September 17, 2019 issue of the Cherokee Phoenix

Holiday retrospect

Check out some of the Cherokee Phoenix’s photos from the 67th annual Cherokee National Holiday.

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CHEROKEE CHEROKEEPHOENIX.ORG

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

PHOENIX 191 YEARS OF JOURNALISM

Hoskin offers language plan at State of Nation

BY STAFF REPORTS

CHEROKEE WARRIOR FLIGHT 2019 PHOTOS BY WILL CHAVEZ/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Cherokee Nation citizen Selbert Taylor, an 88-year-old Marine veteran who fought in the Korean War, visits the Korean War Memorial on Sept. 10 in Washington, D.C., as part of the tribe’s Cherokee Warrior Flight.

Now in its sixth year, the Cherokee Nation takes 10 veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit national war memorials and other sites.

BY WILL CHAVEZ Assistant Editor

WASHINGTON – Ten Cherokee veterans visited Washington, D.C., Sept. 9-11 as part of the Cherokee Nation’s sixth annual Cherokee Warrior Flight.

Collectively, the 10 veterans served during the Korean and Vietnam wars. During their three days in the nation’s capital, they visited war memorials erected in honor of military veterans and visited the White House, the U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian. They also visited Arlington National Cemetery where they witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“We’ve seen a lot of interesting stuff. I’m enjoying my time, and I’m enjoying the people that we’re here with. We’ve met a lot of good people, and we’ve got a lot of tours to go to,” Navy veteran Kenneth Golden, 70, of Stilwell, said during a visit to the U.S. Capitol.

Attending a dinner for the 10 veterans on Sept. 8, Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said it was remarkable how Cherokee people have stepped up to serve in this country’s military the past 200-plus years despite the tribe’s complicated history and relationship with the United States.

“I’m proud of my Cherokee warrior brothers for standing up when the United States needed them. They gave it their all, and some of them paid the ultimate price,” Army veteran Charles Brave, 86, of Hulbert, said.

The CN has taken 50 Cherokee veterans on the Cherokee Warrior Flight since 2014.

“I’m proud that we are part of a Nation that has the heart and the gratitude for the veterans and the sacrifices they’ve made through the years,” CN Secretary of Veterans Affairs S. Joe Crittenden, a U.S. Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, said.

During the Sept. 8 dinner at the Cherokee Hotel & Casino West Siloam Springs, the 10 veterans were presented with custom flight vests and caps with the Cherokee and U.S. flags embroidered on them. The Cherokee Warrior Flight is similar to the national Honor Flight organization’s goal of helping all veterans, willing and able, to see the memorials dedicated to honor their service. With more than 4,000 military veterans who are CN citizens, the CN is replicating that experience for its people. Native Americans serve at a higher rate in the military than any other ethnic group, according to veteranaid.org.

Participating in the 2019 Cherokee Warrior Flight were Korean War veterans Selbert Taylor, 88, Marines, of Pryor; Charles Brave, 86, Army, of Hulbert; George Green, 85, Army, of Claremore; and Vietnam War veterans Billy Cecil, 71, Army, of Park Hill; Billie Tritthart, 71, Army, of Miami, Oklahoma; David Hall, 67, Army, of Wister; Claude Stover, 72, Army, of Oaks; Kenneth Golden, 70, Navy, of Stilwell; Charles Lane, 83, Navy, of Claremore; and Sammy Carey, 65, Army, of Hulbert.

Army veteran Claude Stover, 72, of Oaks, left, and Navy veteran Charles Lane, 83, of Claremore, take part in a guided tour of the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 9 in Washington, D.C.

“I’m proud of my Cherokee warrior brothers for standing up when the United States needed them. They gave it their all, and some paid the ultimate price.”

Charles Brave, Army veteran, 86, of Hulbert

Cherokee veterans prepare to board a shuttle on Sept. 9 at Cherokee Hotel & Casino West Siloam Springs to head to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport for a flight to Washington, D.C., as part of the sixth annual Cherokee Warrior Flight. As they left the hotel, employees greeted with them with signs, American flags and cheers.

The venue has a “soft opening” on Aug. 30 after being closed for flooding.

FORT GIBSON – After closing earlier this year in the wake of historic flooding all along the Arkansas River, the Cherokee Casino Fort Gibson underwent a “soft opening” on Aug. 30 and is welcoming patrons back for gaming and entertainment.

Shawn Slaton of Cherokee Nation Businesses explained during the Aug. 29 meeting of the Tribal Council’s Executive & Finance Committee that the venue would open its doors on Aug. 30.

“We’re going to do a soft opening there,” Slaton said. “We will just let it kind of trickle back in and build itself back up, and get the facility broken back in slowly.”

The casino has also hosted musical entertainment

SEE PLAN, 2

D. SEAN ROWLEY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. on Aug. 31 gives his first State of the Nation Address during the Cherokee National Holiday in Tahlequah. Hoskin said he plans to quadruple the size of the Cherokee Language Master Apprentice Program.

Cabinet members confirmed by Tribal Council

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter

CNB reopens Cherokee Casino Fort Gibson

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. on Aug. 31 proposed the largest investment in language programs in the tribe’s history and detailed more initiatives during his first State of the Nation Address.

Hoskin said he is asking the Tribal Council to approve a plan that will dedicate about $5 million in business profits to create a language program facility. The plan will also quadruple the size of the Cherokee Language Master Apprentice Program, an adult immersion program that pairs novice language learners with master-level fluent Cherokee speakers 40 hours per week for two years.

“We must act boldly and quickly on language preservation,” Hoskin said. “If we fail to act now, Cherokees generations from now will be unimpressed by our health facilities. They will be unmoved by the size of our casinos. They will be bewildered as to why, in 2019, the great Cherokee Nation failed to do what was necessary to save our language. We cannot fail, we must not fail, and we will not fail.”

In a second proposal, Hoskin said the CN would double the amount of business revenue it uses to pay for Cherokees to complete career training programs. The CN currently spends $1 million in General Fund dollars on career tech training, tribal officials said.

since its reopening, with acts performing on Sept. 6-7.

Spring flooding resulted in water rising above the casino’s ground floor by several inches, forcing the removal of gaming machines and other assets and requiring the venue’s closure to repair damage.

The removed gaming devices were stored at the old Cherokee Casino Tahlequah, while Fort Gibson employees were assigned to other locations, and continued to receive their pay. Among CNB sites, Cherokee Casino Fort Gibson was the most adversely affected. Speaking on May 24, Slaton did not offer a cost-of-damage estimate, stating that assessments were not yet possible.

Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs in Claremore was also affected by the rains, where water damage to the racing track forced cancellation of the last three days of its spring thoroughbred racing season.

TAHLEQUAH – Tribal Councilors in a special Aug. 29 session confirmed Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.’s Cabinet, selected the tribe’s first secretary of Veterans Affairs and officially launched a $30 million housing initiative.

Hoskin and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner named their Cabinet selections in July, a month before they took office. The full Tribal Council supported their recommendations on Aug. 29.

“I have done my level best to assemble a team that will fulfill the mission that we all have, which is to serve the Cherokee people,” Hoskin said.

Cabinet members consist of five new appointees and current Marshal Shannon Buhl, who was selected by former Principal Chief Bill John Baker.

Sara Hill, the tribe’s previous Natural Resources secretary, was appointed as the attorney general, replacing Todd Hembree, who told councilors his successor “will protect this Nation.”

Hill is a former deputy attorney general who in 2015 was confirmed as the Nation’s first Natural Resources secretary, a constitutionally created position.

“It is a humbling experience to be asked to serve in a position like this,” Hill said of her new job. “I had a very sleepless night thinking about the responsibility that

SEE CABINET, 3

CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX New Attorney General Sara Hill and other Cabinet members are congratulated Aug. 29 after being confirmed to their new posts.

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CHEROKEE PHOENIX • SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

News • ᏗᏕᏃᏣᎸᏍᎩ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019

UKB says land-trust win a ‘springboard’ to federal funds

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter

TAHLEQUAH — The wheels of justice, while slow, according to United Keetoowah Band leaders, finally turned in their favor with a court victory in the tribe’s longstanding fight to place 76 acres of land in Tahlequah in trust.

On Sept. 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit vacated a 2017 injunction that prevented the land from being placed in trust in the case of United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians v. the Cherokee Nation.

The result, according to UKB leaders, “will impact generations of future Keetoowahs to come.”

“It’s been 69 years since the beginning of our federal recognition,” Chief Joe Bunch said. “We’ve been called various names throughout the time, at one time a dormant tribe, at one time an error in the federal registry. Collectively, what that (decision) means is we’re like all the other federally recognized tribes with land in trust. It’s the opportunity that’s there — the ability to apply for and receive grants that have criteria such as land in trust.”

In 2000, the UKB purchased the undeveloped tract of land — which lies within the CN’s jurisdictional boundaries — for its future tribal and culture center in Tahlequah. Four years later, the tribe submitted an application to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to place the land in trust, thus establishing a UKB tribal land base, but it wasn’t until 2011 that it was approved.

“The (Cherokee) Nation sued Department of the Interior and BIA officials (in 2014), with the UKB intervening as defendants, challenging the BIA’s decision on several fronts,” court documents state. “The district court found in favor of the (Cherokee) Nation, determining that the BIA’s decision to take the subject parcel into trust was ‘arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, and otherwise not in accordance with law.’”

The CN’s complaint requested the court declare that the UKB was not a “successor in interest” to the CN’s former reservation or treaty territory and that the Cherokee Nation’s consent was required for taking land into trust within the tribe’s boundaries. In 2013, thenCN Attorney General Todd Hembree said the Cherokee Nation has always had “exclusive jurisdiction over”

CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians Chief Joe Bunch talks about the tribe’s land-in-trust court case during a press conference Sept. 5. the 14 counties that make up its boundaries. He said the BIA’s belief that the UKB and CN are both predecessors of the CN “brought over here through the forced removal” was troubling because the UKB formed under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act. The Court of Appeals’ Sept. 5 decision states that the Secretary of Interior “has authority to take the Subject Parcel into trust under section 3 of the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936. The BIA was therefore not required to consider whether the UKB meets the IRA’s definition of ‘Indian.’ Nor was the BIA required to obtain the Nation’s consent before taking the land into trust. We also hold that the BIA’s application of its regulations was not arbitrary and capricious. Accordingly, we reverse the district court and vacate the injunction preventing the Secretary from taking the Subject Parcel into trust.”

Responding to the court opinion, Cherokee Nation leaders say they are “carefully considering further legal options.”

“Nothing in the court’s decision changes the Cherokee Nation’s governmental authority within the reservation boundaries, or alters the long-standing treaties that bind the Cherokee Nation and the United States,” new Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill said.

Ex-Treasurer, Councilor Gary Chapman dies at age 81

Gary Dean Chapman helped draft the 1975 Constitution.

BY STAFF REPORTS TAHLEQUAH – Former Cherokee Nation Treasurer and Tribal Councilor Gary Dean Chapman died Sept. 3 at age 81.

According to his obituary, he was born to Ezekiel “Zeke” Chapman and Elva Sunday Chapman on Jan. 2, 1938, in Grand View, Cherokee County. He was preceded in death by his parents, and brothers Kenneth Wayne Chapman, Richard Owen Chapman, Thomas Jess Chapman and Howard Ezekiel Chapman.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Virginia “Sue” Chilcoat Chapman; his sister, Lenore Jones and her husband, T. Jack Jones; one daughter, Susan Chapman Plumb and her husband, Loyal Plumb; grandchildren Susannah Plumb Scott and her husband, Dustin Scott; Sarah Plumb Morrison and her husband, Michael Morrison; Sunday Plumb White and her husband, Brett White; Sophie Plumb Rotola and her husband, Nick Rotola; great-grandchildren Ezekiel “Zeke” Scott, Loyal “Zach” Scott, Emma Scott, Conrad Morrison, Teddi White and Kodi White.

His obituary states he was educated at Grand View School, Bagley School and graduated from Tahlequah High School in 1955. He attended Northeastern State University, graduating in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in education.

He taught and coached basketball for one year at Lost City School before working as a scout executive with Boy Scouts of America for three years, states his obituary. Chapman went to work for General Adjustment Bureau and from 1964-72 where he supervised hundreds of insurance adjusters working hurricane and natural disasters.

He began to dislike the travel schedule of disaster work and in 1972 went to work in the executive training program at Commercial Bank and Trust Company in Muskogee, his obituary states.

Chapman left Commercial Bank in 1982 to come home to Tahlequah as executive vice president at First National Bank. During his time in Muskogee he was involved in Optimist Club, Junior Livestock Auction and Boy Scouts of America. He was also ordained a deacon at First Baptist Church Muskogee in 1973.

According to his obituary, he remained at First National Bank Tahlequah until 1993, and in 1996 he and longtime friend and attorney Harvey Chaffin and his daughter, Susan Chapman Plumb, purchased First State Bank in Hulbert, now known as Bank of Cherokee County, where Chapman remained as chairman emeritus until his passing.

Chapman, at the urging of his mother, an original Dawes Commission enrollee, became involved with

According to UKB Assistant Chief Jamie Thompson, “The wheels of justice turn slow, but they always turn in your favor if you do just what is right.”

“The UKB has always complied with what the federal government has asked,” he said in a prepared statement.

Bunch said having land in trust “is just a springboard” to federal grants for health, education and welfare.

“It’s just a mechanism that propels us further for those federal program dollars,” he said. “We truly have a history. We’re not the dormant tribe that was announced in Washington some 30 years ago.”

Bunch thanked past leaders who initiated the process and “certainly our council today for standing by that pledge to make this a better place for all Keetoowah people.” UKB leaders held their press conference in the tribe’s cultural center and museum located on the 76 acres in Tahlequah, named after former Chief John Hair, who was in attendance for the announcement.

“My heart, soul, my whole being is at ease,” Hair said.

“I feel so good today that there’s better things coming because of this decision. We’ve still got work to do, but it should be easier from this point on.”

Hair, who served the tribe for 20-plus years as a councilor and chief, spearheaded a bingo hall and smoke shops that financially boosted the tribe, according to the UKB. Bunch called Hair “instrumental” in the tribe’s success.

“Had he not had the fortitude and gumption to go for paper bingo some 30-odd years ago, that part of the legacy of the UKB would be nonexistent today,” Bunch said.

Hair turned 87 in April.

“So God has been good to me,” he said. “I’m glad I’m here to hear all this.”

The UKB is one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes, along with the CN and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

“Today, we’re equal Cherokees, as our brothers in the eastern band and with the Cherokee Nation right down the road,” UKB Tribal Councilor Jeff Wacoche said.

“That’s what we’ve been fighting for all this time.”

According to the UKB, its 14,000 citizens must meet requirements that include family listed on the 1949 Keetoowah Band Base Roll or the final Dawes Roll. They must also possess at least a quarter Cherokee blood.

Former Principal Chief Baker’s mother dies

BY STAFF REPORTS

Gary Chapman

the CN and was appointed to the first Tribal Council in 1973 by Principal Chief W.W. Keeler after the U.S. Senate Concurrent Resolution 26 was approved in 1971 ending the federal government’s tribal termination policy, his obituary states.

It also states he helped draft the 1975 CN Constitution and was elected as a tribal councilor, serving until 1991. He was most proud of his work in securing the funding for the construction of facilities at W. W. Hastings Hospital in the early eighties and securing the Cherokee National Historical Society as the official records repository for the CN, states his obituary.

He served as chair of the Executive & Finance Committee, business manager and secretary-treasurer for Principal Chiefs Ross Swimmer, Wilma Mankiller and Joe Byrd. Chapman also served for nearly a decade as chairman of Cherokee Nation Industries’ board of directors and president of the Cherokee National Historical Society.

A health care advocate, Chapman served on the board of Northeastern Health System as a member and chairman, and was a founding member of the Tahlequah Hospital Foundation, his obituary states.

As a father and grandfather of only girls, he was a passionate voice for women’s equal participation in government, church and employment settings, his obituary states. His “girls” cannot recall a time that he was too busy to talk or a subject that he could not or would not talk about.

“The Cherokee Nation is saddened by the passing of former Tribal Councilor Gary Chapman. Please join us in sending our condolences to the family of Mr. Chapman, who served on the Tribal Council from 1976 to 1991,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said.

“He was also Cherokee Nation’s Secretary Treasurer serving Principal Chiefs Swimmer, Byrd and Mankiller in that capacity. Mr. Chapman passionately worked for the Cherokee people and the Cherokee County community throughout his life.”

Tribal Council Speaker Joe Byrd characterized Chapman’s passing as a sad day for the Nation.

“It is a sad day for the Cherokee Nation as we mourn the loss of Gary Chapman, a person of the highest character. He was the most patriotic man I’ve ever known, and served the Nation not only as a Tribal Councilor, but as Secretary/Treasurer under Chiefs Keeler, Swimmer, Mankiller and myself. His absence will be felt for a very long time. Godspeed, friend,” Byrd wrote on his Facebook account.

Services were Sept. 9 at First Baptist Church in Tahlequah.

TAHLEQUAH – The mother of former Principal Chief Bill John Baker, Isabel Louise Keith Baker, Ph.D., died on Sept. 2 at age 90.

Born on May 27, 1929, in Row, later named Colcord, she was the daughter of Claude and Hattie Mae Keith.

She married Tim Baker on July 26, 1946, and they were the parents of sons Tim Keith, Donn and Bill John.

For more than 43 years, Baker served in public education. Her teaching career began in 1950 at age 20 after she received her bachelor’s degree in education from Northeastern State University. She was 23 with three children when she received her master’s degree from Oklahoma State University. She later received her doctorate from OSU. Her public-school career included positions at Shidler, Sapulpa and Tahlequah. In higher education, she taught at Morehead State University, NSU and OSU. She was appointed to the OSU Board of Regents by then-Gov. David Walters in 1991. She was recognized as a champion of gender equality and was the recipient of awards for those endeavors. She was a member of Oklahoma Woman’s Hall of Fame and the OSU Hall of Fame. She was also a Distinguished Alumnus at OSU, and Oklahoma Mother of the Year.

She served on the board of directors of the Tahlequah Chamber of Commerce and was selected as Board Member of the Year in 2010. She served on the board of directors for the Bank of Cherokee County and was the first woman in 60 years to serve as a board director with Tahlequah Public Works. She also held state and national offices with the Democratic Party. For a girl that grew up in the Depression, she relished helping others lift themselves out of poverty through education.

In addition to her surviving brother, Bill Keith and his wife, Vivian, she leaves her son, Tim Keith and his wife, Diana, Donn and his wife, Sharon, and Bill John and his wife Sherry. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren.

“On behalf of Cherokee Nation, we send our heartfelt condolences to former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker, former first lady Sherry Baker and the entire Baker family on the passing of Dr. Isabel Baker,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “Dr. Baker came to be affectionately known over the past eight years as the ‘first mother’ of the Cherokee Nation. She loved her country, state and the Cherokee people. Dr. Baker was a champion of teaching. She dedicated her life to public education, including her more than 40 years as an educator before her retirement as professor emeritus of education at Northeastern State University. She was also a public servant committed to many political, social, civic, community and church activities to make a difference. Please join Deputy Chief (Bryan) Warner and I by keeping the Baker family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

PLAN: Chief Hoskin also plans to repair hundreds of Cherokee homes from front page “As the grandson of an iron worker and as a man whose father also started his career in the building trades, I recognize that not every bright and industrious Cherokee wants to go to college,” Hoskin said. “I recognize that jobs across our region call for hard work and education. But, they do not all call for a college degree. If we are going to build a bright future for our people, we need to make sure that we don’t leave any of them behind. I believe firmly the Cherokee people want to work. They just need a government that has their back and will lend them a hand. From building trades to health care to information technology, we will help our fellow Cherokees get the skills they need to earn a good living.”

Over the past eight years, the CN has seen the largest

expansion of services to CN citizens in its history, Hoskin said. In the coming year, the tribe is poised to continue its growth with the Tribal Council’s recent approval of the largest budget in the tribe’s history.

“Whether it is opening the largest outpatient health facility in all of Indian Country at the W.W. Hastings campus, building new or expanded child development centers in Tahlequah, Stilwell, Pryor and Sallisaw, or honoring our veterans with a new veterans cemetery, one thing is clear, we are already on a path this year to do more for our people than ever before,” he said.

As part of his “First 100 Days” initiatives, Hoskin has announced a $30 million plan to repair hundreds of Cherokee homes, signed an executive order raising the tribe’s minimum wage to $11 per hour, created the tribe’s first Cabinet-level secretary of Veterans Affairs position and appointed CN Director of Government

Relations Kim Teehee as the first CN delegate-designate to the U.S. Congress.

“The state of our Nation is strong because our foundation is strong,” Hoskin said. “Our foundation is strong because for generations, when we have been allowed the God-given right to self-govern, we have looked towards the horizon and prepared as one people to meet the challenges ahead. And so, my fellow Cherokees, let us continue in that tradition. Let us aim high. Let us be bold. Let us be prepared. Let us be worthy of all who came before us. And let us get to work.”

Hoskin’s address was part of the 67th annual Cherokee National Holiday. The address was held at the Cherokee National Peace Pavilion following the holiday’s parade.

For the full video of Hoskin’s address, visit https://bit. ly/34eIONu.

ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

News • ᏗᏕᏃᏣᎸᏍᎩ

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Walkingstick gives thanks during his final Tribal Council meeting

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – After eight years of Tribal Council service, David Walkingstick, representing Dist. 3, gave his public goodbyes on Aug. 12 during his final meeting before terming out.

Walkingstick was elected to the Tribal Council in 2011 by winning a runoff against Mark Vance. In 2015, he gathered more than 50 percent of the vote against four challengers in the general election to preserve his incumbency.

“Coming in at 29 years old to the Tribal Council was definitely a learning experience,” Walkingstick told his colleagues. “God appoints us all to these positions, and we get into these positions because we want to make it better than the way we found it.”

During this past election season, his campaign for principal chief ended when he was disqualified, and there were occasions during the election year when sparks flew in his exchanges with other councilors. But during his farewell, he expressed appreciation for his fellow councilors.

“I thank God for each and every one of the council members that I had the opportunity to cross paths with,” he said. “I see strengths in every one of you. I know some

of us have had differences. I ask that we don’t take anything personal just because we have differences. At the end of the David day, I still love Walkingstick you.”

As he presently leaves CN politics, Walkingstick encouraged the new councilors to work with those returning to enhance the lives of CN citizens.

“I hope you guys on the Council right now conduct yourselves in that same grace and mercy with your colleagues; your other council members,” he said. “We’re here for one common goal, and that’s our people and a love of those people. We all have 17 different personalities, and God made us that way, and he made us in his image.

He loves us, but he wants us to love everyone else, too. I encourage you guys to move forward.”

Walkingstick also expressed his appreciation to the CN employees for their efforts.

“The employees of the Cherokee Nation – you guys are awesome,” he said. “You guys are amazing people.

You guys that have been employees for 30-plus years – I envy you. I want to be in your shoes so badly.”

Walkingstick’s path between

graduating from Sequoyah High School and being elected to the Tribal Council was not one of decades. He emerged from SHS in 1999 – the school’s first All-State basketball player. He then played basketball at Connors State College and Oklahoma Baptist University, and earned his master’s degree from East Central University. Only a few years later, he was on the Council.

“As a young kid, I grew up in this Cherokee Nation,” Walkingstick said during his farewell. “My father was the chief of the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service, and he would follow (former Principal Chief) Wilma Mankiller around.

That was my upbringing. I never knew that guy had plans for me to be where I am today, but God did.

And going to Sequoyah High School – this whole experience has been unreal.”

Walkingstick closed by stating he loved the Cherokee people’s passion, and that he knew all on the Council and in attendance “has experienced those things of being Cherokee and what it is to be Cherokee.”

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he said. “Thank you for allowing me to be a council member, and to serve this Council, to serve the Cherokee people and to serve the employees.”

Deere wants more Dist. 13 awareness Joe Deere aims for a sense of community in Tulsa and Rogers counties.

BY LINDSEY BARK Reporter CATOOSA – With the new Tribal Council now sitting, Dist. 13 Tribal Councilor Joe Deere aims to create community within his district as well as between it and the Cherokee Nation. “Community can be defined as a feeling of fellowship that is a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, goals and aspirations,” he wrote in a recent Cherokee Phoenix column. “When we form community, we will have less factioning of our people. We will grow stronger as a functioning community.”

Deere, a business owner, said he ran for the seat because he wanted to create more community awareness in Dist. 13, which covers parts of Tulsa and Rogers counties.

“I’m going to create a community where people feel more engaged in our community because there is that thing where you’re in Tulsa, and we’re not directly part of what goes on in Cherokee Nation, in the Tahlequah center, but we still are

Cherokee.”

He said he feels he can bring his business sense into his role as councilor. Deere owns Joe Deere Joe Deere Consulting and is a CN Tribal Employments Rights Officecertified vendor.

“I do understand financial statements. I do understand leverage. I do understand the black and reds. I think I can bring more to the table when it comes to that, working with CNB, CNI and CNE. As far as the TERO vendors and supporting Cherokee Nation, growing is going to be great. Because you do have to go with the blue collar and grass roots people of the world. That’s where voters are, that’s where the work comes from.

That’s where you want to engage the community because you’re going to know what the needs are.”

Deere said he was encouraged

by the people in his community to run. He ran for Council in 2011 for Dist. 5 but lost to Lee Keener.

He said he wants to improve and expand on what former Tribal Councilor Buel Anglen brought to the district and where the money goes. He said he wants to spread funds wider in the district rather than just certain areas. He added that he wants to build community buildings in Dist. 13 because there are no meeting places for citizens.

Deere said he also brings to the position being a community leader as a state representative for Special Olympics and as a member of the Knights of Columbus in Tulsa, a fraternal benefit society dedicated to performing charitable works.

“I am going to be the guy that works and does partnerships. And that’s the biggest thing I want to be doing is creating partnerships and moving Cherokee Nation along in the direction we’re going now.

It’s grown. In the last 20 years, it’s created a lot of different things,” he said.

Tyler Thomas

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Brandon Scott

Scott resigns as Cherokee Phoenix’s executive editor Communications Excecutive Deputy Director Tyler Thomas has been named to the position in the interim.

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter TAHLEQUAH – Brandon Scott, executive editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, turned in his immediate resignation on Sept. 3, resulting in the paper’s editorial board naming Cherokee Nation Communications Executive Deputy Director Tyler Thomas the interim executive editor.

During the Aug. 29 editorial board meeting, Scott informed board members that he expected to find new employment at a later date, but after quickly accepting the Cherokee Nation Businesses Communications director position, he resigned just five days later.

“The past three-and-a-half years have been some of the most rewarding times in my life,” Scott said. “Like any job, it’s had its ups and its downs, but the ups outweigh the downs a thousand-fold. I have had the benefit of working with a staff that is second to none. They have all enriched my life and taught me lessons that I will carry along with me for as long as I remain. I have had the privilege to serve my tribe for the past three-plus years in a capacity that I fear I will never be able to recreate. I was honored, I am honored and I will forever be honored to have been a part of the Cherokee Phoenix.”

Prior to the confirmation of his wife Tralynna as Cherokee Nation treasurer, Scott had voiced his concern to the Cherokee Phoenix staff – as had some members of the Tribal Council during her confirmation – of the possible appearance of conflict of interest.

The editorial board selected Thomas to fill the role in an interim capacity after Scott announced his resignation during a phone meeting.

Thomas is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, and joined the CN Communications staff in September 2012. He moves into his interim capacity immediately.

“I am honored and humbled to be named the interim executive editor of the Cherokee Phoenix,” Thomas said.

“I thank the editorial board for the opportunity to serve in this capacity and look forward to working with the paper’s outstanding staff. The Cherokee Phoenix is the preeminent news source in Indian Country, and I hope to only grow that stature, as well as preserve the oldest and most respected free press publication in Indian Country, in my new role.”

Scott was named executive editor of the Cherokee Phoenix in May 2016, following the November 2015 resignation of Bryan Pollard. He took over for Interim Executive Editor Will Chavez, who is now an assistant editor at the Cherokee Phoenix.

Scott previously served as a multimedia production specialist for Cherokee Nation Businesses, and as a business analyst for Cherokee Nation Entertainment.

He has also run his own business, Brandos Photography LLC, since 2007.

CABINET: Tribe gets new attorney general, treasurer and state secretary from front page it carries with it because I take it extremely seriously.

You’ll certainly have my best effort on everything that I do like you always have.”

Hill represented the tribe in the Cherokee Nation v.

Sequoyah Fuels case, which permanently disposed of 12,000 tons of radioactive material in Sequoyah County to an offsite location. Hill serves on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Indian Country Energy and Infrastructure Working Group and was recognized in 2019 with an EPA Environmental Excellence Award. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northeastern State University and law degree from the University of Tulsa.

The new Natural Resources secretary is Chad Harsha, who previously worked as assistant CN attorney general and general counsel for Natural Resources.

“I appreciate the opportunity to serve my tribe in this way,” he said. “This is the work I’m passionate about doing, and I truly love coming to work every day. We’ve made a lot of progress in these initiatives underneath the secretary of Natural Resources Office over the last four years. I look forward to the years ahead.”

Harsha also represented the tribe in the Sequoyah Fuels litigation.

“He has worked as assistant attorney general for the Muscogee Creek Nation and as a litigation attorney in the private sector,” a news release states. “He has a bachelor’s degree in environmental management from Northeastern State University and a law degree from the University of Tulsa.”

Replacing Hoskin as secretary of state is Tina Glory Jordan, a former tribal councilor who was appointed by the late Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller to serve as a District Court judge.

At an earlier Rules Committee meeting, new Dist. 3 Tribal Councilor Wes Nofire brought up the fact that Jordan’s husband, Rex Jordan, is a councilor.

“I think that’s something that has to be addressed on this council with this appointment nomination,” he said. “We have Tina, who is highly respected and by all means qualified. But she is married to one of our council members. That does raise some questions and concerns.”

Glory Jordan said she and her husband leave business at the office.

“I’ve spent almost 40 years as a lawyer, and I think my husband knows less about my law practice than anybody in town,” she said jokingly. “As to what is

a conflict, this body has determined that in Title 28, Section 19 of the code, the laws that you have made, that there is no conflict. I hope that I can gain each one of your favor to vote for me. I will have an open-door policy for all of you.”

In her favor, councilors voted 16-0 with one abstention from Rex Jordan.

Tralynna Scott was appointed as the new treasurer, replacing Lacey Horn, who stepped down in May to spend more time with family.

“When I went to law school, I certainly didn’t foresee myself ending up here,” Scott said. “But the happiest paths are usually winding ones.”

Scott worked for Cherokee Nation Businesses for more than a decade, most recently as its corporate tax director. She also served as the lead attorney on taxation for CNB. “I think what makes me uniquely qualified for this position is that I not only have the financial management experience, but I also have the legal experience,” she said.

During the earlier Rules Committee meeting, Nofire questioned the nominee. “I did my research on what our treasurer is going to be doing,” he said. “From previous Human Resources and our job description that we actually have, or that I actually had them look up, is that they’re required to have a CPA and maintain a CPA in order to be able to qualify for this job. Is there a reason why that’s not qualified in this position now?”

Answering “as the person who nominated” Scott, Hoskin said he looked “to the Constitution as the binding legal authority for this position.”

“Secondarily I would look to statutes, and in a third instance, I would refer to job descriptions as guidance,” he said. “But I’m certainly not going to let a job description trump the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation. The most important thing is whether the person is qualified and meets the basic qualifications under the Constitution, and then possesses the skills to execute the job. I’m supremely confident that Scott does that.”

Scott has a bachelor’s degree in business administration accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and a master of business administration in taxation and law degree from the University of Tulsa.

She said she possesses educational requirements for a CPA, but “just never had the need to take the CPA exam to get certified.”

“So, now having been nominated for this, if this body confirms me today, it is my intention to go and sit for the

CPA exam to get that certification,” she said.

The tribe’s new chief of staff is Todd Enlow, who replaces Hoskin’s father, Chuck Hoskin.

Enlow worked in CN management for two decades in government relations, education, environmental, geo data and as a management resources group leader and information technology director.

“He was a coordinator of the ‘Remember the Removal’ Bike Ride, a former operations director at Northeastern State University and vice president of Armstrong Bank,” a news release states. “He has a bachelor of science in engineering design from Northeastern State University.”

S. Joe Crittenden, who just left office as the tribe’s deputy chief, was appointed to a new Cabinet-level position called secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Councilors also approved one of Hoskin’s first initiatives in office called the Housing, Jobs, And Sustainable Communities Act of 2019, a $30 million plan to rehabilitate homes for elderly, disabled and lowincome Cherokees.

Kimberly Teehee was also confirmed as the tribe’s delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, enacting a treaty provision that the tribe has never enforced.

Teehee is the CNB vice president of government relations and a former adviser to President Barack Obama. The congressional delegate provision is outlined in two treaties with the U.S. government, in Article XII of the 1785 Treaty of Hopewell and in Article VII of the 1835 Treaty of New Echota. It is also outlined in the tribe’s 1999 Constitution.

According to the 1999 Constitution, a delegate will participate in congressional activities, advocate for the best interest of the Cherokee people, make reports to the Tribal Council and principal chief on congressional activities and administrative matters in relation to federal law and policy and produce an annual report to the Cherokee people.

Teehee now begins a long process of obtaining a delegate seat in Congress, Hoskin said.

“It will be a process of educating members of what our rights are and working through that process,” he said Aug. 22. “This will be the first time that an Indian nation has sent a delegate to Congress. It’s certainly the first for Cherokee Nation. Kim Teehee, in addition to being someone who could serve as delegate, also is the natural person to shepherd us through this process.”

Also on Aug. 29, current Registrar Frankie Hargis was reappointed to her post.

4

CHEROKEE PHOENIX • SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

OPINION • ᏃᎵᏍᎬ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019

Cherokee Phoenix SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 Volume 43, No. 18

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

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Editorial Board Lauren Jones Cusick Kendra McGeady Brenda Thompson Ceciley Thomason-Murphy Maxie Thompson 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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Copyright 2019: The entire contents of the Cherokee Phoenix are fully protected by copyright unless otherwise noted and may be reproduced if the copyright is noted and credit is given to the Cherokee Phoenix, the writer and the photographer. Requests to reprint should be directed to the editor at the above address. Material provided through membership with Associated Press NewsFinder, identified by (AP), may not be reproduced without permission of the Associated Press.

Native American Journalists Association

LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Two opposing players go after the ball during the youth exhibition stickball game on Aug. 31 at the Sequoyah High School football field in Tahlequah during the 67th annual Cherokee National Holiday.

Expanding efforts with at-large Cherokee Nation citizens

BY CHUCK HOSKIN JR. Principal Chief Today, more than 63% of our nearly 380,000 tribal citizens reside outside Cherokee Nation’s legal jurisdiction. One thing we’ve heard loud and clear: Our at-large Cherokees want to be involved with their tribe. To better engage the perspectives of our at-large citizens, the CN has established the AtLarge Cherokee Advisory Committee.

When I served as secretary of state, one of my greatest joys was visiting our Cherokee communities and hearing input from our citizens across Oklahoma and throughout the country.

And today as principal chief, I remain committed to enhancing civic and cultural engagement between the CN and our at-large CN citizens.

The new advisory committee will be an integral part of this administration’s

efforts to include the voices of the atlarge community and ensure their needs and perspectives are considered in future policy initiatives of the CN. We intend to support community organization among all our tribal citizens, no matter where their zip code lies.

Toward that end, the committee will work to expand cultural enrichment activities for at-large Cherokee communities. It will also enhance the various ways the CN interacts with its at-large citizens and their community leaders.

The advisory committee’s objectives are: • to engage with the at-large citizens and satellite community organizations, • to explore community-based policy priorities, • to identify gaps in the delivery of available support and outreach to at-large tribal citizens and satellite community organizations, and • to identify opportunities to promote language preservation, cultural

enrichment, civic activities and community fellowship.

We will build on the grant program we established last year so that atlarge organizations have more fiscal resources to build capacity, strength and a stronger sense of self-determination.

The committee will also identify at-large CN citizens who demonstrate leadership in maintaining cultural integrity and promoting tribal values, civic engagement, volunteerism or business acumen.

The formation of this new committee ushers in many new opportunities for our at-large communities to have a more direct dialogue with both my office and the CN’s Community and Cultural Outreach department.

Organizing within our Cherokee communities, wherever they may be, is the right thing to do. All of our citizens deserve an equal voice. It is something I strongly believe in, and I am excited to continue to build upon this effort as your chief.

ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

Community • ᎾᎥ ᏄᎾᏓᎸ

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

5

RCCA making difference in Rogers County

The Rogers County Cherokee Association was founded in 2003 to promote Cherokee culture in the county.

BY GABRIELLE BUDDER Former Intern CLAREMORE – In the Tiawah hills, beside the fire department and JustusTiawah Elementary School, sits the Rogers County Cherokee Association building.

The RCCA was founded in 2003 with a mission to promote Cherokee culture by organizing cultural workshops, hosting influential speakers, offering scholarships for Cherokee students and volunteering to assist individuals or organizations within the community.

“RCCA is important to learn our history, interact with our youth, and the (finger weaving) class is fun. I didn’t have this in my youth, so I’m glad I can bring (my daughters) here,” RCCA member Stephanie Newman said.

Workshops are based on members’ interests and vary from arts and crafts such as finger weaving to cultural sports such as stickball. Most workshops are open to the public for little to no cost, except for when there is an extra tool people take home with them.

“My big thing is not only did I want

people to have the access, but I wanted them to have the free access,” Danielle Culp, finger-weaving teacher, said.

Culp said even though she practices her culture, if she were not able to teach others and continue those traditional practices then there wouldn’t be any point in knowing them.

“I want to be the ancestor that passes things on,” she said.

Along with the workshops, the RCCA also works to impact students in the community. It intends to partner with area schools to teach Cherokee history and to aid them in Johnson-O’Malley programs. RCCA also has scholarships for students wanting to attend Rogers State University in Claremore. There is currently one scholarship open, and Cherokee students are encouraged to contact the organization to apply.

To join the RCCA, there is an annual due of $25 for families and $10 per individual. Members meet monthly on the second Sunday of each month, except in September and December.

For more information, call 539-7772898 or email Amy Pinkerton, RCCA president, at amy.pinkerton@yahoo.com.

COURTESY Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. visits with at-large Cherokee Nation citizen George Schwartz at a community meeting in Norman. Hoskin signed an executive order at the meeting that establishes an At-Large Cherokee Advisory Committee to better engage the policy perspectives of at-large citizens.

Hoskin order establishes At-Large Advisory Committee

It is supposed to better engage policy perspectives of atlarge citizens and try to expand grant opportunities for at-large communities.

BY STAFF REPORTS

ARCHIVE Women work on finger weaving in the Rogers County Cherokee Association building in Tiawah near Claremore. The RCCA promotes Cherokee culture by organizing workshops, hosting speakers and offering scholarships.

NORMAN – Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. signed an executive order Aug. 27 establishing an At-Large Cherokee Advisory Committee that Cherokee Nation officials say will better engage the policy perspectives of atlarge citizens in Oklahoma and across the United States.

The committee will also work to expand grant opportunities and cultural enrichment activities for at-large Cherokee communities, according to a CN press release.

Hoskin signed the order while at an at-large community meeting in Norman.

“When I was elected chief, I committed to enhancing the civic and cultural engagement between the Cherokee Nation and our at-large Cherokee Nation citizens living outside the exterior boundaries of the 14-county tribal jurisdiction,” Hoskin said. “It is also the policy of this administration to elevate the voice of the at-large community and ensure their needs and perspectives are considered in future policy initiatives of the Cherokee Nation and to support community organization among all our tribal citizens no matter where their zip code lies.”

According to the release, the At-Large Cherokee Advisory Committee will be

made up of five members. The director of CN Community & Cultural Outreach, the department which oversees at-large community meetings and the at-large community organizations, will be a member. The remaining four members will be CN citizens with substantial ties to the at-large community and whose terms shall ordinarily be one year except to stagger initial terms, the release states.

It also states the committee’s objectives are to engage with the atlarge citizens and satellite community organizations; to explore communitybased policy priorities; identify gaps in the delivery of available support and outreach to at-large tribal citizens and satellite community organizations; and identify opportunities to promote language preservation, cultural enrichment, civic activities and community fellowship.

The committee will also identify at-large CN citizens that demonstrate leadership in maintaining cultural integrity, promoting tribal values, civic engagement, volunteerism or business acumen, according to the release.

The advisory committee will meet at least quarterly, including by conference call, the release states.

For information, call 918-525-2436 or 918-316-1687.

In Memoriam Rosella Bridge March 6, 1933 – Sept. 2, 2019 Gary Dean Chapman Jan. 2, 1938 – Sept. 3, 2019 Barbara Jean Chastain July 1, 1943 – Aug. 12, 2019 Fannie Mae Cowan Jan. 7, 1930 – Aug. 22, 2019 Everett Dodson Dec. 19, 1932 – Aug. 31, 2019

Shana Elaine Grass Jan. 8, 1968 – Aug. 27, 2019

Viola Hutchison March 25, 1945 – Sept. 6, 2019

Deborah Hall Oct. 7, 1959 – Aug. 31, 2019

Loyetta Jean O’Connor Aug. 25, 1936 – Sept. 6, 2019

Jack Manuel Henson Jan. 17, 1949 – Sept. 6, 2019

Roy Teehee July 6, 1947 – Aug. 23, 2019

Shirley Ann (Foster) Henson-Long June 1, 1942 – Aug. 18, 2019

Deloris Woods April 3, 1959 – Aug. 31, 2019

Community Events Sept. 19 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.

Sept. 23 Christie, 7 p.m., 918-778-3423 Illinois River Area Community Organization Inc. Illinois River Area Volunteer Fire Department building, 6 p.m.

Sept. 24 Dry Creek, 7 p.m., 918-457-5023 Tuesdays Veterans Affairs representatives Cherokee Nation Veterans Center Tahlequah, 918-772-4166 or 918-453-5695 The Veterans Center will host VA reps for all veterans to speak to from 9 a.m. to 3 pm.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays Marble City Nutrition Center 711 N. Main, 918-775-2158

The Marble City Nutrition Center serves hot 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. Gather for fellowship and friendship. Volunteers welcome.

First Friday of every month Concho Community Building 405-422-7622, The Indian Art Market invites all Indian artists to come and sell/share their work.

Year Round

Will Rogers Memorial Museum Claremore, 918-341-0719 The museum honors the Cherokee cowboy, movie star, writer and humorist from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with nine galleries, three theaters and a special children’s museum. Closed on Monday and Tuesday from Nov. 11 through February.

Community Events Contact To have your event placed in our Community Events section, call Assistant Editor Will Chavez at 918-207-3961 or email will-chavez@cheorkee.org.

6

CHEROKEE PHOENIX • SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

Health • ᎠᏰᎸ ᏄᏍᏛ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019

Research institute examines Adair County health

“I can tell you on a personal note, this is an amazing document. I think that it’s going to be of tremendous assistance in working in Adair County.”

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter TAHLEQUAH – An Oklahoma research institute has conducted a detailed, health-focused review of Adair County, according to Cherokee Nation health care professionals.

CN Public Health Senior Director Lisa Pivec told the Tribal Council’s Public Health Sub-Committee that the Oklahoma City-based Lynn Institute completed an Adair County assessment.

“We were working with the Lynn Institute prior to the article in 2018 in the Washington Post about the U.S. Small Area Life Expectancy Estimates Project, which deemed that Adair County had the lowest life expectancy of any county in the United States,” Pivec said Aug. 29. “We were already working with the Lynn Institute at that time, and when the report came out, we started to dig into it. We started discussing how we might dig a little farther into that. What we were looking at didn’t match what we were reading. It was very hard to believe that these were accurate statistics. So we worked with the Lynn Institute, who is a nonprofit organization that does projects like this across Oklahoma.”

In 2018, Adair County and Stilwell made national headlines for having the lowest life expectancy in America, but CN leaders have questioned the accuracy of the study that led to that distinction.

Dubbed the “Strawberry Capital of the World,” Stilwell serves as the county

Lisa Pivec, Public Health senior director

CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX An Oklahoma research institute has conducted a detailed, health-focused review of Adair County, according to Cherokee Nation health care professionals. The results are now with the tribe’s Institutional Review Board. seat of Adair County. Nearly half of the estimated 4,000 Stilwell residents are Native American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Stilwell residents are expected to live an average of 56.3 years, which is 22.5 years lower than the national average, according to a first-ofits-kind study released by the Centers of Disease Control & Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Pivec said the new assessment included 41 “key informant” interviews, 480-plus online surveys via social media and comparisons with other counties, tribal districts and the state.

“They did public opinion regarding the media reports on Adair County and Stilwell,” Pivec said. “Then they made specific Adair County recommendations to improve the health and well-being of all

Judge orders drugmaker to pay $572 million in opioid lawsuit

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – An Oklahoma judge on Aug. 26 found Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries helped fuel the state’s opioid crisis and ordered the consumer products giant to pay $572 million, more than twice the amount another drug manufacturer agreed to pay in a settlement.

Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman’s ruling followed the first state opioid case to make it to trial and could help shape negotiations over roughly 1,500 similar lawsuits filed by state, local and tribal governments consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio.

“The opioid crisis has ravaged the state of Oklahoma,” Balkman said before announcing the judgment. “It must be abated immediately.”

An attorney for the companies said they plan to appeal the ruling to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Before Oklahoma’s trial began May 28, the state reached settlements with two other defendant groups – a $270 million deal with OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma and an $85 million settlement with Israeli-owned Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Oklahoma argued the companies and their subsidiaries created a public nuisance by launching an aggressive and misleading marketing campaign that overstated how effective the drugs were for treating chronic pain and understated the risk of addiction.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says opioid overdoses killed 4,653 people in the state from 2007-17.

Hunter called Johnson & Johnson a “kingpin” company that was motivated by greed. He specifically pointed to two former Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries, Noramco and Tasmanian Alkaloids, which produced much of the raw opium used by other manufacturers to produce the drugs.

Hunter said the Oklahoma case could provide a “road map” for other states to follow in holding drugmakers responsible for the opioid crisis.

“That’s the message to other states: We did it in Oklahoma. You can do it elsewhere,” Hunter said. “Johnson & Johnson will finally be held accountable for thousands of deaths and addictions caused by their activities.”

Among those seated in the courtroom were Craig and Gail Box, whose son Austin was a 22-year-old standout linebacker for the Oklahoma Sooners when he died of a prescription drug

overdose in 2011.

One of the attorneys for the state, Reggie Whitten, said he also lost a son to opioid abuse.

“I feel like my boy is looking down,” Whitten said after the judge’s ruling, his voice cracking with emotion.

Oklahoma pursued the case under the state’s public nuisance statute and presented the judge with a plan to abate the crisis that would cost between $12.6 billion for 20 years and $17.5 billion over 30 years. Attorneys for Johnson & Johnson have said that estimate is wildly inflated. The judge’s award would cover the costs of one year of the state’s abatement plan, funding things such as opioid use prevention and addiction treatment.

Attorneys for the company have maintained they were part of a lawful and heavily regulated industry subject to strict federal oversight, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, during every step of the supply chain. Lawyers for the company said the judgment was a misapplication of public nuisance law.

Sabrina Strong, an attorney for Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries, said the companies have sympathy for those who suffer from substance abuse but called the judge’s decision “flawed.”

“You can’t sue your way out of the opioid abuse crisis,” Strong said.

“Litigation is not the answer.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the cases consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio called the Oklahoma judgment “a milestone amid the mounting evidence against the opioid pharmaceutical industry.”

“While public nuisance laws differ in every state, this decision is a critical step forward for the more than 2,000 cities, counties, and towns we represent in the consolidation of federal opioid cases,” they said in a statement.

Also on Aug. 26, the Kentucky Supreme Court declined to review an earlier ruling, making previously secret testimony from former Purdue Pharma President Rickard Sackler and other documents public. The court record was sealed in 2015 as part of a $24 million settlement between Purdue and Kentucky.

The 17 million pages of documents were being shipped from Frankfort to Pike County, where the case originated.

The Pike County Circuit Court Clerk’s office could not immediately say how and when they would be available.

SUE OGROCKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS Judge Thad Balkman arrives to give his decision in the opioid lawsuit on Aug. 26 in Norman. Balkman found Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries helped fuel the state’s opioid drug crisis and ordered the consumer products giant to pay $572 million to help abate the problem in the coming years.

residents. We reviewed all of this in a threehour session with the Lynn Institute.”

Assessment results are in the hands of the CN’s Institutional Review Board, Pivec told councilors.

“Per protocol, it has to be reviewed,” she said. “It has to be vetted through there to be sure that the research and methodology that they said they were going to do they did do, and that everything is sound within the document. I can tell you on a personal note, this is an amazing document. I think that it’s going to be of tremendous assistance in working in Adair County.”

Tribal Councilor and committee member Mary Baker Shaw said she was looking forward to hearing research results.

“I cannot wait for the IRB to finish with that because I am dying to hear your presentation on that,” she said.

“I’m thrilled that you all worked with the Lynn Institute because, my goodness, the caliber of that organization is legendary, for lack of a better way to put it.”

ADAM FONDREN/RAPID CITY JOURNAL VIA AP This June 11 photo shows the Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Indian Health Service, which administers health care for Native Americans, has long been plagued with problems that have kept it from improving in its delivery of health care to the more than 2.5 million people who depend on it.

Report: Native American health agency at crossroads

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – Emergency rooms shut down for months. Hospitals put patients at risk for opioid abuse and overdoses. A longtime pediatrician was charged with sexually abusing children.

The federal agency that administers health care for more than 2.5 million Native Americans has long been plagued with problems that have kept it from improving health care delivery.

Money, staffing, infrastructure, health disparities and a general lack of accountability all have played a part.

A federal report released Aug. 29 said things won’t get better unless the Indian Health Service takes a serious look at its organizational structure, which the report said fails to adequately track hospital performance and leaves workers uncertain about their roles and responsibilities.

The report by the U.S. Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General doesn’t make any formal recommendations but is meant to maintain pressure on the IHS as it implements a five-year plan to address access to health care, quality, management and operations, Dallas regional inspector Ruth Ann Dorrill said.

“It’s a matter of getting from that page to the direct service delivery and to the patients themselves so they can walk into IHS hospitals and feel like they are consistently and reliably getting highquality care,” Dorrill said.

The IHS says it recognizes the release of its strategic plan earlier this year is a first step and that embedding the changes within the agency will take time. The plan outlines goals to recruit and retain employees, improve data collection, provide culturally appropriate care and expand services.

“Through sustained effort, partnership with tribal communities and a sincere desire to do better, we will achieve the best care possible for our patients,” IHS spokesman Joshua Barnett wrote in a statement to The Associated Press.

Jerilyn Church, chief executive of the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board, was more skeptical. She said the issues are deeply entrenched and won’t be fixed without significant and consistent input from tribes and tribal organizations, which she hasn’t seen yet.

“The lack of trust, the lack of improvement, you can’t overcome those kinds of failures in a vacuum,” Church said.

The IHS repeatedly has been the focus of congressional hearings and scathing government reports that seek reform. It runs two dozen hospitals and nearly 80 other health care facilities around the country, most of which are small and on or near Native American reservations.

One-quarter of the hospitals are in the

Great Plains region that serves Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Hospitals in that region have had Medicare funds yanked, and shut down services temporarily or permanently.

Elsewhere in New Mexico and South Dakota, emergency room departments were shuttered for months between 2014 and 2017.

The Office of Inspector General released a report last month that found a handful of IHS hospitals put Native American patients at risk for opioid abuse and overdoses because they failed to follow their own protocols for prescribing and dispensing the drug.

In a separate report released the same day, the office said the IHS made significant improvements at its hospital on the remote Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota after the emergency department was abruptly but temporarily closed a few years ago. But it still struggles to hire adequate staff and managers.

A pediatrician accused of sex abuse, Stanley Patrick Weber, was sentenced in January to 18 years in prison for improperly touching two boys on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana. He’s awaiting trial in Rapid City, South Dakota, on several charges of sexually abusing Native American children between 1998 and 2005 while working for the IHS on the Pine Ridge reservation.

The IHS this year contracted for an independent review of how it addressed accusations against Weber. Two other inquiries are underway.

The agency has been focused on change in the last few years to ensure all hospitals are reviewed by the same accreditation agency, created an Office of Quality, increased incentives for scholarship and loan repayments for employees, and enhanced screening for new hires.

The Office of Inspector General interviewed current and former IHS employees and other health care professionals for its latest report. It said formal structures would help employees understand their jobs and keep them accountable. The report also found frequent turnover in leadership led to changes in policies that didn’t provide clear direction.

One unnamed interviewee said: “We build our own processes as we go and hope that we are making progress.”

Despite the issues, Dorrill said the IHS is headed in the right direction.

“We’ve been moved by their obvious, deep commitment to their mission and to their patients,” she said. “When we’ve pointed out these disconnects ... we feel like they’re listening.”

ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

Education • ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

7

SNRC provides preservation of Native documents

BY LINDSEY BARK Reporter LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In 1983, Native author Vine Deloria Jr. stressed the need of a repository for Native American newspapers and periodicals after failed attempts to do so by Native American organizations, historical societies and academic institutions.

That same year, Cherokee Nation citizen and Sequoyah National Research Center Director Dan Littlefield, Ph.D., and his colleague, James Parins, both tenured faculty members in the English Department at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, established the American Native Press Archives.

Today, the ANPA is part of the SNRC, which aims to provide the public the most comprehensive collection of Native American newspapers, periodicals and other publications. It maintains manuscripts and special collections, and acquires materials related to Native communities.

The SNRC has about 120 manuscript collections, including a large collection from Native journalists, the American Indian Library Association and the Garrard Ardeneum collection.

Littlefield said one of the largest and most-utilized, but not completely processed, collections that can be found at the SNRC is on Indian removal.

It contains thousands of documents that were retrieved from the National Archives.

In addition, the SNRC contains microfilm collections of tribal documents from tribes including the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Choctaw and Quapaw nations.

The Cherokee collection includes Cherokee National Records on 128 rolls of microfilm; a collection of manuscripts by the late Cherokee author Robert J. Conley, career memorabilia, copies of editions of his work and personal library; the Frazier Family Trust Collection that includes Gideon Morgan family papers and Gus Ivey papers; the Cherokee Phoenix from New Echota, Georgia, on microfilm; the Cherokee Advocate to the early 1900s on microfilm; current editions of the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper; the Cherokee One Feather newspaper from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina; the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Research Collection; and other Cherokee

COURTESY PHOTOS Dr. Dan Littlefield, Ph.D., a Cherokee Nation citizen and the Sequoyah National Research Center’s director, stands amid preserved newspapers at the SNRC in Little Rock, Arkansas.

“It exists because of the generosity of the tribes and institutions who bowed to us in the collection process.”

Dan Littlefield, Sequoyah National Research Center director

LEFT: Acid-free boxes contain the works of the late Cherokee author Robert J. Conley at the Sequoyah National Research Center at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. The SNRC provides a large collection of resources used to study Native American life and culture. RIGHT: The Sequoyah National Research Center contains a library catalogued with books from Indian removal and the Dawes Commission to the Spiro Mounds. It’s located in Little Rock at the University of Arkansas. newsletters and periodicals.

In addition to housing collections, the SNRC maintains the website ualr.edu/ sequoyah as a research guide, engages in active partnerships with other research institutions and entities, provides a research setting for local and regional students as well as for student scholars and independent researchers nationally and abroad. It also provides summer internships.

“One of the driving questions for Jim Parins and me was what writers in future generations would use to write

the histories of Indian affairs during the 20th century. Major repositories were not archiving contemporary information.

They were just interested in the 19th and earlier centuries,” Littlefield said.

He said one complaint about histories at the time when needing a repository was there was little of the Indian’s perspective in them. He said there was no better source future historians could have than the works of tribal people. Those works gave better insight into tribal communities than tribal publications, publics relations

information and other documents, he said. “We wanted to make sure some of those materials survived.”

The SNRC uses microfilming and acid-free boxes to preserve documents.

“We follow accepted archival standards in taking preservation measures for newspapers and periodicals,” Littlefield said.

He said items are arranged chronologically in acid-free boxes and stored in low light areas. He added that atmosphere control is another important factor, that lower temperatures and humidity are better.

“How successful we are depends, in part, on the quality of the paper used in a publication. Some tribal newspapers use highly acidic newsprint, while few publish on less acidic paper. Most magazines are published on a higher quality paper and will, if taken care of, outlast the newsprint publications,” Littlefield said.

He said, for example, the SNRC has a copy of the Choctaw Telegraph published in Doaksville, Indian Territory, in 1849 and the pages are like turning sheets of cloth.

He said preserving in digital format can be difficult with ever-changing technology.

“The experts all tell us that digital records are unstable. Technology is constantly changing. There is not a server today that will be operational in 20 years from now, but the Navajo Times we have from the late 1950s will still be available for research,” he said.

He said there are several ways to access documents. If the collection is catalogued, a simple search on the SNRC website can be used by clicking on catalog search or archives search and entering a search term.

If a collection has not been catalogued, needed information can be digitized and emailed directly. If a search is too extensive to be handled by email, then an in-person visit to the SNRC may be required.

“That is the amazing thing about this collection. It exists because of the generosity of the tribes and institutions who bowed to us in the collection process,” he said.

The SNRC is at 500 University Plaza on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus. For information, call 501-5698336 or email sequoyah@ualr.edu.

Modern technology advances Cherokee language BY lindsey bark Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – Ever since Sequoyah created the Cherokee syllabary for reading and writing, technology has advanced the language more and more into a contemporary form. And now in the digital age, technology is expanding the language’s vocabulary.

Anyone using a smartphone, tablet or computer can access the Cherokee language by changing the language in their devices’ settings. Because of modern technology, Cherokee translators in the Cherokee Nation’s Language Department, as well as the Cherokee Language Consortium, are creating more words to keep up with today’s vernacular.

The Cherokee Language Consortium is comprised of fluent speakers from the CN, United Keetoowah Band and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians who translate modern words into Cherokee.

Language Department Manager Roy Boney helped get the language into technological media.

“Probably the biggest, most wellknown example is the iPhone, which has Cherokee language support on it.

You go through some settings and you can enable a Cherokee keyboard so you can type and text and do everything in Cherokee on the phone,” Boney said.

“At the moment, pretty much any technology you can think of, you can do it in Cherokee now. That was a pretty long process. We started trying to do these projects back in 2008.”

He said Microsoft Office software also has an online program in which Cherokee can be accessed.

“How this all works in the bigger picture is all languages that are on computers and phones, anything that’s digital, there’s a group called Unicode Consortium that governs how these languages are used on technology,” Boney said. “The languages have to follow the standard of Unicode. About the year 2000, the Cherokee language, the syllabary, was actually coded into that Unicode system. So when that happened, it allowed all of this other technology to fall into place.”

He said Cherokee was the first Native American language to be encoded. Now other tribes are following suit.

“As a result of the work that we’ve done with the technology at Cherokee Nation, we’re the only tribe that’s a member of the Unicode Consortium group. I serve as the liaison representative to the Unicode Consortium for the Cherokee Nation.

So if there are other tribes that want to come in and do this work, we can guide them through this process,” Boney said.

With technology, the Language Department is also able to translate for other tribal departments when needed, including the Cherokee Phoenix.

“The Cherokee Phoenix has been doing articles since it formed initially.

So this tradition continues. We have five full-time Cherokee translators.

What they do is they’ll read the story and they’ll sit down and write the translation for it,” Boney said.

He said once a story translation is complete for the Phoenix, the translator will record audio for it. Then readers can scan a QR code with their smartphones to hear the translated story’s audio.

The Language Department also created translations for classroom and training materials after fielding requests and placing those translations onto the tribe’s website for download.

Boney said in addition to online Cherokee classes taught by Ed Fields, the Language Department is starting an online course with Rogers State University in the fall to expand its online presence.

“When you look at the bigger picture, when Sequoyah made the syllabary back at the time, people don’t think of writing as a technology. But it is. You’re using a tool to communicate, and that’s a form of technology to do that,” Boney said.

“So every time there’s a new version of some writing technology, the syllabary’s been updated for it. Where we are now is the same idea. Texting, social media and everything, that’s just the next evolution of technology in Cherokee, and the Cherokee syllabary’s just evolved along with it.”

Thanks to technology, the Cherokee language can be accessed on devices such as the iPhone and users can text in the language. The Cherokee Nation’s Language Department has helped create such technology in recent years.

COURTESY PHOTOS LEFT: In 2018, the Cherokee Phoenix printed an entire issue in the Cherokee language thanks to translations from the Cherokee Nation’s Language Department. RIGHT: The Cherokee Language Consortium made up of fluent speakers from the Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has translated and documented modern words that are used in language technology.

cherokeephoenix.org

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CHEROKEE PHOENIX • SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

Services • ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ

ARCHIVE Geremy Chuculate, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Pelivan Transit bus driver in Grove, helps load a wheelchair-bound man into the Pelivan bus Chuculate drives. The CN offers reliable, safe and affordable transport for Native Americans by contracting with agencies to provide more than 100,000 rides per year.

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019

ARCHIVE A Ki Bois Area Transit System driver helps a passenger into a KATS bus by holding her bag and the door for her. The Cherokee Nation contracts with KATS, as well as Pelivan Transit, Muskogee County Transit and Cimarron Public Transit to conduct daily operations.

CN Transit serves commuters in NE Okla.

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – When area residents find themselves without wheels or maybe don’t feel comfortable driving anymore, or just want to reduce gasoline consumption, Cherokee Nation Transit can get them to their respective points A and B. CN Transit offers reliable, affordable and safe transport for Native Americans to their destinations by contracting with agencies to provide more than 100,000 rides per year.

“The program contracts with four area transit agencies to conduct daily operations,” Michael Lynn, former CN Department of Transportation director, said.

“Those include Ki Bois Area Transit or KATS, Pelivan Transit, Muskogee County Transit and Cimarron Public Transit. The CN collects monthly reports from each agency, which provides the number of rides during a reporting period. In fiscal 2018, the CN provided a total of 107,712 rides, which equates to 8,976 rides per month or 2,071 rides per week.”

CN Transit has identified five primary “destinations of necessity” for clients: jobs or employment, health care appointments, government services and offices, grocery stores and financial institutions.

“I noticed KATS bringing some folks by the Cherokee County Election Board to vote early in the Tahlequah city elections,” Lynn said. “The elderly and less mobile most definitely use our transit system, but that’s not all.

The most recent report tells us that, of our five priority destinations, 31 percent of our riders are accessing employment, followed by grocery shopping at 29 percent.

Both health care and government services are tied at 19 percent while the remaining 2 percent of our ridership accesses financial institutions.”

Lynn said when the CN enters into a contract with a transportation service, those agreements include demand responsive, or “curb-to-curb,” amenities, usually within city limits, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The Nation also contracts with three of the four agencies to provide commuter route services – long hauls from town to town – at the times and days specified by schedule,” Lynn said.

The tribe first provided transit service in 2008 through KATS, and offered tribal employees and the public with “park and ride” commuter service between Stilwell and Tahlequah. A contract was inked with Pelivan in 2009 to cover a route between Catoosa and Pryor.

Lynn said the transit services were first considered in 2005 during reauthorization of transportation legislation.

“Tribal transit programs had not been authorized before then, but the tribes were successful in acquiring annual federal funding to address the mobility needs in Indian Country,” he said. “In 2006, the Nation obtained a planning grant to see where transit services were needed the most, and by 2007 had obtained its first bus.

Since then, the Nation’s transit program has grown by leaps and bounds, operating with 16 vehicles.”

Transit contracts call for 16 vehicles leased to area transit agencies for use within their respective jurisdictions. Seven are provided through KATS, six through Pelivan, two through Muskogee County and one via Cimarron.

The demand response fare is 50 cents one way or $1 round trip. Commuter fares are the same price, except on Fridays when the trips are offered for no charge.

In fiscal year 2017, the CN invested nearly $265,000 in federal Tribal Transportation Program funding to improve several area transit program operations.

Each year, the tribe uses a portion of its TTP funds to provide additional transit services for CN citizens and the public.

For information on CN Transit Services or the contracted transit providers, call 1-800-256-0671 or visit http://transit.cherokee.org.

Human Services helps families avoid eviction

COURTESY In this file photo, Cherokee Nation Human Services staff members deliver a wood stove to a CN citizen’s home as part of the tribe’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Family Assistance applicants must meet eligibility guidelines and show they can make payments.

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

assistance,” Ward said. “The worker will need to take their (family’s) application and make sure they have TAHLEQUAH – Many people all the documents to complete the live paycheck to paycheck and as a application. If they don’t, it will delay consequence, many households are being able to process the application if only an emergency or two from missing they are eligible.” house payments or getting crossways Ward encouraged applicants to call with landlords. Some families may even Human Services if they are unsure find themselves homeless. of what documents to bring. “All Thanks to assistance from the documents must be provided within Cherokee Nation’s Human Services, five days of the applicant making the many CN citizens can get some application, or the application will be breathing space on their housing and denied,” she said. utility debts.

She said it’s imperative that those Human Services can help those living requesting assistance have an idea of in residential and transitional housing what they can afford to pay for housing through its Family Assistance program. and utilities. Human Services programs Many applicants looking for help are will request income information for the in a housing program with the Housing previous 12 months. Some applicants Authority of the Cherokee Nation, or are snared, or at least frustrated, by renting. some common pitfalls.

“Not having all their documents delays the application from being completed,” Ward said.

“The worker cannot process the application without all required documents. When someone comes in for Janet Ward, Family Assistance manager assistance, they need to have a plan. What will be Human Services’ emergency housing different next month? Our programs assistance is given once – and in rare are to prevent homelessness, but at the cases twice – and is not granted on same time we have to show that they a monthly basis. The aim of Family can maintain the housing or utility Assistance is to prevent homelessness payments after the assistance.” rather than assist the homeless, but Applications also should be timely.

CN citizens who are homeless can visit Some seek help after holding out hope Human Services for information and for too long, or perhaps they have just initial guidance. procrastinated.

“When someone comes in and states “Waiting till the day of the cut-off that they are homeless, the advocate or day of eviction sometimes causes will assess the situation to see what is problems,” Ward said. “There are utility going on,” Family Assistance Manager companies that will not work with Janet Ward said. “One of the first things Cherokee Nation if you wait till the day we are going to do is to see if they have of cut-off, or the company may require family and friends that they can stay cash to get utilities turned back on or to with. If they don’t, then we will try prevent them from being disconnected.” to locate shelter placement for them.

Those seeking help must also meet They will also be referred to Housing specific guidelines.

Authority.”

“You must live within Cherokee It may be necessary for a family to Nation jurisdiction, have a tribal move to housing that is more within its membership card from a federally budget. The Human Services assistance recognized tribe and meet the income can stave off eviction or utility service guidelines,” Ward said. “If you do not disruption, but recipients must show meet the eligibility guidelines, the that they can maintain payments applicant will be referred to other themselves. agencies in their area.”

“We recommend that families don’t For information, call 918-453-5422. wait till last minute to come in for

“Our programs are to prevent homelessness, but at the same time we have to show that they can maintain the housing or utility payments after the assistance.”

Emergency Housing Assistance: 918-453-5422

LIHEAP aids low-income elderly, disabled Natives

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH – The Cherokee Nation’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps low-income elderly and disabled Native Americans annually with winter heating and summer cooling costs.

Family Assistance Manager Janet Ward said cooling funds are for elders 60 years and older and for disabled people who received LIHEAP help in the winter.

Payments are made to electricity sources.

“We will send out an update form for them just to fill out for their electric company just to make sure that’s good.

We make our payment about the end of July, first part of August,” Ward said.

Family Assistance also has an air conditioner loan program for those in need of refrigerated air.

“We have an air conditioner loaner program that if someone has a medical condition and requires that they have refrigerated air…they cannot have a working central heat and air or an air conditioner already in their home. We can’t supplement it,” Ward said.

She said air conditioner program applicants must be completely without any type of cooling source and meet LIHEAP eligibility.

To qualify for LIHEAP, participants must be at the national poverty level plus 50 percent. For example, a family of one must not make more than $18,210 annually for fiscal year 2019.

Ward said LIHEAP is funded through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and funding can change year to year, depending on how much the federal government funds the block grant distributed to Oklahoma tribes. Payment rates for heating and cooling sources through the CN’s LIHEAP for the elderly and disabled can change yearly.

This past winter, Ward said the program helped more than 2,076 participants with payments to their heating vendors. This included the

elderly, disabled and non-elderly and nondisabled participants who met LIHEAP requirements.

“Regular winter LIHEAP, we do that in October and November for the elderly and disabled, and then in December we open it up to everyone else,” Ward said.

“There are families, especially when you talk about the elderly and disabled people who are on a fixed income, if they did not have LIHEAP to help them then they would have to be making the choice between whether to stay warm or cool, or food, or a lot of times to pay their medical expenses.”

She said participants have been “grateful” for the program.

“To be truthful, there would be a lot of our elders who would be really hot during the summer time and cold during the winter because they would be trying to conserve just as much as they could.

It just gives them a kind of jumpstart and keeps them going and carries them through for a little while. It does cut down on what portion they would have to pay,” Ward said.

The required documents to apply for LIHEAP include a tribal citizenship card from a federally recognized tribe, Social Security card, verification of household income (includes all household members and income such as social security, disability, working income and child support) and utility bill of main heating source to verify vendor.

Participants must live in the CN jurisdiction and bring a document to verify their 911 addresses.

Ward said “we will be doing LIHEAP a little different this year.” The elderly and disabled who previously received LIHEAP and are 69 years and younger will be mailed out applications for them to complete and turn back in to the office for processing. The elderly and disabled who are 70 years and above will be scheduled appointments to come in and apply. For information, call 918-453-5327.

Money • ᎠᏕᎳ

ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

9

Blackstone Martial Arts offers online training Cherokee Nation citizen Robert Blackstone’s martial arts training can be accessed via a subscription service.

BY LINDSEY BARK Reporter

ARCHIVE From left, Stephanie Grigsby, Chrystal Winkworth and Stomping Grounds Coffee & Cakery owner Lisa Bailey stand at the businesses’ entrance. The shop started from seed money saved with time and with investments from Bailey’s family and friends. Bailey is married to a Cherokee Nation citizen.

Coffees and specialty drinks are available at Stomping Grounds Coffee & Cakery in Stilwell. CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Stomping Grounds Coffee & Cakery offers fresh desserts and baked goods such as cookies, cupcakes and brownies. CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Stomping Grounds Coffee & Cakery offers welcoming atmosphere

BY GABRIELLE BUDDER Former Intern STILWELL – At Stomping Grounds Coffee & Cakery, coffee and friends make the perfect blend.

“When I first came here, I asked where all the coffee was, and all I was told was that there wasn’t any,” Lisa Bailey, Stomping Grounds Coffee & Cakery owner, said. “I actually said, ‘we’re going to fix that.’”

In April 2017, the business opened its doors. It started from seed money saved and with investments from Bailey’s family and friends. However, before the opening, Bailey found that there was no drainage system functioning in the eatery. The discovery was going to put its opening back two months. When the residents realized that drainage system had taken up the starting money, they pitched in and helped Bailey open.

Ever since, Bailey, who is married to a Cherokee Nation citizen, has tried to bring the community good coffee in a place that feels like home.

“I want you to feel comfortable, not like you’re visiting a business, but like you’re meeting with family,” she said.

Everything within the shop was built from the ground up. And keeping within the spirit of ingenuity, Bailey helps local artists by displaying their works.

Customers also bring in their artwork or things that reminded them of the eatery.

To show her appreciation, Bailey gives them a discount and a forever home for

their art on her wall.

Local crafts and local products are also important to the Stomping Grounds crew.

“We make 95 percent of everything here in the store. I didn’t milk the cow, but I was in on the roast. All of our syrups were made from scratch, and we make the cream here. We try to keep everything as close to raw as possible since it’s more healthy,” Bailey said.

From the art to coffee, the shop expresses its personality in everything.

The top two coffee flavors for the shop are Jewel and Jinx, named after customers who frequent it.

The employees said Jinx constantly came in to buy his wife, Jewel, a coffee every morning, and then other customers would come in and ask for whatever she was getting. The shop held a survey for the best coffee, and with more than 100 entries Jewel’s drink won.

Stomping Grounds also has special sales. Customer Appreciation Day occurs twice a year, first in April for its anniversary and then six months later in October. Bailey also posts occasional flash sales on Facebook. Flash sales are rapid half-off sales on extra products.

Many of the products go fast, so Bailey encourages customers to keep an eye out for her social media posts.

Hours are 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday and 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

For more information, call 918-797-8147 or follow the business on Facebook.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – With more than 40 years of experience in many martial arts forms, Cherokee Nation citizen Robert Blackstone started an online martial arts subscription service called Blackstone Martial Arts in which anyone currently training can use for additional instruction.

Blackstone began martial arts in 1978 with his father to improve his soccer game. He is now a grandmaster with a ninth-degree black belt. He used his years of training to start a business that helps others enhance their martial arts studies with an instructional and educational video library. The website was launched in 2017.

He began creating videos for those who wanted to continue training with him. With his former students spread across the country, he decided to create videos to share with them.

From there, he made the training videos open to anyone studying martial arts or who is curious about martial arts.

“I’ve got a lot of black belts (students) across the country that have trained with me over the past 40 years, and some of them have requested to continue training with me, and the best option was to do it online. In the process of preparing something for them, we decided to go ahead and make it open to everybody. Right now, ours is established to support independent or individual martial artists,” Blackstone said.

He said the online training does not replace traditional training at schools.

“We encourage people to continue in their local schools because karate is a kinetic learning aspect. You can learn and understand the material

through an online service, but martial arts is like any other kinetic thing where until you actually apply it, or work with somebody, or have a partner training, it’s Robert really hard to get a Blackstone full understanding,” Blackstone said.

He said the videos enhance students’ training and give them more material to work on and train with other students at their local school.

“The reason we started out was to support instructors, so the people who have already had a background in martial arts, this is to give them a more in-depth, broader base, broader foundation and a bigger framework,” he said.

With more than 530 videos available, Blackstone Martial Arts offers five subscription packages consisting of basic subscriptions at $19.99 and $24.99 per month as well as three premium subscriptions for $24.99 and $29.99 per month, or a single payment of $275 for one year.

A full curriculum is available for junior cadets ages 4-7 and cadets ages 8-12. Also, videos include traditional empty-handed martial arts such as forms, self-defense, combat and rolls and falls, as well as traditional weapons such as bo, sai, nunchuka, tonfa and kama.

With new content added on a regular basis, Blackstone said he anticipates having more than 1,200 videos to complete the library.

For more information, visit www. blackstone-ma.com, blackstone_ma on Instagram, blackstone_ma on Twitter and Blackstone Martial Arts on YouTube.

“The reason we started out was to support instructors, so the people who have already had a background in martial arts, this is to give them a more in-depth, broader base, broader foundation and a bigger framework.”

Robert Blackstone, Cherokee Nation citizen

COURTESY The Blackstone Martial Arts logo features three letter F’s standing for foundation, framework, and faith. Cherokee Nation citizen Robert Blackstone helps martial arts students further their training via an online video library.

CNSD awarded Air Force contract worth up to $45M It calls for Cherokee Nation Security and Defense to upgrade and maintain vehicle barriers at Air Force bases.

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter TULSA – Adding to its long list of clients and contracts, Cherokee Nation Security and Defense – part of Cherokee Nation Businesses – was recently awarded a five-year contract worth up to $45 million with the U.S. Air Force.

Under the contract, CNSD will work with the USAF to upgrade and maintain vehicle barriers. CNSD will provide inspections, preventive maintenance and minor repairs to barriers at all Air Force bases within the contiguous 48 states.

Such barrier systems often include traffic signals, pop-up devices, drop gates and software to prevent unauthorized vehicles from entering installations.

“We are excited to continue serving our client, the federal government, through this important project aimed at helping protect military bases,” said Brandon Hill, CNSD operations general manager. “It grants our experienced team the opportunity to work side by side with the physical security specialists who protect our nation’s infrastructure and allows us to continue our pursuit of improving overall physical security initiatives.”

Rachel Wyatt, CNSD Business Development manager, said CN Security and Defense will have an array of responsibilities under the new agreement.

“As part of the contract, Cherokee Nation Security and Defense will provide all personnel, labor, equipment, supplies, tools, materials, supervision,

travel, periodic inspections, minor repairs and other items and services necessary to provide maintenance for Air Force vehicle barrier systems,” Wyatt said. “The barrier systems include equipment such as actuators, control systems and software, control wiring, circuitry, structural framework, lighting, spring assembly, hydraulic-related equipment, safety loops and other vehicle detection systems, switches, corresponding traffic lights, light duty drop arms, associated computerized systems and control cabinets.”

While the contract states it is worth “up to $45 million,” there are variables that will influence its ultimate value.

“This is a multiple award contract, meaning CNSD as well as three other contractors will compete on task orders to win the work,” Wyatt said. “The overall award has the potential to grow above the $45 million based on the demands of the USAF installations.”

CNSD operates in more than 500 locations for projects across the country and overseas at “mission-critical” U.S. government facilities. Other CNSD customers include the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Defense, Department of State, Transportation Security Administration, Treasury and the Defense Health Agency.

“Cherokee Nation Security and Defense was also recently awarded a five-year 8a General Services Administration Schedule 84 Multiple Award Schedule,” Wyatt said. “This award allows CNSD the opportunity to bid on thousands of task orders each year, giving the company more opportunities to support our current

customers, as well as introduce CNSD’s capabilities to new clients both in the U.S. and abroad.”

Wyatt said CNSD will continue to work in the best interests of the U.S. government and the Cherokee Nation to protect lives, property and critical infrastructure.

“Cherokee Nation Security and Defense specializes in anti-terrorism and force protection, delivering comprehensive services that secure facility perimeters against all threats,” she said. “CNSD implements smart design, cutting-edge technology and proven mitigation strategies into command and control stations. The company provides comprehensive turnkey solutions to help maximize simplicity and security. As the threats of terrorism and other security problems loom, CNSD assists the government in enterprise-wide physical, logical and data security programs by identifying security policy gaps and seeking additional resources as necessary.”

Steven Bilby, president of CNB diversified businesses, said fostering economic growth for the companies translates to growth for the Nation.

“Our diversified portfolio has served more than 60 government agencies, earned nearly $4 billion in contract wins since 2012, and now represents roughly 40 percent of CNB’s overall revenue,” Bilby said. “Projects such as CNSD’s upcoming work supporting the Air Force enable us to continue bringing in revenue from around the world back to the Cherokee Nation.”

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CHEROKEE PHOENIX • SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

People • ᏴᏫ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019

McAlister provides voice lessons for students

Barbara McAlister’s opera career spanned decades and took her around the world to numerous opera houses.

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – Where there are young Cherokees with singing talent, Barbara McAlister is likely nearby.

The Cherokee Nation citizen and mezzo-soprano from Muskogee has been under contract for nearly 10 years with the CN teaching classical voice, and her classes typically number 18-20 students.

“There is amazing talent here, just in Green Country,” McAlister said. “I have a lot of Cherokee students wanting lessons. I’m welcoming them.”

The reason she’s in high demand: her distinguished career as an international opera singer, which spanned decades and included more than 50 roles in the United States, Europe and Hong Kong.

Her lessons are free, and several former students have entered reputable collegiate programs or found careers in the arts.

She also received some esteemed recognition recently when she was presented a Governor’s Arts Award for long-standing leadership and contributions in the arts.

It might have not happened that way.

McAlister loved barrel racing and rodeo riding, and wanted to be a jockey until her growth spurts accumulated to 5 feet, 8 inches.

She comes from a musical family. Her mother was a pianist, and her father became fluent in German while singing in a Lutheran church choir in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was in medical school.

By her college years, first at the University of Tulsa, then at Oklahoma City University, McAlister had decided to sing.

“I left myself no way out,” she said. “I didn’t study education. During college, my voice teacher had contacts with Dallas summer musicals. She sent some of us to audition, and I got hired, so I was in professional theater right off the bat.

I forgot what I was going to sing. I had to ask my accompanist. I tripped going onstage. Everything went wrong, but I must have stood out...So I got into Dallas, and it was three months of working with people like Ginger Rogers, Carol Burnett and Werner Klemperer.”

McAlister also found other supporters, including Oklahoma actor Clu Gulager while performing at his summer stock theater in North Carolina. Before she returned home, Gulager told her if she

was ever “at loose ends” to move to California.

She discovered years later that her father provided early morning transport when young Gulager couldn’t find a ride to band practice.

“I did move to California,” McAlister said. “I met my master voice teacher, Lee Sweetland, in Hollywood. He worked with Barbra Streisand briefly when she was working on ‘Funny Girl.’

(Sweetland) saved my voice. I had a tiny voice. I worked with him a year, and suddenly the higher I’d go the more powerful it became. I always thought something was there but could never grab hold of it until he explained it: speech-based singing. You get a good solid low breath, and it’s based on how you speak.”

McAlister said she would never have met Sweetland had she not met Gulager and that she owed her voice to the instruction of Sweetland and his wife, Sally.

“They were always positive; never said you can’t do it,” she said. “I studied with him nine years, and was singing in Hollywood – chorus or whatever I could get. I just kept singing.”

Her career is well-documented. She is an Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame member. She apprenticed with the Santa Fe Opera Company and Central City Opera Company and has performed with The Washington Opera, Arizona Opera, San Diego Opera, Tulsa Opera, Florentine Opera, New York Grand Opera, Opera New England and the Cherokee Heritage Center.

She won the Loren Zachary Competition in Los Angeles and has sung mezzo-soprano in the opera houses of Passau, Koblenz, Bremerhaven and Flensburg in Germany, as well as Monte Carlo, Cannes, Modena, Ferrara, Paris, Lisbon and Hong Kong. She toured France with the New Bulgarian Opera as Ortrud in “Lohengrin” and returned the next year as the mezzo soloist in the Verdi “Requiem.”

She’s performed solo at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Weill Recital Hall.

She’s given recitals for the Mid-America Arts Alliance and Oklahoma Arts Council touring programs. She’s also sung opera arias and Native American songs in the Cherokee, Chippewa and Winnebago languages, and played Selu in the Trail of Tears musical “Mountain Windsong” at the CHC amphitheater.

COURTESY Cherokee Nation citizen Barbara McAlister has taken the stage with The Washington Opera, Arizona Opera, San Diego Opera, Tulsa Opera, Florentine Opera, New York Grand Opera and Opera New England, and has performed in numerous opera houses in Europe. Here, she is shown performing in Germany as Azucena in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.”

Now she’s teaching, which started off slowly until she asked for a few changes.

“I was hired by (former Principal Chief) Chad Smith,” McAlister said. “I sometimes sat for days, or I would find something to do and file two hours. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make a living, so I suggested that the students don’t pay, that they attend free of charge, and I be paid by the tribe to teach. It worked out.

I’ve been doing this nine years.”

She’s now seeing her students starting to go to college. “Six Cherokee students of mine are at Tulsa Youth Opera.

Two former Cherokee students are at OCU in music. One is at University of Central Oklahoma in music. One is at Dartmouth. One is at University of Oklahoma but studying medicine. Two will go to Northeastern State University this fall, one of whom performed the lead in Tulsa Opera’s ‘The Snow Queen.’”

Recalling her shyness as an emerging singer, McAlister encourages students to believe in themselves. “I remember in college my voice teacher gave me a book titled ‘I Can.’ So many people don’t want others to succeed. They say you can’t do it because you are too shy, too tall, too short, too fat. You can, and you need a burning desire where no one can stop

you. It doesn’t mean you are going to be world famous, but it does mean you will be doing what you love to do, more than anything else in the world.”

McAlister sees her instruction as an exquisite bow to tie around her prodigious career.

“Thanks to the people I worked with, I have something now to give,” she said.

“I know what I’m doing, I know how to teach it. In New York I was called a master teacher and master singer. When you are ready to pass something on, you need to know what you are giving and how to give it. If people are ready to receive it, that’s wonderful.

“One has to have accumulated the tools in order to teach – acquired over years of learning, listening, working with music coaches to know styles of music,” she added. “The voice is an instrument.

Training for a career in singing, both in music theater and opera, is like training for the Olympics. You have two small vocal cords that have to be developed to sing for hours a day. These surrounding muscles are developed over time, not overnight. I have been fortunate. I love teaching such lovely, smart Cherokee people. I thank my wonderful Cherokee Nation.”

Culture • ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ

ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

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LANGUAGE LESSON FIREWORKS

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TO SPONSOR A LANGAUGE LESSON, CALL 918-207-3828 OR EMAIL samantha-cochran@cherokee.org

Winners announced for annual Cherokee Homecoming Art Show The art show and sale runs through Sept. 21 at the Cherokee Heritage Center.

BY STAFF REPORTS

PARK HILL – The Cherokee National Historical Society announced the winners of the 24th annual Cherokee Homecoming Art Show at an awards reception on Aug. 9.

Cherokee National Treasure Tonia Hogner-Weavel was awarded the grand prize for “Heart on Heart.” The blue wool coat with mink collar and cuffs features red and white cording accents and handbeaded southeastern designs.

“This is a very big surprise for me, and I am truly honored by this recognition,” Hogner-Weavel said. “I won the show in 2003, and it has always been my goal to win one more time. I am thankful to the judges for recognizing the heart and soul in my work and appreciate the community of artists I’m surrounded by. It’s wonderful when artists can come together in support of one another. This is an amazing show with talented artists and dear friends, and I hope it is enjoyed during its showing.”

The Cherokee art show and sale runs through Sept. 21 and showcases 119 pieces by 73 artists, including six Cherokee National Treasures and a United Keetoowah Band Tradition Keeper. The

show features two divisions: traditional and contemporary.

The traditional division is defined as “arts originating before European contact” and consists of three categories: basketry, pottery and traditional arts.

The contemporary division is defined as “arts arising among the Cherokee after European contact” and consists of seven categories: paintings, sculpture, pottery, basketry, beadwork, jewelry and textiles.

“This show is a celebration of the Cherokee people and the incredibly gifted artists who share our unique history and culture with the world,” CHC Executive Director Dr. Charles Gourd, Ph.D., said.

“These artists have dedicated themselves to mastering their crafts, and their role as storytellers will help shape the Cherokee narrative for generations to come.”

Artists competed for a share of more than $10,000 in prize money, sponsored by Cherokee Nation Businesses.

First-place winners in each category: • Traditional Arts: Phyllis Jimmeye, “Gathering Bag,” • Traditional Basketry: Mike Dart, “Fishin’ Basket,” • Contemporary Pottery: Crystal Hanna, “Tradition Keeper,” • Contemporary Basketry: Vicki Coppedge, “Peaceful Journey,” • Visual Arts: Dino Kingfisher, “Provided For,” • Sculpture: Troy Jackson, “The Passing of a Generation,” • Beadwork: Carolyn Pallett, “Southeastern Resound,” • Textiles: Karen Berry, “Riverbank,” and • Jewelry: Toneh Chuleewah, “Everglades Bracelet, Braided Cord Motif.”

Other special awards were the Emerging Artist Award won by DeAnn McDaniel for “Crazy Dog” and the Bill Rabbit Legacy Award won by Julie Brison for “New Beginnings Are Coming.”

For a complete list of winners, visit Anadisgoi.com.

The CHC is at 21192 S. Keeler Drive.

Summer hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday through Saturday.

“We are proud to honor the lifelong efforts of these recipients to promote and protect as well as educate the public about our Cherokee traditions, language and culture.”

Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.

COURTESY Cherokee National Treasure Tonia HognerWeavel won the grand prize for a blue wool coat with mink collar and cuffs featuring red and white cording accents and handbeaded southeastern designs. She calls it “Heart on Heart.”

CN announces 2019 Cherokee National Treasures BY staff reports

TAHLEQUAH – Three Cherokee Nation citizens have been named this year’s Cherokee National Treasures for their work in preserving and promoting Cherokee art and culture. The Candessa Tehee distinction is given by the tribe to individuals who are keeping the art, language and culture alive through their crafts and work.

Candessa Tehee, of Sallisaw; Choogie Kingfisher, of Tahlequah; and Lula Elk, of Stilwell, were selected Choogie as the 2019 recipients.

Kingfisher “The Cherokee language, culture and heritage is an invaluable part of our identity as Cherokee people. Those who dedicate themselves to the preservation and promotion of those portions of our identity Lula Elk deserve to be honored and revered as Cherokee National Treasures,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “We are proud to honor the lifelong efforts of these recipients to promote and protect as well as educate the public about our Cherokee traditions, language and culture.”

Tehee received the distinction for her craftsmanship in the traditional art form of finger weaving in oblique and warpface styles. Made only by hand, these art forms use different colors and interlocks in the yarn to create designs, and occasionally incorporate beadwork. She has received many awards for her artwork from competitions such as the Cherokee Heritage Center Trail of Tears Art Show.

She has a Ph.D. in linguistic anthropology and is an assistant professor of American Indian Studies and coordinator of Cherokee Language Education and Cherokee Cultural Studies at Northeastern State University.

Kingfisher was nominated for his work as a Cherokee cultural educator and storyteller. A well-known actor with several documentaries and voiceover work, he has traveled extensively for the past 35 years presenting Cherokee culture, history and stories to the public and CN. Kingfisher also serves as a master of traditional ceremonies such as powwows, gospel singing and other tribal events. He was the youngest recipient for the Cherokee Honors Award in 2005 and awarded Tahlequah’s Best Male Actor in 2003.

Elk was nominated for being a traditional Cherokee shell shaker. She has been immersed in tradition her entire life, first shaking shells at stomp grounds at the age of 5. Her grandfather was the chief of the stomp ground in her community, and she learned the art of making traditional turtle shell shakers from her mother and aunt.

As a fluent Cherokee speaker, she taught

at the Cherokee Immersion Charter School as a communication language instructor and passed down the art of shell shaking to girls at the spring and summer camps of the Cherokee Heritage Center. In 2001, she started work at the Cultural Resource Center and is employed with the CN. The CN also honors tribal citizens, organizations and others who made significant contributions for statesmanship, patriotism, community leadership and devotion to the CN. Medal of Patriotism Award The Medal of Patriotism Award is given in recognition of those who answered the call of duty, made great sacrifices and risked their lives in service to CN and the United States, tirelessly defending and promoting freedom and liberty for Cherokees and all mankind. The 2019 Medal of Patriotism Award honorees are Earnie Frost, of Tucson, Arizona; Jerry Keener, of Locust Grove; and Meda Nix, of Tahlequah.

Statesmanship Award The Statesman Award is given in recognition of those who, as public servants, epitomize the servant leader ideal, exemplifying Cherokee values and acting with respect, dignity and graciousness while working for the betterment of CN and its citizens. The 2019 Statesmanship Award honorees are former Principal Chief Bill John Baker, of Tahlequah; and former Deputy Chief S. Joe Crittenden, of Stilwell.

Community Leadership Individual Award The Community Leadership Individual Award is given in recognition of CN citizens who tirelessly have given their time to make their communities more vibrant livable places. Their example of servant leadership embodies Cherokee values and is held high esteem by their peers for strengthening the bonds of CN citizens. The 2019 Community Leadership Individual Award honorees are Cynthia Ruiz, of Los Angeles; Tom Belt, of Cherokee, North Carolina; and Sol Bird Mockicin, of Flute Springs.

Community Leadership Organization Award The Community Leadership Organization Award is given in recognition of CN communities that have demonstrated the spirit of working together through servant leadership, as well as applying Cherokee values to make their communities a better place for CN citizens. The 2019 Community Leadership Organization Award honorees are Rural Communities Initiative Foundation, of Sequoyah County; Native American Fellowship Inc., of South Coffeyville; and Georgia Cherokee Community Alliance, of Marietta, Georgia.

Samuel Worcester Award The Samuel Worcester Award is given to a non-Cherokee who has made substantial contributions to the preservation of Cherokee heritage, culture, community and sovereignty. The 2019 Samuel Worcester Award honorees are Joe West, of Pine Grove, California; Don Marshall, of Oaks; and Sherry Baker, of Tahlequah.

COURTESY From left to right are Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., first runner-up Elizabeth Hummingbird, second runner-up Amari McCoy, Miss Cherokee 2019-20 Meekah Roy, third runner-up Sydneigh Fourkiller, Miss Cherokee 2018-19 Whitney Roach and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner.

Meekah Roy crowned Miss Cherokee 2019-20 Her platform as Miss Cherokee is the preservation of Cherokee language and revitalization within the Cherokee Nation.

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH – Meekah Roy, a Northeastern State University senior from Salina, is the 2019-20 Miss Cherokee.

Roy, 22, was crowned on Aug. 24 during the annual leadership competition at Cornerstone Fellowship Church in Tahlequah.

As Miss Cherokee, Roy will represent the Cherokee Nation as a goodwill ambassador to promote the government, history, language and culture of the tribe for the next year.

She also receives a $6,000 scholarship, an increase of the previous $3,000 scholarship given to winners of the Miss Cherokee Leadership Competition.

“I was ecstatic,” said Roy. “I was just celebrating inside, because this is my third time running.

I am so happy to be able to represent the Cherokee Nation as Miss Cherokee.”

Roy is the daughter of Sandra Hair and George Roy. She enjoys storytelling and cooking traditional foods. She is majoring in health care administration and hopes to one day Miss work for the CN. Cherokee Roy competed Meekah Roy against three other

“I was ecstatic. I was just celebrating inside, because this is my third time running.

I am so happy to be able to represent the Cherokee Nation as Miss Cherokee.”

young women for the Miss Cherokee crown. The Miss Cherokee Leadership Competition judges contestants on their use of the Cherokee language, cultural and platform presentations, and responses to impromptu questions.

“People of all ages are going to look up to our new Miss Cherokee. They will see her as an ambassador and will want to represent their Nation and have the kind of passion for Cherokee issues that she does,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “As an ambassador for the Cherokee Nation, Meekah is an inspiration to us all. She is committed to sharing our culture and traditions with the world. It is my great pleasure to be able to work with her in the coming year.”

For her cultural presentation during the competition, Roy presented the story of the origin of disease and medicine, and discussed plants and their uses in Cherokee culture. Her platform as Miss Cherokee is the preservation of Cherokee language and revitalization within the Nation.

“I look forward to meeting new people and travelling to new places to see how our culture has made an impact around the country,” said Roy. During the competition, Hoskin announced an increase in the scholarship amounts awarded not only to Miss Cherokee, but also to the first and second runners-up.

Miss Cherokee first runner-up was Elizabeth Hummingbird, 21, of Stilwell, who earned a $3,000 scholarship. The second runner-up was Amari McCoy, 22, of Sallisaw, who earned a $2,000 scholarship. The third runner-up was Sydneigh Fourkiller, 18, of Stilwell, who earned a $500 scholarship.

CHEROKEE PHOENIX • SEPTEMBER 17, 2019

Cherokee National Holiday 2019

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ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᏚᎵᏍᏗ 17, 2019