Dec. 2 issue of the Cherokee Phoenix

SHARPENING HER SKILLS Becky Martin, who has been making knives for three years, is excited about her journey. CULTURE, 11

CHEROKEE CHEROKEEPHOENIX.ORG

DECEMBER 2, 2019

PHOENIX 191 YEARS OF JOURNALISM

CN impacts OK economy by $2.1B A study finds that the Cherokee Nation’s economic activity supports nearly 20,000 jobs in Oklahoma.

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

D. SEAN ROWLEY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. on Nov. 19 gives an on-camera interview before addressing a forum luncheon in Catoosa to announce the Cherokee Nation’s $2 billion economic impact on Oklahoma in fiscal year 2018. The announcement was one of several major announcements he has made during his first 100 days as principal chief.

100 DAYS IN OFFICE The U.S. House delegate, language preservation, elder housing and pay raises were addressed early in Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.’s term.

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

T

AHLEQUAH – When Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. prepared for office in August, he said he would prioritize a set of initiatives in his first 100 days.

Among those initiatives were further funding for elder housing, pay increases, seating a delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives and preserving and promulgating the Cherokee language.

On Nov. 19, Hoskin said he’s taken substantive steps on several of those fronts.

“Most of these 100 days things take a lot longer to actually execute,” he said. “We are just now seeing the funding come forward on the Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act, and the Language Preservation Act. Putting those dollars into real concrete action that affects the lives of Cherokees is what we need to work on.”

Housing is being added and enhanced through the HJSCA, which will be obtained via dividends from Cherokee Nation Businesses, amounting to $10 million per year for three years. Three-quarters of the funding goes directly toward the expense of renovating homes, but $7.5 million will go to remodeling or installing energy efficient measures – including solar panels – on non-residential structures such as tribal

community centers.

“We are using resources generated by businesses to address the problem of elder housing,” Hoskin said. “We’ve put $30 million into elder housing, with part of that going into community building upgrades.

That helps the communities where many of these elders live. That is a substantial accomplishment because it is returning those resources down to the grassroots level…It will also create some opportunities for sustainable projects at the community level such as solar power for our community buildings and some better Wi-Fi conductivity.”

CN employees saw pay increases in October, and the tribe increased its minimum wage from $9.50 to $11 an hour.

“On the government side alone, it is an investment of about $9 million,” Hoskin said. “It was also a substantial investment on the business side to increase the pay up the scale a bit. That’s important because our workforce consists almost entirely of Cherokees.

It impacts Cherokee families and communities. It is good to leverage those resources that we generate from our businesses, and put them in the pockets of our talented workforce.”

Hoskin also appointed Kimberly Teehee to assume the tribe’s seat in the U.S. House – a position

SEE 100, 2

CATOOSA – Findings of new economic research, announced Nov. 19, suggest that the Cherokee Nation infused nearly $2.2 billion into the Oklahoma economy in fiscal year 2018.

During a forum lunch, tribal officials said the economic impact is achieved through employment, labor income, services and goods production.

Dr. Russell Evans, principal at the Economic Impact Group and associate professor of economics at Oklahoma City University, led the research. Many state, county and local officials attended, including Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce Sean Kouplen.

“Cherokee Nation is the most stable and consistent force for economic development and growth in this region, and we’re very proud of that,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “We invest not only to create short-term growth, but also long-term growth. We make education, housing, health care, economic development top priorities and we put our money where our mouth is.

These are investments, and they will yield benefits not

SEE IMPACT, 3

CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Cherokee Nation citizen and veteran Bill Horton, center, and others stand for ceremonies at the CN Veterans Center during a reception in their honor on Nov. 8.

Plans progress for CN Veterans Cemetery

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter

CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. speaks Oct. 7 at the tribe’s then-partially finished outpatient health center in Tahlequah. Also shown are Medical Director Roger Montgomery, left, and Chief of Staff Todd Enlow, center.

CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. signs the Durbin Feeling Cherokee Language Preservation Act on Oct. 15 at the Tribal Complex. Seated to his left is Feeling’s brother, Russell Feeling.

TAHLEQUAH – As Veterans Day neared, plans for a Cherokee Nation Veterans Cemetery were unveiled to a crowd filled with “Cherokee Warriors.”

Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. revealed to those attending the tribe’s annual Veterans Day reception that initial cemetery plans were approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We have identified four potential locations for the first Cherokee Nation Veterans Cemetery,” Hoskin said Nov. 8, adding that construction would begin next year.

“As 2020 unfolds, we will talk more about the location for this new piece of solemn ground. We will talk about the process by which a veteran’s family can apply to have their loved one buried here.”

Hoskin said the site would be the state’s second Native

SEE VETS, 3

Court to rehear law on adoptions of Native American children

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A federal appeals court announced Nov. 7 that it will take a second look at an emotionally fraught lawsuit governing the adoption of Native American children.

In August, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. It was a defeat for non-Indian families in states who had adopted or sought to adopt Native children.

The New Orleans-based court said a majority of its active judges have voted to re-hear the case. It means Native tribes and the federal government will again have to defend the law, which they say is critical to protect and preserve Native American culture and families.

A hearing date has not been set.

The lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the law are Chad and Jennifer Brackeen, a Texas couple who fostered a baby eligible for citizenship in both the Navajo and Cherokee tribes. The boy’s parents voluntarily

terminated their parental rights and the Brackeens petitioned to adopt him. After legal battles, they were able to keep him when a placement with a Navajo family fell through. They hope to adopt his younger half-sister, according to briefs.

Other plaintiffs include Jason and Danielle Clifford of Minnesota, who were unable to adopt a child who lived with them after having been shuttled among foster homes. “The Cliffords’ family was literally torn apart,” their attorney told the appeals court judges during arguments in March.

Texas, Indiana and Louisiana have also joined the lawsuit, siding with the would-be adoptive families.

Defendants include the federal government and numerous intervening Native American organizations and tribes who back the law. They say that without it, many Native American children will be lost to their families and tribes.

“Tribal nations are still reeling from generations of our families being separated,” Tyson Johnston, vice president of the Quinault Indian Nation, said in March after a 5th Circuit hearing. “So, even though we’ve had good policy like the Indian Child Welfare Act, it’s going to take us many more generations to rectify those past wrongs.”

Opponents of the law called it an unconstitutional race-based intrusion on states’ powers to govern adoptions. But two members of the three-judge panel that ruled this year disagreed.

The opinion written by Judge James L. Dennis said the law’s definition of an “Indian child” is a political classification. It said the definition is broad, “extending to children without Indian blood, such as the descendants of former slaves of tribes who became members after they were freed, or the descendants of adopted white persons,” Dennis wrote.

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News • ᏗᏕᏃᏣᎸᏍᎩ

CHEROKEE PHOENIX • DECEMBER 2, 2019

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

Okla. governor digs in on gambling showdown with tribes

The two sides disagree on whether the compacts renew on Jan. 1, 2020.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma’s new Republican governor doubled down Nov. 14 on his position that the state’s gambling compacts with Indian tribes expire at the end of the year, setting up a potential legal showdown with some of the state’s most powerful entities.

Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Cherokee Nation citizen, said at a press conference that communications with the tribes broke down in October and he wanted to present his case to the Oklahoma people.

“The fact of the matter is they have refused to communicate with me,” Stitt said. “This is going to cause

extreme uncertainty if we don’t have a new compact before Jan. 1, 2020.”

The two sides disagree over the key issue of whether the compacts automatically renew for another 15-year term on Jan. 1 if the two sides can’t reach an agreement.

Stitt suggested the state’s current rate of between 4% and 10% of tribal gambling revenue should be larger.

Tribal leaders have said they’re willing to renegotiate the rates, but not until Stitt acknowledges the compacts automatically renew if a deal can’t be reached.

“The tribes are unified in their position that the compacts renew and they’re going to continue to operate,” said Stephen Greetham, senior attorney for the Chickasaw Nation, one of the most powerful in the state. “If Gov. Stitt wants to force the issue ... he would have to

The Cherokee Nation’s new outpatient health center in Tahlequah was the site of a grand opening celebration Nov. 14.

PHOTOS BY CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. speaks Nov. 14 inside the four-story W.W. Hastings Outpatient Health Center as part of a grand-opening celebration.

Bill John Baker, former principal chief, speaks at the grand opening of the outpatient health center.

‘Transformational moment’ as CN opens $200M health center

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter TAHLEQUAH – Inside the vast main lobby of the Cherokee Nation’s state-of-the-art outpatient health center, tribal leaders and hundreds of spectators celebrated the facility’s grand opening Nov. 14.

“We’re gathered today not to celebrate merely a milestone in the development of our health care system, but a transformational moment in our Nation that will have generational impact,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. told those in attendance.

The four-story, 469,000-square-foot W.W. Hastings Outpatient Health Center in Tahlequah is the largest tribal outpatient health facility in the country.

“Cherokee Nation, in an era of unprecedented prosperity, harnessed $200 million, our own dollars, to build this magnificent facility,” Hoskin said. “But at the same time, we are holding the federal government to its promise to pay operating costs of over $100 million a year for the life of this building. This will allow us to deliver better health care, more health care, more efficient health care, all while hiring hundreds and hundreds of new health care professionals.”

To cover operational costs, in 2016, the tribe signed a joint-venture agreement with the Indian Health Service, a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“This is the largest joint-venture project in the agency’s history,” IHS Deputy Director Chris Buchanan said.

CN leaders pointed to former Principal Chief Bill John Baker as the driving force behind the project. An emotional Baker said the state-of-the art facility would

allow the tribe to “serve our people so much better and so much quicker.”

“This facility and all of the sister facilities that we were able to build will change health care in the Cherokee Nation for the next seven generations,” he added.

“That is the Cherokee way. I am blessed that you gave me the opportunity, and I am blessed that we have a principal chief that is following the vision and adding and compounding onto better health care and a better life for the Cherokee people.”

According to the CN, it operates the largest tribal health system in the country with more than 1.3 million patient visits per year. The tribe’s new facility features more than 240 exam rooms, two MRI machines, an ambulatory surgery center, 34 dental chairs, and full service optometry and specialty health services.

“The opening of this facility is hardly the first time that the Cherokee Nation has seized control of the delivery of health care,” Hoskin said. “But it indeed marks a transformational moment in our history.”

The health care expansion is expected to create 850 jobs that include 100 physicians, according to the CN. The tribe held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October for the facility’s optometry, audiology, physical rehabilitation, behavioral health, radiology, lab and pharmacy services.

The building is also filled with artwork created by CN citizens, including 64 Cherokee National Treasures.

“You’ll notice this facility could double as a Cherokee art and cultural museum,” Tribal Council Speaker Joe Byrd said. “We have over 600 pieces throughout the clinic all made by Cherokee artists.”

The outpatient health center is located at 19600 N. Ross St.

100: Hoskin wants to seat a U.S. House delegate

and a Language, Culture and Community secretary from front page that has never been filled and may take some time to clarify. The Treaty of New Echota, which created the nonvoting seat, is nearly 200 years old. It was used by the federal government as justification for the tribe’s removal to Indian Territory.

“The congressional delegate is a significant step toward holding the government … accountable for our treaty rights,” he said. “Although the delegate is drilling down to a very specific provision in one treaty, I think it is more broadly an effort to remind the country that these treaties are still the supreme law of the land, and that they ought to be taken seriously.

Getting Kim Teehee seated will benefit the Cherokee Nation by having that delegate in the House of Representatives, but it will also benefit Indian Country in terms of making sure the U.S. remembers that treaty rights matter.”

The Hoskin administration has also made language preservation a goal.

He said the effects may not be noticed until after he leaves office, but the investment would bear fruit over decades.

“The strategy behind saving the language will, in a generation, give us Cherokee speakers in our communities,” he said. “It won’t just be a language that is saved, but revitalized. It’s important that we do this now, because there will come a time when all the money in the world wouldn’t bring back the Cherokee language. We need to make sure we don’t get into that situation as a people.”

A principal chief term lasts much longer than 100 days, and Hoskin has other issues he wants to address with the help of his administration and the Council.

One is the position of secretary of Language, Culture and Community, which hasn’t been filled. He hopes to see the secretary atop an organizational structure that includes a realignment to put the CN’s community, culture and language programs within a department.

He also spoke of enhancing efficiencies within or between departments. He mentioned ensuring that Human Resources has the necessary toolkit to hire personnel efficiently, which in turn allows other de-

go to court and try to get some kind of order to shut the casinos down. Barring that, we’re just going to continue to operate and we’re going to continue remitting our revenue-share payments to the state and we’re going to continue to grow, as we have for the last 15 years.”

Casino gambling is a booming industry in Oklahoma, with more than 130 casinos now dotting the state since voters approved a gambling expansion in 2004.

Under the compacts, tribes pay the state “exclusivity fees” in exchange for the exclusive right to operate casinos. Those fees generated nearly $139 million for the state last year, most of it earmarked for education, on roughly $2.3 billion in revenue from games covered under the compacts.

U.S. appeals court won’t rehear UKB trust land case The Cherokee Nation’s only recourse is to appeal to the Supreme Court.

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – The U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit says it will not revisit a September decision that favored the United Keetoowah Band’s longstanding fight to have 76 acres of land placed in trust.

“The ability of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for the Keetoowahs means we will forever have land to use as we see fit,” the UKB stated on its Facebook page, “as well as opens the door to additional federal funding for our members. This case also has other implications, including clearing the way for our other properties to eventually be taken into trust, such as the old casino property.”

On Sept. 5, the appeals court vacated a 2017 injunction that prevented the UKB’s land from being placed in trust in the case of United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians v. the Cherokee Nation. The CN subsequently filed a petition for rehearing.

According to an order from the circuit court clerk, the CN’s “petition for rehearing is denied.” The UKB was notified Nov. 9.

“While (the CN) could choose to appeal one last time to the Supreme Court, the tribe will continue to move forward with land in trust on the 76-acre tract we call o-we-nv-sv, or ‘home,’” the UKB’s statement notes.

CN Attorney General Sara Hill’s office had no comment on either current or potential future developments in the case.

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

“In August of 2012, the Cherokee Nation filed suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior because of its decision to allow the United Keetoowah Band to have trust land of its own within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation,” the CN Attorney General’s web page states. “In fact, the land in question is located in the heart of the Cherokee Nation’s capital – Tahlequah, Oklahoma.”

The CN argued that the UKB was not a “successor in interest” to its former reservation or treaty territory, and that the Nation’s consent was required for taking land into trust within the tribe’s boundaries.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma ruled in favor of the CN, “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,’” according to court documents.

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.”

“The ability of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for the Keetoowahs means we will forever have land to use as we see fit …”

United Keetoowah Band

“The strategy behind saving the language will, in a generation, give us Cherokee speakers in our communities.

It won’t just be a language that is saved, but revitalized.”

Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.

partments to continue their work.

“We have some precious historical sites here in the Cherokee Nation and in our original homelands, and we need to have a strategic plan to preserve these and make them accessible to our citizens and the world,” Hoskin said.

A draw on the administration’s time has been prepping for possible negotiations with the state on gaming compacts.

Gov. Kevin Stitt has suggested the compacts need renegotiated to award the state more revenue.

“We’re in the midst of the gaming compact with the state,” Hoskin said. “A lot of the focus has been on ensuring our interests are protected with the gaming compact. That has taken a good deal of time, but it is definitely time well spent.”

CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX United Keetoowah Band Chief Joe Bunch on Sept. 5 celebrates a legal win to place land in trust within the Cherokee Nation’s jurisdiction.

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

News • ᏗᏕᏃᏣᎸᏍᎩ

DECEMBER 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Tag funding act changed to ensure Cherokee students’ rights respected

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter TAHLEQUAH – A newly passed amendment to the Cherokee Nation’s motor vehicle licensing code offers the tribe leeway to withhold tag funding from schools that prevent Cherokee students from observing cultural practices such as wearing eagle feathers at graduation.

“I think this gives my administration the marching orders to look at the schools and make sure they are adhering with those rights, but to also lend a hand of cooperation to make sure we help them,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “I think it will continue to be a harmonious relationship. But I have heard enough over the years from constituents, from council members, that we ought to mean what we say when we say that their rights ought to be respected.”

Each year, the tribe distributes to

schools within its jurisdiction 38% of revenue generated from motor vehicle tag sales. Schools receive money based on the number of CN citizens enrolled, but the tribe does not categorize the funding, and districts can use awards to benefit all students.

On Nov. 12, the Tribal Council approved the amendment, which includes language referring to cooperation and “extending a hand of guidance” to schools.

“The Office of the Principal Chief shall monitor schools receiving funds under this Act with honoring the rights of Cherokee students to engage in protected activities of cultural expression, provide appropriate guidance to school districts as to same and, in the case of egregious acts interfering with said protected activities, determine whether funds distributed under this Act should be conditioned on future compliance,” the amendment states.

Earlier this year, the CN dis-

bursed a record $5.7 million to 108 schools within its jurisdiction.

During an Education Committee meeting earlier in the day, Education Services Executive Director Ron Etheridge said the day the tribe distributes the money to schools is a “fun day.”

“It’s a happy day because they all have a smile on their face,” he said. “They’re all receiving some revenue they can spend however they deem. Of course, you just passed some legislation that says they can still do that, but they need to take into consideration our heritage when it comes commencement time, and those sorts of things.”

The Tribal Council also appointed John Sparks and Shawna Baker to the Cherokee Nation Gaming Commission, Kristy Sturgill to the Cherokee Phoenix Editorial Board and Roberta Gibson to the Sequoyah High School board of education.

NCAI supports Nation’s delegate in Congress

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH – Tribes across the country support the U.S. government honoring treaty obligations by sending a Cherokee delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The National Congress of American Indians passed a resolution on Oct. 25 with the language during its 76th annual National Convention in Albuquerque.

“The Cherokee Nation now has the backing of NCAI member tribes from across the country who also believe in Congress obligating treaty rights,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. “This right is not only important to Cherokee Nation, but it stands for a proposition vital to all of Indian Country which is that treaties are the law of the land and the United States government should keep its word.”

The NCAI resolution supports the CN’s assertion of its treaty right to seat a delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives, as guaranteed in the tribe’s treaties of 1785, 1835 and 1866.

“Now Therefore be it resolved, that the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) fully supports the exercise of tribal treaty rights, including the seating of a Delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives where promised, and calls upon the House of Representatives to fulfill its obligation to tribal nations, including the Cherokee Nation, by seating its named Delegate in Congress,” the resolution states.

Hoskin’s congressional delegate nomination of Kim Teehee came in August, just days after he was sworn into office and is aimed at strengthening tribal sovereignty.

The CN delegate is referenced in

both the Treaty of Hopewell from 1785 and Treaty of New Echota from 1835 between the CN and federal government. The Treaty of 1866 also reaffirms all previous treaties between the CN and United States.

The tribe continues to work with Congressional leaders to move the appointment forward.

Teehee has worked for years advocating in Congress, on a bi-partisan basis, for the interests of the CN. Before being named the tribe’s vice president of government relations in 2014, Teehee served President Barack Obama as the first-ever senior policy advisor for Native American affairs in the White House Domestic Policy Council for three years. Prior to serving in the White House, she was senior advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives Native American Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Dale Kildee D-MI.

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CNB frontrunner for Russellville-area casino

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – As expected by those associated with the process, no more applications to build a casino in Pope County were received by a Nov. 18 deadline, leaving Cherokee Nation Businesses as the frontrunner to get permission to site a Russellville venue.

In an election on an ordinance – since repealed – in November 2018, residents voted against siting a casino in Pope County. The task of choosing a casino operator got added heat on Nov. 12, with the county apparently taking steps to maximize its control over the selection.

Any anticipated casino and resort was expected to be put on acreage near Interstate 40 along Hob Nob Road, but County Judge Ben Cross issued two letters approving two sites for a CNB casino – one at Hob Nob Road and another north on Arkansas Highway 27 within the town of Dover, a short distance from Russellville.

Specific benefits were not allocated to Russellville within a $38 million package developed by CNB for Pope County, and the city has established a separate casino review committee that might advocate for one of the other concerns interested in establishing a venue. Selecting the site in Dover could effectively cut Russellville out of the selection process.

Also on Nov. 12, Pope County approved building permits for the CNB casino, pending state acceptance.

“We thank the Pope County Quorum Court and County Judge Ben Cross for their proactive and diligent efforts to comply with the Constitution and create jobs and opportunities for economic growth through our project,” CNB CEO Chuck Garrett said. “The permits issued … by the Pope County Planning Commission will ensure that construction and operations for Legends Resort and Casino Arkansas commence upon issuance of the casino license. We also thank Judge Cross for his letters of support. They should moot any remaining litigation issues. We have also received an additional letter of support from Dover Mayor Roger Lee.… We will submit an amended application to the Arkansas State Racing Commission that includes both the Hob Nob Road and Dover locations. We are excited about the potential opportunities and look forward to continuing our work with elected officials to determine what is best for the county.”

CNB submitted its application on Nov. 15. Garrett told media that it included Cross’ endorsement.

A civil suit remains in Pulaski County Circuit Court, filed by Gulfside Casino Partnership of Mississippi against the ARC. Gulfside received endorsements from local officials during their last days in office. The ARC denied the application because it had adopted a rule – and the Arkansas Legislature passed a law – requiring endorsing officials to be in office when the ARC receives the application. A hearing is scheduled for Nov 25. The ARC said it would wait for the lawsuits’ outcomes before considering applications to site a casino in Pope County.

IMPACT: The Nation generates $837

million of income within the region from front page

COURTESY Renderings of a planned Cherokee Nation Veterans Cemetery were unveiled to veterans Nov. 8 during the tribe’s Veterans Day ceremony in Tahlequah.

VETS: The tribe in June said it would

apply for federal funds for the cemetery from front page American veterans cemetery.

“We will do it right. We will do it with dignity,” he said. “We will involve our veterans, and we will, of course, do it under the watchful eye of (CN Secretary of Veterans Affairs S. Joe Crittenden), for which this project is a great passion.”

Artist renderings displayed for the crowd showed a building and design plans for the cemetery grounds.

“This sounds like an excellent idea,” CN citizen and U.S. Army veteran David Hall, of Wister, said. “We were going to be interred at Fort Gibson, the national cemetery there. But if they’re going to have one here, I’ll change plans.”

Chief of Staff Todd Enlow said, “At this point, it’s conceptual renderings of what it will look like.”

“We’re in that design-planning stage,” he added.

The Tribal Council, Enlow said, will be tasked with future decision-making. In June, it agreed to apply for federal funding to cover costs associated with design and planning of the cemetery.

Councilors amended the initial resolution to include only “Cherokee veterans,” a move Barbara Foreman, CN Veterans Affairs director, told them would likely lessen the tribe’s chance to receive a portion of the $45 million available in grant funding.

Tribal officials said the cemetery initiative began under the leadership of Hoskin’s predecessor, former Principal Chief Bill John Baker, who also attended the annual veterans’ event held inside the Cherokee Veterans Center.

“The Cherokee Nation Veterans Center

is a home for all of you,” Crittenden told those in attendance. “It’s important to the Cherokee Nation to honor our warriors.”

Among those in attendance were Hall and fellow Army veteran Sam Carey, of Hulbert. Both recently visited Washington, D.C., as part of the tribe’s Cherokee Warrior Flight.

“I think it’s extraordinarily awesome the way they treat their veterans,” Hall said. “I’ve never had an experience like this. I’ve been more or less forgotten except by the tribe.”

Carey, of Hulbert, served in the Army from 1972-75, in the National Guard from 1983-95, then in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1995-2001. Hall, 67, was drafted into the military after high school in the early 1970s.

“I spent four years there, got out and went back into the Army Reserves,” he said. “I finished up my career that way.

So I’ve got Vietnam, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Somalia, Bosnia and the last was in 2003, which was Iraqi Freedom.

I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d do it all again.”

U.S. Air Force veteran Phillip McIntosh, of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, also lauded the CN’s dedication to military veterans.

“This organization here does a good job, not just during Veterans Day but throughout the year,” he said.

McIntosh retired nearly three decades ago from a long military career. He began his service in 1971.

“I was in for 21 years and 22 days,” he recalled. “Thirteen-and-a-half was overseas and the rest of it was in the states. I was in the munitions field. I built bombs, stored bombs, you name it.”

only today but for generations to come.”

The data show the tribe supporting more than 19,000 jobs directly and indirectly, and generating $837 million in regional income. The study focused on CN economic activity within its 7,000-square mile-jurisdiction, and does not include nearly 2,000 contract employees working outside its jurisdiction.

The Cherokee population of Oklahoma numbers 249,135.

“I explained that if we look at the impacts at the county level, they will be a little lower or smaller,” Evans said. “The Cherokee Nation made it clear from the very start they wanted to see a reflection of their interests and their culture. They wanted the impact report to be ‘community centric’ – that we should look at those impacts at the community level, to the exclusion of maximizing the size of the impact. That

was interesting for me. For most of my clients, it’s about getting the biggest number possible.”

Hoskin said every penny of the dollars the tribe’s businesses generates or the federal funds it leverages are invested in Oklahoma for future growth. “We have called this place home … since before there was a state of Oklahoma. We will call this place home forever. We don’t outsource jobs. We don’t leave the state when the going gets tough. We don’t move our headquarters out of state or move production overseas. We are longterm partners and the Cherokee Nation is in it for the long haul.”

Other economic impact studies have been conducted biennially since 2010.

Reports from 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 suggest the Nation’s growth at $1 billion, $1.3 billion, $1.55 billion and $2.03 billion, respectively.

For information, visit cherokeenationimpact.com.

OTHER FINDINGS FROM STUDY • Total economic impact of the tribe during fiscal 2018 was $2,169,725,895.

• The Cherokee Nation directly employed 9,663 people, and 19,203 jobs are supported in Oklahoma by tribal economic activity.

• State gaming fees paid to the state of Oklahoma and earmarked for public education and jobs in the horse racing industry, totaled $31.3 million.

• Since 2003, Cherokee Nation car tag sales have generated $51,009,137 for Oklahoma public schools.

• The Nation has built 747 homes for Cherokee citizens since 2013, and 102 families received mortgage assistance to purchase a home during fiscal 2018.

• CN Human Services provided 60,859 households with USDA food assistance and 3,671 households with low-income heating and energy assistance.

• The Cherokee Nation has built a new 469,000 square foot outpatient health center.

• Six businesses have sited in the Cherokee Springs Plaza, including Cherokee Casino Tahlequah.

• The Nation has disbursed $14.6 million in scholarship monies to 4,537 students.

• Partnering with the Tulsa Regional Chamber under Tulsa’s Future, the Nation has helped bring to the region an Amazon distribution center, a Greenheck manufacturing facility and a Sofidel paper production plant.

• The Cherokee Nation has installed 10.15 miles of water lines. Total installations of web, public water and public sewer connections number 315, with an additional 184 repairs.

• CN Health Services has served 37,873 eye care patients and 84,148 dental care patients.

• Births at W.W. Hastings Hospital in Tahlequah numbered 709.

• More than 2.4 million prescriptions provided.

• The CN has built 747 homes since 2013, and 102 families received mortgage assistance to purchase a home in FY 2018.

• CN Human Services provided 60,859 homes with USDA food aid and 3,671 households with low-income heating and energy aid.

• The CN has disbursed $14.6 million in scholarship monies to 4,537 students.

4

CHEROKEE PHOENIX • DECEMBER 2, 2019

OPINION • ᏃᎵᏍᎬ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

Cherokee Phoenix DECEMBER 2, 2019 Volume 43, No. 23

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

Application to mail at Periodicals postage rates is pending at Tahlequah, OK 74464.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cherokee Phoenix, PO Box 948, Tahlequah, OK 74465

Editorial Staff Tyler Thomas Interim Executive Editor tyler-thomas@cherokee.org 918-453-5000 ext 7258

Travis Snell Assistant Editor travis-snell@cherokee.org 918-453-5358

Will Chavez Assistant Editor will-chavez@cherokee.org 918-207-3961

Mark Dreadfulwater Multimedia Editor mark-dreadfulwater@cherokee.org 918-453-5087

Reporters D. Sean Rowley Senior Reporter david-rowley@cherokee.org 918-453-5560

Lindsey Bark Reporter lindsey-bark@cherokee.org 918-453-5000 ext 4223

Chad Hunter Reporter chad-hunter@cherokee.org 918-453-5000 ext 7256

Administrative Staff Dena Tucker Administrative Officer dena-tucker@cherokee.org 918-453-5324

Joy Rollice Administrative Assistant joy-rollice@cherokee.org 918-453-5269

Samantha Cochran Advertising Specialist samantha-cochran@cherokee.org 918-207-3825

Terris Howard Advertising Representative terris-howard@cherokee.org 918-453-5743

WILL CHAVEZ/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Cherokee Nation Color Guard members on Nov. 8 pose for a photo with tribal royalty during the annual Veterans Day commemoration at the CN Veterans Center in Tahlequah.

Career Readiness Act will drive job opportunities in NE Okla.

BY CHUCK HOSKIN JR. Principal Chief Not every hard-working Cherokee Nation citizen who graduates from high school wants to go to college, but they still deserve access to a quality job and a rewarding career. That is why the CN is doubling its funding for Career Tech training from $1 million to $2 million.

This investment, called the Career Readiness Act, will prepare Cherokees for jobs in trades such as construction, health care record keeping, information technology and electrical line work.

The openings in these fields are some of Oklahoma’s fastest-growing and highest-paying jobs.

These are skilled trades and can only be learned through vocational training or career technology programs.

I recently signed this legislation, which also had the unanimous support of the Tribal Council.

Just like college, many Cherokees cannot afford the tuition for vocational classes without assistance. We invest heavily in sending Cherokees to college on scholarships – and rightly so – but we should never forget our Cherokees who prefer a non-college career path and skilled trades training after high school. They must be equally prepared

to be a valued part of the local economy and their community.

Failing to put more resources into this would mean leaving too many of our people behind.

To make sure this investment is as effective as possible, CN Career Services has analyzed the industries where jobs are in demand.

Career Services serves about 700 students annually in customized training programs, whether in IT, health care, the building trades or other in-demand fields. The department helps Cherokee families across the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction.

To fulfill this mission, Career Services has expanded our partnerships with some of Oklahoma’s exceptional Career Tech Centers and vocational schools, like Northeast Tech Center, Indian Capital Technology Center and Tulsa Tech.

The Career Readiness Act is another innovative collaboration we have created that will drive job growth in northeast Oklahoma.

On more key aspect of the Career Readiness Act is its importance to the CN’s $30 million Housing Jobs

and Sustainable Communities Act of 2019, which targets the tribe’s backlog of housing repairs. Three-quarters of that money, or $22.5 million, will go specifically toward renovating homes. The remaining $7.5 million is earmarked for remodeling and installing energy efficient measures in non-residential structures, such as adding solar panels to tribal community centers.

We will need many trained tradespeople to complete this work for the next several years.

Every Cherokee deserves the opportunity to develop a hirable skillset so they can get a job where the demand exists. That’s why the CN tribal government is providing more opportunities for the many hardworking, intelligent Cherokees who desire to learn a new trade or expand on the skills they already have.

Filling quality jobs will help our citizens and provide a much-needed expansion of the workforce for Oklahoma’s burgeoning economic sectors.

We expect the Career Readiness Act to train hundreds of Cherokees for the future. It will help shape the economy and build prosperity for Cherokee families for years to come.

BJ Frogg Distribution Specialist billy-frogg@cherokee.org 918-207-4975

Editorial Board Lauren Jones Cusick Kendra McGeady Brenda Thompson Ceciley Thomason-Murphy Kristy Sturgill 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.

Mail subscriptions and changes of address to the Cherokee Phoenix, P.O. Box 948, Tahlequah, OK 74465, phone 918-207-4975. Please include the words “Change of Address” or “Subscription” on the envelope.

Back Issues may be purchased for $2.50 postage and handling. Please inquire to make sure the issues are in stock by writing to Back Issues, Cherokee Phoenix, P.O. Box 948, Tahlequah, OK 74465; or calling 918-207-4975.

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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

CHEROKEE PHOENIX EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS POLICY • The content of submissions shall not contain personal attacks or statements denigrating another person’s character either directly or implicitly.

• The content of submissions shall not contain false or unsubstantiated claims or statements that make claims which cannot be verified.

• The content of submissions shall not contain political rhetoric intended to advance the political position of a candidate for Cherokee Nation office.

• The Cherokee Phoenix reserves the right to edit any submitted letter or column so that it conforms to this policy. Such changes to submissions shall be made at the discretion of the editorial staff.

• Submissions shall include the name and phone number or email address of the author so the editorial staff may confirm the author. Submissions

without contact information will not be published.

• Submissions shall be received by the 15th of the month prior to the month of publication. Submissions shall not be published anonymously.

Submissions will be attributed by author’s full name and city of residence.

• Letters from Cherokee citizens will be given preference. Letters from non-citizens will be labeled as such.

• Letters shall not exceed 350 words.

• Columns will be published at the invitation of the Executive Editor and shall not exceed 800 words. Columns submitted without invitation shall not be published without specific permission from the Executive Editor.

• Submissions deemed to not comply with this policy shall be sent to the Editorial Board for review.

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

Community • ᎾᎥ ᏄᎾᏓᎸ

DECEMBER 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

5

CHEROKEE EATS: Wishi (du-wi-shi)

BY LINDSEY BARK Reporter

FOOD TYPE: Wishi, a mushroom, is also known as hen-of-the-woods, sheep’s head and maitake. Cherokees call the mushroom wishi, short for the Cherokee word du-wi-shi. The Cherokee word for mushroom is du-wo-li.

“There are several different types.

Another one is chicken-of-the-woods.

It just depends on who you talk to. I’ve just known it by wishi my whole life,” Cherokee Nation citizen Tim Kingfisher said.

WHEN AND WHERE TO FIND: Wishi grows in the fall, more specifically near the end of October, but it can be found earlier, depending on weather conditions. It is found around the base of oak trees such as blackjack oak, post oak and pin oak, Kingfisher said.

When cutting the wishi, Kingfisher said to leave the mushroom’s root in the ground so that it can grow again.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE: Wishi is a polypore mushroom that grows in a cluster with leaf-like protrusions.

According to huffpost.com, “its frondlike growths resemble the feathers of a fluffed chicken,” hence the name hen-of-the-woods. They can be dark gray in color with a white underside.

Wishi vary in size and weight from a few pounds to upward of 50 pounds.

Kingfisher said the biggest one he has ever seen was “as big around as a car tire. But it’s been years ago since I found some big ones like that.”

CHEROKEE LORE: Kingfisher learned to recognize and gather wishi from his grandfather, Nelson Kingfisher, and that it was one of the “main delicacies” he looked for growing up.

“One time I was hunting and it was during deer season. I seen a deer and at the same time I seen a wishi. I said ‘I’ll get the deer later. I’ll get this wishi right now.’ Wishi is just as important as the other stuff,” he said.

Kingfisher said his grandfather

told him that when a wishi is found, to gather it rather than let it grow, because it will not get any bigger from when he found it.

“A lot of times I’ve tried to leave it and see if it will grow but it wouldn’t.

He (his grandfather) would say ‘once you find a wishi it knows you found it.

So it’s not going to grow anymore, so you might as well get it,’” Kingfisher said. “I’ve found them early when they were small and go back the next week and they’re still the same size.

So, it’s held true.”

He said an unspoken rule when people gather wishi is that some will put a stick into the mushroom to “claim” it. If it is claimed, then others who come across it will know not to pick that particular wishi.

CLEANING AND PREP: Once wishi is gathered, it can be sliced into strips, cleaned of any debris or insects, rinsed with water one to two times and boiled for 20 minutes for extra cleaning.

After boiling, the water is drained.

The typical way wishi is cooked is breaded and fried. The pieces, already moist, are dipped in a mix of flour, salt and pepper and placed in a pan with a preferred oil on medium heat.

Place about three to four cups of sliced and breaded wishi into the pan and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes until the bread layer has a crispy texture.

The mushroom will have a meat-like texture when cooked.

“Most folks are excited to find it.

They’re ready to go throw some beans on. Usually that’s what they would do, cook it with beans and taters (potatoes) and some kind of bread. Maybe some kind of meat to go with it,” Kingfisher said.

Other ways wishi can be prepared is sliced into salads, cooked in chili or sautéed in butter. Kingfisher said any way someone might eat mushrooms, wishi can be prepared the same way.

COURTESY A polypore mushroom known to Cherokees as wishi can be found in the fall growing at the base of oak trees. Wishi is a traditional food that generations of Cherokees have come to enjoy.

LEFT: COURTESY Cherokee Nation citizen Tim Kingfisher breaks up a wishi, a food that is found near oak trees.

ABOVE: LINDSEY BARK/ CHEROKEE PHOENIX When cleaned, wishi is sliced into strips, rinsed and boiled to rid it of dirt and insects.

In Memoriam Wanda Virginia Bond Dec. 10, 1923 – Nov. 4, 2019

Lucinda (Duncan) Duck Jan. 11, 1940 – Oct. 31, 2019

Mark Lawhead June 2, 1970 – Oct. 19, 2019

Ronald Dean Rider Nov. 7, 1957 – Nov. 7, 2019

Tommy Dale Byrd Dec. 3, 1949 – Oct. 26, 2019

Donald Fixin June 17, 1952 – Oct. 24, 2019

Samuel McElhaney Aug. 1, 1974 – Nov. 8, 2019

Forman Ross Dec. 8, 1934 – Oct. 25, 2019

Jim Boyd Catron June 11, 1935 – Oct. 31, 2019

Vickie Sue Gorman Jan. 31, 1948 – Nov. 1, 2019

William Boyd Patterson Aug. 11, 1946 – Oct. 23, 2019

Lance Eric Turn April 12, 1966 – Oct. 17, 2019

Polly Christie April 15, 1939 – Nov. 10, 2019

Inola Grimmett June 2, 1940 – Oct. 27, 2019

Barbara Elaine Pettit July 23, 1961 – Oct. 28, 2019

Patsy Wood (Boyd) Dec 12 1937 – Oct. 25, 2019

Lindsey Dawn (Hosley) Downing July 4, 1976 – Oct. 24, 2019

Twilia Suelene (Briggs) Hudson July 8, 1948 – Oct. 20, 2019

Larry Pritchett Sr. Nov. 14, 1944 – Nov. 9, 2019

Sondra Helen Wright Sept. 10, 1974 – Oct. 29, 2019

Community Events Dec. 2 Lost City Community Org. 6 p.m.

Tulsa Cherokee Community Org. 6:30 p.m., Call 805-551-6445 Email tulsacherokees@gmail.com

Native American Assoc. of Ketchum 280 E. Gregory, Ketchum 6:30 p.m.

One Fire Assoc.

Kenwood Community Building 7 p.m., Email emmahayes87@yahoo.com

Dec. 10 No-We-Ta Cherokee Community 1003 Lenape Drive, Nowata 6:30 p.m., Call 918-273-5536

Belfonte 6:30 p.m., Call 918-427-4237

Dec. 5 Greasy Fellowship Community Org. Greasy Community Building 7 p.m.

Victory Cherokee Org. 1025 N. 12th St. Collinsville 7 p.m., Call 918-371-6688 Email victorycherokee@att.net

Washington County Cherokee Assoc.

300 E. Angus Ave., Dewey 7 p.m., Call 918-333-5632

Dec. 12 Stilwell Public Library Friends Society 5 N. Sixth St., Stilwell 5 p.m., Call 918-315-4279

Marble City Community Org. MCCO Building 7 p.m.

Eucha Indian Fellowship Eucha Community Building 8 p.m.

Dec. 3 Vian Peace Center 604 W. Schley 5:30 p.m.

Muldrow Cherokee Community Org. MCCO Building 6 p.m., Call 918-427-5440 Brushy Cherokee Action Assoc.

465406 E. 1010 Road 6 p.m., Call 918-775-6914

Dec. 9 Rocky Mountain Cherokee Community 6 p.m., Call 918-696-4965 Brent Community Assoc.

461914 Hwy. 141, Gans 6 p.m., Call 918-774-0655 Email brentcomm@live.com Fairfield Community Org. Inc. 6:30 p.m., Call 918-605-0839 Marble City Pantry 7 p.m., Call 918-775-5975

Oak Hill/Piney 7 p.m., Call 918-235-2811

Native American Fellowship Inc. 215 Oklahoma St., South Coffeyville 6 p.m., Call 620-252-8883 Adair County Resource Center 110 S. Secondnd St., Stilwell 6:30 p.m.

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

Lyons Switch 7 p.m., Call 918-696-2354

Dec. 16 Neighborhood Assoc. of Chewey Chewey Community Building, 7 p.m.

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 Enjoy a hot meal at the Marble City Community Center at 11:30 a.m. Meals are free to anyone over 50, but a donation is asked to help with expenses.

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 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday from Nov. 11 through February.

6

CHEROKEE PHOENIX • DECEMBER 2, 2019

Health • ᎠᏰᎸ ᏄᏍᏛ

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

Cardiovascular disease leading killer among Cherokees

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter TAHLEQUAH – Cherokees and other Native Americans are sometimes vulnerable to health problems not as common in other populations, but they share a leading cause of death with all Americans – cardiovascular disease.

In its 2016 report, Cherokee Nation Public Health split heart disease and stroke into separate causes of mortality – listing them first and fifth, respectively – but because they have common causes, mechanisms and prevention methods, they can be combined as cardiovascular disease.

From 2005-14, cardiovascular disease killed 3,094 Cherokees, making it the tribe’s leading cause of death.

“There are things you can’t control, like family history or genetics,” Dr. David Gahn, medical director for Cherokee Nation Public Health, said. “There aren’t specific genes we can identify to determine risk, but a doctor will ask about family history because heart disease does seem to run in families.”

Other unavoidable factors are age and sex. Heart disease risk is higher in men and older people. Also, black, white and Native Americans are more likely to die of heart disease than Hispanics, Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans.

When diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, there may not be obvious symptoms. Certain conditions will cause doctors to monitor for heart and blood flow problems.

“A combination of factors will lead to conditions,” Gahn said. “High blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol are conditions that need to be monitored and you have to take special care. Some of these conditions are modifiable.

Some people can stop smoking and eat a healthy diet and their blood pressure drops back down to normal. Others can get them under control with medicines.

People with the conditions should see a doctor routinely.”

A cardiovascular disease diagnosis often follows an episode of heart attack, stroke or chest pains. The most common conditions that result in a diagnosis are coronary artery disease and heart failure.

CAD is often found around the heart, but can also be diagnosed in areas that heighten stroke risk, such as the carotid arteries in the neck.

Gahn said those who survive a first heart attack sometimes make a nearly full recovery, with little impact on their physical activities. But many find themselves with limitations in their activities.

Heart failure is “particularly devastating,” he said.

“It is difficult to treat,” Gahn said.

“The heart can’t pump blood efficiently,

and that is a function of the muscle, not the coronary arteries. Heart failure is a chronic condition, but we have medicines to help the heart work more efficiently.

It also requires careful diet and fluid management.”

Cardiovascular disease can be treated, and such measures can extend patients’ lives by decades. However, prevention is the most effective “treatment.” Health professionals have told the public how to prevent cardiovascular disease for more than a century.

Paradoxically, studies suggest the message has gotten through and people know how to prevent cardiovascular disease, but many don’t adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle.

“The number one cause of preventable mortality is cigarette smoking,” Gahn said. “If we can help people stop smoking, it makes a huge difference in the quality and length of their lives. The messages are everywhere. ‘Smoking is bad for you.

Please don’t do it.’ But people start as kids and nicotine is addictive. We look for ‘food deserts.’ That’s where we in (CN) Public Health can partner with business.

How can we help a community to attract businesses that are healthy, or help the businesses that are already there offer healthy food? Unfortunately, the cheapest food is often the least healthy.”

People often claim they don’t have time to exercise, though studies suggest most folks could budget the time.

“Go for a walk. You don’t have to run a marathon,” Gahn said. “You don’t have to spend $1,500 on a high-end bike. Take the dog for a walk. Gardening and chores are exercise. This spring, I talked to patients about birdwatching. I asked them to figure out how many bird songs they could identify and write them down. Plant identification – maybe your grandma told you plants but you’ve forgotten, so get a field guide. That gets you outside. If you have kids in strollers or on tricycles, walking with them is a wonderful way to get exercise.”

Methods to prevent cardiovascular disease may be known, if not always followed, and medical supervision can help people manage dangerous conditions.

But the public should be aware of warning signs that a heart attack or stroke is imminent, or that cardiovascular disease has developed.

Many heart attacks are not preceded by symptoms, but those with symptoms can exhibit persistent chest pain; pain in the jaw, neck or back; nausea, dizziness, cold sweat and general weakness; pain in the shoulders or arms; or shortness of breath.

There are other less imminent symptoms that should prompt a medical visit.

If, during a span of only a few weeks or months, shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat set in much more quickly with

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL According to this U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention map, for most of the Cherokee Nation’s territory in Oklahoma between 2015 and 2017, cardiovascular disease killed people age 35 and older at a rate of 422 to 1,096 per 100,000 deaths annually.

AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION This American Heart Association graphic gives advice on how to prevent heart disease and stroke. Heart disease is the leading killer among Cherokees, according to a 2016 Cherokee Nation report. exertion, check with a doctor to find out the cause. A stinging or burning in the chest that starts and stops in lockstep with any exertion is not a good sign, and needs to be examined.

Stroke is even less likely to give advance warning. The acronym to remember – and recommended by the American Stroke Association is FAST. Check the Face for drooping, Arms for weakness, Speech for slurring and – if any of these

symptoms are present – it is Time to call 911 or an ambulance.

Other stroke symptoms are numbness, particularly on one side of the body; confusion and difficulty speaking or understanding conversation; vision problems; severe headache with no obvious cause; and dizziness or difficulty walking.

For more information, patients can consult with their primary care physicians or visit cdc.gov, heart.org or stroke.org.

CN monitoring causes of death among its citizens

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – When considering the leading causes of mortality among Cherokee Nation citizens, there are considerations and even anomalies to absorb when perusing the data, officials say.

Firstly, it can take a few years to get mortality data that accurately identifies the deceased by ethnicity.

“The first thing to know about death certificate data is racial misclassification,” Dr. David Gahn, CN Public Health medical director, said. “Native Americans might be listed as white by whoever filled out the death certificate. So (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has worked with the Indian Health Service and the (Oklahoma State Department of Health) to connect the mortality records with the Indian Health Service health care database to reclassify race. That has been done through 2015.”

Gahn said mortality data is available through 2018, but should not yet be compared with earlier years.

“We find up to a 30 percent difference if you use reclassified data versus the original data,” Gahn said. “We can still do relative causes of death, but the numbers – if we

go past 2015 – aren’t as reliable.”

Public Health officials have filed reports on causes of death within the CN, and more recently a report on cardiovascular disease. Gahn said the figures he finds fascinating and disturbing are the potential years of life lost.

“We usually use the age of 75, and the numbers are staggering,” he said. “If you are a nation of people, and it is your culture you are preserving, you’re losing that much of your culture. The elders, the grandma who is teaching her granddaughter the names of plants and how to grow a garden, the grandpa taking his grandson fishing – it is thousands of years per year of potential life lost.”

Gahn said it hasn’t been difficult to identify the biggest health dangers to American Indians within the Nation’s jurisdiction. He called it a “simple message.”

“There are three risk factors that cause four conditions that account for 63 percent of the deaths of Native Americans in the Cherokee Nation,” Gahn said. “Tobacco is the No. 1 cause of preventable death, hands down, in the U.S., Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation. That is followed by poor nutrition and lack of physical activity.”

The CN is in an advantageous situation with health facilities and a public health service, he said. “It is powerful and somewhat unique. The state doesn’t have

hospitals everywhere, and Hillcrest Hospital in Tulsa doesn’t have a public health department.”

Gahn said patients are provided “clinical medicine” at the clinics and W.W. Hastings Hospital, while Public Health focuses on improving health outcomes for populations and communities, including smoking cessation, nutrition, education and other programs. Public Health policies may be encouraged.

“The power of policy is when we ban smoking in our government facilities, we are sending a message that smoking is bad for you, we don’t want you to do it, and we want to help you not do it,” he said. “Secondhand smoke is also bad, so we aren’t going to let you harm others. You try to match policy to the right situations.

When a school says no more soda machines, that’s a huge policy. Those are policies where we are trying to change the environment.”

Public Health also sharpens its focus on populations that may not be living as long as expected, or if an unusually large number of people within an age group are dying of a specific cause.

“We are able to monitor mortality,” Gahn said. “We have strong partnerships with the state health department. We have our own cancer registry.”

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

Education • ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ

DECEMBER 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

7

State’s ‘Nation’s Report Card’ scores short of goal

BY JENNIFER PALMER Oklahoma Watch

O

klahoma has a long way to go to reach one of its major educational targets.

The goal is to be ranked in the top 20 states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also called the “Nation’s Report Card.”

The Sooner State is currently 42nd in fourth- and eighth-grade reading, 39th in fourth-grade math and 40th in eighthgrade math, according the latest NAEP report, which was released Oct. 30 by the U.S. Department of Education.

Oklahoma’s only improved category, compared to 2017, was eighth-grade math, but the uptick was not statistically significant. Eighth-grade reading scores dropped three points this year, while fourth-grade math and reading scores held steady.

Nationally, reading scores for both fourth and eighth graders declined. The only state with a significant increase in fourth-grade reading scores between 2017 and 2019 was Mississippi, which has a third-grade retention policy and has beefed up its literacy training for teachers based on the science of reading.

In math, U.S. fourth graders’ scores improved slightly; among eighth graders, scores declined. The exams – given every other year to a sampling of fourth and eighth grade students nationwide – are considered the best tool to com-

WHITNEY BRYEN/OKLAHOMA WATCH Students and parents walk toward a Tulsa elementary school entrance. Oklahoma is currently 42nd in fourth- and eighth-grade reading, 39th in fourth-grade math and 40th in eighth-grade math, according a recent report. pare student achievement across states.

Approximately 8,900 Oklahoma students at 250 schools in 190 districts were tested this year.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister on Oct. 30 said Oklahoma’s scores are in line with national trends.

“We are encouraged to see improvement in eighth–grade math scores after strengthening our academic standards,”

Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation that produces in-depth and investigative journalism as a public service for the benefit of all Oklahomans. Through investigative, fact-driven journalism, its mission is to dig deep and examine significant issues facing the state. Its work engages all Oklahomans, amplifies the discussion of important issues and leads to change. It also helps develop the journalists and journalism of the future.

Rural schools face challenges, but teacher pay hikes likely helped

BY JENNIFER PALMER Oklahoma Watch OKLAHOMA CITY – Teacher pay raises in 2018 and 2019 likely helped address some of the critical educational needs facing rural schools raised in a new report by a national education group. But other funding and academic issues remain, a rural schools organization leader says.

In the latest Why Rural Matters report, released Nov. 14, Oklahoma was ranked in the top five states where rural students are not receiving sufficient educational resources by the Rural School and Community Trust, an advocacy nonprofit.

Oklahoma’s poor ranking was mostly due to the report’s fiscal metrics, including per-pupil funding for rural students and teacher salaries. Spending per rural student was $4,737, second lowest in the country – only above Idaho at $4,118.

Nationally, spending per rural student averaged $6,367.

Rural teachers’ salaries ranked third lowest in the country at $56,591 per instructional full-time equivalent; the national average was nearly $70,000. The figures were adjusted for regional differences using the Comparable Wage Index.

The trust used U.S. Department of Education data from the 2014-15 school year.

“We’ve kind of corrected the salary part,” said John Cox, superintendent at Peggs Public School and president of the Organization of Rural Elementary Schools. “We have improved significantly. I think there’s still some room to grow.”

He’s optimistic the Legislature will continue the state’s momentum by focusing

on getting more funding into classrooms for needs like technology, curriculum and classroom supplies.

Another area of concern the researchers found was the low number of rural students who completed and passed an Advanced Placement exam. In Oklahoma, that was just 3%.

Oklahoma also fell short in dual enrollment. Just 9% of boys and 13% of girls in rural districts were enrolled in a college course during their junior or senior year of high school, compared to 20% and 26% nationwide. For this metric, the trust used 2015-16 school year data.

But in terms of academic performance, Oklahoma’s rural students scored slightly higher than non-rural students on the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress.

“We build relationships in small communities,” Cox said. “Relationships are the basis of building a strong education and getting the buy-in from students.”

Other findings from the report: • 52% of Oklahoma’s public schools are located in areas classified as rural by the U.S. Census Bureau. The national average is 29%.

• 29% of Oklahoma’s public school students attend a rural school, well above the national average of 15%.

• Oklahoma ranked third highest for rural diversity. The researchers found a 53% chance that two randomly chosen students from an Oklahoma rural school would be of different races.

• Oklahoma has the third highest rate of students receiving special education services in rural districts at 18%. The national average is 14%.

she said. “Oklahoma students can compete academically with other students in the nation, but we have more ground to gain.”

Oklahoma’s goal to be among the top 20 states in NAEP scores is written into its eight-year, comprehensive education plan, which was approved by the U.S. Department of Education in 2018.

It was created by the state Education Department with input from stakeholders

like parents, educators, lawmakers and community members.

NAEP is also the yardstick often used to measure whether Oklahoma’s thirdgrade retention law is working.

The law requires third-grade students who can’t prove they are proficient readers to repeat the grade.

Scores in 2015 improved, which Hofmeister attributed to the policy. But in 2017 reading scores dipped four points.

Hofmeister said a lack of resources and the teacher shortage led to the decline.

This year, scores held steady.

For fiscal 2019-20, the state allocated additional dollars to support struggling readers in kindergarten through third grade. The department is asking for a small increase in funding for 2020-21 to train teachers on the science of reading.

“Our kids do not have to be struggling readers,” Hofmeister said. “Extensive research shows us how the brain learns to read, and many classrooms across Oklahoma and the nation are still teaching reading strategies that have been discredited and could even make it harder for students to learn to read.”

Education leaders in recent years have focused efforts on stemming the state’s stubborn teacher shortage, including back-to-back years of teacher pay raises.

But the number of emergency certified teachers in classrooms continues to climb, with 3,000 approved so far this school year.

Last year was a record 3,038.

Declining ACT scores raise college readiness concerns

BY JENNIFER PALMER Oklahoma Watch

Oklahoma high school graduates’ scores on the ACT college-readiness exam declined in every subject this year, according to a report released Oct. 30.

Most colleges use ACT or SAT scores as part of admissions requirements.

Statewide, the average composite score was 18.9, out of a possible 36. That represents a drop of 0.4 points compared to 2018. Reading and math scores each dipped 0.5 points, to 19.6 and 18.3.

Oklahoma is one of 15 states that tested 100% of its 2019 high school graduates. Among those states, Oklahoma’s average composite ranked 12th. Louisiana, Mississippi and Nevada posted lower scores.

Another worrisome trend in the report is the rising proportion of Oklahoma students who failed to meet any of the ACT’s college-readiness benchmarks, which are set for each of the four subjects. (ACT considers these “college ready” scores: 18 in English, 22 in social

studies and math, and 23 in science.)

This year, 46% of students met zero benchmarks, compared to 43% in 2018 and 31% in 2015.

Nationally, 36% did not meet any of the four benchmarks.

U.S. students’ average composite score was 20.7, a decrease of 0.1 points compared to 2018.

Students who took the recommended four years of English and three years each of math, science and social studies outperformed students who did not, according to ACT. Since 2017, the state has funded and required all 11th-grade students to take either the ACT or SAT, an effort led by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister.

That increased the number of students taking the exam and resulted in an expected drop in average scores. But education officials say the initiative has benefits, such as saving students money and improving college accessibility.

The data in the report are based on 2019 graduates who took the ACT during high school.

WHITNEY BRYEN/ OKLAHOMA WATCH Oklahoma high school graduates’ scores on the ACT college-readiness exam declined in every subject this year, according to a report released Oct. 30. ACT scores for Oklahoma students have fallen since 2015 and are almost two points lower than the national average.

Native teachers encouraged to apply for self-designed teacher grants The Fund for Teachers program awards fellowships of up to $5,000 for individual teachers and up to $10,000 for teams of teachers.

BY STAFF REPORTS OKLAHOMA CITY – Native American teachers from all Oklahoma tribal jurisdictions seeking customized professional development opportunities are encouraged to apply for a Fund for Teachers grant.

The Fund for Teachers program awards fellowships of up to $5,000 for individual teachers and up to $10,000 for teams of teachers for self-designed professional development experiences to take place anywhere in the world during the summer months.

The grants are offered through a partnership with the national nonprofit Fund for Teachers, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and the Tulsa Community Foundation. Oklahoma’s 2019 Fund for Teachers program was funded in part with support from a tribal alliance including the Chickasaw Nation, Cherokee Nation, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, the Ponca Tribe of

Indians of Oklahoma and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Additional tribes are being invited to participate in the 2020 tribal alliance supporting Fund for Teachers grants.

Fund for Teachers supports teachers in their desires to improve their crafts and gain understanding by offering professional development customized to the needs of their students and teaching philosophy. Since 2006, the Fund for Teachers program in Oklahoma has provided more than $3.1 million in grant funds to 878 Oklahoma teachers.

Fund for Teachers fellowships are open to Oklahoma teachers teaching pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in public, private, parochial and charter schools. Applicants must have at least three years of teaching experience, be full-time employees and spend 50% or more of their time in a classroom setting. Also, applicants must have the intention of returning to their school and/or district after their summer professional development.

School administrators are not eligible.

The grant cycle application process is open at fundforteachers.org until Jan. 30.

This summer, 28 teachers from Oklahoma schools returned from learning odysseys in Europe, Japan, South America and North America. Fellows learned as they ventured through diverse ecosystems, toured historical locations, observed industry professionals and experi-

mented with new technology.

Cherokee Nation citizen Chelsea Archie and teammate Shanna Eicher, science teachers from Owasso’s Seventh Grade Center, went to Australia to investigate the effects of climate change on its ocean and land ecosystems to develop an inquiry-based unit that engages students in local and global conservation efforts.

While in Australia, the team met with conservationists and research scientists to discuss the state of local ecosystems and strategize about conservation. Their learning adventure included guided tours of rain forests and animal sanctuaries, behind-the scenes research at the Cairns Aquarium, underwater research at the Great Barrier Reef, observing conservation efforts at the Australia Zoo and visiting local research colleges.

“I would describe this fellowship as a game-changing event in my education career,” Archie said. “As educators, it is our duty to learn as much as we can so we can be the best teachers for our students. I can now infuse more real-world problem-solving and critical thinking into my classroom, talk with colleagues about complex world issues, and encourage others to stretch outside of their comfort zones.”

For information or to apply, visit fundforteachers. org, call Sara Wilson at 405-236-0006, ext. 12 or email swilson@ofe.org.

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Services • ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ

CHEROKEE PHOENIX • DECEMBER 2, 2019

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

Angel Project kicks off with Nov. 19 ceremony

BY LINDSEY BARK Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – A Christmas tree decorated with lights and pink slips of paper awaited the public as Cherokee Nation officials kicked off this year’s Angel Project on Nov. 19 at the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex. “(Principal) Chief (Chuck) Hoskin (Jr.) has three initiatives of community, family and culture. To me, the Angel Project touches on two of those very closely with community and family. It’s an opportunity for us to come together as family, not only as employees at the Cherokee Nation but as individual families, and ultimately, a community to take care of every family that is in need,” Chief of Staff Todd Enlow said.

The Angel Project was established to provide Christmas gifts to low-income Native children up to 16 years of age residing in the CN. Misty Blunt, Indian Child Welfare prevention manager, said this year’s project helps provide gifts to more than 1,800 children.

Tree locations include the Tribal Complex, hospitals, medical clinics and Walmart stores.

Blunt said Cherokee Nation Businesses takes a portion of the angels, as well as W.W. Hastings Hospital and the general public.

“We do ask people to look at their needs first and try to purchase their needs and then do gifts after that,” Blunt said.

Needs can include bedding, blankets, socks, underwear, winter clothing and hygiene products. In the past, wants have included bicycles, headphones, ear buds and video game consoles.

Angels that do not get selected still receive gifts through volunteers who sign up to help shop. Blunt said they generally end up shopping for around 300

LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Women make their selections from the Angel Project tree during its Nov. 19 kickoff at the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex in Tahlequah.

More than 1,800 children will receive gifts this year through the effort of the tribe and public to purchase needed items for Christmas. to 500 angels so that every child receives something.

“It takes an amazing team to do this.

It’s lots of hours, lots of work from taking the applications to cutting and putting ribbon on the angels to sorting the gifts, handing out the gifts. Lots of hours and lots of time but we love it,” Blunt said.

In addition to the kickoff,

COURTESY The Hunters Against Hunger program helps feed people across the state who are food-insecure by providing deer meat to local community food pantries. Hunters donate the meat to participating meat processors.

Hunters Against Hunger feeds families via deer donations

BY LINDSEY BARK Reporter

“That form is basically just information that will come to us later to make sure it’s a legally harvested deer. We ask all hunters to donate $10 to the processor to cover a portion of the processing fee. The processor will take that meat and grind it all up into ground, 1-to-2pound packages,” Rouner said.

Processors then contact food pantries to pick up the meat so that it can be distributed.

Rouner said the meat helps different organizations such as soup kitchens and women’s shelters, or is given to families in need.

She added that deer meat is also a healthier source of protein. According to the Mayo Clinic, it provides 21% of the recommended daily serving of iron and contains Omega-3 fatty acids that help prevent heart disease and stroke.

“You’re not going to find a more pure healthy meat. So it’s a wonderful source of protein. You can take a pound of it and make a Hamburger Helper and feed a family of four. There are a lot of hungry people out there,” Rouner said.

“Nine times out of 10 the meat stays local. It stays within those communities.

One of the most difficult things for your food banks and stuff to get their hands on is fresh protein. I love it. If I have extra meat after I’m deer hunting I donate it. It’s a great thing.”

For information, wildlifedepartment. com/hunting/deer-processors.

OKLAHOMA CITY – “Oklahoma is Hungry” is not a headline normally seen in conjunction with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

But by partnering with the state’s food banks to help feed families, the ODWC created the Hunters Against Hunger program.

Since 2002, HAH has helped provide 550,429 pounds of venison to food-insecure families, equating to about 2 million potential meals provided through the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, according to the ODWC. About 16% of Oklahomans are food-insecure, and one in four children don’t get the food they need, according to the ODWC. “What it means is they don’t have a steady source of food coming in. Kids will come home from school and they don’t know if there’s going to be something there to eat or not. They don’t know if they’re going to get a snack.

They don’t know if they’re going to get supper, that type of thing,” HAH coordinator Becky Rouner said.

She said HAH gets the venison from in-state meat processors after hunters donate legally harvested deer. Hunters complete a donation form and can donate $10 to the processor for processing fees.

Hunters Against Hunger Processors in Cherokee Nation County

Business Name

Address

City

Phone

Craig

Tagged Out Processing

436963 E. 250 Road

Vinita

918-915-1336

Mayes

Bontrager Deer Processing

6836 W. 590 Road

Chouteau

918-476-7681

Nowata

Anderson Processing

OK-28

Delaware

918-467-3659

Ottawa

High’s Deer Processing

402 W. Market

Fairland

918-676-3203

Sequoyah

3:16 Deer Processing

104419 S. 4640 Road Muldrow

918-208-9290

Washington

Peck’s Custom Butchering

13911 Hwy 75

918-534-1382

Dewey

representatives from construction companies made donations.

CPR Roofing of Tulsa made a $10,000 donation, Builder’s Unlimited made a $2,500 donation and Cooper Construction donated an undisclosed amount.

“Not only are they partners to help us achieve magnificent things from building health clinics and taking care

of elders and providing safe stable places for us to work, they’re also partners with us to help take care of those in need,” Enlow said.

Gifts are to be returned unwrapped

by Dec. 6 to Cherokee First in the Tribal Complex and will be distributed starting Dec. 9.

HACN to accept applications for rental additions

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter TAHLEQUAH – The Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation has announced it will soon accept applications for rental properties in the Shade Addition in Hulbert and the Sequoyah Heights Addition in Tahlequah.

The sites will offer housing units for elder Native Americans ages 62 and older.

Construction continues on the Shade Addition. The homes will be built through the Rental Properties program of the HACN. Each unit will include about 660 square feet with a living area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Parks, a post office and a senior citizens center are short walks from the addition.

“Weather has been a factor and surely will continue to have an impact on our progress,” said Erna Reeves, HACN deputy director. “We started site work on the project in August. We have pads built for all eight of the houses.

We will start pouring footings next week, weather permitting. After that, construction should progress rapidly.”

Applications for Shade Addition are available at the Proctor Heights office,

900 Bassham Drive in Hulbert.

“We anticipate that the project will be completed and ready for occupancy no later than next summer, 2020,” Reeves said.

Applications for Sequoyah Heights Addition are available at the Gregg Glass Building, 120 McSpadden Court in Tahlequah.

To meet application requirements, a household member must be a citizen of a federally recognized tribe. Household income must be at or below 80 percent of the national median income guidelines and the rents charged will be based on family income. Criminal background checks will be conducted on all household members age 18 or older, and other eligibility requirements will apply according to the HACN Rental Programs Policy.

HACN staff will be available to distribute and accept applications for single-bedroom units. The first 20 completed applications for Shade Addition will be accepted. The first 30 finished applications for Sequoyah Heights will be accepted. A completed application must be signed by the head of household and spouse.

For information, call the HACN at 918456-5482.

CN opens road project providing access to new health center

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH – Cherokee Nation and Tahlequah city officials on Oct. 16 cut the ribbon for a newly improved section of East Ross Street, which provides access to the tribe’s new outpatient health center on the W.W. Hastings campus.

Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., Deputy Chief Bryan Warner, Tribal Councilors Rex Jordan and E.O. Smith, Secretary of State Tina Glory Jordan and Chief of Staff Todd Enlow met with staff of the tribe’s Department of Transportation along with Tahlequah officials to cut the ribbon and celebrate the project’s completion.

“This improved road will directly serve our new, state-of-the-art health facility,” Hoskin said. “We expect it to be busy with patients and staff coming and going, and one of the best ways we can serve them is by making sure the roads to our facilities are safe. Our Department of Transportation made this all possible and completed the project ahead of schedule so there would be no issues with Cherokee Nation citizens getting access to the health care they need.”

Tribal leaders celebrated a soft opening of the health facility on Oct. 7, and a grand opening ceremony was

held on Nov. 14.

“Project coordination between the Cherokee Nation Department of Transportation staff and the Hastings health facility construction staff was critical to ensure access was maintained and neither project was delayed,” Community Services Executive Director Michael Lynn said. “This is a major investment within the city of Tahlequah and I am extremely proud of the Cherokee Nation DOT staff for their hard work and countless hours on this project.”

The project extends nearly a mile long and provides new traffic loops, modifications to traffic signals, a pedestrian crossing sign and traffic lighting along East Ross Street and its intersection with U.S. Highway 62, known as the Bertha Parker Bypass in Tahlequah.

“I’m very pleased we were able to get this finished in time for the health facility’s opening,” said Tribal Councilor Rex Jordan. “The hard work from everyone involved made all of this possible, and thanks to them our citizens will have a safe way to get to the new health facility.”

The cost of the project was more than $2.7 million.

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

Money • ᎠᏕᎳ

DECEMBER 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

9

Ford opens ‘modern’ salon in Stilwell

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter STILWELL – A new salon in Stilwell is “bringing a touch of modern to small town, USA” thanks to a Cherokee Nation citizen whose goal is to offer quality and affordable service.

Cassie Ford, 30, of Greasy, owns and operates the Ford Hair Co. along Highway 51.

“I always worked for Cherokee Nation, but I had to travel an hour and 15 minutes to work,” Ford said. “I needed something closer, and I wanted to own my own business. So I just one day started talking about it and told (husband) Shane I wanted to go to cosmetology school.”

Ford grew up in Pawnee before attending Sequoyah High School, where she was a basketball standout. She later helped coach basketball and volleyball at SHS. “I used to powwow when I was younger, and I had to learn how to braid my own hair,” she said. “So, I’ve always been able to do braids. Then when I was working for the Cherokee Nation, all the girls always wanted me to do braids.”

Ford honed her salon skills at the Paul Mitchell cosmetology school in Fayetteville, Arkansas. At her shop, “Everybody is welcome.”

“Prices in northwest Arkansas are a lot higher than here,” she said. “I just want-

ed our community to be able to afford to come to us.”

Ford Hair Co. offers men’s and women’s cuts, perms, coloring, eyelash extensions and more.

“We’ll be offering nails and facials in the future,” Ford said.

The small business has already garnered regulars and rave reviews on social media.

“Cassie really cares about fixing/giving you what you want, yet doing it in a safe way to protect your hair,” one customer posted online. Another pointed to the “amazing atmosphere, amazing hair stylist” in a “beautiful building. Everything is brand new.”

Compliments were also given to salon employee Tera Dawson.

So far, the most popular services are colors and cuts, Ford said.

“I have a few color regulars and a few eyelash regulars,” she added.

The 2,000-square-foot building, which includes office space, is located on a 1-acre tract of land.

“In the first two years, I just want it to pay for itself,” Shane Ford said.

Ford Hair Co. is at 471332 Hwy. 51 on the corner of Flint Street and 51. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday by appointment. For information, call 918-207-7199 or visit its Facebook page @fordhaircompany.

COURTESY Cherokee Nation citizen Cassie Ford owns and operates Ford Hair Co. along Highway 51 in Stilwell in Adair County.

Kanati Strategies helps clients convey messages

The Cherokee-owned consulting firm has been in business since 2016 and is growing and attracting more customers.

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Cherokee Nation citizen and Heavy Metal Training Institute owner Bobbie Wolf stands in front of her business that offers automotive trainings. Wolf had a grand opening for the business on Oct. 4 in Vinita.

HMTI offers CDL, commercial training Bobbie Wolf trains people to obtain CDLs and other commercial endorsements for transportation careers.

BY LINDSEY BARK Reporter

VINITA – Cherokee Nation citizen Bobbie Wolf held a grand opening of her new business, Heavy Metal Training Institute, on Oct. 4 with a meet-and-greet at her downtown storefront.

HMTI offers several short-term and full-time classes to obtain licenses such as a commercial driver’s license (CDL), as well as a school bus endorsement, commercial learner’s permit, pre-trip inspection, commercial endorsements, and in the future, an automotive internship program.

Before opening her business, Wolf ran a pilot project for another tribe doing CDL and automotive classes. After it ended, she was given the equipment to open HMTI. “The CDL class, it got really popular.

It’s an in-demand career. I mean even last year alone there was like 61,000 shortages of jobs just for CDL drivers.

If truck driving stopped, like the whole country would stop, it really would. It’s that important,” Wolf said.

Her biggest training program is for CDLs, which includes the commercial learner’s permit and pre-trip inspection training.

“I do a lot of one-on-one training. I take everybody out from start to finish if they’ve never driven a truck before.

We drive semis and 53-foot trailers. I’ll take them fresh and I’ll teach them and I’ll show them,” Wolf said.

To obtain a CDL, students will have 160 hours of training over four weeks, including 36 to 40 hours in the classroom along with pre-trip vehicle inspections and driving.

“When we do our pre-trip, they are learning about checking for the safety of the vehicle, engine compartments, components. They’re checking tires. They’re checking the condition of the truck, the manageability of the truck, the operation of the truck,” she said.

After pre-trips, students practice driving maneuvers such as backing,

alley docking and parallel parking in a vehicle with a 53-foot trailer on a lot outside of Vinita designated for HMTI training.

“The main thing is making sure they know their vehicle. If they know their vehicle then they can pass their test. I’m not going to put somebody in that’s not safe out on the road,” she said.

Wolf said when she feels the student is competent enough, she takes them road training.

“I’ll drive first, and I’ll take them to a safe location that we’ve got designated for driving. Then I’ll let them drive the highways, just straight highways at first. Just making sure that they’re staying in the lines, staying in their lane,” she said.

She wants the student comfortable driving the vehicle and ensuring they are checking what they need to check while driving.

After obtaining a CDL, she said students can return to obtain other endorsements for free. “Anyone that does graduate, and when they do want to come and get endorsements like a tanker, a double/triple, or a HAZMAT, we do those for free for those students that have graduated out of here.”

Tuition for the four-week course is $3,900. HMTI accepts financial aid through Oklahoma Works or tribal funding.

“The big picture is in five years I want to have 40 or 50 acres right outside of town with a training lot in the front, all of our office and facilities under one roof. I want to have a heavy equipment class in one corner, welding in another.

I want to do diesel mechanics so that we could maintenance our CDL fleet. And possibly even open a dive school,” she said.

Wolf is the sole trainer for her business but plans to hire more trainers and get equipment.

HMTI is located at 103 S. Wilson St. For information visit hmtinstitute.com or call 918-276-2669.

COWETA – When it comes to getting a message to potential customers or clients, a business or organization may not always be certain of which steps to take or what measures will be most effective – or they may not have a dedicated public communications department.

Therefore, they often hire experts who make their living in media messaging to generate sales, create awareness of a service or product or handle bad news. They might hire a firm such as Kanati Strategies, incorporated in 2016 by Cherokee Nation citizen Heather Griffin.

“We work with clients to develop an effective message and ensure that message is heard by the right people,” Griffin said.

“Whether it’s implementing a digital strategy, refining your brand, navigating a crisis, raising public support for issues or developing a legislative strategy, we help clients build their business.”

The consulting goals of communication firms, ad agencies and public relations outfits might seem a bit nebulous to those not working in media. Clients often have differing aims, so the more expertise a firm has on staff, the more customers it can help. Griffin said Kanati offers services in marketing communication, government relations and content development with a network of experts. It can be tailored for newspapers, dedicated proprietary publications, digital platforms, blogs or for multiple outlets.

“One of our most recent projects, and of particular interest to Indian Country, was the strategic campaign to support the release of the Oklahoma Native Impact report, an economic study about the impact tribal nations have on Oklahoma’s economy,” Griffin said. “We were able to work closely with the Oklahoma Tribal Finance Consortium and numerous tribal leaders to highlight the many ways tribes support Oklahoma. It was an exciting project for Kanati, and the study became a valuable tool for the recently launched United for Oklahoma campaign.”

The initial spark for Kanati Strategies began as a need for flexibility. Griffin had young children to monitor and her husband was often overseas.

She said quitting the job market wasn’t

an option.

“I liked to work, but I needed a job that allowed me to work on my time schedule,” she said. “From that need, Kanati Strategies was born. Kanati began Heather Griffin with a primary focus on public policy. That was a natural fit. I am an attorney by education, and have always worked in government and community relations. Prior to starting my own consulting company, I was the government relations manager for Cherokee Nation Businesses. Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Nation Businesses were the first two official clients of Kanati Strategies, so it’s probably fair to say Cherokee Nation truly gave Kanati our start.”

Since its incorporation three years ago, Kanati has added to its services and capabilities. In January, Cheena Pazzo joined Kanati as a partner.

“Cheena brought with her two decades of marketing and communications experience,” Griffin said. “Today, we represent tribes throughout Oklahoma and outside the state, nonprofit and tribal health care systems, municipalities, a manufacturing company, a professional sports team and a production company.

As for our future, we are working with a retail manufacturing client that has worldwide sourcing partners to launch a continuity program for tribal gaming operations, and we are developing a physician recruiting arm that places physicians at tribal health care facilities.”

Griffin said her Cherokee lineage was instrumental during her journey to become a business owner.

“I have always been very aware of my Cherokee heritage – a line of truly strong and determined Cherokee women made sure I understood where my ancestors came from, and that I should be proud of my Native heritage,” Griffin said. “That strong will and determination, a trait that is common among Natives, was definitely passed down to me, and it has definitely made a positive impact on the business.”

Those interested in learning about the economic impact of Oklahoma tribes can visit oknativeimpact.com and see an example of Kanati Strategies’ work.

“Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Nation Businesses were the first two official clients of Kanati Strategies, so it’s probably fair to say Cherokee Nation truly gave Kanati our start.”

Heather Griffin, Kanati Strategies partner

CHEROKEE PHOENIX • DECEMBER 2, 2019

People • ᏴᏫ

Sequoyah High School softball players Lana Gass, Ryleigh Clinton and Madi Joice on Nov. 13 signed letters of intent. Gass will attend Rogers State University. Clinton signed with Eastern Oklahoma State College, and Joice signed to play at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.

Sequoyah High School senior and runner Kayla Harp on Nov. 13 signed a letter of intent with Arkansas Tech University.

10

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019

PHOTOS BY CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Sequoyah High School baseball players Cody Jeanes, left, and Noah Young on Nov. 13 signed letters of intent to play for Bacone College in Muskogee.

Cherokee athletes sign with colleges, universities

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – A cross-country star, a pair of pitchers and three softball standouts from Sequoyah High School on Nov. 13 signed letters of intent to play at the collegiate level.

The seniors, all 18 years old and Cherokee Nation citizens, were Kayla Harp, Cody Jeanes, Noah Young, Madi Joice, Lana Gass and Ryleigh Clinton.

Harp, a distance runner who finished second at this year’s Class 3A championships in the 3,200-meter run, signed with Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.

“I really like the coach (Brock Hime), and I really like the campus and the town,” Harp, of Westville, said. “It wasn’t too big. It was the perfect size for me. I’m excited.”

Of long-term plans, Harp is “still trying” to decide.

“I’ve always liked the idea of being an elementary teacher,” she said. “I’d like to stay close to home, so Oklahoma or Arkansas would be fine with me.”

Baseball teammates Young and Jeanes are headed for Bacone College in Muskogee.

“This was my first choice,” Young said. “I’ve always liked (Bacone head baseball coach Tyrell) Cummings.

It’s close, and I think it will be a great organization for me. I think it will just be a good atmosphere and a good ball team.”

Both of the pitchers have been playing ball for years, but began attending Sequoyah as sophomores.

“They had to go through their sit-out year where they could only participate in JV,” SHS Athletic Director

Marcus Crittenden said. “So they really both paid their dues because they were varsity-talent kids, but had to wait their turn for the eligibility sit-out. They’re very accomplished as high school pitchers, and have nowhere near topped out.”

In addition to pitching for the Warriors baseball team, Jeanes plans to run cross-country.

Part of a championship softball team, Joice, Gass and Clinton are heading in different directions.

“When these young ladies showed up, we’d lost a crop of really good seniors,” Crittenden said. “They jumped in there and they’ve been part of a very special run – 83 wins in two years. We have one fast-pitch state championship. They were a big part of making that happen.”

Joice, of Tahlequah, signed to play at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.

“I just walked on campus there and really felt like I was at home,” she said, adding that it will be tough to leave family and friends behind. “This is all I’ve ever known. But I think I’m going to be OK because I’ve always wanted to get out and experience something new.”

Joice, a softball pitcher who plans to major in biology and later attend medical school, said she was proud of her team’s achievements.

“Honestly, this is the most-winning season Sequoyah has ever had,” she said. “We had the most wins of any team ever in Sequoyah history. That was pretty cool. It didn’t end exactly how we wanted it to, but I think we still did a great job.”

Of her teammates, Joice said, “We’re pretty close. We spend every waking moment together for nine weeks for the most part. It gets rough sometimes, but we love each

other in the end.”

Gass, of Stilwell, will attend Rogers State University in Claremore.

“We played tournaments there through the regular season and I just fell in love with it,” Gass said.

Her goal is to enter the nursing or occupational therapy fields.

“It will be a learning experience,” she said of the move. “I think I will be fine up to a point. I think I’ll start missing home. But I don’t have school on Fridays, so I will always be able to spend a lot of time with my family.”

Reflecting on her team, Gass said, “Every season for Sequoyah is a good season. We always have talent.”

The softball utility player is also on Sequoyah’s basketball team.

Clinton, of Stilwell, signed to play for Eastern Oklahoma State College in Wilburton.

“I really like the coaches and the coaching staff,” she said. “I like the campus, and it’s not too far away from home, just about two hours.”

Like her teammates, Clinton also wants to enter the medical profession.

“I want to start out and become an RN,” she said.

“Once I do that, I kind of want to work in the emergency room, kind of work everywhere and see what I like.

I want to work at (W.W.) Hastings (Hospital) is what I want to do.”

Clinton, a catcher, also looks to her time on the Sequoyah team with pride.

“We had a really, really good season,” she said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better senior season.”

Eckert hopes to revive NSU’s football fortunes

The son of a former Northeastern State University coach has returned to lead the RiverHawks program.

BY D. SEAN ROWLEY Senior Reporter

TAHLEQUAH – Since the turn of the 21st century, the Northeastern State University football program has tried to resume what it did in the 20th century.

It had its ups and downs, but its ups were spectacular with four title game appearances, two NAIA national titles and a West Regional title in just its second season as an NCAA Division II program.

But since the departure of head coach Tom Eckert after the 2002 season, the RiverHawks have posted only two winning seasons and have not returned to the playoffs, making only one post-season appearance in a 2011 bowl loss.

However, there seems to be some optimism around NSU football with the new coach. Fans, locals, alumni and the university want to see what hometown kid and Cherokee Nation citizen J.J. Eckert – son of Tom – can do at his alma mater’s program.

“Look at the last 15 years of football here, and it hasn’t had great success,” Eckert said. “I knew it was going to be a challenging process. But digging into it, there were a lot of positives. We’re in a great (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association) conference. We have some unbelievable student athletes. When we walk into the weight room or a meeting on Sunday, then going all the way through to the game on Saturdays, we have some great kids. That makes it even more rewarding, but the scoreboard has not indicated success.”

Eckert wants to win, but improvement is needed first, and he said he sees his players getting the other benefits of playing the sport.

“You may not see it if you only look on Saturday afternoons,” he said. “We’ve made headway in practice habits and from a schematic standpoint. We are a team with a truly good family atmosphere. They enjoy being around each other, and the camaraderie and the experience. Football is football, but when it is done, are you going to be friends with these guys the rest of your life?

Will you come back to homecoming and have a yearly

MALLORY SEMROW/NORTHEASTERN STATE UNIVERSITY Cherokee Nation citizen J.J. Eckert has followed in the footsteps of his father, Tom, to coach the Northeastern State University football team. event with each other’s families?”

Eckert has roots in Tahlequah. He attended Greenwood and Cherokee elementary schools en route to playing quarterback for Tahlequah High School. He spent a year at the University of Central Arkansas before returning to NSU to play for his father. He was on the 1994 NAIA championship team, started at quarterback for the 1995 national runner-up and was an assistant coach for the 1999 team. He witnessed other successful NSU seasons, including the 1991 team that went 10-0 and was ranked atop the NAIA. As a child, he followed the 1980 team that lost to Elon (North Carolina) College, 17-10, in the NAIA national championship. His father was then an assistant coach.

After leaving NSU, Eckert found success in the junior college ranks. His first head coaching job was at Garden City (Kansas) Community College, followed by a 12-season stay at Kilgore (Texas) Junior College, where he went 72-53 with three conference titles, five bowl appearances and was the Southwest Junior College Football Conference 2018 coach of the year.

However, Eckert never completely detached from

Tahlequah or Cherokee County, despite being employed in Texas for two decades.

“I was gone for 20 years, but then I’ve been here a bunch,” he said. “I would come here to see grandparents, parents, or catch crappie on Lake Tenkiller or chase a turkey at Camp Gruber. But I would drive back 300 miles south to a new opportunity. I’ve always thought that was a unique deal. For 20 years, that was really special, and there were a lot of things (at Kilgore) that appealed to my family. When we got down to the whole idea of coming back, was it a good move for the family at the time? That was important to me – to make sure my oldest daughter, wife and two twins thought this was a good time for this to happen.”

It’s not likely that this assignment is a “stepping stone” for Eckert. He insists he doesn’t “chase jobs” and is focused on getting NSU back into competitive shape.

He wants players to enjoy the college experience, and not solely measure their success by the number of wins.

“I’ve had chance to develop great relationships as a player and coach,” he said. “You want to provide that opportunity for your athletes. You want them to be successful academically and athletically. But also, how are you going to leave college, and what are you going to leave this place as?”

Because he made trips to Tahlequah, he saw the community grow – often through the CN’s efforts. “I…see the influence it has had in this community, region, state and this part of the country. I drive by the new (outpatient) clinic on a daily basis. I think, how impressive is that? That used to be my grandparents’ land, and I used to go shoot quail and ducks, feed cattle and catch fish.

I’ve spent a lot of time there, and I’m so proud as I drive through there. I remember thinking that W.W. Hastings Hospital was one of the most impressive things ever.”

Eckert said the growth of Tahlequah and the CN have mirrored each other, and that the tribe has had the benefit of great leadership for several decades.

“A lot of those guys from the 1994 team have been back,” he said. “But those who haven’t, can you imagine what they are going to think when they come back and see what has changed? Coming from Muskogee, they will see the new casino on the right. They’ll remember seeing cows and a pond there. It creates a lot of pride to see what the Cherokee Nation and its people have done in the last 15, 10 or even five years, being able to promote Tahlequah and northeastern Oklahoma.”

ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019 • ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ

Culture • ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ

DECEMBER 2, 2019 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX

11

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Cave inscriptions tell of bloody stickball match

BY CHAD HUNTER Reporter

FORT PAYNE, Ala. – Etched deep within an Alabama cave are Cherokee inscriptions that document sacred ceremonies surrounding a bloody stickball match played in 1828.

“The inscription implies that the leaders of one team … commemorated their pregame activity by writing on the cave wall,” an article in the April edition of Antiquity Journal reports. “Thus, this inscription records a very specific event.

It is, however, more than just a memorial of the game, because, to the Cherokee, stickball was and is more than a ‘game.’”

Stickball served as an alternative to tribal war in pre-European times, as described by the Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill.

“Although incredibly violent and fraught with danger, the death or severe injury of a few men was preferable to the more significant deaths and injuries sure to occur in full-fledged warfare,” the center’s overview of stickball states.

Archaeologist Beau Duke Carroll with the Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, North Carolina, led the research team at Alabama’s Manitou Cave where the writings were etched in the Cherokee syllabary invented by scholar Sequoyah, who lived in the nearby Cherokee village of Willstown. The inscriptions indicate Cherokees involved in the game were “led and guided in their preparations by a religious leader,” according to the interpretation. That leader was named as Richard Guess, believed to be Sequoyah’s son.

A second inscription near the first includes three lines of text with both Cherokee and English letters.

“The centre line is the longest, comprising as many as 26 Cherokee syllabary symbols,” the Antiquity Journal’s authors state. “The first part of the inscription … we read as Di-geya Ne-s-ga-wo-di-ga-ho-dv-ge A-ya in Cherokee, which means ‘we who are those that have blood come out of their nose and mouth.’ The second part of the line … A-yv S-ge-yv-gv-s, translates as

ALAN CRESSLER/ANTIQUITY A Cherokee syllabary inscription deep inside Manitou Cave near Fort Payne, Alabama, refers to an 1828 stickball game, according to researchers.

LINDSEY BARK/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Children play stickball at Sequoyah Schools’ Thompson Field during the 64th annual Cherokee National Holiday in Tahlequah.

CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Men and women play stickball on April 12 during the 47th annual Symposium on the American Indian at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.

‘I am a respectable man of authority.’

The last line is a signature, in English, of one ‘Richard Guess.’ This engraved text therefore informs us of two things.

First, that the author, Mr. RG or Richard Guess, is a leader; and second, the inscription references a group – probably ballplayers – whose members are wounded and bloodied in the face,

that is, in a ‘red condition.’”

The journal’s comprehensive piece, “Talking stones: Cherokee syllabary in Manitou Cave, Alabama,” notes that Cherokee writings there were first recognized by historian Marion O. Smith in 2006, then translated over time.

“The Cherokee syllabary inscriptions in Manitou Cave reflect the use of this great cavern as a place for seclusion, reflection and ceremony during perhaps the most stressful time in Cherokee history, when the people were forcibly and finally removed forever from their beloved homelands,” the article notes.

“Located in one of the principal Cherokee communities, the cave was used multiple times for ceremonial activity.”

Stickball remains a part of Cherokee culture today.

“My grandfather was a chief at a ceremonial ground,” Cherokee language instructor Lula Elk said. “So ever since I was little, I’ve been stomp dancing and playing stickball. It is very important.”

According to the CHC, stickball is played throughout the Cherokee Nation, “only now there’s a pole in the middle of the

playing grounds that’s 25 feet tall, with a wooden fish on top of it instead of a goal.”

“Players try to hit the fish, and get three points for each hit,” the CHC notes.

“Hitting the pole one foot below the fish scores a single point. Women are now allowed to play, but instead of sticks they play with their hands. The men may only use sticks, and may not hit the women.

The women are under no such rules, and can tackle, hit, push or do anything necessary to get the ball. In most games of stickball, the women almost always win.

Among the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, stickball is still only for men, and it is still an anything-goes sport.”

A wrestler in college, Cherokee Nation citizen Caleb Hickman was raised in Oklahoma but now works for the EBCI. “It’s totally different than Oklahoma,” Hickman said. “Girls aren’t playing here. It’s quite rough, and there’s a lot of tackling and wrestling. When I saw it, I was like ‘wow, where was this my whole life?’ I know there are a lot of Cherokee Nation folks who would love it.”

Players use sticks made by hand from hickory, according to the CN, and a small ball made of deer hair and hide.

“The game itself is important to our culture and our customs,” CN citizen and stickball player Trey Pritchett said.

“I also think it’s important to us healthwise, the benefits of getting out here, running around and staying active. We usually play stickball at least once a month, sometimes twice. Sometimes we’ll play every week.”

Apprentice knife maker trying to cut it on her own

BY WILL CHAVEZ Assistant Editor

KEYS – Eight years ago, Becky Martin, of Tahlequah, began working a part-time job with local knife maker Ray Kirk. Five years later, she began making her own knives after apprenticing with him.

“At the time I was a stay-at-home mom, and it worked out well. I could drop the kids off at school, come out here, work five hours and be in time to pick up the kids from school, so it worked out really well,” she said. “I started out being a grinder girl, doing the grinding (of metal). We were cutting up steel, pricing it, wrapping it and shipping it and doing all of that sort of stuff. It just grew from odds and ends and helping out around here to slowly helping him with his knives, and then I started doing my own knives.”

Martin said her father has known Kirk “for a long time,” and he had taken a welding class taught by Kirk. Her father heard Kirk needed help at his shop in Keys and was looking to hire a part-time assistant. She inquired about the job and started working with the experienced knife maker in 2011.

The Cherokee Nation citizen said in the three years she’s been making knives, she has “gotten better,” but it takes patience and practice to make good knives. She said Kirk makes it look easy, but hand forging a knife is not easy, especially on an anvil.

She said she is still perfecting her technique.

“It just kind of happened, this journey, this direction,” she said. “Just from helping him and doing things and then it became an interest. He kept giving me more responsibility, and then he goes, ‘you know what, you ought to start doing your own,’ and then I did and here we are.”

Martin, 46, started out making the Trail of Tears knives Kirk makes.

She continued with “integral-type” knives, where the blade is fashioned from a round bar of steel. She said her knowledge of knife making grows as she makes different sizes of knives, such as small “neck knives” that can be worn on a lanyard around the neck.

In 2019, she accompanied Kirk to a show in nearby Westville and sold her first knife.

“A lot of men who were showing

their knives weren’t selling anything, and I was a woman there for the first time and sold a knife. I was really tickled,” she said. “He’s (Kirk) got me stepping out of my comfort zone because I’m really shy. I’ve sold about 15 knives since I’ve been doing this. I don’t publicize myself. It’s just word of mouth.”

She said she has probably given away just as many knives as she has sold.

“Everybody tells me I need to get a website, but I don’t know anything about websites, so I’ve got to figure that out,” she said.

She and Kirk plan to sell their knives at the Cherokee Heritage Center during the Cherokee National Holiday over Labor Day weekend, and in the fall, they expect to attend another knife show in Westville.

“Ray has also got me doing a (knife making) demonstration. Oh, my goodness, I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I’ve learned a lot of things from Ray, not just knife making, but outlook on life, kindness, giving, what you send out is what will come back to you. He’s very spiritual, very knowledge, he’s a wealth of information, and it has been a pleasure to work with him and try to learn just a tenth of what he knows.”

Martin is one of many students Kirk has invited to his shop. As far as Kirk knows, Martin is the first Native American woman knife maker.

“He teaches classes, but I’m the only he’s ever taken in and done this with. I’m his one and only apprentice,” she said. “It is hard work. It’s nice seeing something that’s just a piece of steel that you can form and make into something that someone is interested in and something useable. I like seeing the change, and it’s neat being able to do that.”

She has even adopted Kirk’s uniform of overalls, and said she bought several pairs because they are comfortable and “you’ve got pockets everywhere” for tools.

She said at some point she expects to teach others what Kirk has taught her, and has already been sharing her knifemaking knowledge.

“That’s the great thing about knife makers, it’s a wonderful community of helpful, kind people, and everywhere I go it’s good folks. It’s a good group to be involved with,” she said. “It’s been a journey, and I’m excited to see where my journey goes.”

PHOTOS BY WILL CHAVEZ/CHEROKEE PHOENIX Cherokee knife maker Becky Martin, of Tahlequah, has been learning knife making from fellow Cherokee knife maker Ray Kirk, and is now making and selling her own knives.

After forging a knife and putting on a handle, knife maker Becky Martin grinds the blade evenly to give it a sharp, even edge.

Cherokee knife maker Becky Martin says it takes patience and skill to grind a knife blade evenly.

Cherokee knife maker Becky Martin, of Tahlequah, uses various hardwoods and deer antlers for her knife handles. The handle on the knife second from left is made from the antler of a Sambar Stag from India.

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CHEROKEE PHOENIX • DECEMBER 2, 2019

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ • ᎥᏍᎩᏱ 2, 2019