate before resigning because he met the $1,000 fundraising minimum that makes a person a candidate, according to a 2016 amendment to the election law.

The amendments, Legislative Act 12-16, were in part targeting candidates who campaign, but never officially file for a seat, according to Tribal Councilor Dick Lay, who was called as a witness.

“There’s just a lot of things that came about — I guess the perfect storm — that caused 12-16 to come

CN, VOLUNTEERS PITCH IN

together,” Lay said. “It tells you in simple reading who a candidate is.”

Last month, the election commission indicated it found no constitutional provision or legislative enactment that prohibits a CN employee from becoming a candidate and campaigning for elective office while being an employee other than the provision stating an employee must resign before filing.

“We don’t take sides,” CN Election Commission attorney Harvey Chaffin said. “Our job at the election commission is to interpret the law and apply it to the facts that are presented to us. We submit the commission’s decision was based on the law and correctly interprets the law.”

Duncan is squaring off against Robert Eagle and Frankie Lee Duncan in the Jan. 5 special election. The vacant, Adair County-based District 7 seat was held by Frankie Hargis, who resigned in November to become the tribe’s new registrar.

CN, state and Gore officials celebrate nuclear waste site cleanup Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma and city officials celebrate the removal of radioactive waste from the former Sequoyah Fuels Corp.

BY WILL CHAVEZ Assistant Editor

COURTESY Homes sit damaged in Cherokee and Adair counties on Nov. 30 after an EF-2 tornado swept through Sequoyah, Cherokee, Adair and Delaware counties.

Volunteers and Cherokee Nation staff assist people in the Welling, Caney and Wauhillau area affected by a Nov. 30 tornado.

BY GRANT NEUGIN Reporter

W

ELLING – On Dec. 5, the Caney Community Center served free lunches to area residents in response to an EF-2 tornado that came through western Cherokee County on Nov. 30.

People impacted by the tornado were provided assistance and served breakfast immediately after the tornado.

Welling and surrounding area residents, Welling firefighters, the Cherokee Nation Incident Management Team and Ozark and Lake Region Electric companies came together at the Caney Community Center to help those affected. Most people cleaned up damage from the tornado with their own equipment, while others donated their time at the Caney Community Center. The volunteers at the center helped cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for people affected by the tornado.

“My job is the cook at the Caney Community Center, but ever since the tornado disaster happened I have been volunteering my time and effort to give everyone food to eat,” Mae Smith said. “Usually non-tribal community members have to pay for their food, but it is free all week long for both tribal and non-tribal members.”

The community center is usually open only Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but after the tornado, it was open every day. As of Dec. 1, the Caney Community Center had served nearly 600 people.

GORE – On Nov. 30, Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma and Gore city officials announced that the remaining nuclear waste at the former Sequoyah Fuels Corp. site east of Gore had been removed.

The last semitrailers left the site in late November, hauling away the last of 511 loads of nuclear waste that was hazardous for Sequoyah County and its citizens for decades.

Mike Broderick, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Radiation Program manager said at the ceremony that he first dealt with the SFC site in 1994.

“This is a proud day because when I came here in 1994, the future looked much darker. At that time there was limited funding. It was going to be very inadequate for the cleanup, and there was no possibility that we could see to have a long-term custodian to take care of the site. That meant the site would be abandoned and would be a peril to the people and to the rivers here,” he said. “What a difference there is between that depressing future to what we have today. The highest-risk material has been removed from the site, and the site will end up in the care of the federal government, so it will not be a burden to Oklahoma taxpayers.”

Broderick said some uranium that was at the site has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.

The 10,000 tons of radioactive waste was

SEE WASTE, 3

SEE TORNADO, 2

“It was amazing to see this community come together as quickly as they did. It really showed the resiliency and love that both Cherokee Nation and the Cherokee County communities have.”

Richelle Singleterry, Cherokee Nation community advocate

OSIYO TV The Sequoyah Fuels Corp. site before nuclear waste was removed from the site, which is located near the junction of the Illinois and Arkansas rivers in Sequoyah County.

Congress amends Stigler Act to protect tribally restricted land Enrolled tribal citizens of five Oklahoma tribes including the Cherokee Nation will be able to inherit their family’s allotted land and keep it in restricted-fee status without having to meet a required blood quantum.

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH – Cherokee Nation leaders are applauding congressional leaders for passing the Stigler Act Amendments of 2018 on Dec. 20.

Enrolled tribal citizens of the Five Tribes, which includes the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole, will be able to inherit their family’s allotted land and keep it in restricted-fee status without having to meet a blood quantum requirement.

When land is in restricted-fee status, it is not subject to taxation and may not be sold or transferred without permission of the Department of the Interior.

The Stigler Act Amendments of 2018 remove the onehalf degree Indian blood requirement that was part of the original 1947 Stigler Act. Under the current law, the restricted-fee status of land allotted to citizens of the Five Tribes is maintained only if the individual holding title has at least 50 percent Indian blood.

Tribal leaders and citizens have sought to remove

that requirement for decades. From 2011 to 2015, the Cherokee Nation lost 534 acres of restricted fee land because of the blood quantum requirement.

“Our families have a right to pass their lands onto their heirs and hold onto those historically significant family connections,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker said. “For far too long, the blood quantum stipulation has tied up land titles and prevented families from keeping their inheritance.

We are so thankful for the lawmakers in Washington who understood what this means for our tribes and citizens.”

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill in September, sending it on to the U.S. Senate, where

SEE ACT, 3

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CHEROKEE PHOENIX • JANUARY 2, 2019

Council funds ID survey of fluent Cherokee speakers TAHLEQUAH – According to a Cherokee Nation press release, the Tribal Council passed a budget modification on Nov. 13 to fund a survey that will identify the number of fluent Cherokee speakers living in the CN. With nearly 2,000 fluent speakers already identified, the tribe’s Community & Cultural Outreach department will use the $50,467 to host local community events in hopes of identifying more fluent speakers, the release states.

Once complete, the tribe will be able to use the data to apply for more grant funding for language programs, according to the release.

“The Cherokee language is an integral part of our identity as Cherokee people,” Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said.

“Through the work of our CCO staff, we are able to identify and honor our first-language speakers, while at the same time using the data from the survey to apply for new grants that will allow us to continue our language revitalization efforts.”

As part of the survey, the CN will award medallions to the identified fluent Cherokee speakers, the release states.

Tribal Councilor Joe Byrd, a fluent Cherokee speaker, said the survey is another positive step in growing the Cherokee language.

“Currently, our study shows that most of our fluent speakers are older than 60 years of age, making it more important than ever before that we identify the first-language speakers so they can share their knowledge with our younger generations.”

In October, the CN hosted the first Cherokee Language Speaking Employee Appreciation Day to kick off the identification survey of fluent Cherokee speakers, the release states. It also states that more than 150 fluent Cherokeespeaking employees gathered to discuss ways to continue growing the language as well as receive appreciation from tribal leaders and learn about the tribe’s language programs.

For more information regarding the survey of Cherokee speakers, call the CCO department at 918207-4995.

– STAFF REPORTS

NEWS • ᏗᏕᏃᏣᎸᏍᎩ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

Trail of Tears marker dedicated in North Carolina It includes the familiar Trail of Tears Historic Route sign and one that gives mileage to Woodhall’s Depot in Westville, Oklahoma, and Fort Lindsay, North Carolina, a round-up camp for Cherokees.

BY WILL CHAVEZ Assistant Editor WESSER, N.C. – As part of a commemoration of the Cherokee Removal that ended 180 years ago, a new Trail of Tears marker was dedicated on Oct. 29 at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.

The marker includes the familiar Trail of Tears Historic Route sign and a sign that gives the mileage to Woodhall’s Depot in Westville, Oklahoma, 895 miles from the marker, and Fort Lindsay, which was a round-up camp for Cherokees. The camp was located 5 miles from the marker’s location. Woodhall’s Depot was a site at the end of the trail where Cherokee people could gather supplies when they arrived in Indian Territory.

“The marker placed at the Nantahala River is most important because it designates one of the origin points for the longest journeys on the Trail,” Dr. Brett Riggs, historian and Atlarge Trail of Tears Association board member, said. “The people who left from Fort Lindsay were at the northeastern-most corner of the (Cherokee) Nation. Also, many of the people from the lower Nantahala Valley evaded the soldiers, and the signs are placed about a half mile from the homes of Old Charley (Tsali) and Oochella, who were principals in that last big manhunt of the removal.”

The North Carolina Trail of Tears Association hosted the sign dedication. Chapter President Susan Abram said the sign was the first National Trail of Tears Historic Trail sign to be placed in North Carolina at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.

“Looking around, I realized that even a horrific happening like the forced removal of Cherokees 180 years ago can remind us to never forget and to hope that our nation has moved past these kinds of shameful

actions,” she said. “I saw Americans, Cherokees included, coming together to share in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System, which demonstrates that this group persevered and has even thrived despite past tribulations.”

The Oct. 29 ceremony also commemorated the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System Act that has allowed the National Park Service and its partners to locate and mark removal trails and campsites. Representatives from the North Carolina Trail of Tears Association, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, NPS, Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians attended the ceremony.

“The placement of theses signs will ensure that our story is not forgotten and will serve as a reminder of our ancestors who lost their lives along the Trail of Tears,” EBCI Principal Chief Richard Sneed said.

In 1987, Congress designated the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail for protection and interpretation by the NPS. Today, the trails are recognized as traveling through nine states, and more than 5,000 miles of water and land routes are included in the trails.

“The marker placed at the Nantahala River is most important because it designates one of the origin points for the longest journeys on the Trail.”

Dr. Brett Riggs, historian and Atlarge Trail of Tears Association board member

AHLI-SHA LITTLEJOHN STEPHENS A new marker includes the familiar Trail of Tears Historic Route sign and a sign that gives the mileage to Woodhall’s Depot in Westville, Oklahoma, 895 miles from the marker, and Fort Lindsay, North Carolina, which was a round-up camp for Cherokees. The camp was located 5 miles from the marker’s location. Woodhall’s Depot was a site at the end of the trail where Cherokee people could gather supplies when they arrived in Indian Territory.

BROOKE LEANN COGGINS Trail of Tears Association President Jack Baker speaks to people attending an Oct. 29 ceremony in Wesser, North Carolina, to dedicate a Trail of Tears marker.

TORNADO: The

volunteers at the center helped cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for people affected by the tornado. from front page

MANUEL BALCE CENETA/ASSOCIATED PRESS The U.S. The Supreme Court is debating whether an Indian tribe retains control over a vast swath of eastern Oklahoma in a case involving a Native American who was sentenced to death for murder.

Justices debate Indian control of land in Oklahoma

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court grappled Nov. 27 with whether an Indian tribe retains control over a vast swath of eastern Oklahoma in a case involving a Native American who was sentenced to death for murder.

Some justices said they fear a ruling for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation could have big consequences for criminal cases, but also tax and other regulatory issues on more than 3 million acres of MCN territory, including most of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s second-largest city.

The issue is before the high court in the case of Patrick Murphy, who was convicted of killing a fellow tribal citizen in 1999. A federal appeals court threw out his conviction because it found the state lacked authority to prosecute Murphy.

The appeals court ruled that the crime occurred on land assigned to the tribe before Oklahoma became a state and Congress never clearly eliminated the MCN reservation it created in 1866.

Lawyers for the state and Trump administration, supporting Oklahoma, told the justices that the practical effects of ruling for Murphy would be dramatic, after more than 100 years of state control over the area. Violent criminals could go free and the state would lose its ability to tax a chunk of the population, the lawyers said. Other Native American prisoners and defendants in Oklahoma have asked to have their convictions overturned or their cases thrown out as a result With so much potentially at stake, maybe the court should “leave well enough alone here,” and side with Oklahoma, said Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Justice Stephen Breyer noted that 1.8 million

who live in the affected area have built their lives on a long-accepted understanding of local regulations and state law. “What happens to all those people?” he asked.

Lawyers for Murphy and the MCN said fears of chaos that would result from a ruling for Murphy are overstated. The MCN already has agreements with 40 local governments that allow its police to work collaboratively with other law enforcement agencies, said Riyaz Kanji, representing the tribe.

No one has a greater interest than the tribe “in law enforcement and security within the Creek reservation,” Kanji said.

The court’s liberal justices seemed generally more sympathetic to the tribe, while the conservatives appeared likely to side with the state. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote a unanimous opinion in 2016 in favor of a different tribe’s claim to a reservation, asked no questions, as is his custom.

One potential wrinkle is that Justice Neil Gorsuch stepped aside from the case because he participated in it at an earlier stage when he was a judge on the federal appeals court in Denver. A 4-4 tie would affirm the appellate ruling in favor of Murphy, but leave the larger issue of tribal sovereignty unresolved.

If he wins at the Supreme Court, Murphy could potentially be retried in federal court. But he would not face the death penalty for a crime in which prosecutors said he mutilated the victim and left him to bleed to death on the side of a country road about 80 miles southeast of Tulsa.

A decision in Carpenter v. Murphy, 17-1107, is expected by late spring.

CN Title VI states that tribal citizens may eat for free on a normal basis. Those who are non-tribal citizens pay a $5 fee to eat. This changed on Nov. 2 when the Tailholt Community Organization decided to pay $4 of the $5 fee for non-tribal citizens. However, the week after the tornado, the food was free for everyone.

The Caney Community Center also donated items for people who lost their belongings. The Briggs community also contributed by donating items for those in need. Those donations were at the Caney Community Center.

Many tribal households were also affected in different ways and needed financial assistance, officials said. CN Human Resources community advocate Richelle Singleterry was sent to help tribal citizens who qualify sign up for the tribe’s Disaster Relief Fund. The fund provides each qualifying tribal household with $1,000.

“It was amazing to see this community come together as quickly as they did. It really showed the resiliency and love that both Cherokee Nation and the Cherokee County communities have,” Singleterry said.

On Dec. 3, Principal Chief Bill John Baker declared a state of emergency and sought direct federal assistance. The request was unusual because tribes usually go through the state to seek assistance following natural disasters. However, Baker said the Trump administration has signed similar requests from tribes in other parts of the country, so there was precedent for tribes getting disaster relief funds directly from the federal government.

Also on Dec. 3, Gov. Mary Fallin issued a state of emergency for 12 Oklahoma counties. In the CN, tornadoes touched down on Nov. 30 and left a path of destruction nearly 60 miles long through portions of Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah, Delaware and Muskogee counties.

COURTESY Cherokee Nation employees and volunteers work to clear downed trees after an EF-2 tornado swept through Sequoyah, Cherokee, Adair and Delaware counties on Nov. 30.

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ

NEWS • ᏗᏕᏃᏣᎸᏍᎩ

Activists laud Native American women’s election to U.S. House

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – As a girl, Debra Haaland remembers joining her grandmother as she chopped wood and fetched water for her home in tiny Mesita, a Native American community situated in New Mexico’s high desert.

Haaland, an enrolled Laguna Pueblo citizen, is certain it was these early experiences and the example of her grandmother’s work ethic that helped her win a seat in the U.S. House Representatives on Nov. 6 – a political victory that until this year had been beyond reach for numerous Native American women. Her fellow Democrat Sharice Davids, who is Ho-Chunk, also won her historic bid to represent a U.S. House district in Kansas.

Their wins add them to a record number of women elected to the U.S. House on Nov. 6 following an election cycle that also saw a significant boost in Native American female candidates at the state and local level. In an interview, Haaland, a former New Mexico Democratic Party chairwoman, credited a vast political network she built after nearly 20 years of working on other candidates’ campaigns, her team and volunteers, and her own hard work.

“My grandmother worked really hard; she expected us to work hard,” Haaland said. “I mean that in and of itself is what really sustained me. It’s my work ethic.”

Haaland, who is 57, will replace U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who ran successfully for governor this year. Her district covers Albuquerque, and a handful of rural communities that include tribal communities.

Davids’ district, meanwhile, lies in the suburbs west of Kansas City. She unseated U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, a Republican. In addition to being one of the first Native American congresswomen, she’ll also be the nation’s first LGBT Native American to serve as a federal lawmaker.

On election night, Davids highlighted her life story of being raised by a single mother, being a first-generation college student and working while she was in school, saying those experiences were not unusual.

“What is uncommon, until now, is to have those voices and those stories and those experiences truly reflected in our federal government, in Congress and the Senate,” she said.

The two women will join U.S. Reps. Tom Cole, who is Chickasaw, and Markwayne Mullin, a Cherokee Nation citizen, in the House. Cole and Mullin are Republicans, representing districts in Oklahoma.

Haaland and Davids’ wins marked an emotional high point for Kalyn Free, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma and former district attorney in southeastern Oklahoma, who has been part of a decades-long push to get Native American women elected to Congress.

“I always say little Indian boys and little Indian girls cannot be what they cannot see,” Free said.

“Now, there are going to be two male Republicans and two very outspoken two talented, Indian Democrat women who are going to be there as well.”

She recalled donating to the 1992 congressional campaign of Ada Deer, a Menominee woman who ran as a Democrat for a seat in Wisconsin. Twelve years later, Free herself ran for Congress in Oklahoma and then founded INDN’s List, a political organization that sought to recruit and build support for Native American candidates.

JANUARY 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

3

Cherokee leaders talk Arkansas casino

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter

COLIN E. BRALEY/ASSOCIATED PRESS Democrat House candidate Sharice Davids gives a victory speech to supporters at an election party in Olathe, Kansas.

RUSSELL CONTRERAS/ASSOCIATED PRESS Deb Haaland, a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo, sits at her Albuquerque, New Mexico home.

In the past, Free said many Native American women she supported faced a “double barrier” along race and gender lines in winning over donors who doubted their competitiveness. But Haaland and Davids proved to topple it.

Haaland raised about $1.9 million, more than any of her opponents, despite hearing of doubts from other Democrats early in the race that she wouldn’t be able to compete financially, she said. She cleared a crowded primary field before handily defeating former state lawmaker Janice Arnold-Jones, a Republican, in the Nov. 6 election.

Davids raised about $4.3 million, almost all of it since mid-July. The sum represented an unusually large amount of money for congressional races in the state. In the final full month of her race alone, she recorded a $1.16-million haul.

Federal Election Commission filings showed both candidates benefiting from a mix of individual and super PAC contributions, as well as donations from numerous tribes in their states and beyond.

“We have to compete at the same level,” Free said.

“We have to have money, professional staff, and datadriven campaigns. That’s the difference.”

Haaland said her fundraising push included visits to tribes’ administration buildings throughout the country, where she said she discussed a range of issues with tribal leaders.

In what has become a reliably Democratic district in the past decade, she ran on a progressive agenda that prioritized health care, public education and the environment, saying the issues span the interests of her constituents and Native Americans nationwide.

TAHLEQUAH – In November, Arkansas voters legalized casinos in four counties. Two licenses will be given to already existing electronic gaming facilities and tracks in West Memphis and Hot Springs. Following an application process, the other two licenses will be awarded to casinos for construction in Jefferson and Pope counties.

Cherokee Nation Businesses CEO Shawn Slaton said the Quapaw tribe, which has historic ties to the area, is interested in the Jefferson County location. The CN also has historic ties to north-central Arkansas and once possessed a reservation there from 1817-1828 that covered all or parts of 14 current Arkansas counties.

“The potential opportunity in Pope County, which is at Russellville, is certainly appealing to us,” Slaton said Monday when asked by tribal counselors for an update on the Arkansas gaming issue. “That said, the climate in Pope County is a little different in that a majority of the citizens who voted in the recent election there are opposed to a casino.”

The Arkansas measure was approved statewide with approximately 56 percent of the vote, but was opposed in Pope County by 60 percent of the voters. Pope County voters also approved an ordinance that mandates a local election before the county judge can write a letter of support for a casino.

“Should the citizens of Pope County decide they would like a casino in their county, Cherokee Nation Entertainment would like the opportunity to be the licensed operator.”

According to Arkansas Ethics Commission records, Cherokee Nation Businesses donated more than $2.2 million to the pro-casino group “Driving Arkansas Forward” and its effort to get the measure before voters.

“We supported Issue 4 because we’ve seen the economic transformation gaming has helped fuel in Oklahoma. We believe Pope County could see significant economic benefits and job growth from casino-style gaming.”

Arkansas casinos located on the border near Oklahoma casinos could adversely affect the CN to the tune of $100 million and hundreds of jobs over 10 years, Slaton said.

“The Quapaw had the same issue,” he said. “They had been working the last couple of years in Arkansas, and we decided to partner with them to see if we could get this ordinance passed since it did not authorize a casino along the western border. That, in a nutshell, was what our goal was.”

If the Quapaw Tribe is awarded a license for a Pine Bluff casino, a spokesman for the tribe said they hope to have a casino running by early 2020, according to the Associated Press.

In 2016, the Arkansas Supreme Court struck down a ballot initiative to build three casinos in Boone, Miller and Washington counties because of language containing references to sports wagering, which was illegal in Arkansas under federal law.

CNB contributed more than $6 million for advertising campaigns for that initiative. After the measure was struck down, CNB was given back approximately $1.5 million.

If the ballot had passed, Cherokee Nation Entertainment would have operated a casino, hotel and entertainment venue in Washington County.

WASTE: The radioactive waste was

ACT: The Act removes the one-half

from front page

from front page

transported to a disposal site in Utah.

transported to a disposal site in Utah where the uranium will be recycled and reused.

It leaves the area near the Arkansas and Illinois rivers free of nuclear waste for the first time in nearly 50 years.

The uranium processing plant was opened by Kerr-McGee in 1970. It converted yellowcake uranium into fuel for nuclear reactors. The plant changed ownership more than once and was eventually sold to General Atomics under the name Sequoyah Fuels Corp.

A plant accident killed one worker and injured dozens of others in 1986. Another accident in 1992 injured 21 workers. Following that accident, and after years of violating numerous environmental rules and nuclear safety standards, the plant closed in 1993.

However, tons of radioactive waste remained at the facility, so in 2004 the CN and state entered into an agreement that required the highest-risk waste to be removed from the site. SFC owners announced in 2016 their intention to bury the waste onsite, but a judge forced the company to comply with the original agreement.

“It is a historic day for the Cherokee Nation and the state of Oklahoma. Our lands are safe again, now that we have removed a risk that would have threatened our communities forever,” Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “This would not have been possible if the tribe and state had not worked tirelessly together in court to ensure removal of this material.”

The CN and Oklahoma attorney general offices worked for 18 months to ensure the off-site disposal of the 10,000 tons of radioactive material.

“We would certainly not be here today if it weren’t for the commitment of all parties that have been involved throughout this years-long process, and to see it through to today is a testament to all of us working together for the betterment of the state of Oklahoma. It also shows the strength behind the partnership between the state of Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation that goes back many years,” said Oklahoma Deputy Attorney General Dara Derryberry at the ceremony.

The former SFC plant sits in western Sequoyah County, which is Dist. 5 Tribal Councilor E.O. Smith’s district. He said he worked at the plant as a young man and credits the plant for attracting “great citizens” to Gore.

“Sequoyah Fuels at one time was good. It was a great bunch of people to work around, but the end of it wasn’t good,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of interest in this.

That’s why we had a big crowd.”

Gore Town Administrator Horace Lindley, who’s been with the town for 11 years, said when he started working for Gore one of his first tasks was to learn the history of SFC and the plant site.

“I’m just very pleased today that we have gotten rid of the (hazardous) material. It’s a new day, a new beginning,” he said. “What the board wanted me to express was our deep thanks to the Cherokee Nation and to the state of Oklahoma. Without them this would have never have happened.”

OSIYO TV Sequoyah Fuels Corp. site after nuclear waste was removed from the site, which is located near the junction of the Illinois and Arkansas rivers in Sequoyah County.

degree Indian blood requirement.

last week Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., helped move the bill through the Senate. Senator Lankford serves on the Indian Affairs Committee and led efforts to ensure final passage of the bill. The Senate made a technical change to the bill that required approval from the U.S. House of Representatives.

House leaders Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., led efforts to get the bill passed on Dec. 20.

“We are pleased the House approved this bill for a second time,” Cherokee Nation Vice-President of Government Relations Kim Teehee said. “I’m so proud of our tribal leaders, congressional delegation and Department of the Interior officials for the cooperative way in which everyone worked together to ensure passage of this bill. This will bring parity and justice to those citizens of the Five Tribes who are fortunate enough to possess restricted land by allowing the land to pass from generation to generation regardless of the blood quantum of their heirs and forever link this precious land to their tribes.”

The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Tribes, in which Chief Baker is president, made the Stigler Act a priority.

Both Chief Baker and Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief, James Floyd, who is ITC vice president, testified before Congress for the bill’s passage. Cherokee Nation staff worked on amendments to the Senate bill for more than a year.

In the early 1900s, the Five Tribes had 15 million acres in restricted fee status in Oklahoma and by 2015 was down to 381,000 acres in restricted fee status.

The legislation now goes to President Trump for signature.

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CHEROKEE PHOENIX • JANUARY 2, 2019

OPINION • ᏃᎵᏍᎬ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

Cherokee Phoenix JANUARY 2, 2019 Volume 43, No. 1

The Cherokee Phoenix is published monthly by the Cherokee Nation, PO Box 948, Tahlequah, OK 74465.

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Editorial Staff Brandon Scott

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Editorial Board Lauren Jones Cusick Kendra McGeady Maxie Thompson Brenda Thompson Ceciley Tomason-Murphy Cherokee Phoenix P.O. Box 948 Tahlequah, OK 74465 (918) 453-5269 FAX: (918) 207-0049 1-800-256-0671 www.cherokeephoenix.org ANNUAL SUBSCRIPtIONS Within the United States: $15 for one year Please contact us at the number above to subscribe.

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New VA center in CN expands health care capabilities

BY BILL JOHN BAKER Principal Chief America’s veterans, including many Cherokee men and women, committed a portion of their lives to preserving our collective freedoms. They deserve the best possible health care we, as a country, can provide. I am proud the Oklahoma Veterans Commission recently selected the city of Sallisaw, a community in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, for a new state veterans center in Oklahoma. The planned veterans center in Sequoyah County will be located on a 90-acre plot on Sallisaw’s south side for easy accessibility. It will be a great complement to our Redbird Smith Health Center, located nearby.

In fact, the commission’s selection of Sallisaw for the new center will be an excellent addition to the wide range of health advances and investments Cherokee Nation has already made throughout northeastern Oklahoma.

We’ve expanded and built new clinics across our 14 counties. Next year we will dedicate a new, 469,000-square-foot health care facility at the W.W. Hastings campus in Tahlequah, and we have

secured an agreement with the OSU School of Medicine to launch the firstever medical school on tribal land.

The center is a relocation from Talihina (Oklahoma) to Sallisaw. The commission could have selected many terrific locations from across our great state, but they chose to be right here in Cherokee Nation. That’s not by accident. Our corporate arm, Cherokee Nation Businesses, stepped up to make investments that made relocation to Sequoyah County viable and attractive for such a move. The leadership of Cherokee Nation Tribal Council members E.O. Smith and Bryan Warner was essential to help form the alliances that made this possible. This outcome is a model for how public-private-tribal partnerships should work. Successful partnerships like this one will only make our entire region stronger and healthier.

The brand-new facility will be constructed and opened within three to five years, and will employ about 275 people, adding a large number of quality jobs that will support economic growth and add to the area’s tax base. Cherokee Nation’s Career Services Department will lend its support to recruit and fulfill the new center’s workforce needs.

We know the people of Sallisaw will

embrace this new opportunity and be warm and welcoming not just to the veterans and veterans’ families, but to the center’s employees and their families as well.

It is my honor to say that Cherokee Nation supports veterans through many means. Our Cherokee Nation Veterans Center provides a place for veterans of all eras to gather for fellowship. Employees there assist veterans in accessing necessary Veterans Administration benefits. The Cherokee Nation and VA hospitals have an agreement to provide better care for Native veterans by providing primary care and sharing chart information.

We provide veterans across our region access to healthy food via a unique partnership with the Eastern Oklahoma Food Bank. Cherokee veterans are honored monthly during Tribal Council meetings, and our annual Cherokee Warrior Flight takes Cherokee veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials built in their honor.

It’s exciting to see our vision at Cherokee Nation for healthier citizens and communities, especially for veterans, is shared by others. We welcome the new VA center at Sallisaw with open hearts and open arms.

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ

Community • ᎾᎥ ᏄᎾᏓᎸ

COMMUNITY MEETINGS Jan. 3 Greasy Fellowship Community Organization Greasy Community Building 7 p.m.

Washington County Cherokee Association 300 E. Angus Ave., Dewey 7 p.m.

Call Ann Sheldon at 918-333-5632 Jan. 7 Lost City Community Organization 6 p.m.

Native American Association of Ketchum 280 East Gregory, Ketchum 6:30 p.m.

Belfonte 6:30 p.m.

Call Sallie Sevenstar at 918-427-4237 Marble City Community Organization MCCO Building 7 p.m.

Eucha Indian Fellowship Eucha Community Building 8 p.m.

Jan. 8 No-We-Ta Cherokee Community 1003 Lenape Drive, Nowata 6:30 p.m.

Call Carol Sonenberg at 918-273-5536

Jan. 17 Tri-County (W.E.B.) Association J.R.’s Country Auction 6 p.m.

Orchard Road Community Outreach (Stilwell) Turning Point Office 6 p.m.

Jan. 21 Neighborhood Association of Chewey Chewey Community Building 7 p.m.

Jan. 22 Dry Creek 7 p.m.

Call Shawna Ballou at 918-457-5023 Jan. 28 Christie 7 p.m.

Call Shelia Rector at 918-778-3423 TUESDAYS Veterans Affairs representatives Cherokee Nation Veterans Center Tahlequah, Okla. 918-772-4166 or 918453-5695 The Veterans Center will host VA reps for all veterans to speak to from 9 a.m. to 3 pm.

Victory Cherokee Organization 1025 N. 12th St. Collinsville 7 p.m.

Call Ed Phillips at 918-371-6688 victorycherokee@att.net

MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS AND THURSDAYS Marble City Nutrition Center 711 N. Main Marble City, Okla. 918-775-2158 The Marble City Nutrition Center serves meals at the Marble City Community Center at 11:30 a.m. Meals are free to anyone over 50, but a small donation is suggested to help with expenses.

Jan. 10 Stilwell Public Library Friends Society 5 N. 6th St., Stilwell 5 p.m.

Call Grace Ferris at 918-315-4279

FIRST FRIDAY Concho Community Building Concho, Okla. 405-422-7622 The Indian Art Market invites all Indian artist to sell/share their work.

Native American Fellowship Inc. 215 Oklahoma St., South Coffeyville 6 p.m.

Call Bill Davis at 620-252-8883

YEAR ROUND Will Rogers Memorial Museum Claremore, Okla. 918-341-0719 The museum honors the Cherokee cowboy, movie start, writer and humorist from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Monday and Tuesday from Nov. 11 through February.

Adair County Resource Center 110 S. 2nd St., Stilwell 6:30 p.m.

Okay Senior Citizens, Inc. Okay Senior Building, 3701 E. 75th Street 7 p.m.

Lyons Switch 7 p.m.

Call Karen Fourkiller at 918-696-2354 Jan. 13 Rogers County Cherokee Association 15488 East 523 Road, Claremore Contact: rogerscountygwys@gmail.com Call 539-777-2898 Jan. 14 Rocky Mountain Cherokee Community Organization 6 p.m.

Call Vicki McLemore at 918-696-4965 Brent Community Association 461914 Hwy. 141, Gans 6 p.m.

Call 918-774-0655 brentcomm@live.com Fairfield Community Organization, Inc. 6:30 p.m.

Call Jeff Simpson at 918-605-0839 Marble City Pantry 7 p.m.

Call Clifton Pettit at 918-775-5975 Oak Hill/Piney 7 p.m.

Call Dude Feather at 918-235-2811

FOURTH THURSDAY American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma – Eastern Chapter monthly luncheon at Bacone College Muskogee, Okla. 918-230-3759 The lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. at Benjamin Wacoche Hall. Please RSVP one week ahead of time.

SECOND TUESDAY Cherokee Artists Association at 202 E. 5th Street Tahlequah, Okla. 918-458-0008 www.cherokeeartistsassociation.org The CAA meets at 6 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month.

FRIDAYS Dance at Tahlequah Senior Citizens Center 230 E. 1st St. in Tahlequah, Okla.

For seniors 50 and over, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Admission is $2.50, includes pot luck dinner TUESDAYS Dance at Hat Box Dance Hall 540 S. 4th St. in Muskogee, Okla.

For seniors 50 and over, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Admission is $2.50, includes pot luck dinner To have an event or meeting listed, fax information to 918-458-6136 attention: Community Calendar. The deadline for submissions is the 10th of each month.

JANUARY 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

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CHEROKEE PHOENIX • JANUARY 2, 2019

$3.9M project to address obesity in rural eastern Oklahoma STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) – Oklahoma State University has a $3.9 million plan to address obesity in two rural counties, one of which includes the town with the lowest life expectancy in the U.S. The Curbing Obesity program will use a five-year federal grant to offer cooking classes and distribute healthy food options in Muskogee and Adair counties in eastern Oklahoma, The Tulsa World reported.

More than 40 percent of residents in those counties are obese. Stilwell in Adair County has the lowest life expectancy in the country, with residents living an average of just 56.3 years.

The university’s Center for Health Systems Innovation will run the program in partnership with local organizations. Primarycare physicians will be asked to identify patients at risk of obesityrelated health problems and refer them to the program. Officials hope to apply the information gathered from the pilot program to other rural areas in Oklahoma, said William Paiva, CHSI’s executive director.

“It will take decades or generations to see a change in life expectancy,” he said. “But it starts with curbing obesity.”

The Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma will participate by offering classes that it says will show people how to make delicious, low-cost, healthy meals.

“Ironically, poverty and obesity can go together,” said David Parrack, director of finance and accounting at the food bank.

“The most affordable meals are not necessarily the healthiest.”

Many families don’t have a history of having home-cooked meals and changing eating habits may take generations, he said.

“If you can reach one family, you can make a difference in the quality of life of that family,” Parrack said. “And it doesn’t take many families...to begin making a difference for the community.”

CDC: More Oklahoma parents seeking child vaccine exemptions TULSA (AP) – More Oklahoma parents are seeking vaccination exemptions for their children, an increase that mirrors a national trend, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A CDC survey found that Oklahoma’s exemption rate increased by 0.3 percent between the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years, The Tulsa World reported.

The state has three exemption categories: medical, religious or personal, according to the Oklahoma Health Department.

The CDC said 2.1 percent of Oklahoma public school students and 5.6 percent of private school students claimed at least one kind of exemption, creating a combined estimated exemption rate of 2.2 percent across the state.

Dewey, Woodward, Coal and Wagoner had the highest exemption percentages ranging from 4.7 percent to 3.5 percent.

Tillman County reported a 100 percent immunization rate, while 18 other counties reported no immunization exemptions.

Parental vaccine hesitancy and the ease of obtaining an exemption may be factors contributing to the increase, researchers said.

Lori Linstead, the director of immunization service for the state’s Health Department, said research shows that vaccines have benefits.

“Of course we want adolescents to be vaccinated because research tells us that it protects people against vaccine-preventable diseases,” Linstead said.

The study also found that Oklahoma’s 92.6 percent vaccination rate for measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations lags behind the national average of 94.3 percent.

“While our immunization efforts statewide are commendable, it is obvious that we still have work to do to reach the nationwide target of 95 percent coverage for (measles, mumps and rubella),” Dr. Kristy Bradley, the state’s epidemiologist, said in a news release. “Unless we can assure that children entering school are protected through immunization, we are continuing to be at the risk of outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases.”

HEALtH • ᎠᏰᎸ ᏄᏍᏛ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

Health Services director steps down for Chickasaw job

Dr. Charles Grim steps down to lead the Chickasaw Nation’s health program.

BY STAFF REPORTS TAHLEQUAH — Lauded for his esteemed career when named the Cherokee Nation’s health care boss this spring, Dr. Charles Grim is stepping down for what he calls a new opportunity.

Charles Grim “Leaving the Cherokee Nation has been the most difficult decision of my career,” Grim said in a Dec. 13 resignation statement. “However, I was presented an opportunity that I just simply could not refuse.”

According to the Chickasaw Nation, Grim has been appointed its new secretary of health.

“While I am appreciative to the Cherokee Nation for the wonderful past opportunity,”

Grim stated in a Chickasaw news release, “I am excited about continuing my health care career with the Chickasaw Nation.”

Grim was promoted to executive director of the Cherokee Nation’s Health Services in April. Deputy director since 2013, he replaced Connie Davis, who at the time, said she resigned to spend more time with family.

In Grim’s stead, Dr. R. Stephen Jones has been named Health Services’ acting deputy director.

“Dr. Jones has done an outstanding job transforming our dental program,” Grim said, “and I have complete confidence in his ability to lead Cherokee Nation Health Services.”

The Cherokee Nation plans to conduct a nationwide search for Grim’s replacement.

In the meantime, Health Services is “in great hands with Dr. Jones at the helm,” Principal Chief Bill John Baker said in a news release.

According to the Cherokee Nation, Jones began practicing dentistry in 1992 and was instrumental in opening the first dental clinics at Redbird Smith Health Center in Sallisaw and Wilma P. Mankiller Health Center in Stilwell. A Cherokee Nation

citizen and Stilwell native, Jones also ran a successful private practice for several years before returning to the Cherokee Nation as senior dental director of Health Services in 2012, according to the Cherokee Nation.

Also a Cherokee Nation citizen, Grim is a retired assistant Surgeon General and rear admiral in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Services. During his career, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Area Indian Health Service, Health Leader of the Year from Commissioned Officers Association of U.S. Public Health Service, Community Leadership Award from the Cherokee Nation, as well as multiple U.S. Public Health Service medals and citations, including the U.S. Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Medallion.

Under Grim’s leadership, the nation’s health system “has undergone a remarkable transformation,” Baker added.

“We built four new health centers, established a first-of-its-kind medical school partnership with Oklahoma State University and will soon open the largest outpatient health facility in all of Indian Country under a joint venture with the Indian Health Service.”

Oklahoma sees high prices for medical pot amid scarce supply

Many licensed medical marijuana businesses in the state didn’t sell buds before December, when widespread harvests are expected to be complete.

TULSA (AP) – A limited supply of medical marijuana flower in Oklahoma means some patients are paying premium prices and businesses are running out of products.

Healthy Buds Dispensary in Tulsa sells out of marijuana buds faster than owner Michael Monroe can restock from his Oklahoma City grower, The Tulsa World reported.

Monroe said he’s seen customers from as far away as Miami, Oklahoma, about 90 miles northeast of Tulsa, since he began publicizing that he would be selling buds.

“Honestly, it’s the older customers coming in,” said Monroe, who had to close his shop for a few hours this week after running out of supplies. “I would say 80 percent of them are older than 50.”

Oklahoma voters in June approved use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The law allows licensed medical marijuana patients to possess up to 8 ounces of marijuana, six mature plants and six seedlings, along with edibles and concentrated forms of the drug. The state began accepting applications for licenses from patients, growers, dispensaries and caregivers in August. But many licensed medical marijuana businesses in the state didn’t sell buds before December, when widespread harvests are expected to be complete.

Monroe said that the few growers ready for production have begun raising prices.

COURTESY A limited supply of medical marijuana flower in Oklahoma means some patients are paying premium prices and businesses are running out of products.

“At first (my grower) was really cool about it all, but it’s been price gouging ever since,” he said. “When he raised the price (to $4,000) the last time, I barely had enough to pay for the pound I have now.”

Danna Malone, an owner of Ye Olde Apothecary Shoppe in Tulsa, said she turned down an offer to buy a pound of marijuana from a grower because she wasn’t certain of its quality or legality. Her store is selling seeds and clones, which are copies made from cuttings of parent plants.

“We’re just erring on the side of caution,” Malone said. “We’ve got way too much invested in this. If we had medical marijuana, we would be selling it. But we don’t want to sell anything that’s not tested.”

Vinita firefighters successfully use CN-provided Naloxone in opioid overdose The Narcan kit distributed by the Cherokee Nation is credited for helping save an unresponsive patient.

VINITA – Less than three months after the U.S. Surgeon General released a public health advisory urging more Americans to carry a lifesaving medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, Vinita firefighters used that medication, naloxone, to save a life.

In June, Vinita firefighters responded to a call about a female who had chewed a fentanyl patch. Vinita Fire Chief Kevin Wofford said when they arrived at the scene, firefighters found the patient unresponsive.

After obtaining baseline vitals, they administered one dose of Narcan nasal spray, which is a brand name for naloxone.

Within minutes, Wofford said, the ambulance arrived and the EMTs helped the patient into the ambulance where her symptoms abated.

“In about three minutes after they had administered the Narcan, she was becoming more responsive and they got a reversal,” Wofford said.

Wofford said the Narcan nasal spray for helping save this patient and describes the medication as being “a big help” to area first responders as they deal with the growing crisis of opioid overdose deaths.

The Narcan nasal spray used in the June rescue was supplied to the Vinita Fire Department during a naloxone training hosted by in part by Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health Prevention Programs earlier this year.

On Feb. 27, 100 representatives from Craig County area law enforcement agencies, fire departments and emergency medical services, as well as school administrators, teachers and coaches received naloxone training and were given free naloxone kits to use in emergency overdose situations.

The training and naloxone kits were supplied by Behavioral Health, which received a $1 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as part of the First Responder Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. “The first part of the grant is to get all ‘traditional’ first responders — police, fire departments, EMS — trained and supplied throughout the 14 counties of Cherokee Nation,” Sam Bradshaw, Behavioral Health Prevention Programs manager, said. “Once we’ve done that, then we’ll come back around and offer the training and naloxone kits to

‘nontraditional’ first responders — doctor’s offices, nurses and other people in the community.”

Due to grant requirements, first responders can only receive the naloxone kits from CN if they undergo training. To date, naloxone trainings have been held in 12 CN counties and will soon be presented in the last two. Bradshaw said he hopes to be able to offer the ‘nontraditional’ first responder training toward the end of the year.

Anyone interested in attending a naloxone training and obtaining kits should call 918276-2192.

“We will resupply naloxone kits that have been used,” Bradshaw said. “To get the replacement kits, first responders must fill

out a form, which allows us to collect the data we need for the grant. They can fill out the form they were given with the naloxone kits or contact Grand Nation, which has the forms and will help them get the form filled out correctly so we can get more kits to the first responders who need them.”

Naloxone kits that aren’t used may also need to be resupplied, Bradshaw said.

“This is a four-year grant and, hopefully, not all of the kits will be needed,” said Bradshaw. “But even those who don’t ever use it need to be aware that these kits will expire. So we’ll resupply if they’ve expired.”

While the naloxone training focuses on dealing with the consequences of opioid addiction, Behavioral Health Prevention Programs is also working to reduce prescription drug-related harm and increase awareness of the opioid epidemic. To learn more, visit the ThinkSMART Oklahoma Facebook page or www.ThinkSMARTok.org.

EDUCAtION • ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ

JANUARY 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

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Cherokee Language Master/Apprentice Program graduates 4 pupils

They are now considered highly proficient Cherokee speakers and can teach the language.

BY WILL CHAVEZ Assistant Editor

TAHLEQUAH – The Cherokee Nation’s Cherokee Language Master/Apprentice Program held its third graduation of Cherokee speakers, which should help keep the language vital, on Dec. 12 at the Tahlequah Municipal Armory.

Ricky Duvall, 48, of Lyons Switch; Robert Glass, 44, of Chalk Bluff; Mikah Glass, 28, of Greasy; and Stan Ross, 42, of Leach, partook in the ceremony that honored them and the CLMAP as it continues to produce Cherokee speakers who can teach the language.

“We created this program to build proficient teachers. Our goal is they learn language immersion techniques, they increase their language proficiency, so when they graduate our program after two years they have the knowledge, skill and language ability to teach in any environment,” CLMAP Curriculum Supervisor Ryan Mackey said.

Mikah Glass said a wish to speak Cherokee with his Cherokee-speaking father drove him to apply. He said one day when he was leaving his house he woke up his napping father. He said his father asked him in Cherokee where he was going, but quickly switched to English.

“I knew what he said in Cherokee…but it really shook me how my own father has to think about how he wants to talk to me. He can’t just talk to me how he wants to. He has to think before he talks to me, and that really hit me hard,” he said. “I need to learn. It’s not just that I want to. I need to because my father’s language, when he dies, was going to die with him. And now I’m here to carry that torch so our language doesn’t die.”

He said the application and acceptance process is stringent. After applying, CLMAP staff reviewed his application and then sent it to a separate group to be vetted. After candidates are chosen, staff members interview them twice.

“It’s a really scrutinized process. They really try to find out who will work good, and it’s not just some work program. I mean we’re trying to save our language,” Mikah Glass said.

He and the other three graduates showed off their Cherokee-speaking skills at the graduation. Each graduate went to the podium and spoke for 5 to 10 minutes in Cherokee about their families or why the being in the program was important.

Ricky Duvall said his first language was Cherokee, but when he started school he “lost it.” Also, he said his mother Lizzie Duvall, whose first language is Cherokee, is getting older and is speaking more Cherokee than English, and he wants to communicate with her better.

“So, that’s what this program meant to me, so that I can learn and regain a partial of what I’ve lost, and communicate a lot better in Cherokee,” he said.

He said the program’s most challenging parts were getting his brain and tongue to work together to speak the language and speaking only Cherokee a majority of the day.

PHOTOS BY WILL CHAVEZ/CHEROKEE PHOENIX ABOVE: From left are Mikah Glass, 28, of Greasy; Ricky Duvall, 48, of Lyons Switch; Stan Ross, 42, of Leach; and Robert Glass, 44, of Chalk Bluff. The four graduated from the Cherokee Language Master/Apprentice Program on Dec. 12 in Tahlequah. This is the third graduating class of Cherokee speakers and teachers. BELOW LEFT: Ricky Duvall, 48, of Lyons Switch, receives a framed certificate from Principal Chief Bill John Baker during a Dec. 12 Cherokee Language Master/Apprentice Program graduation ceremony at the Tahlequah Municipal Armory. Standing with Duvall are his wife Kay Duvall and mother Lizzie Duvall. BELOW RIGHT: Cherokee Language Master/ Apprentice Program Manager Howard Paden places a copper gorget on CMLAP graduate Robert Glass, 44, of Chalk Bluff, during a graduation ceremony on Dec. 12 in Tahlequah. CMLAP graduates are able to speak and teach the language.

“I could understand it (Cherokee), but I couldn’t get my speech to cooperate.

Working with the speakers, and them working really slow with us, they got me going good,” he said.

He said he wants to continue to learn the language so that he can teach his children and grandchildren.

Mackey said the CLMAP addresses challenges in the existing CN language programs. The Cherokee Immersion Charter School focuses on children.

Community language classes focus on enrichment. And the Northeastern State University program produces people with teaching certificates with a lot of background in language knowledge.

SCAN CODE TO SEE VIDEO ROGER GRAHAM

“But the NSU program doesn’t afford them the time they need to get up to the highest level of proficiency, so we had hoped to create a program to enable those graduates of the NSU program or even people who want to teach in the communities without a certification, to increase their proficiency and gain some skills in an immersion setting, which requires a different skill set than regular enrichment classes,” Mackey said.

Another important CLMAP component, he said, is bringing in students who have graduated from the immersion school and now attend Sequoyah High School.

Those students visit the CLMAP office in Tahlequah, which allows them to speak to CLMAP instructors and students and increases their proficiency. Those students were also recognized during the Dec. 12 ceremony.

Principal Chief Bill John Baker, who spoke at the graduation, said the language was once under assault from the federal government, and Cherokee people were told that bilingual children had a difficult time in school. Since then it has been determined bilingual students usually do better in school than monolingual students.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this program.

We’ve tried for the last 25 years to find a way to save our language. The immersion school is helping, but folks I’m telling you right now, you’ll lose it if you don’t use it,” he said. “This (language) is part of who we are.”

In four years, the CLMAP has graduated 10 Cherokee men and women who did not previously speak Cherokee but are now trained to speak and teach it.

For more information, call 918-506-8920.

CN launches Cherokee 101 program for educators

“With my children in Chelsea Public Schools, this Cherokee 101 program will give my children an advantage I did not have.”

Falon Wilson, Chelsea High School counselor

BY STAFF REPORTS

CHELSEA – According to a Cherokee Nation press release, the CN launched its Cherokee 101 pilot program on Nov. 29, which is designed to give educators a crash course in Cherokee history and language in order to implement more Cherokee lessons in classrooms.

The program, suggested by Tribal Councilor Keith Austin and designed by the tribe’s Education Services, consists of six lessons for educators to review, with a quiz at the end of each section. Once all sections are complete, educators will receive a certificate of completion; $500 stipend for classroom cultural activities; a copy of the tribe’s new history book, “Cherokee Nation: A History of Survival, Self Determination, and Identity;” and a copy of the Cherokee language book used by the Cherokee Language Program in community classes.

“This program is a new, exciting opportunity for both the Cherokee Nation and educators at schools in the 14 counties,” Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “The Cherokee Nation has a right and duty to share its history accurately in the classrooms of our schools, and this new online tool will give our educators the resources and knowledge to reach students like never before. I commend the work of Councilor Austin and our staff on this project and am excited to see where it grows from here.”

The program will begin with three staff members from Chelsea Public Schools taking the online courses. Falon Wilson, counselor at Chelsea High School, said the chance to participate in the program is a fantastic opportunity for her as

COURTESY Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilor Keith Austin and Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. look on as Cherokee Language Program Manager Roy Boney demonstrates Cherokee 101 to pilot program participants and Chelsea Public School faculty members Falon Wilson, Pam Phillips and Travis Battles. well as her children and other Chelsea students.

“This program is an overwhelming joy to have in our district. As a Cherokee citizen, I did not learn much about my heritage until I was an adult. With my children in Chelsea Public Schools, this Cherokee 101 program will give my children an advantage I did not have,” Wilson said. “They will learn at an early age the importance of their Cherokee heritage and to have pride in it. I want

my children to know what it means to be a Cherokee citizen.”

Pam Phillips, sponsor for the Chelsea High School Native American Student Association, said Chelsea High School’s participation in the program would give the teachers the resources needed to provide culturally relevant programs to students using accurate information.

“We are very honored to be included in the Cherokee 101 pilot program.

Our JOM and NASA programs are

continually looking at ways to bring in culturally relevant programs into our classrooms. Education for our teachers is fundamental in making sure the information is accurate and correct.

This program is giving our teachers the opportunity to learn in an easy and informative manner,” Phillips said.

The tribe will use feedback from the three participants to refine the program before rolling it out to the other CN Johnson-O’Malley schools in the tribe’s jurisdiction.

Austin said the program is special and a fulfillment of the oath of office.

“As elected officials, we not only take an oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitutions of the tribe and United States, but also to promote the culture, heritage and traditions of the Cherokee Nation. This program is a fulfillment of that oath to its fullest degree,” Austin said. “I am so proud of this program and believe it has the ability to grow and change how Cherokee history and culture are taught in the classrooms of our schools by providing a secondto-none resource on Cherokee history and culture to educators, as well as the opportunity for students of all ages to know our story from our perspective.”

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CHEROKEE PHOENIX • JANUARY 2, 2019

SERVICES • ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

CN awards more than $274K to community organizations

BY STAFF REPORTS TAHLEQUAH – The Cherokee Nation’s Community & Cultural Outreach awarded more than $274,000 in grant funding to Cherokee community organizations throughout the tribe’s jurisdiction, according to a CN press release.

The release states that community work grants provide funding to community organizations that are planning projects that benefit their communities. This year, six Cherokee community organizations received grants.

“When we invest in Cherokee community organizations, they take that investment and build stronger communities,” Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “Whether the funds are used for new construction or a

project that helps to remodel existing community buildings, these grants will have a lasting impact on thousands of Cherokees who will see improved service from their Cherokee community organizations.”

To be eligible for community work grants, organizations must be majority operated by CN citizens who make up 51 percent or more of the organization’s board members. The organization must also meet other eligibility requirements, including working with CCO for at least two years and previously receiving the tribe’s Community Organization Training and Technical Assistance grant.

“The Cherokee Nation is blessed to have so many groups that are willing to step up and help Cherokees stay connected by creating places where they can fellowship as a community,

experience their culture and heritage in a group setting, and get information on the services they might need,” Tribal Councilor Rex Jordan said. “I’m proud that the Cherokee Nation works so hard to provide these grant dollars to Cherokee community organizations.”

The Mid County Community Organization in Adair County is one of the six organizations awarded a community work grant this year. With the additional funding, the organization will invest in its new community building by adding heat and air, plumbing and other interior fixtures.

“For our rural area, receiving other grants is nearly impossible, but through the grants at Cherokee Nation, we are able to do so much good,” said Mid County Community Organization Secretary-Treasurer Dianna Yell.

“Receiving these funds means so much to

our organization and our community.”

As the budget allows, CCO would accept community work grant applications from eligible organizations through the remainder of the current fiscal year, the release states.

Cherokee community organizations that meet all eligibility requirements can also begin submitting applications for 2019-20 community work grants on Oct. 1.

For more information, email bradleywagnon@cherokee.org.

Other Cherokee community organizations that have received a grant for FY 2019 are Washington County Cherokee Association, Victory Cherokee Organization in Collinsville, Evening Shade Community Organization in Sequoyah County, Native American Fellowship Inc. of South Coffeyville and Spavinaw Youth and Neighborhood Center.

CN provides boost to communities via special project funds The administrative and legislative branches select the donations made through the fund, which allows the tribe to partner with communities and organizations.

BY STAFF REPORTS

PHOENIX ARCHIVE The Native American Support Center is located on the second floor of Northeastern State University’s John Vaughan Library and offers Native students several free services, including mentoring, tutoring and academic advisement.

NASC continues to support Native students

The Native American Support Center at NSU offers Native students free services such as mentoring, tutoring and academic advisement.

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Native American students who are struggling or wanting to get ahead of the curve at Northeastern State University need to look no further than the second floor of the John Vaughan Library on campus.

The Native American Support Center calls the library home and seeks to provide Native students the support needed to complete a higher education degree.

“I just want to get the word out because these services are free, and not every student here has this opportunity like what we’re providing here to Native students,” Jade Hansen, NASC advisement and career specialist, said.

“It’s right in their backyard if they would just reach out to us, and we’re more than happy to help out.”

The program is under the Center for Tribal Studies and replaces a program that was culturally based, NASC Director Shelly Dreadfulwater said.

“This time around the main focus of our grant is improving our retention and graduation rates,” Dreadfulwater said. “We have that seventh generation point that we’re looking toward.

Helping these students, we’re not only helping them, but we’re helping their children, their grandchildren, be more successful in the future.”

The program is in its third year of a federally funded five-year Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions grant. The grant is given to schools with high Native student populations but not Bureau of Indian Affairs-affiliated.

Several free services are offered to Native students regardless of tribal affiliation.

“We offer tutoring. We have regular academic advisement. We have a mentoring program,” Hansen said. “I just think of what kind of program this is and how I wished I would have had it as a Native student, even if I felt like I was succeeding.”

The NASC’s mentoring services have also expanded to cater to not only freshmen but also sophomores and transfer students.

“We have hired five peer mentors that are also Native American and that are upperclassmen,” Hansen said. She said each mentor has around 10 students they advise and contact weekly. “They bring a lot of tools

in to get the students that they’re tutoring involved in things on campus and be more involved in our Native organizations.”

Once a month, mentors and mentees meet with Hansen to participate in workshops on topics such as financial aid and career exploration. The NASC also participates in NSU’s Academic Early Alert System to help students receive tutoring services in areas such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics, English, history and Cherokee language.

“When students may be having an issue in one of their courses, an alert is created,” Dreadfulwater said. “We receive that alert, and we reach out to those students to get them into our area to let them know of the services that we offer so we can try to get tutoring or whatever it is they need.”

The program will track the retention and graduation rates of students who use their services with the hope of increasing graduates. Officials also said it has taken on new initiatives for its third year, including a civic engagement component, student speaker series, financial literacy conference and an enhanced career component.

“We are also starting a Native Student Ambassador program at NSU, with such a high Native student population at NSU, it’s important that our incoming students have leaders on campus to help guide and offer assistance throughout their educational journey,” Dreadfulwater said.

The NASC also promotes cultural events and helps students contact tribes for assistance if needed, and works with NSU’s language programs to teach students the Cherokee and Creek languages.

Program administrators also visit the NSU Broken Arrow and Muskogee campuses each week and by appointment, respectively.

“We are and we want to be an information hub for the students,” Dreadfulwater said. “If a student is having an issue, we want them to come to us. We will help them make those connections to other areas so they can get the answers they need. That could be on campus or even off campus.”

For information, visit www.offices. nsuok.edu/centerfortribalstudies/ NativeAmericanSupportCenter.aspx.

TAHLEQUAH – The Cherokee Nation provided boosts to local governments, schools, community organizations, churches and more with the more than $568,000 in total donations from the tribe’s special projects budget in fiscal year 2018.

The administrative and legislative branches select the donations made through the fund, which allows the tribe to partner with communities and organizations on projects that benefit CN citizens and non-Cherokees.

“The Cherokee Nation takes great pride in being a good community partner and recognizes the importance of providing support to the schools, nonprofits, churches and other organizations that make such a positive impact within our local communities,” Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “We know that when we give to these organizations that our Cherokee Nation dollars will go further and be more impactful for our citizens and our communities.”

In FY 2018, the tribe budgeted $40,000 for each Tribal Councilor, representing the 15 districts inside the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction.

Tribal Councilor Bryan Warner gave $13,000 of his $40,000 to rural volunteer fire departments in his district, which encompasses the eastern half of Sequoyah County. The donations helped the departments buy supplies and equipment.

“Rural volunteer fire departments are often the first people on the scene when disaster strikes and help is needed,” Warner said. “They can be the difference between life and death or preventing loss of home and possessions, and I believe it is our duty to support these brave men and women who risk their safety for the sake of others.”

In Dist. 14, Tribal Councilor Keith Austin used $17,035 of his allocated funds to help the town of Talala purchase a storm siren. The siren replaces a more than 30-year-old siren in the Rogers County town.

“I’m so proud that as a Tribal Councilor I can dedicate resources to projects that can save lives for years to come,” Austin said. “Weather in Oklahoma can often be unpredictable and spontaneous during the tornado season. Having a new siren that can alert people more effectively will allow families to get to safe areas quicker during those precious minutes before a storm can hit.”

Talala Mayor Lester Orwig said the tribe’s willingness to be a good partner in the local communities is not only great for his town but all of northeast Oklahoma.

“A new siren has been a need for a long time, and we are very grateful that the Cherokee Nation continues to provide valuable assistance to our community and others across northeast Oklahoma.”

Talala Mayor Lester Orwig

“This project is of extreme importance to the town and even the immediate surrounding area. A new siren has been a need for a long time, and we are very grateful that the Cherokee Nation continues to provide valuable assistance to our community and others across northeast Oklahoma,” Orwig said.

Total amounts distributed in FY 2018 from each Tribal Councilor’s allocated $40,000 budget and highlighted projects in the Tribal Councilors’ respective districts are: • Dist. 1 Tribal Councilor Rex Jordan – $40,000 – Includes donations to the town of Okay for general support and to the Friends of Hulbert Library’s community improvement project, • Dist. 2 Tribal Council Speaker Joe Byrd – $40,000 – Includes donations to the U.S. Marshals Museum for organizational support and to Sequoyah High School athletics, • Dist. 3 Tribal Councilor David Walkingstick – $8,083.33 – Includes donations to the Dry Creek Community Organization for organization support and to the city of Tahlequah for the annual Christmas party, • Dist. 4 Tribal Councilor Dr. Mike Dobbins – $40,000 – Includes donations to Muskogee Public Schools for general support and to Project A Association for organizational support, • Dist. 5 Tribal Councilor E.O. Smith – $40,000 – Includes donations to the Marble City Community Food Pantry for organizational support and local volunteer fire departments for general operations, • Dist. 6 Tribal Councilor Bryan Warner – $40,000 – Includes donations to local schools and nonprofits for organizational support, • Dist. 7 Tribal Council Secretary Frankie Hargis – $40,000 – Includes donations to Peavine Public School to help with the roof replacement and to Stilwell Public Library for new shelving, • Dist. 8 Tribal Councilor Shawn Crittenden – $40,000 – Includes donations to the Mid County Fire Department for equipment and general support as well as to Oak Ridge Church for roof repairs, • Dist. 9 Tribal Councilor Mike Shambaugh – $40,000 – Includes donations to the Colcord Riding Club and to Jay Public Schools for facility improvements, • Dist. 10 Tribal Councilor Harley Buzzard – $40,000 – Includes donations to the Spavinaw Youth Center for a new heat and air unit as well as to Pine Ridge Church for building improvements, • Dist. 11 Tribal Council Deputy Speaker Victoria Vazquez– $40,000 – Includes donations to Big Cabin Fire Department for a new truck and to the town of Lenapah for a new water treatment plant, • Dist. 12 Tribal Councilor Dick Lay – $40,000 – Includes a donation to the Washington County Cherokee Organization new building fund, • Dist. 13 Tribal Councilor Buel Anglen – $40,000 – Includes donations to the American Legion Post 131 for a new stove and to the Skiatook VFW for organizational support, • Dist. 14 Tribal Councilor Keith Austin – $40,000 – Includes donations to the Rogers County Elder Day Care for organizational support and to the Claremore Museum of History, and • Dist. 15 Tribal Councilor Janees Taylor – $40,000 – Includes donations to Emmanuel Baptist Church for facility improvements and to Verdigris Public Schools for facility improvements.

CHEROKEEPHOENIX.ORG

mONEY • ᎠᏕᎳ

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ

JANUARY 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

9

CHEROKEE EATS: URBAN STATION

The goal of Urban Station is to help preserve the town’s history and build its economy.

BY LINDSEY BARK Reporter Owners/Operators: Neal and Lori Boatright Established: March 2017 Location: 101 North Lee St. in Fort Gibson Hours: From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday (buffet only) Food Type: American fare that includes pizza, sandwiches, soup and salad

Specialties: Daily lunch buffet, Redneck pizza, Gator pizza and Chick Magnet pizza Price: $4.95 to $19.95 per meal Atmosphere: 86-seat main dining area, 72seat event room Contact info: 918-203-5077, Urban Station on Facebook

Why they started the business: After owning a few businesses and having close ties to Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation citizen Neal Boatright wanted to help revive the town’s economy.

“We came in with the intentions of trying to give back to Fort Gibson, trying to start an economy and save these buildings because I cared about (them). I cared about this town because of our family connections. I opened it up with the intentions of expanding other businesses, and I knew nothing brought in foot traffic like a restaurant.

This building is so unique that the opportunity of having a restaurant upstairs overlooking downtown and having a gift shop downstairs, I knew it was something that people would come a long ways to see,” he said. “If we were doing it for the money, we would have opened up in Muskogee or Tahlequah or somewhere where there is a larger base.

But we did it here because of our passion for preserving this town and trying to actually bring this town back to life.”

Preserving history: Urban Station is set inside a 112-yearold, two-story building that once belonged to Neal’s grandfather in the 1930s. When Neal had the idea to open Urban Station, he wanted to preserve the history of the building by utilizing some of its original material as well as secondhand materials found in the surrounding area.

“I didn’t want to do restoration because when you’re doing restoration you’re putting new materials back into it and it might look the same as it did originally, but doesn’t show its present state. So I wanted to preserve the building in its present glory to show what it looks like as a 112-year-old building,” he said.

He said when he first started on the building’s interior, he power-washed the walls for two weeks and got down to the original stenciling that can be seen on the first floor.

“I’d work all day and then come home at night surf the Internet on Facebook Marketplace and on Craigslist looking for historic items, especially that might have pertained to this area. They’re hard to find. I’ve actually had a lot of people in the community that want to preserve history so they’ve saved items that might have had a connection to their family or this town, so they brought them to me, and I preserve them here. People can see them,” Neal said.

LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Cherokee Nation citizen Neal Boatright, left, and his wife Lori are the owners and operators of Urban Station in Fort Gibson. The restaurant, which serves American-fare foods, has been open since March 2017.

COURTESY PHOTOS ABOVE LEFT: The Redneck pizza is a specialty pizza that contains a barbecue-based sauce topped with little smokies, bologna, bacon and mozzarella. ABOVE RIGHT: The Gator pizza is a specialty pizza made with smoked alligator meat, Cajun seasonings and a Cajun corn and bean medley on top of Boudreaux’s Swamp sauce.

LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX ABOVE: A salad and soup bar is included in the daily lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Urban Station in Fort Gibson. BELOW: Urban Station is a two-story business where the restaurant sits on the second floor overlooking downtown Fort Gibson.

COURTESY The daily lunch buffet includes an array of pizza choices and is available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Urban Station in Fort Gibson.

Urban Station specialties: The Redneck pizza is a barbecue-based pizza topped with little smokies, bologna, bacon and mozzarella. Created by Neal, he said he selected the ingredients to put an “Okie spin” on pizza and it contains “everything a redneck likes.”

The Gator pizza, only available in size large, contains smoked alligator meat, Cajun seasonings, and a Cajun corn and bean medley on top of Boudreaux’s Swamp sauce.

A daily lunch buffet is available where patrons can enjoy pizza, soup (tortilla, baked potato and tomato bisque) and a salad bar.

“Pizza’s a science. You go and change the sauce, the rest of the pizza’s going to taste different. You get a cheaper mozzarella cheese, it’s going to make it taste different. It’s the ingredients. You put high quality ingredients, and it’s going to make it taste good. But if you want to be different, if you want to stand out, you do your own thing,” Neal said.

More than a restaurant: Not only is Urban Station a restaurant on a second floor that overlooks downtown Fort Gibson, patrons can also enjoy browsing the gift shop, toy store, candy area, or grab dessert such as ice cream or shakes on the first floor.

“We try to do the best we can, and when people come in here they’re going to have the best all-around experience with the atmosphere of the building, with the quality of the food. And we train our staff to make a personal connection with everyone that walks in that door,” Neal said.

The name Urban Station also reflects the sub-businesses within it.

“It took us about two or three months to come up with that name. I think I give my wife credit for that. Once we came up with it, we knew it was a perfect name to encompass the whole thing,” he said Urban Station includes a 72-seat event room that can be reserved to host an array of events from birthdays and baby showers to reunions and weddings.

Future plans: Amid the hustle and bustle of running a business, Neal said he hopes to soon apply to become a CN Tribal Employment Rights Office-certified business. He and his wife also plan to serve craft beers in the near future.

“At this point we’re just doing our best to market this and to grow this and to bring the foot traffic to downtown,” Neal said.

LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX A gift shop resides on the first floor of Urban Station in Fort Gibson. Customers can see how the Boatrights are preserving history with the original stenciling on display above the shelves and various historic items lining the walls.

10

CHEROKEE PHOENIX • JANUARY 2, 2019

PEOPLE • ᏴᏫ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

Longtime CHC archivist Mooney dies

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH – Longtime Cherokee Heritage Center archivist Tom Mooney has died at the age of 70 and is being praised by friends for his nearly 40 years of dedicated service to the CHC. He was born in Tulsa on Oct. 12, 1948, and died in Tahlequah on Dec. 1.

A memorial service was held on Dec. 7 at the Reed-Culver Funeral Home in Tahlequah.

“Tom Mooney and I met in 1974 when we were both in the Trail of Tears Drama. I worked with him from 2000 until 2014 when we retired as archivist from the Heritage Center. He was truly a man dedicated to civil cause and awareness,” said CHC Education Director Tonia Weavel. “He never had a bad word to say about anyone and always kept positive. He was a wealth of knowledge not just to the Cherokee National Archives, but common knowledge. His health failed him but his brain and mind never wavered. He was a servant to the Cherokee people and enjoyed what he did. His wealth was never money or riches. It was in his friendships and loyalties to those friends.

I already miss him greatly.”

The Cherokee Nation also released a statement about Mooney.

“We are deeply saddened to share with you the passing of our friend, colleague and longtime archivist, Tom Mooney.

Although not Cherokee, Tom dedicated almost four decades of his life to the Cherokee Heritage Center and the vast collection of more than 400,000 historical documents and items that he cared for during his tenure,” the statement reads.

In 1987, Mooney authored “Exploring

WILL CHAVEZ/CHEROKEE PHOENIX In this 2011 photo, Cherokee National Historical Society archivist Tom Mooney displays a copy of the Boston Chronicle from 1768, which is part of the CNHS archives. The newspaper mentions a meeting between a Cherokee and English delegations. Mooney died on Dec. 1.

Your Cherokee Ancestry,” an awardwinning basic genealogical research guide that is still in print today and can be purchased at the CHC gift shop.

In 2012, he was awarded the “Stalwart Award” by the Cherokee National Historical Society. A CHC supporter who has served as a longtime member, volunteer, employee, board member or associate and has significantly contributed to the center’s success is given the award.

In 2015, he was honored by Principal

Chief Bill John Baker with the “Samuel Worcester Award” for exemplifying CN’s values in the preservation of Cherokee culture and history.

“I’m finding it hard to find the words to express how much Tom Mooney meant to me, not just as a coworker, but as a friend. To me, he is the Cherokee Heritage Center,” said former CHC Curator Mickel Yantz. “He dedicated his life to the center for four decades, and he always made it feel like family, not work.

His wonderful humor and stories keep

running through my mind today making me smile at times when it hurts. You will be missed by many. Thank you Tom.” Cherokee beadwork artist Martha Berry said she grew up with Mooney, as Tom’s father and her uncle were best friends.

“I have known Tom since we were toddlers. We were in the same first and second grade classes. Later in life, he had a tremendous influence on the reestablishment of beadwork as a Cherokee art form. He was such a constant in my life. I guess I thought he’d always be there. Rest in peace, my friend. I thank you, and I already miss you,” Berry said.

Cherokee historian and friend Catherine Foreman Gray said she learned “so much” from Mooney.

“Tom dedicated his life and work to the Cherokee Heritage Center for four decades as the archivist. He was a wealth of knowledge, and he loved what he did.

I’m going to miss his humor, knowledge and friendship,” she said.

As the director for the CHC, former Tribal Councilor Troy Wayne Poteete worked with Mooney.

“Thomas George Mooney was the institutional memory of the Cherokee Heritage Center, which includes the Cherokee National Museum. Like Marty Hagerstrand, (a CHC founder) Tom married a Cherokee woman and became one of the most loved and respected people within the family of families that is the Cherokee Nation,” Poteete said.

“He was a co-worker a few years and many years a friend, and his passing at such a young age leaves a great sadness. I’m certain my sense of loss is widespread among the hundreds who have known him over the years.”

Noted Cherokee artist Shan Goshorn dies

She used different media to share the challenges and achievements of Native people, including woven paper baskets, silversmithing, painting and photography.

BY STAFF REPORTS TULSA – Cherokee artist Shan Goshorn died on Dec. 1 at age 61 after battling cancer.

Friends and fellow artists remember her as an artist who is leaving behind a lasting legacy of art. Goshorn used different media to share the challenges and achievements of Native people, including woven paper baskets, silversmithing, painting and photography. She is best known for her baskets with Cherokee designs woven with archival paper reproductions of documents, maps, treaties and photographs.

“Shan was fearless, smart and passionate. She was not only a good artist, she was a great friend. She had a beautiful smile that lit up the room, a great laugh, and she had friends wherever she went,” friend and fellow Cherokee artist Lisa Rutherford said. “She was a strong supporter of other artists. She gave me advice, encouragement and opened many doors for me and others. I have seen her talking to young girls about their art, asking questions, encouraging them to continue. Shan will be remembered not only for her artwork, but also for her kind and generous heart and the impact she had on others. She deeply touched many people. I’ll miss her terribly.”

Goshorn was born on July 3, 1957, in Baltimore, and was raised there. After graduating high school, Goshorn worked at the Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual in Cherokee, North Carolina. She was a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and spent summers with her maternal grandmother on the Qualla Boundary. She attended the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Atlanta College of Art where she earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. In 1981, she moved to Tulsa and began her art career.

“I am saddened to hear about our friend Shan Goshorn. Her smile filled the room and her art made you learn and think. It was always wonderful working with her,” said former Cherokee Heritage Center Curator Mickel Yantz. “Shan’s legacy in the art world, and in our hearts, will live forever. My thoughts and warm wishes go to her family and friends.

Thank you, Shan.”

Goshorn’s multi-media work has been exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad. Her baskets belong to prestigious collections such as the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.; Denver Art Museum; Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa; Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Minneapolis Institute of Art; Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis; the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee; Surgut Museum of Art in Russia; and the

COURTESY Release of the design of the 2019 Native American dollar coin featuring Cherokee female engineer Mary Golda Ross on the reverse side.

RYAN REDCORN/COURTESY Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians artist Shan Goshorn holds one of her baskets. Her baskets won numerous awards and are a part of museum collections throughout the United States.

Nordamerika Native Museum in Switzerland.

She also received numerous top honors for her basketry.

“Shan’s talent as an artist was just a small part of why everyone loved her so much. She was such a kind and inspiring soul. Her work was beautiful, thought provoking and emotionally powerful.

She used her talents to bring attention to historical and contemporary issues in Indian Country,” said Cherokee historian Catherine Foreman Gray.

Goshorn mentored Angela Gonzalez of Anchorage, Alaska, in the early 1990s, who said Goshorn showed her how art can be used to express Native culture, contemporary thought, convey messages and “heal our people.” She added that Goshorn instilled in her that it was important to have knowledge of her ancestors and she was responsible for telling her people’s stories using her artistic talent.

“I loved and admired her greatly.

I learned so much from being in her presence. Grace. Strength. Love. Family.

Empowerment. Presence. The importance of having a sense of humor,” Gonzalez said. “May you rest in peace. My heart goes out to her family and friends, as I know they will miss her greatly.”

Goshorn leaves behind her husband Tom Pendergraft, daughter Neosha and son Loma. She also leaves behind her mother Edna Goshorn, and sisters Donna Goshorn Beck and Diane Goshorn, all of Cherokee. Her dad was the late John Goshorn. A memorial service was theld on Dec. 29 at Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa.

Cherokee engineer on 2019 Native American $1 coin

The 2019 coin design celebrates American Indians in the Space Program.

BY STAFF REPORTS WASHINGTON – The United States Mint unveiled the reverse design of the 2019 Native American dollar coin in the 2018 winter issue of National Museum of the American Indian’s quarterly magazine.

The 2019 coin design celebrates American Indians in the Space Program.

The design depicts Cherokee engineer Mary Golda Ross writing calculations, while in the background, an AtlasAgena rocket launches into space with an equation inscribed in its cloud, and an astronaut, symbolizing Native American astronauts, spacewalks amid a group of stars indicating outer space.

Inscriptions in the coin include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and a $1 symbol.

Mint Artistic Infusion program designer Emily Damstra created the design and it is sculpted by Mint sculptor-engraver Joseph Menna.

The obverse side of the coin will continue to feature central figure Sacagawea carrying her infant son Jean Baptiste.

Ross was one of 40 founding engineers at the renowned and highly secretive Skunk Works project at Lockheed Corporation and was the first known Native American female engineer.

She was born in Park Hill, Oklahoma, in 1908 to William Wallace and Mary Henrietta Ross and was the greatgranddaughter of former Cherokee Nation Chief John Ross. She died in 2008 at 99 years old.

Ross attended Northeastern State Teacher’s College in Tahlequah where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1928 and taught for nine years thereafter in rural Oklahoma schools.

Ross was hired as a mathematician by Lockheed in 1942 and began working on the effects of pressure on the Lockheed P-38 Lightning airplane. She helped solve numerous design issues involved with high-speed flight and aeroelasticity.

In 1952, she joined Lockheed’s Advanced Development Program for the top-secret Skunk Works project where she worked on design concepts for interplanetary space travel, manned and unmanned earth-orbiting flights and early studies of orbiting satellites for defense and civilian purposes. Her works also included, as depicted on the coin design, the Agena rocket project and design concepts for flyby missions to Venus and Mars.

By the late 1960s, Golda Ross became a senior advanced systems staff engineer and worked on the Polaris reentry vehicle and Trident missiles.

The Native American $1 Coin program is authorized by Public Law 110-82 to recognize contributions made by tribes and individuals of Native people to the history and development of the U.S. The public law mandates a reverse design be issued at a rate of once a year to include an image emblematic of one important Native American individual or contribution.

CULtURE • ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ

JANUARY 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

11

Brown enjoys creating beadwork, powwow regalia Brandi Brown does mostly custom beadwork and likes challenging her talent when people call her for unusual custom work.

BY WILL CHAVEZ Assistant Editor STILWELL – Cherokee artist Brandi Brown’s grandmother got her started doing beadwork when Brandi was about 11. But as she got into her teenage years growing up in Bell in Adair County, she focused on softball and put aside doing beadwork and other arts.

“And then I went to college. I didn’t play softball in college, so I needed a hobby. I’m one of those people who can’t just sit around,” she said. “I had moved to (Joaquin) Texas, in with some family down there, and my aunt got me into it (beading) again. She showed me how, and we started powwowing. Powwow regalia is very expensive, so it was cheaper to make it myself. So I started learning. I learned how to do the moccasins, to make the dresses. I did it all head to toe. I just got addicted I guess.”

She danced as a “Southern Cloth” dancer at powwows. She made one set of powwow clothing, and because she was “addicted” to making powwow clothing she said she “immediately” made a second set.

After attending Panola Community College in Carthage, Texas, she moved back to Bell because she said she missed her mom. Still interested in powwows, she decided she wanted to be a “Buckskin” dancer.

“It took me years, but eventually I accomplished it. I made an entire buckskin regalia, and then my grandma got sick with cancer. She was always the one who approved my regalia. I always showed her first,” she said. “When she got sick I sold it. It kind of helped with her medicines and trips to Tulsa to the oncologist.”

Later, she said she made another fully beaded “Southern Cloth” powwow set with wolf paw prints and entered it into the Cherokee National Holiday show in 2016. She won first place in her category.

She said she never got to wear it because it sold.

The following year in March, she lost her grandmother. “I haven’t really (powwow) danced since I lost her.”

A necklace and matching earrings made

by Cherokee artist Brandi Brown are the giveaway items from the Cherokee Phoenix’s first quarterly giveaway in 2019.

People can gain entries for the drawing by donating to the Cherokee Phoenix’s Elder/Veterans Fund or buying a Cherokee Phoenix subscription or merchandise.

One entry is given for every $10 spent or donated.

At this year’s Cherokee National Holiday Art Show, Brown won honorable mention for a powwow outfit titled “Weave Your Own Path.” However, Principal Chief Bill John Baker and Deputy Chief Joe Crittenden chose her for their Adult Choice Awards.

The outfit included a traditional wrap skirt embellished with ribbons and a wolf paw print because that’s her Cherokee clan. It also included a bandolier bag, moccasins and a belt to match and a shawl without fringe, which is usually seen with women’s powwow regalia. She said she worked on the outfit for a month and added matching earrings to go with the outfit.

She had planned to wear the colorful outfit, but a buyer purchased it.

Also, this year, at 34, she branched out and made a Facebook page (BBDesigns@2384) specifically for her beadwork and powwow regalia business called BB Designs. She also can be reached by calling 918-507-2484.

“I don’t think I’ve actually lost the passion for making regalia. I enjoy it so

Cherokee Phoenix announces quarterly giveaway winner

Naomi Birdtail, of Tahlequah, wins a handmade buffalo tooth necklace by Cherokee artist Sherri Hattori.

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH – Congratulations to Naomi Birdtail, of Tahlequah, for winning the Cherokee Phoenix’s third-quarter giveaway contest.

Birdtail won a handmade buffalo tooth necklace

by Cherokee artist Sherri Hattori after a Cherokee Phoenix staff member drew her name from 163 entries accumulated during the past three months.

She joins Dusty Helbling, of Ozark, Arkansas; James McNew, of El Dorado, Kansas; Geneva Collins, of Park Hill; Steven Rice, of Bartlesville; Patrick Swartz, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Charlotte Foster from Chelsea; Dana Parks from Brownsboro, Texas; Nan Butler, of Wellston; Wauneta Wine of Columbia, Maryland; and Dale Easky of St. Clair, Missouri, as Cherokee Phoenix quarterly giveaway winners.

Helbling won a custom 12-foot, two-piece fishing pole by Larry Fulton of Larry’s Bait and Tackle in Fort Gibson. McNew won a loom-woven blanket

by Cherokee weaver Janice Dreadfulwater, of Tahlequah. Collins won a handcrafted wooden art by Cherokee artist Jay Cox of Notchietown Hardwoods. Rice won a booger mask and scissor-cut art by Tana Washington of Scissor Cut Art. Swartz won an 18-inch-by-24-inch limited-edition giclee on canvas titled “Gifts of Life” by Traci Rabbit of Rabbit Studios. Foster won a finger-woven belt made

by Cherokee artist Jules Brison of Waterspider Creations. Parks won beaded jewelry made by Native Uniques owner Samantha Barnes. Butler won four painted tiles by Cherokee artist MaryBeth Timothy of MoonHawk Art. Wine won a carving by Cherokee sculptor Matthew Girty, and Easky won a knife by Cherokee knife maker Ray Kirk.

The Cherokee Phoenix will hold its fourth 2018 quarterly drawing on Jan. 2 when it gives away a collection of books authored by the late Robert J. Conley.

Entries for the drawing can be obtained by donating to the Cherokee Phoenix’s Elder/Veterans Fund or buying a Cherokee Phoenix subscription or merchandise. One entry is given for every $10 spent or donated.

For more information regarding the giveaways, call Samantha Cochran at 918-207-3825 or Justin Smith at 918-207-4975 or samantha-cochran@ cherokee.org or justin-smith@cherokee.org.

PHOTOS BY WILL CHAVEZ/CHEROKEE PHOENIX At this year’s Cherokee National Holiday Art Show, Cherokee artist Brandi Brown, of Bell, won honorable mention for a powwow outfit she sewed titled “Weave Your Own Path.”

Principal Chief Bill John Baker and Deputy Chief Joe Crittenden also chose her work for their “Adult Choice” awards much. I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t making something,” she said.

Though beadwork and making powwow regalia are her passions, she said someday she would like to learn how to paint and be a photographer.

“I think painters are just amazing. I’ve seen some of the stuff they’ve done, and I wish I had that kind of talent. With a

little practice I could probably make it come out,” she said. “But beadwork is my favorite. I enjoy making new things.”

She said she does mostly custom beadwork, so people sometimes call her with a new challenge.

“It’s ‘hey, can you do this? Hey, I saw this. Do you think you can do it?’ I think that’s fun,” she said.

Phillips takes on ‘heavy’ subject matter in new book

Faith Phillips’ third book is a true crime novel that focuses on two murders that shocked the small Oklahoma town of Weleetka.

BY WILL CHAVEZ Assistant Editor PROCTOR – Following up on her 2016 book “It’s Not Hard To,” Cherokee author Faith Phillips is back with her third book titled “Now I Lay Me Down.”

The true crime novel focuses on two girls who went for a walk down a dirt road and never made it home. Their murders in 2008 shocked the Oklahoma town of Weleetka and sparked the largest pursuit in Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation history.

She said she was working on what she thought would be her third book when she saw a friend from law school at a music festival. The friend, Maxey Reilly, told Phillips the true story of a triple-murder case she prosecuted in Okfuskee County.

“When she told the story my doubts melted away, and I knew immediately that I would have to write this book.

The things she told me made my hair stand on end. I had goosebumps all over. I just couldn’t believe the story could be true,” Phillips said. “That has been the case with the entire process of writing this book. The more details I uncovered, the more I learned, the more I felt overwhelmed by the extraordinary circumstances of the case.”

Phillips said to write the book, she reviewed volumes of case material. “When you’re writing a true crime novel, it isn’t the same kind of work as journalism, but you still have to craft the novel around hard facts. The press coverage was intense at the time of the murders.

Then the investigation phase and the trial went on for some eight years afterward. So you can just imagine the articles generated by an event like that. I reviewed every available article I could find, from 2008 to 2018.”

She accessed court records, witness testimony transcripts, evidentiary exhibits and thousands of pages of documentation. She compiled them and then put the pieces together “in a way that

painted a picture for the reader.”

“There were several times when I believed the task was impossible, and I just wanted to quit. Most of the time I forced myself to work through those moments, and usually I would have a breakthrough. But sometimes I would walk away from the work to let my brain have a rest for a day or two,” she said.

The most difficult challenge, Phillips said, was the subject’s delicate nature because she was writing about real people and families who had “already been through hell,” and “hounded by the press.”

“It’s now 10 years after the greatest loss of their lives, a tragedy that most people cannot even begin to imagine living through. Maybe things are just now starting to become tolerable again for them. I had no desire to dredge that pain back up for them. I never want to bring pain to anyone,” she said. “So I tried my best to honor the girls and respect their families in the book as I told the story, while remaining true to the work. I hope that is what I did.”

The subject took a toll on Phillips.

She said she met her parents for breakfast after she had sent off the book’s finished version, and they told her it appeared “some great burden” had been lifted.

“This subject is very heavy.

We are talking about the brutal shooting of two little girls and the subsequent vicious murder of a young woman. One of the subjects I had to deal with is horrific violence.

I am not a violent person, not at all.

I’m not drawn to violent themes.

In fact, I like to consider myself a peacemaker. But in the course of writing this book, taking in all these documents that describe in detail what happened…it begins to accumulate in your mind. It piles up and you start feeling the weight of it all,” she said. “Sometimes I had terrible nightmares and other days I would just wake up with a very heavy feeling in my heart. These things go against my nature, so yes, it did have a personal affect. It’s a

Faith Phillips very dark story, but the idea is to see a transformation, how people deal with such a tragedy and what it takes to come out on the other side of all that darkness.”

She said her book would have never been written if she had not met Reilly in law school.

“I feel like a book about these murders would have been done one day, but no one could have told it like this book does, simply due to the fact that I had a firsthand account of what went on from day one when Maxey got the call that two little girls had been murdered. She had just started out as the assistant district attorney in Okfuskee County.”

Phillips’ previous books came out as ebooks first and then the hard copy was released. This time, she reversed that strategy. The hard copies are available for pre-order on her website ReadBooksBy. Faith. The book was to go on sale at Amazon.com in late August, but signed copies are only available through purchase on her website or at in-person book signings.

She also had planned to be at the Cherokee National Holiday during Labor Day weekend with her books at the Cherokee Heritage Center, which has become a tradition for her in the past few years. She said she hopes she can have a new book ready for the holiday every year.

Her first official book club appearance is on Sept. 27 in Stilwell at the public library, and then she is doing official book releases at “Bound For Glory” books in Tulsa and later in Okemah. Those dates will be announced later, but she said people can keep up with dates and book signings on her website or Facebook page.

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CHEROKEE PHOENIX • JANUARY 2, 2019

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᎤᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019