Court makes term-limit ruling - Cherokee Phoenix

The cleanup was 

originally part of Earth 

Day, but postponed due 

to rains. 

BY CHRISTINA GOOD VOICE 

Staff Writer 

Cherokee Connections 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee 

Nation Natural Resources and 

Environmental Programs groups picked 

up trash and debris April 28 at parks and 

along the banks of a three-mile strip of 

Town Branch Creek. 

About 20 employees from both groups 

split into teams to tackle the task, which 

included wearing waders and climbing 

into the cold creek to pick out debris and 

trash settled at the bottom. 

Angela Drewes, Natural Resources 

director, said the cleanup event was part 

of Earth Day and originally scheduled for 

April 20, two days before Earth Day, but 

was postponed due to heavy rains. 

“We actually need to do something 

within the community that people could 

see that we were making a difference,” 

Drewes said. “This is our first annual 

event together and we have talked about 

the fact that we want to take this out to 

The three-part program helps prepare 

children for school and develop social 

skills. EDUCATION, B-7 


Staff Writer 

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Members of 

Cherokee Nation satellite organizations 

in central and 

northern California 

gathered for their 

annual Cherokee 

picnics May 2-3 for 

traditional meals, 

arts and crafts, 

storytelling and 

games. 

The Cherokee 

Community of 

Central California 

held its picnic May 

2 in Bakersfield and drew about 250 

people. 

The CCCC is one of 13 chapter 

organizations in the Cherokee Nation 

Community Association, which is 

Open for business 

Cherokee citizen Verna Bates 

opens a business to display and 

sell art. MONEY, A-11 

cherokeephoenix.org • Celebrating 181 Years of Native American Journalism • june 2009 

a group of CN-sanctioned satellite 

organizations throughout the country. 

Principal Chief Chad Smith, First 

Lady Bobbie Gail Smith, Deputy 

Chief Joe Grayson Jr., At-Large Tribal 

Councilors Julia 

Coates and Jack 

Baker, Dist. 1 Tribal 

Councilor Bill John 

Baker, Miss Cherokee 

Feather Smith and 

CN cultural specialists 

also attended the 

picnics. 

The cultural 

specialists led 

demonstrations on 

stickball, marbles, 

basket weaving, corn 

husk dolls and pinch pots. 

“It’s one place where they can really 

make some intensive contacts with 

people coming out from Oklahoma,” 

Classifieds........ A-8 

Council............. A-6 

Culture.............. B-5 

Education......... B-7 

INSIDE UWnd< 

Coates said of the picnic. “For the chief 

and council members, it’s the one time of 

year they interact with the constituents 

who are here.” 

Charles Twist, Cherokee citizen and 

CCCC meeting facilitator, said his group 

has about 70 members, but that central 

California has about 4,000 Cherokees. 

“Today, we’ll have new members 

because they’ll just now find out we have 

a community here,” he said. 

Coates, who lives part-time in 

Woodland, Calif., 

said it’s important 

for Oklahoma 

Cherokees to 

remember citizens 

who left Oklahoma 

during the Great 

Depression in search of jobs. 

“We’ve literally got thousands of 

Oops! 

Health............... B-10 

Money............... A-11 

Opinion............. A-4 

Sports............... B-1 

Court makes term-limit ruling 

The ruling allows elected 

officials who have served 

since 2003 to run in 2011. 

BY WILL CHAVEZ 

Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – A May 20 ruling 

made by the Cherokee Nation District Court 

states that tribal officials elected in 2007 are 

serving their first terms under the 2003 CN 

Constitution. 

The ruling upholds a 2007 opinion by CN 

Attorney General Diane Hammons that 

CN environmental 

groups clean Town 

Branch area 

A Cherokee Nation employee carries 

a bicycle from the Town Branch Creek 

in Tahlequah, Okla., during an April 28 

cleanup of the creek. 

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA GOOD VOICE 

Clean, A-2 

Heartbreaker 

Sequoyah’s softball team 

exits the state playoffs by 

losing a slugfest. SPORTS, B-1 

states the first term for any elected official 

under the 2003 Constitution is the term that 

began in August 2007. 

Principal Chief Chad Smith filed a 

lawsuit in November asking the court to 

determine if he and some Tribal Councilors 

were eligible to run for re-election in 2011. 

According to the 2003 Constitution, elected 

officials can hold office for two consecutive 

terms before sitting out a term. 

Smith, who was initially elected principal 

chief in 1999, is serving in his third 

consecutive term, but only his first under the 

2003 Constitution, according to the ruling. 

He has said he plans to seek a fourth term 

but wanted “to resolve any outstanding 

Red Clay 

issues” with 

the lawsuit 

before the 

2011 election. 

“We want to pick up the 

cultural things we’ve 

lost from the move from 

Oklahoma to California.” 

– Charles Twist, Cherokee 

Community of Central 

California 

“I’m proud 

of the work 

our employees 

have done, 

creating 

nearly 5,000 

jobs at the Cherokee Nation and 

our businesses since I’ve been in office, while 

also creating the largest budget for services 

in the history of our nation, and I look 

forward to running again in 2011 so we can 

keep building on that success,” he said. 

Councilors vote on legislation 

approved during a joint council 

meeting. COUNCIL, A-6 

“If someone brought this case 

two years from now it could have 

thrown the election process into 

confusion.” 

– Principal Chief Chad Smith 

The 2003 Constitution was written during 

a 1999 Constitutional Convention and sets 

the term limit for elected officials of the 

legislative and executive branches. Cherokee 

voters ratified the constitution in August 

California Cherokees gather at May picnics 

At-Large Tribal Councilor Jack Baker serves attendees at the May 2 Cherokee Community of Central California picnic in 

Bakersfield. PHOTO BY CHRISTINA GOOD VOICE 

Cherokee Nation citizens in California attend May picnics in Bakersfield 

and Suisun City. 

Picnics, A-9 

Limits, A-3 

The Indians lose by forfeit in a 

regional tournament elimination 

game against Vian. SPORTS, B-1

A-2 Cherokee Phoenix • june 2009 Ewf #>hAmh • [UMI 2009 

Judge sends redistricting act back to council 

A tribal judge sends the 

redistricting law back to Tribal 

Council and requires Election 

Commission input. 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation District 

Court ruled May 22 that the Tribal Council must come up 

with another plan to redesign tribal districts, but this time 

include input from the Election Commission. 

“My ruling is this needs to go back through the proper 

procedures with the Election Commission,” Judge Bart Fite 

said. “It seems to me the Election Commission was supposed 

to have had an input.” 

The ruling came two days after Fite ruled that tribal 

officials elected in 2007 are serving their first terms under 

the 2003 Constitution and that six-year terms for certain 

councilors are appropriate. 

Principal Chief Chad Smith filed the lawsuit in November 

after councilors overrode his veto of their redistricting plan, 

which established 15 districts in the tribe’s jurisdictional area. 

“What the court found is that the process the Election 

Commission engaged will be the critical factor is having an 

independent third party – the Election Commission – look 

over the redistricting process,” Smith said. “So we’re very 

pleased.” 

The Cherokee Phoenix sought comment from Tribal 

Council attorney Todd Hembree, but he declined saying 

only that the council would discuss its next steps. 

The redistricting act titled “Election Code Amendment 

Act of 2008” was approved at the council’s July 2008 meeting 

by a 15-2 vote, but was later vetoed by Smith. 

The act was designed to establish 15 representative 

districts within the tribe’s jurisdictional boundaries as 

compared to the current nine districts. Under the current 

plan, some districts have more than one councilor, while 

the new plan calls for each councilor 

living within the CN to have his or 

her own district. The act would also 

have re-aligned voting districts for 

Cherokee citizens before the 2011 

tribal elections. 

Smith argued at the hearing that 

the council wasn’t following the 

constitution by excluding the EC from the redistricting 

process. He added that with 15 districts Cherokee citizens’ 

interests would be at stake and that councilors weren’t 

considering their constituents in the issue. 

Hembree disagreed with Smith saying the redistricting act 

was within the council’s rights as allowed in the constitution. 

Clean 

from front page 

the other communities as the years go by.” 

Wayne Isaacs, Environmental Programs 

specialist, said the most common debris 

the groups came across were plastic bags, 

aluminum cans and Styrofoam cups, but 

they also found pieces of furniture and 

tires discarded into 

“It takes 

a lot of 

manpower 

to keep the 

parks clean.” 

– Charles 

Poteet, 

Tahlequah 

Parks and 

Recreation 

superintendent 

the creek. 

“We’re going to be 

picking up trash in 

the parks and going 

into the creek and 

getting trash out of 

the creeks,” he said. 

Overall, the groups 

picked up 147 extra 

large bags of trash, 

a bicycle and a 

shopping cart from 

the creek. 

The groups also 

passed out pamphlets 

to area residents with 

information about 

storm water runoff 

and about how important it is to be aware 

of what’s going into the creek. 

The groups teamed up with the 

Tahlequah officials, who agreed to accept 

any trash picked up by the groups for free 

at the city’s transfer station. 

Charles Poteet, Tahlequah Parks and 

Recreation superintendent, said the city 

appreciated the CN groups volunteering 

to clean up the parks and creek. 

“It helps the city of Tahlequah,” Poteet 

said. “It takes a lot of manpower to keep 

the parks clean. Any help we can get, we 

appreciate.” 

Drewes said the cleanup effort was 

more than just to make the parks and 

creek look nice. 

“Besides for the 

aesthetic purposes, 

everybody knows that 

whatever trash is on 

the periphery or in the 

creek, all those toxins 

go into our drinking water at some point,” 

she said. “So besides wanting to keep 

things looking pretty, it’s healthy that all 

this waste not be in the water.” 

Drewes also had a message for those 

who litter and dump things into the creek. 

“It seems to me the Election 

Commission was supposed 

to have had an input.” 

– Bart Fite, District Court judge 

On the left is the map showing the nine Tribal Council districts, which councilors voted to change in July 2008 by 

splitting the Cherokee Nation jurisdiction into 15 districts, shown in the map on the right. A May 22 ruling from CN 

District Court Judge Bart Fite struck down the 15-district plan and ordered councilors to work with the tribe’s Election 

Commission to redraw council districts. 

“The constitutional duty of the Tribal Council is the issue 

here,” Hembree said in court. “The council shall establish 

representative districts which shall be within the historical 

boundaries of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma…” 

Attorney Lloyd Cole, who 

represented the EC at the hearing, 

said the council did not, but was 

suppose to, include the commission 

in the redistricting process in the 

apportionment or distribution of 

Cherokee representation. 

Hembree responded by 

saying Cherokee law calls for the EC to be included 

in apportionment every 12 years but that the next 

apportionment isn’t scheduled until 2014. 

“It wasn’t time for them to be a part of it yet,” he said. 

Smith said the council acted without seeking the EC’s 

input and therefore didn’t follow Cherokee law, citing 

Angela Drewes, left, and Pat Gwin of the Cherokee Nation pull a rug from the Town 

Branch Creek on April 28 in Tahlequah, Okla., during a cleanup effort of a three-mile 

stretch of the creek. PHOTO BY CHRISTINA GOOD VOICE 

“They need to take pride in their 

community,” she said. “If we want folks 

to come here and visit we need to be able 

to be proud of where we live. They need 

to think about the healthiness of the 

water for not only this generation but for 

generations to come.” 

Isaacs also views the Town Branch 

Creek as a valued landmark. 

“We view the Town Branch as an asset 

to the city of Tahlequah so obviously 

we’re interested in it as well,” he said. “And 

we hope to bring some awareness to the 

creek. The city is interested in us working 

with them in having a yearly event.” 

ᏓᎵᏆ, ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎻ.– ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎡᎶᎯ 

ᏄᏍᏛᏊ ᎤᎾᎦᏎᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎡᎶᎯ 

ᏄᏍᏗᏓᏅᎢ ᎤᎾᎦᏎᏍᏗ ᎤᎾᏓᏈᎩ 

ᎤᏄᏖᏒᏅ ᏧᏓᎴᏅᏓ ᎦᎵᎨᏴ ᎫᏬᏂ ᎧᎸ 

ᏔᎵᏍᎪ ᏧᏁᎵᏁᎢ Ꮎ ᏴᏫ ᎤᏁᏓᏍᏗ 

ᎪᏢᏒ ᎠᎴ ᎠᎹᏳᎵᏗᎭ ᏦᎢ ᎢᏳᏟᎶᏓ 

ᎢᎦᏅᎯᏓ Ꮎ ᎦᏚᎲ ᎤᏩᎾᎦᏢᎢ ᎤᏪᏴᎢ. 

ᏔᎵᏍᎪ ᎠᏎ ᏯᏂᎠ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ 

ᎤᎾᏓᏟᏌᏅ ᎢᏧᎳ ᏚᎾᏓᏢᎬ ᎠᏰᏟ 

ᏄᎾᏓᏛ ᏔᎵ ᎢᏳᎾᏓᏈᎩ ᎤᎾᏂᎩᏒ 

ᎤᏂᏅᎦᎸᏗ ᎤᎬᏩᏟ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎾ 

ᎢᏗᎦᏘ ᏗᎳᏑᎶ ᎠᏜ ᏧᎾᎳᏑᎸᏗ ᎠᎴ 

ᎤᎾᏚᎯᏂᏓᏍᏗ ᎤᏴᏟ ᎤᏪᏴ ᎤᏄᏖᏍᏗ 

ᎠᎹᏯ ᎫᎾᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎾᎥ ᎦᎵᎨᏯᎾᎥᎢ 

ᎠᎴᏗᏍᏊ ᎠᎹᏯ ᎭᏫᎾ ᏫᏄᎵᏍᏔᏅ 

ᎠᏗᏅᏓ. 

Angela Drewes, ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏰᎵ 

ᏄᏍᏛᏊ ᎤᎾᎦᏎᏍᏗ ᏗᏎᎮᎵᏙᎯ, 

ᎤᏛᏅ Ꮎ ᎤᏂᏅᎦᎸᎲ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎦᏓ 

ᎨᏒ Ꮎ ᎡᎶᎯ ᎢᎦ ᏣᏃᏎᎰᎢ ᎠᏎᏍᎩᏂ 

ᎠᏑᏰᏗ ᎢᎦ ᎫᏬᏂ ᏔᎵᏍᎪᎯᏁ ᎨᏒ, 

ᏔᎵ ᎢᎦ ᏏᎾ ᏄᎵᏍᏔᏅᎾ ᎡᎶᎯ ᎢᎦ, 

ᎠᏎᏃ ᎤᏂᏁᏟᏴᏒ ᎢᎦ ᎾᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗ 

ᎤᏣᏍᏈᏍᏓ ᎠᎦᏍᎬᎢ. 

“ᏙᎯᏳ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎢᎦᏛᏗ ᎾᏍᎩᎾ 

ᏍᎦᏚᎩ ᎭᏫᎾᏗᏢ ᎨᏒ ᎾᏍᎩ 

ᏴᏫ ᎬᏩᏂᎪᏩᏛᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏄᏓᎴ 

ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏍᎬᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬ Drews. 

“ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎯᎠ ᎠᎬᏱ ᏃᏣᏛᏁᎲ 

ᎣᎦᎵᎪᎯ ᎠᎴ ᎣᏥᏃᎮᏍᎬ ᎤᏣᏘᏂ 

ᏍᎦᏚᎩ ᏚᏙᏢᏒ ᎾᏍᏊ ᎤᏠᏯ ᎢᎬᏛᏗ 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏑᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎠᏟᎢᎵᏒᎢ.” 

Wayne Issacs, ᎡᎶᎯ ᏄᏍᏗᏓᏅᎢ 

ᎤᎾᏓᏡᎦ ᎠᏂᎦᏔᎯ, ᎤᏛᏅ ᎾᏍᎩ 

ᏭᎪᏛ ᎠᏂᏩᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏄᏖᏍᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ 

plastic ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎦᏅᏙᏗ, ᏔᎷᎩᏍᎩ 

ᎤᏴᏢ ᎠᏗᏔᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏓᏴᏍᏕᏍᏗᏍᎩ 

ᏗᏟᏍᏔᏅ ᎠᎴ Styrofoam ᏗᏟᏍᏙᏗ, 

ᎠᏎᏍᎩᏂ ᎢᎦᏓ ᎦᎵᏦᏕ ᎠᏅᏓ ᎤᏲᏨ 

ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏔᏅ ᎠᎴ ᏗᎦᏚᎴᏂ ᏗᏢᏓ 

ᏧᏪᏘ ᎠᏂᏩᏛᎲᏍᎬ ᎠᎹᏱ ᎠᎴ 

ᎠᏂᎴᏒᎲᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᏂᏅᎦᎵᏍᎬᎢ. 

“ᎣᏧᏖᏍᎨᏍᏗ ᎤᏲ ᎦᎵᎨᏴ 

ᏴᏫ ᏧᏁᏓᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎠᎹᏱ 

Legislative Act 39-05. 

“Apportionment of representation having first been 

conducted in 1990 shall be conducted no later than June 

30 of the year preceding a regular election year,” the act 

states. “Apportionment shall be conducted by the Election 

Commission and approved by the council by amendment of 

this section.” 

The act also calls for the apportionment to be attained by 

dividing the combined total of all Cherokee citizens residing 

in the jurisdictional boundaries by 15. 

“The Election Commission will ascertain what its 

duties are. They’ll go through those processes, make 

recommendations to the council, and the council will have 

to consider those recommendations and then pass another 

act,” Smith said. “Then we may be back at the same place 

(court) depending on how responsive the council is to 

judge’s orders.” 

ᎣᏥᎴᏒᎲᏍᎨᏍᏗ ᎤᏲ ᎦᏢᎾᎥᎢ,” 

ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. 

ᏂᎦᏓᏊ ᎨᏒ ᎯᎠ ᏧᎾᏓᏈᎩ ᎤᏄᏖᏓ 

ᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᏅᎩᏍᎪ ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏧᏔᎾ ᎤᏲ 

ᏗᎦᏅᏙᏗ ᏕᎦᎵᏗ, ᏔᎵ ᏗᎦᏆᏘ ᎤᏄᎩᏎ 

ᎠᎴ ᎥᏓᎾᏁᏒᎲᏍᎬ ᎦᏌᏙᏱᏓᏍᏗ 

ᎾᏍᎩᏊ ᎤᏄᎩᏎᎢ. 

ᎯᎢᎾ ᏧᎾᏓᏈᎩ ᏚᏂᏯᏙᏢ ᏗᎪᏪᎳᏅ 

ᎧᏃᎮᏢᏍᎦ ᎾᎿ ᏓᏂᏁᎳᏅ ᏧᏂᎪᎵᏰᏗ 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᎪᏓ ᏳᎦᎾᎾ ᎠᎹ ᎤᎪᏓ 

ᎦᎶᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏗᏳ ᎨᏒ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ 

ᏫᎦᏠᏍᎬ 

ᏚᏪᏴᎢ.ᏧᎾᏓᏈᎩ ᏚᎾᎵᎪᏁᎸ ᏓᎵᏆ 

ᎦᏚᎲ ᎠᎾᏓᏅᏖᏟᏙᎯ, ᎠᎴ ᏚᎾᏓᏁᏤᎸ 

ᎯᎠ ᎤᏄᏖᏍᏙᏗ ᎤᏯ ᎯᎠ ᎤᏄᏖᏓ 

ᎤᏂᏅᏛ ᎠᏎᏊ ᎠᎴ ᏭᎾᏗᏅᏗ ᎤᏔᏂ 

ᎤᏲ ᎤᎾᏗᏅᏗᎢ. 

Charles Poteet, ᏓᎵᏆ ᏴᏫ ᏧᏁᏓᏍᏗ 

ᎠᎴ ᏩᏙᎾᏁᎶᏗ ᏕᎪᏢᏒ ᎠᏓᏅᏖᎵᏙᎯ, 

ᎤᏛᏅ ᎯᎠ ᎦᏚᎲ ᎤᎪᏓ ᎣᏣᎵᎮᎵᎦ 

ᎯᎠ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏰᎵ ᏧᎾᏓᏈᎩ ᎠᏎᏊ 

ᎠᎾᏓᎵᏍᎪᎸᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᏂᏅᎦᏍᎬ ᏴᏫ 

ᏧᏁᏓᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎠᎹᏱ ᏚᏪᏴᎢ. 

“ᎠᏍᏕᎵᎭ ᏓᎵᏆ ᎦᏚᎲᎢ,” ᎤᏛᏅ 

Poteet. “ ᎤᏂᎪᏓᏃ ᎠᏂᏍᎦᏯ 

ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ ᎨᏐ ᏴᏫ ᏧᏁᏓᏍᏗ 

ᏧᏓᏅᎦᎸᏗ ᎨᏐ. ᎪᎩᏍᏕᎵᏍᎬ 

ᎣᏣᎵᎮᎵᎪᎢ. 

Drewes ᎤᏛᏅ ᎤᎪᏛ ᎾᏃ Ꮩ 

ᎤᏓᏅᎦᎸᏓ ᎢᏗᎬᏗ ᏴᏫ ᏧᏁᏓᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ 

ᎠᎹᏱ ᏚᏪᏴᎢ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎢᏗᎬᏗᎢ. 

“ᏝᏃᏙ ᎤᏬᏚᎯᏊ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏍᎬ ᎢᎦ 

ᏱᎩ, ᏂᎦᏓᏊ ᎢᎦᏅᏓ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏲ ᏱᎦᏟ 

ᎠᎹᏯ ᎠᎴ ᏱᎦᎵᎨᏯ, ᏂᎦᏓ ᏃᏒᎾ 

ᎢᏯᏓᏛᏁᎯ ᎤᏗᏑᏴ ᏫᎦᏠᏍᎪ ᎠᎹᎢ 

ᎠᏗᏔᏍᏗ,” ᎤᏛᏅ. “ ᏝᏃ Ꮩ ᎤᏬᏚᎯ 

ᏂᏛᏁᎲ ᎢᎦ ᏱᎩ, ᎡᏍᎦ ᏯᏓᏛᏁᎯ 

ᏂᎦᏓ ᏂᎦᏠᏍᎬᎾ ᏱᎩ ᎠᎹᏱ.” 

Drewes ᎾᏍᏊ ᏕᎧᏃᎯᏎᎲ 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᎦᏓ ᏙᏯ ᏧᏭᎾᏕᎪ ᎤᏲ ᎠᎴ 

ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏊ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᏧᏭᎾᏕᎪ ᎠᎹᏱ. 

“ᏙᎯᏳ ᎤᏂᏂᎬᎦ ᎤᏂᎸᏉᏙᏗ 

ᎾᎥ ᏂᎦᏓᎴᏫᏒ,” ᎤᏛᏅ. “ᎢᏳᏃ 

ᎢᎦᏚᎵᏍᎨᏍᏗ ᎠᏂᏴᏫ ᎤᏁᏓᏍᏗ 

ᎨᎩᏩᏛᎯᏓᏍᏗ ᎢᎦᏚᎸᏗ ᎣᏍᏓ 

ᎢᎬᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎢᎩᏰᎸᏓ ᎾᎿ 

ᏕᏗᏁᎸᎢ. ᎤᏚᎵᏗ ᎤᎾᏓᏅᏖᏗ 

ᏙᎯᎢ ᎠᎹᏱ ᏝᏙ ᎯᎠ ᏥᏕᎭᏊ ᎢᎦ 

ᎾᏍᏊᏍᎩᏂ ᎣᏂ ᏥᏛᎾᎢ.” 

Issacs ᎾᏍᏊ ᏓᎧᏂᎲ Ꮎ ᎦᏚᎲ 

ᎤᏩᎾᎦᏢ ᎤᏪᏴ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎠᎴ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ 

ᏧᎬᏩᎶᏗ. 

“ ᎠᏯᏃ ᎢᏗᎪᏩᏗᏍᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎦᏚᎲ 

ᎤᏩᎾᎦᏢ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎢᏳᏩᏁᎯ ᏓᎵᏆ 

ᎦᏚᎲᎢ ᏙᎯᏳᏃ ᏂᎦᏓ ᎤᎵᏍᎬᏗ 

ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏓᏁᎭᎢ,” ᎤᏛᏅᎢ. “ᎠᎴ ᎤᏚᎩ 

ᎢᎬᎭ ᎯᎠ ᎠᏂᏴᏫ ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏗ ᎢᏳᏅᏗ 

ᎯᎠ ᎠᎹᏱ. ᎦᏚᎲ ᎤᎵᏍᎬᏗ ᎤᏰᎸ 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎦᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ ᎦᏅᎦᎸᎲᏗ ᎨᏒ 

ᏑᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎢᏳᏓᎵ ᎢᏯᏛᏗᎢ.

Ewf #>hAmh • [UMI 2009 june 2009 • Cherokee Phoenix A-3 

CN and state agree on poultry lawsuit stance 

The tribe agrees to let the state 

prosecute claims against the 

poultry industry for alleged 

pollution of the Illinois River. 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation and 

Oklahoma governments signed an agreement May 19 

acknowledging both parties’ interest in the Illinois River and 

assigning the state the right to prosecute tribal claims in a 

case against the river’s alleged polluters. 

In the case of Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods, Oklahoma 

Attorney General Drew Edmonson is 

suing Tyson Foods and other poultry 

companies for allegedly polluting 

“the lands, water and other natural 

resources” located in and along the 

Illinois River in the state. 

In 2008, 13 defendants in the 

lawsuit filed a motion stating the suit 

ignores the rights and authority of the 

CN, which is not a party in the case. 

The defendants argued the suit should 

be dismissed because the CN, not the 

state, owns the water resources that 

are the case’s focus. 

Edmondson called the motion a “legal gimmick” 

distracting from the issue of poultry litter polluting the river. 

CN Attorney General Diane Hammons said the May 19 

agreement represents the tribe’s authorization to the state to 

proceed in the litigation without the CN entering as a party. 

“Both the state and the Cherokee Nation are committed 

to the protection of the Illinois River Watershed and 

the longevity of those resources for our citizens,” said 

Hammons, who along with Edmondson, signed the 

agreement. 

The two parties also agreed that the “Cherokee Nation 

has substantial interests in lands, water and other natural 

Limits 


2003, but it took a 2006 ruling from 

the tribe’s top court, then the Judicial 

Appeals Tribunal, before it became 

effective. 

Since the 2006 ruling, the CN 

government has expanded. The JAT 

added two justices and became the 

Supreme Court. The council added 

two At-Large representatives, while the 

chief’s office reduced its Cabinet from 

five members to three and added the 

offices of attorney general and marshal. 

May’s ruling by Judge Bart Fite states 

the court found that only elections 

held under “the power of the 2003 

Constitution shall count for the 

purposes of the present term limits.” The 

2007 tribal election was the first election 

held under the 2003 Constitution. 

The court also ruled that six-year 

terms for certain Tribal Councilors 

are appropriate. Nine of the 17 Tribal 

Councilors are serving six-year terms 

with their terms expiring in 2013. The 

remaining eight council members are 

serving four-year terms with their terms 

expiring in 2011. 

Councilors approved the staggered 

terms, but Smith included the issue in 

the lawsuit. 

“I didn’t think there was ever any 

doubt that they (six-year terms) were 

legal. We were under court order 

to stagger the terms,” Dist. 1 Tribal 

Councilor Bill John Baker, who is 

serving a six-year term, said. “Even 

“This agreement represents 

the Nation’s authorization 

to the state to proceed in 

the litigation without the 

Nation entering as a party.” 

– Diane Hammons, Cherokee 

attorney general 

resources located within the Illinois River Watershed,” 

though the extent of those interests has not been fully 

decided. 

“We are happy that the state acknowledges that we have 

an interest in these resources,” Hammons said. 

The agreement does not however transfer any ownership 

interest in the water or any other natural resource in the 

watershed. 

Edmondson and Hammons said it was not necessary for 

the court to resolve the “precise nature of each sovereign’s 

interests” in the watershed’s resources to determine that 

Oklahoma has “sufficient interests” to prosecute the case, 

which is set to begin in September. 

“It is in the best interest of both sovereigns to avoid the 

unnecessary time and expense with such an exercise at the 

present time,” the agreement states. 

The accord also allows Oklahoma to confer with 

Hammons’ office regarding any court filings in the lawsuit. 

However, it does not limit the state’s 

right to control the content of court 

filings in the case. 

“It’s significant for the state to 

acknowledge the Cherokee Nation’s 

governmental rights, and it’s a good 

sign that both governments can work 

together on this case,” Principal Chief 

Chad Smith said. “Neither the state 

nor the Nation wanted the delay or 

additional expense that the addition 

of another party to the case would 

mean at this point in the litigation.” 

In response, the defendants filed a notice on May 20 in the 

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma 

stating the accord does not explain the legal implications 

of the provisions it contains. In the filing, defendants state 

the court “need not decide whether the nation or the state is 

the proper plaintiff because the parties have agreed among 

themselves that the state has standing.” 

“…This attempt to achieve standing by contract has 

substantial legal problems that have not been addressed 

for the benefit of the court,” the May 20 notice states. “It 

may not be possible for a party to retroactively obtain 

standing for a federal lawsuit, as the purported agreement 

though the constitution says a normal 

term is four years, the only way that we 

could have possibly staggered terms 

would have been to either have people 

run for a two-year term or have people 

run for a six-year term.” 

Baker said a two-year term made less 

sense than a six-year term. 

“It made more sense to have people 

spend their money to run for election 

and choose a six-year term or a fouryear 

term,” he said. 

Baker said he didn’t agree with the 

court’s term limits decision despite it 

allowing him to run for re-election in 2013. 

“Just because it says it says I’m in my first 

term doesn’t make it any righter,” he said. 

Dist. 9 Tribal Councilor Chuck Hoskin, 

who is serving a six-year term, said 

he agreed with the court’s decision on 

term limits, but as for creating staggered 

legislative terms there was no easy way. 

“The question comes down to, do you 

make an abnormally small term for a 

councilor to serve his constituents or do 

you make an abnormally larger term. I 

think erring on the side of a larger term 

is appropriate. I think that’s what the 

court did,” he said. 

Smith said it was important the 

resolve both issues now rather than on 

the eve of an election. 

“If someone brought this case two 

years from now it could have thrown the 

election process into confusion. The last 

thing the Cherokee Nation needs is for 

our citizens to be confused about who 

can and cannot be candidates in any 

given election, and that’s why I felt it was 

important to resolve these issues now,” 

he said. 

attempts. Standing is determined at the time the action is 

filed. Although a party must maintain standing throughout 

the litigation, it may not create standing later and apply it 

retroactively.” 

The defendants argue further that Oklahoma law 

prescribes a process the state must follow when entering 

into agreements with Indian tribes. The process includes a 

requirement that the governor or a designee negotiate and 

enter into cooperative agreements on behalf of the state with 

federally recognized tribes. 

Tyson Foods Media Relations Director Gary Mickelson 

said Edmondson does not have the authority to reach such 

an agreement with the CN without approval of the state 

Legislature and the U.S. Department of Interior. 

“It also fails to resolve the important question we raised 

in our motion over who owns the water resources that 

are the focus of this case. We believe this issue must still 

be addressed by the federal court,” Mickelson said. “Mr. 

Edmondson and his outside attorneys have known about 

the ownership issue for several years. However, until we filed 

our motion last fall, they chose to ignore the rights of the 

Cherokee Nation in this litigation.” 

In May, a federal appeals court rejected Edmondson’s 

bid to stop Oklahoma and Arkansas poultry growers from 

spreading poultry waste in the watershed while the lawsuit 

makes its way through court. 

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a federal 

judge was within his discretion in denying the injunction 

and that Oklahoma failed to link the poultry waste, which is 

used as fertilizer, to bacteria in the watershed. 

The poultry industry has argued that cattle and human 

waste could also be causing elevated bacteria levels in 

the watershed. Oklahoma argues it doesn’t have to prove 

contamination, only that 345,000 tons of poultry waste 

dumped there annually “may” cause contamination. 

The appellate court did not address the merits of the 

state’s pending lawsuit, only that Oklahoma had not proved 

“irreparable harm” in asking to block poultry companies 

from dumping poultry waste. 

State officials estimate the affect of untreated poultry 

waste in the watershed is equivalent to untreated human 

waste from between 4.2 million and 10.7 million people.

A-4 Cherokee Phoenix • june 2009 

June 2009 

Bryan Pollard 

Editor 

(Cherokee) 

Travis Snell 

Assistant Editor 


Will Chavez 

Staff Writer 

(Cherokee/San Felipe Pueblo) 

Christina Good Voice 

Staff Writer 

(Muscogee/Choctaw/Rosebud Lakota) 

Jami Custer 

Staff Writer 


Mark Dreadfulwater 

Graphics 


Craig Henry 

Multimedia Producer 


Roger Graham 

Media Specialist 


Nicole L. Hill 

Advertising Coordinator 


Dena Tucker 

Office Manager 


Joy Rollice 

Secretary 


Adam Brewer 

Distribution 

(Cherokee/Oglala Sioux) 

Anna Huckaby 

Linguist 


Editorial Board 

Dan Agent 

(Cherokee/Choctaw) 

John Shurr 


Gerald Wofford 


Cherokee Phoenix 

P.O. Box 948 

Tahlequah, OK 74465 

(918) 453-5269 

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The Cherokee Phoenix also publishes an In Memoriam section at no 

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away. That section includes the name of the deceased; age; birthplace 

and date of birth; place and date of death; and occupation. 

Member 

Native American 

Journalists Association 

Oklahoma Press 

Association 

Response to immersion school policy 

Tribal Councilor Cara Cowan Watts needs to educate 

herself on how the Cherokee Nation and the educated 

world are measuring success. These children may be 

late in developing reading and writing skills because 

they are learning two languages at one time. Anyone 

who has done their research on this knows that 

children will catch and usually surpass those growing 

up with only one language. Throwing them into public 

schools because their parents can’t afford $43,000 is 

irresponsible. It shows the lack of thought and care 

that Cowan Watts uses in her constant fight against 

Cherokees who are not recognized by the Dawes Roll 

– an outdated roll created by racist, irresponsible and 

thoughtless people. 

She needs to be reminded that being Cherokee is not 

as simple as proving a bloodline; it’s a way of life, culture 

and religion. The immersion program is not just about a 

language. These children are learning to “be” Cherokee. 

If she was really interested in promoting Cherokee 

culture and language, she would recognize and support 

a program that has the potential to educate on a broad 

spectrum. Every person educated in Cherokee culture 

and language is a priceless benefit to the Cherokee people. 

Why not allow this program to be the first to break 

through racist barriers by educating in the traditional 

Cherokee way without stopping to check who the 

ancestors of these children are? I do not believe that 

our traditional elders support the exclusion of anyone 

wanting to learn what it is to be Cherokee. These 

policies are clearly the result of voting non-traditional 

people into office. 

William T. Guest 

Park Hill, Okla. 

Congrats to Sequoyah scholars 

On behalf of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council we 

wish to express our highest congratulations to Sequoyah 

Schools on yet another year of academic excellence. 

Often we hear of the numerous successes of Sequoyah 

Schools in the athletic fields, however it is equally, if not 

more important, to highlight the outstanding success 

Sequoyah Schools have experienced in the academic 

arena. 

Over the past year Sequoyah students have received 

more than $2.6 million in college scholarships. 

Sequoyah students have been the recipients of eight 

Gates Millennium Scholarships in 2008 and five in 

2009. In fact, Sequoyah had the second-highest Gates 

Millennium Scholarships awarded to any school in the 

nation in 2008. In 2009 there were 12 Sequoyah students 

who were Gates Millennium Scholars semifinalists. 

With a waiting list for admission it is self-evident that 

Sequoyah’s achievements in both academics and athletic 

have made it the school of choice for Cherokee and 

Native American students. 

Success like this results from a collective effort. 

Students, parents, faculty and administrators at 

Sequoyah have all played an important role in this 

achievement. In this they carry on the grand Cherokee 

tradition of placing the highest importance on 

education. 

This school and its community pays great honor to 

Sequoyah as a true educator of the people. Sequoyah’s 

legacy will remain alive and vibrant with the 

outstanding student scholars this school produces. 

Tribal Councilors Julia Coates and Don Garvin, 

Education Committee chairwoman and co-chairman 

Keep the term limits 

Term limits were created in our 1999 Constitution, 

voted on and approved in 2003 and enacted in 2006. I 

believe it’s time for some of our Tribal Councilors to 

do the will of the people. They say, “I should be able to 

run as many times as I want because the people want 

Talking Circles 

Ewf #>hAmh • [UMI 2009 

to continue to elect me. By imposing term limits, the 

people will not be able to elect whom they want.” 

But the councilors are missing the big picture. This 

issue is all about their arrogance not about what the 

people want. Maybe they will get elected and maybe 

they will not. We the people have already decided; we 

voted for term limits in 2003. 

Because of some confusion about when the term 

limits were set to being is a perfectly legitimate question 

and it needs to be answered. I thought the answer was 

quite clear. It began when the constitution was enacted. 

Term limits are necessary. Without them, our 

councilors become greedy, petty, arrogant and forget 

about the people that put them in their position in the 

first place. They are more concerned with their own 

political agendas than doing what is right for the people. 

The redistricting issue is more of the same thing. It’s just 

the same song, second verse. 

Kathy Robinson 

Claremore, Okla. 

Put spending into perspective 

5 minutes that can change a life 

BY CHAD SMITH 

Principal Chief 

Have you 

ever considered 

that a 5-minute 

investment of your 

time can change 

someone’s life? It Chad Smith 

can change the lives 

of children in your family. It can change 

for the better the future of the Cherokee 

Nation. 

Sam Bradford, a CN citizen, Heisman 

trophy winner and University of Oklahoma 

football team quarterback, is living proof 

of the power of 5 small minutes. Those 

who only know of Sam as a football player 

might be surprised he is a college honor 

student, a participant in the Fellowship 

of Christian Athletes, a golfer and a cello 

player. Sam can also tell you that all his 

titles, his Heisman trophy, are not what 

make him a leader. 

Sam told us that in his freshman year 

at OU he almost quit the football team. 

He almost quit on his dream. As you 

can imagine, the amount of time spent 

on practicing and on studying can be 

overwhelming for a young freshman. Sam 

said that he got up at 5:30 in the morning 

for practice, worked hard in practice 

everyday and got yelled at by the coaches 

for everything he did or did not do, but 

his efforts were getting him no where. He 

was redshirted and did not get to play, a 

strange situation to find himself in for a 

young man who had always been a starter 

on every team in every sport in which he 

tried his hand. He was tired, confused and 

seriously contemplated quitting. 

In my interview with Sam, I asked 

him, “How did you overcome that?” His 

reply was simple. He said, “I never quit in 

anything I’d done in my life. I sure didn’t 

want to quit now.” So, Sam made a choice. 

Behind his choice were many reasons. 

He chose to continue on his path and to 

pursue his dream. 

He did not give up because of five 

minutes. 

On stage here at Sequoyah, several weeks 

ago, I ask Sam if he had any advice for 

young families. He said he did not, but he 

did know that every night his dad came 

into his room and told him 10 things. One 

was that “he could be anything he wanted 

I was proud that our Nation was financially able and 

willing to come to the aid of the residents of Salina and 

Locust Grove when their water systems were damaged 

during the recent flooding. I was not so proud to learn 

that we are providing $11 million for road work on 

Interstate 44 near the Cherokee Casino Resort in Catoosa. 

Our Tribal Councilors should be required to review a 

list of medical needs, which were denied by our contract 

health directors, before they can vote to spend money 

on any project. Perhaps it would remind them that many 

of our people are in need of health care that is denied 

while our money is being spent on trips to Washington 

and roads to casinos. The casinos may be providing 

some of our annual budget, but such expenditures need 

to be put into perspective. 

David Crutchfield 

Bernice, Okla. 

Disappointed in “Inglesh-only” column 

I always look forward to Assistant Editor Travis Snell’s 

columns in the Cherokee Phoenix. I consider him to 

be an excellent reporter/writer and appreciate his work. 

However, he disappointed me, and in my opinion, 

lowered his standards with “Inglesh-only is da way too 

go” in the April issue of the Cherokee Phoenix. 

I am uncertain of the point he was trying to make 

in this writing, but it appeared that he was suggesting 

that if the people of Oklahoma approve English as our 

official language, we are all apt to “murder” that language 

in the ridiculous manner offered in his op-ed piece. He 

certainly cannot believe that so why lower himself to 

write in such a manner. I and other of his readers expect 

better from him. 

I believe that he and many others are making the 

attempt to make English our official language much 

more than what it is. Its approval will not keep anybody 

from speaking his or her native language. It will 

encourage everyone to learn the English language and 

use it when necessary. In my opinion, that is not asking 

too much of anyone who is living in our country. 

Homer L. Coker 

Edmond, Okla. 

The Cherokee Phoenix reserves the right to exercise editorial discretion on 

all content appearing on the Web site or in the newspaper, including columns 

and letters to the editor. Opinions expressed in columns and letters do not 

necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cherokee Phoenix editorial staff or 

Editorial Board. The deadline for submissions is the 15th of the month prior 

to the month of publication. Columns shall not exceed 750 words and letters 

shall not exceed 300 words in length. Columns must receive prior approval 

from the editor before submission. Letters intended for publication must be 

addressed to Talking Circles or identified as a letter to the editor. Submissions 

from Cherokee citizens will be given preference. Submissions from noncitizens 

will be published only as space permits and must be Cherokee 

related. Anonymous letters will not be published. 

to be.” After years of hearing every night 

from his dad that he could be anything he 

wanted to be, he believed it. During times of 

challenges, despair, hardship and personal 

doubt, he believed his Cherokee dad, Kent 

Bradford. It only took 5 minutes a night. 

Instead of quitting and settling, Sam 

Bradford became the first Cherokee 

Heisman Trophy winner. 

You, too, can go to the room of 

your children, grandchildren, nieces 

and nephews and tell them they can 

be anything they want to be, that you 

support them, that they need to get an 

education, that you love them, that they 

are responsible for their decisions, that 

they have a great Cherokee legacy to guide 

them. A child hearing that affirmation, 

affection and support every night before 

he or she goes to sleep for 10 years or 3,650 

times means he or she will believe it and 

will make it through the challenges and 

tough times. As you take these 5 minutes 

with your family’s children, yours words 

should also remind you that you, too, can 

be anything you want to be. We then lead 

not only by voice but by example. Five 

minutes can change not only a single child, 

but also a community and a Nation.



Staff Writer 

Chief ’s redistricting 

arguments pure fairy tale 

BY CHUCK HOSKIN JR. 

Tribal Councilor 

In his May 2009 column in the 

Cherokee Phoenix, Principal Chief 

Chad Smith attempts to justify his 

lawsuit to outlaw single-seat council 

districts by asserting the plan is bad 

public policy. I disagree. 

The chief states the people’s best 

interest would be served by the 

formation of five multi-councilor 

districts, each spanning a large 

geographic area. His argument 

seems to boil down to the following: 

a council consisting entirely of 

At-Large councilors is too big, one 

consisting of a single councilor for 

each of 15 districts is too small (and 

selfish), but a council consisting 

precisely of three councilors in each 

of five districts is just right. His claims 

reminds me of a fairly tale in more 

ways than one. 

The chief bases his argument 

largely on bogus assumptions. Singleseat 

districts, he states, would produce 

selfish councilors blindly driven by 

local interests, somehow harming the 

whole Nation. A five-district council, 

in contrast, would produce only 

statesmen working together for the 

national interest. Hogwash. 

For the chief, councilors are selfish 

enough as it is. His proof is the 

council’s Community Assistance 

Program, which he refers to as the 

“slush fund.” Funded with less than 

one-tenth of 1 percent of the entire 

Cherokee Nation budget, the program 

allows councilors to assist community 

groups with small but important 

projects. This has meant support for 

such things as cultural events for 

kids, making repairs to Cherokee 

community buildings and, most 

recently, helping some elders make 

the historic trip to Red Clay, Tenn. 

Can anyone, apart from Chief Smith, 

seriously argue that these paltry funds 

somehow poison the Nation? 

What other evidence does the chief 

present to prove his point? None, but, 

baseless and insulting assumptions 

abound. He assumes that, in addition 

to supporting local projects with a 

small fraction of the budget, other 

“selfish decisions” by the council 

would “become more common” 

under the single-seat district plan. 

In sum, the chief would have his 

overblown complaints about the tiny 

CAP and his assumptions about the 

selfishness of councilors justify the 

wholesale rejection of a redistricting 

law that was overwhelmingly 

approved by the council after years of 

study. 

The fact is, the council has become 

Immersion children 

should not suffer 

from politics 

My daughter does not know about Tribal Councilor 

Cara Cowan Watts’ effort to change policy at the 

Cherokee Nation’s immersion school that would require 

students to be citizens of a federally recognized tribe. 

Though my daughter is one who could lose friends 

if the policy is changed, I have not discussed the issue 

with her. She is in the immersion school’s third grade, 

and if the policy were changed it could force two of her 

classmates to leave. 

I agree with the councilor’s efforts to ensure CN money 

is spent wisely. And as Cherokee people, we must always 

be vigilant of outside organizations and individuals who 

attempt to co-opt our culture, heritage and even our 

language. 

But in this instance, it makes no sense to disrupt an 

entire program to remove four or five children who are 

part of an effort to preserve our language. 

Just four years ago not many parents were enrolling 

their kids in the immersion school, and it was not a big 

deal to allow non-Cherokee citizens to enroll. Those noncitizen 

students are there now and are part of a small 

family of parents, students and teachers. Some students 

know each other only by their Cherokee names. They 

don’t know who is or isn’t a Cherokee citizen or who is 

United Keetoowah Band Cherokee and probably could 

care less. 

a stronger and 

more responsive 

legislative 

body since 

the Cherokee 

people rejected 

the At-Large 

system in favor 

of districts in 

the 1980s. We have Chuck 

seen not only a Hoskin Jr. 

growth in education, housing, health 

care and infrastructure programs, 

but, just as important, we have seen a 

more equitable distribution of those 

resources across CN. This is because 

councilors are responsive to the 

needs of their districts, which is no 

sin. Smaller districts mean more of 

those unique needs would be brought 

to the table for discussion. As for 

the chief’s fear of “selfish decisions,” 

the great guardian against those is a 

fact of the legislative process that he 

conveniently ignores: it takes a council 

majority to get anything done. 

There may be issues down the road 

where a small community stands to 

lose as a result of some proposal of 

some future chief. A chief may have 

little political incentive to listen to 

the needs of those citizens, but their 

political impact in a small district 

means that their local councilor 

would listen and at least bring their 

needs to the table. 

The issue would never be whether 

a single councilor representing a 

small district can derail, or impose, 

an entire legislative proposal. The 

issue would always be whether that 

councilor has an incentive to bring a 

local concern to the table so that the 

council majority, representing the 

will of all of the people, can make an 

informed decision. In my view, the 

whole Nation benefits when a strong 

well-informed council is in a position 

to scrutinize legislative proposals, 

making sure we leave no community, 

however small, out of the discussion. 

For that reason alone, small singleseat 

districts are in the best interests 

of all Cherokees. Baseless judgments 

about narrow-minded councilors 

and complaints about tiny spending 

programs are simply not good 

enough reasons to oppose the singleseat 

redistricting law. 

I believe the courts will rule against 

the chief and uphold the redistricting 

act as constitutional, but I will leave 

that to the council’s attorney to argue. 

From a public policy perspective, I 

am confident that single-seat districts 

are the best way to ensure that the 

entire Nation has a voice at the table. 

The chief’s argument to the contrary 

is pure fairy tale. 

BY CEDRIC SUNRAY 

Guest Columnist 

I was not raised anywhere near 

the two tribal communities where 

I am enrolled. My predominant 

influences in my early life were the 

black and Hispanic majorities who I 

lived amongst in south Florida. My 

cultural aptitude outside of these ethnic 

communities was minimal due to my 

father’s death when I was 4 and my 

mother’s complete abandonment of 

her community as a teenager. I am byblood 

whiter than Indian, though I am 

a member of two tribes. 

My interest in this subject relates to 

the defense of people who are being 

wrongfully attacked and to my many 

years as a full-time tribal language 

instructor. The following is written 

only in a defensive position and for the 

purpose of social justice and historical 

and contemporary accuracy. 

I understand there exist illegitimate 

groups in this country, but the 

wholesale attack on state recognition 

also hurts legitimate tribes and gives the 

impression that the Cherokee Nation in 

Oklahoma is a legitimate racially Indian 

tribe. This notion, when 200,000-plus 

citizens of the nearly 300,000 enrolled 

CN are white (of which all taxpayers 

fund health care and college funding 

for), is a poor smokescreen for the 

reality. 

As a parent of a Cherokee immersion 

school student whose experience within 

the school was exemplary and in my 

opinion second to none, I am intrigued 

by continual interference in language 

and educational matters by people who 

are not Cherokee speakers or educators. 

I am also perplexed by the attempt to 

describe this interference as anything 

other than ignorant perceptions about 

members of “non-federal” tribes. 

Long before many current citizens 

of the CN even knew of their Indian 

ancestry, the children of eight “state” 

tribal communities were sent long 

distances away from their homes to 

all-Indian boarding schools such as 

Cherokee, N.C.; Haskell (in Lawrence, 

Kan.); and Bacone (in Muskogee, 

Okla.) The “lack” of federal recognition 

attached to these communities is 

irrelevant to their status as Indians. 

Federal recognition does in no way 

impart Indian racial status, as proven 

by the predominant white genetic make 

up of more than 80 percent of the 

current CN. The vast majority of this 

population and their relationship to 

generational discrimination and trauma 

do in no way correspond to that of 

racial Indian populations. These people, 

elected or not, have no place as decision 

makers regarding identity or language 

OUR VIEWS 

The truth is we don’t have 

that many children in the 

program, so we need all 

the help we can get. In the 

past two years, my daughter 

has lost three classmates 

because their parents took 

their children out and sent 

them to area schools. There are 10 students in the third 

grade, five in the second grade and five in first grade. It 

always makes me pause when I hear that a student has left 

the school because I know enrollment numbers are low. 

I don’t know all the parents and students who would 

be affected by a policy change, but 

one should wonder about their 

commitment to the language. All 

the parents who have children in the 

immersion program are committed 

to helping the Cherokee language 

survive. Otherwise we wouldn’t have 

made such an investment of time and 

effort. It does take some faith to enroll 

your child into an unproven program. 

It has been proven to work for the 

Hawaiian people, but few, if any, tribes 

are doing what the CN is doing to save its language. 

I believe the program will prove itself in a few years, 

but I have wondered, as I’m sure other parents of 

immersion students have, if I’m doing the right thing 

for my child. Some parents may wonder if the skeptics 

are right, that our children will be behind in English and 

other areas when they enter middle school. These days 

I’m confident they will be more than ready and will likely 

exceed expectations. 

I agree with one Cherokee Phoenix reader who said 

Cherokee ‘Task Farce’ vs. 

immersion school 

“…it makes no sense 

to disrupt an entire 

program to remove 

four or five children 

who are part of an 

effort to preserve 

our language.” 

issues. When you 

place political 

considerations 

ahead of language, 

one has placed 

language into a 

negotiated space. 

Language is not 

negotiable. It is a 

foundational piece Cedric Sunray 

of community 

existence. 

The current rhetoric towards the 

immersion school is fraudulent on 

numerous counts. 

First, the perception that “non-CN 

citizens” are taking up spots for CN 

children is unfounded. Current sizes of 

the elementary grades show that more 

children are needed in the program, not 

less. 

Second, the CN recently donated 

$3 million to regional public schools 

whose majority populations are not 

CN members, so cost arguments are 

unfounded. 

Third, this entire issue is based on CN 

Tribal Councilor Cara Cowan-Watts 

and her identity “Task Farce,” which 

includes CN Supreme Court Justice 

Troy Wayne Poteete, Terri Rhodes, Dr. 

Richard Allen and Principal Chief Chad 

“Corntassel” Smith, and their want to 

expel three children whose family is 

enrolled with a state-recognized tribe. 

Fourth, are Cowan Watts’ comments 

concerning the purpose of the school? 

“I understand the intent of the 

immersion school is for students to 

be bilingual in Cherokee and English.” 

The children entering the school 

already speak English. Immersion is to 

develop healthy children through their 

indigenous language. 

Fifth is who the immersion 

process has been learned from. The 

Cherokee immersion school is based 

off the success of the “non-federally” 

recognized Native Hawaiians. The “nonfederal” 

Yuchi also have a program in 

Oklahoma. 

Sixth is who has access to the 

Cherokee language. If the CN doesn’t 

want non-CN citizens to be learning 

and teaching the language, then why 

make it available in more media and 

print forms than any other tribal 

language in the U.S.? Why teach it at 

universities and public schools? 

Seventh is the way certain members 

of the CN approach everything. Wake 

up call! No one “wannabe” you. 

We do not politic our children. We 

do not attempt to remove children and 

families who have played by the rules 

literally since day one. The CN and its 

“Task Farce” feel they can toss children 

out. Is it ethical or moral? That’s the 

million-dollar question at CN. 

the cost of educating students is fixed, and the CN’s 

costs for the entire program would not decrease if a few 

students were forced to leave the program. Actually, the 

council should provide more funds to the school. My 

daughter’s class shares space with the second-grade class. 

The students have no real playground and must be bused 

to Sequoyah High School for lunch where they compete 

for time to eat lunch with the middle and high school 

students. 

Cowan Watts said “no other education program 

provides services to non-tribal citizens using tribal funds 

other than immersion,” but I disagree. The CN provides 

an online Cherokee language course that teaches 

people all over the world the language, 

and the tribe administers a Learn and 

Serve program that teaches Indian and 

non-Indian grade school students more 

about Cherokee history and culture 

and encourages them to better their 

communities. 

Is it really a financial hardship for the 

CN to allow a handful of non-citizens 

continue to attend the immersion school? 

Their parents have invested much time 

and effort to ensure their children learn 

Cherokee, and I believe it would be counterproductive to 

kick them out. 

Watching my daughter and her classmates speak, 

tease each other and tell stories in Cherokee is a wonder 

because outside of that classroom there are not many, 

if any, Cherokee communities you can visit and hear 

Cherokee children speaking their language. 

Losing a fellow student is always hard for my daughter 

and her classmates. They don’t need to lose more over 

some bureaucratic policy.


Council passes 15 Red Clay resolutions 

Councilors vote on 

legislation approved 

during a joint council 

meeting in Red Clay, 

Tenn., to ensure its 

legitimacy. 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee 

Nation Tribal Council unanimously passed 

15 resolutions at its May 11 meeting that 

were initially passed at a joint meeting 

between the CN and the Eastern Band of 

Cherokee Indians councils in April at Red 

Clay, Tenn. 

Three resolutions related to the opposition 

of state recognition of groups as Indian 

tribes in Tennessee, Arkansas and New 

Jersey. Another resolution brought the 

CN and the EBCI together to support the 

process of federal recognition of tribes. 

At-Large Tribal Councilor Jack Baker 

said the CN council lost a quorum of its 

councilors at Red Clay, and although no 

point of order was called, it’s likely all the 

resolutions were legitimate. 

“So to avoid any controversy we’re 

Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilor Jack Baker, center, reads a proclamation on April 17 

declaring the grounds at Red Clay, Tenn., a historical significance to the Cherokee Nation 

and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians during a joint council meeting. To the left of Baker 

at the table are Eastern Band Principal Chief Michell Hicks, CN Council Speaker Meredith 

Frailey and CN Tribal Councilor Cara Cowan Watts. To the right of Baker are CN Tribal 

Councilors Buel Anglen and Don Garvin. PHOTO BY WILL CHAVEZ 

bringing them forward tonight to pass 

in full council because they were passed 

unanimously by the council members that 

were present as well as by the full council… 

of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians… 

,”Baker said at the May 11 meeting. 

Councilors Julia Coates, Jodie 

Fishinghawk, Joe Crittenden, David 

Thornton and Tina Glory Jordan didn’t 

attend the Red Clay events. 

“Red Clay was the last meeting place of 

the Cherokee Nation council in 1837 

before being driven from their home 

land to Oklahoma in 1838.” 

– Meredith Frailey, Tribal Councilor 

Council may consider rebates 

for border smoke shops 

One councilor says allowing 

alcohol sales and gaming 

machines could generate 

revenue for the shops. 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Tribal Councilors may 

consider giving rebates to Cherokee Nationlicensed 

border smoke shops after hearing testimony 

about lost revenues due to the tribe’s tobacco 

compact with the state and higher federal taxes. 

Tera Hargrove, owner of Tall Chief Smoke Shop 

in Big Cabin, recently told the council her shop’s 

sales have dropped considerably since 2008. 

Speaking before the Executive and Finance 

Committee, Hargrove compared her sales from 

January 2008 to the same month in 2009. In January 

2008 she purchased 17,084 cartons of cigarettes 

to sell to customers compared to 5,708 cartons 

in January 2009. 

“You can see a considerable drop. And I’m just 

one shop. I know a lot of other shops are having 

the same problems,” Hargrove said. 

Competing with Missouri shops and Miami, 

Okla.-area tribal shops that offer tobacco products at 

lower rates is taking a toll on her business, she said. 

Hargrove said she is cutting everything she can 

to keep her business going, including employees’ 

health insurance and bonuses. 

Tribal Councilor Chuck Hoskin Jr., who plans to 

reintroduce legislation to provide CN-licensed border 

smoke shops a tax rebate, said not only would 

border shops go under if something isn’t done to 

help, but Cherokees would lose jobs as well. 

“I’m concerned these shops are going to wither on 

the vine and that it’s going to be Cherokee employees 

of these shops who are going to suffer,” he said. 

Hoskin added that if the border shops fail the 

tribe would also lose revenue. 

The tribe’s compact with Oklahoma only allows 

the CN to give tax rebates to border shops, which 

are located within 20 miles of the Kansas, Missouri 

and Arkansas state lines. However, the council voted 

against giving those shops rebates in February. 

Hoskin said the council should discuss the rebates 

again and that he hopes councilors would 

reconsider their positions against rebates since 

more data shows sales at border shops are down. 

Sales have fallen at the shops since the tribe’s tobacco 

compact raised cigarette prices at those locations 

by 61 cents per pack, while non-border shops 

enjoyed a price drop of about 20 cents per pack. 

“It’s my sense that a lot of shops are suffering 

since the compact went effect. I think there’s evidence 

of that,” Hoskin said. “We, the Cherokee Nation, 

negotiated for the ability to give that rebate, 

and to negotiate for something and not use it I 

don’t think is wise.” 

Also hurting border smoke shops sales is the 

April 1 federal tobacco tax hike that saw tax on a 

pack of cigarettes go from 39 cents to $1.01, while 

a carton of cigarettes is now $6.10 higher. 

With the new tax, a pack of name brand cigarettes 

range in price from $4.55 to nearly $6, with a 

generic pack costing around $3.50. 

The council also discussed alternative ways 

smoke shops could generate revenue, which included 

possibly selling alcohol and allowing gaming 

machines in smoke shops on a limited basis. 

Hoskin said he wanted to open discussion on allowing 

those alternatives during the Executive and 

Finance meeting to see if it was “even viable.” 

“I think as long we’re talking alternatives I think 

we should put everything on the table you could 

reasonably expect to be approved,” he said. “Even if 

we weren’t talking about revenues plummeting, we 

probably need to talk about increasing revenues in 

terms of tax revenues.” 

Hoskin said border shops need to generate more 

revenues if they are to survive, but that he was 

cautious about the possible side effects of putting 

more gaming and alcohol in communities. 

“There’s certainly some pitfalls to putting more 

gaming out in the communities. There’s certainly 

pitfalls to putting more alcohol sales in the community. 

We have to take it slow,” he said. 

Under current CN law, selling alcohol on tribal 

land is prohibited except for at Cherokee casinos. 

As for gaming at border shops, CN Gaming 

Commission Director Jamie Hummingbird said it 

is within tribe’s ability to allow it, but those games 

would have to be approved by the National Indian 

Gaming Commission. 

He said all rules that apply to gaming for CN casinos 

would apply in smoke shops. 

“There’s a lot of questions that have to be answered…and 

issues that need to be resolved” before 

gaming in smoke shops could be allowed, he said. 

Mike Miller, CN communications officer, said 

Cherokee Nation Enterprises is the only tribal entity 

licensed to have gaming machines. 

“I’m concerned these shops are going to wither on the 

vine and that it’s going to be Cherokee employees of 

these shops who are going to suffer.” 

– Chuck Hoskin Jr., Tribal Councilor 

One resolution passed by the joint 

council and reaffirmed by the full CN 

council commemorates the significant 

historical importance of Red Clay to the 

Cherokee people. 

“Red Clay was the last meeting place 

of the Cherokee Nation council in 1837 

before being driven from their home land 

to Oklahoma in 1838,” said Council Speaker 

Meredith Frailey. “As you know, over 4,000 

people lost their lives over that infamous 

trail. In 1984 the Cherokee Nation council 

and the Eastern Band of Cherokee met at 

Red Clay commemorating the 1837 council 

meeting and honoring those that lost their 

lives in 1838 when made that infamous trip.” 

The CN and the EBCI were separated for 

almost 150 years before the 1984 meeting, and 

in April the two tribes met again at Red Clay. 

CN councilors also approved a resolution 

showing appreciation to James Franklin 

Corn for his recognition and preservation 

of the historic importance of the property 

known as Red Clay. 

Other resolutions passed at 

the joint council and May 11 

meetings included: 

• recognizing the 1984 participants of the 

Red Clay joint council, 

• requesting financial proceeds from sale 

of hymnal books be donated to the EBCI 

immersion program and the CN immersion 

program, 

• requesting financial contribution to the 

Red Clay State Park, 

• requesting assistance for the translation 

of Moravian documents pertaining to the 

Cherokee people, 

• the Eastern Band requesting CN support 

regarding Macon County Airport, 

• and encouraging Georgia, Tennessee, 

Alabama and North Carolina to sufficiently 

fund preservation of historic sites. 

The CN council also approved a budget 

modification for the fiscal year 2009 budget, 

increasing it by $4.2 million for a total 

budget authority of $555.3 million. 

The increase raised the General Fund by 

$886,000 related to carryover funding on 

the Tribal Bridge Program and raised the 

Indian Health Service Self-Governance 

Health Fund budget by $3 million related 

to carryover funds on the health equipment 

replacement budget. It also increased the 

Native American Housing Assistance and 

Self-Determination Act budget by $366,000. 

Council Briefs 

Council approves grant application 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Tribal Council 

unanimously approved the submission of a renewal 

application by the Department of Children, Youth and 

Family Services to the Runaway and Homeless Youth 

program. 

The grant is for renewing the second year of a threeyear 

funding cycle to supplement operations at the John 

A. Ketcher Youth Services Center in Tahlequah. The CN 

would be required to fund a cash match of $7,000 of the 

$70,000 total project cost. 

The funding would supplement residential operations 

and supportive services to children and youth 

temporarily placed in the center. An average of 200 

youth is served annually with the majority referred from 

within the CN 14-county area. 

The funding would benefit those youth and families 

in need of crisis intervention and prevention services, 

according to the council’s resolution. 

– CGV 

Act to increase Cherokee Nation 

voter registration passed 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Tribal Council approved 

the “Cherokee Nation Tag and Clinic Voter Registration 

Act of 2009” at its May meeting. 

The act intends to increase voter registration and 

participation by Cherokee citizens in both the CN and 

state elections. 

Tribal Councilor Cara Cowan Watts, who 

cosponsored the act with Council Speaker Meredith 

Frailey and Buel Anglen, said the act is to boost the 

number of registered Cherokee voters. 

“The Cherokee public has asked that we help remedy 

some of the lack of voter participation or lack of voter 

registration. So in response to that, several of us have 

asked to legislate and compel both our tag agencies 

and also our clinics to request…that voters register in 

Cherokee Nation elections,” Cowan Watts said. 

– CGV 

Council OKs stimulus funds for 

environmental and energy initiatives 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Tribal Council approved 

a grant application for $3.2 million of stimulus funding 

to the Department of Energy for environmental and 

energy related activities. 

“I think this is an outstanding opportunity for the 

tribe in the use of the stimulus monies that are being 

made available for northeastern Oklahoma, particularly 

for the tribal grant process. On this Department of 

Energy grant, I think it’s exciting because it could 

accelerate some of the sustainability issues we’ve 

discussed frequently in committee,” Tribal Councilor 

Cara Cowan Watts said. 

– CGV


Adair County landfill reopening brings concerns 

CNB will soon reopen the tribe’s 

landfill and expectations are high 

that it will be operated better. 


Staff Writer 

CHERRY TREE, Okla. – As a mid-July date looms for the 

reopening of the Cherokee Nation Landfill in Adair County, 

resident Nathan Moton is worried about how the landfill 

will be operated. 

Nearly two years ago the landfill was closed because the 

company operating it – Indian Country Investments – 

couldn’t comply with CN environmental regulations, with 

some of those violations affecting Moton and his neighbors. 

Under ICI, Moton said, trash was not covered daily with 

dirt, which is required. It attracted rats and other animals, 

with some animals dying in the debris. Those dead animals 

attracted vultures. At one point, Moton said, an area of trees 

below the landfill died from too many vultures nesting and 

defecating in them. 

“I guess vultures can eat anything without dying. There 

was so many of them it killed out the hollow,” he said. “The 

Nation got on to ICI and fined them, but hell, they were just 

fining themselves.” 

In 2007, the CN Environmental Protection Commission 

fined ICI more than $1 million for environmental violations, 

including leakage from an unlined storage pond, excessive 

methane gas levels and failing to adequately cover refuse 

with soil. 

Moton said at one point ICI admitted to having 21 days of 

non-covered trash. 

“At the end of the day, all trash that’s dumped is supposed 

to be covered. That’s with any landfill,” he said. “They never 

covered the trash. It was six to eight months after they closed 

before they finally got it all covered.” 

After two years of operating the landfill, ICI closed it in 

October 2007. Cherokee Nation Businesses took 

control of it in early 2008. Now Cherokee Nation 

Waste Management, which operates under 

CNB, will screen and handle the client list for 

entities wanting to dump in it. 

For two years Moton and another 

neighbor took complaints about the 

landfill, which opened in 1982 and is 

located about nine miles south of 

Stilwell, to the tribe’s EPC. 

“They thought we were going 

to gripe a little bit and go 

home. It seems like they are 

honestly trying now, but it’s 

way too little and way too 

late. In Jenkins Creek 

there are no crawdads, 

no fish, no minnows, 

nothing,” he said. 

Other complaints 

included trash 

washing out of 

the landfill during 

heavy rains into a 

neighbor’s yard and 

water overflowing 

from a leachate 

containment pond 

into Jenkins Creek. 

Leachate is water 

that has run over or 

through trash. 

Tom Elkins, CN 

Environmental 

Programs administrator, said he has researched years of 

records on Jenkins Creek and has not found a deficiency of 

any type caused by the landfill that would degrade the creek. 

“There is absolutely nothing to back that up,” he said. 

Shaun West, a CN environmental specialist, said a 

bio assessment of the creek two years ago backs Elkins’ 

statement. 

“Really, the creek below the landfill is actually in some 

places in better condition than the creek above the landfill,” 

he said. 

Even though CNB has made improvements to the leachate 

pond by adding a liner and increasing the height of the 

its walls, Moton said he is still concerned the pond will 

continue to overflow into Jenkins Creek, which he said feeds 

into Lee Creek – the water supply for Fort Smith, Ark. 

A sign near Cherry Tree, Okla., 

points the way to the Cherokee 

Nation Landfill. 

PHOTO BY WILL CHAVEZ 

Cross section of a landfill ILLUSTRATION BY MARK DREADFULWATER 

A reconstructed leachate pond with raised sides and a liner catches water that leaches from waste dumped at the 

Cherokee Nation Landfill. Previously, the pond overflowed during heavy rains. PHOTO BY WILL CHAVEZ 

Elkins said there never have been environmental issues, 

no contamination of ground or surface water, before with 

the landfill. He added that semi-annual inspections are 

required, but the CN performs them quarterly. 

“The landfill is not the boogeyman it is made out to 

be,” Elkins said. “After reducing and recycling, landfills are 

the last ditch effort for disposing of solid waste. They’re 

not great, but if they are regulated properly, they’re not an 

environmental concern.” 

Another aggravation for Moton is the trucks hauling 

trash to the landfill. Moton lives about a half mile from 

the landfill, and the last time it was open, he said trucks 

constantly 

passed his 

property leaving debris that blew out of them in ditches 

along his property. 

“Another thing, it (landfill) was supposed to be open from 

say 7 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, but I’ve watched 

trash trucks going in there in the middle of the night, 3 or 

4 in the morning. We started going up there and catching 

them. That’s when they quit doing it,” he said. 

Elkins admits there were “issues” at the landfill before. 

“Trash was not covered on a daily basis as is required by 

regulation and other things. We’ve got a good commitment 

from the folks that are out there now, and we just follow 

up to make sure things are covered,” he said. “We will cover 

better this time.” 

A new 7.2-acre trash cell being constructed at the landfill 

is expected to take in 800 tons per day when it reopens. 

A major delay in reopening the Cherokee 

Nation Landfill was a liner issue. Liners are 

placed under trash to prevent the leachate, 

water that has ran through or over trash, 

from seeping into the ground. 

The bottom of a typical cell has a liner 

covered with clay and then a synthetic liner 

that catches the leachate. By design and 

gravity, the leachate is diverted to a leachate 

sump or pond. 

It was reported in March at a CN 

Environmental Protection Commission 

meeting, that crews working on the new 

cell discovered the lining between two 

older cells were not tied together, leaving a 

gap 15 to 20 feet wide. 

The exposed ground where the lining 

was missing was dry and not compromised 

and no leachate seeped through the gap, 

said Tom Elkins, CN Environmental 

Programs administrator. 

The company A&M Engineering 

worked on the site about four years ago 

and its officials told the CN that it had tied 

the liners. 

Elkins speculated the problem was a 

result of miscommunication between 

different contractors who created different 

designs for the project. 

“There was no leakage of the leachate. 

There’s no environmental issue 

whatsoever. It was just a discrepancy in 

the designs,” he said. 

It was also reported in March that 

the design flaw occurred previous to 

Indian Country Investments taking over 

management of the landfill in 2005. The 

CN was building the cell and contracted 

with A&M to complete it. 

Tribal EPC Commissioner Ed Fite asked 

Bob Murray, an engineer and contractor 

working on the new landfill cell, if the 

A&M engineer had certified that the liners 

had been welded together. Murray said yes. 

Murray speculated a sub-contractor 

hired by A&M may not have tied the liners 

together. He said the paperwork he has 

seen shows no disconnect with the liners. 

CNB and CN Environmental are to make sure the cell is 

functioning correctly before taking more tonnage, Elkins 

said. And West said he and another inspector plan to 

conduct weekly landfill inspections. 

Elkins said most of the trash in the landfill is household 

waste, and the landfill provides a place for local residents 

to dump trash rather than dumping on sides of roads, also 

called wildcat dumps. 

Dist. 2 Tribal Councilor Joe Crittenden, one of two Adair 

County councilors, said ridding the area of wildcat dumps 

was one reason why the landfill was started. 

“I don’t think the landfill was set up to make a bunch of 

money. I think it was set up to help the counties close to it to 

clean up their wildcat dumps,” he said. 

Although he knows CNB is operating 

the landfill for profit, Crittenden said he 

doesn’t agree with CNB taking trash 

from Arkansas. He also said he is 

concerned about the long-term 

environmental effects the landfill 

may have. 

“I think it will be a much 

better run landfill this time. 

Hopefully it will be safer. 

We have assurances from 

CNB if there’s a problem 

or there’s perceived to 

be a problem, they’ll 

get on it quick,” he 

said. 

Jodie Fishinghawk, the other Dist. 2 

councilor, said she and Crittenden requested 

an environmental study on the landfill, but 

CNB did not grant it. However she said she 

feels better about it operating under the tribe’s 

watch than under ICI. 

“CNB has been really careful and really 

good about making sure it is done right, which 

I’m glad for,” she said. “It’s being run more like 

a business now, instead of something we’re 

pumping money into every so often.” 

Even the landfill’s toughest critic is starting 

to see a turn for the better. Moton recently 

visited the landfill and said it looks better than 

it looked two years ago. 

“It’s the best it’s ever looked. It’s 100 times better,” he said. 

The leachate pond is stable and the trash is mostly covered 

though vultures still circle the landfill. But Moton said he 

worries the same problems will return when it reopens and 

that his biggest concern is trash going uncovered. 

Dealing with the trash trucks and the vultures has been 

tough on him, but he said he never thought about moving 

because he has spent all of his 35 years in Cherry Tree. 

“If I was to leave, it would be because of the landfill. I’ve 

lived here all of my life. I shouldn’t have to go because of a 

dump,” he said. “This is our land. This is where I grew up. This 

is where my kids grew up and probably will be where their 

kids grow up. I just feel you have to take care of the land… 

and the streams. Stuff like that is pretty important to me.” 

Liner issues delay landfill’s reopening 

“The way most people would interpret it 

is to say, ‘we’ve got a continuous liner here, 

put the waste to it,’” he said. “There was no 

leakage. We’re been very fortunate there’s 

no apparent environmental damage, but 

we need to fix it. We don’t need a gap in 

between two liners.” 

Tribal Councilor Jodie Fishinghawk said 

the fact trash was being dumped off a liner 

has been no secret. 

“The guys who work down there knew 

where they had gotten off the liner and 

knew they had gotten off the liner,” she said. 

Fite said he was “dumbfounded” than 

an engineer certified the liners had been 

welded and that the tribe is tired of the 

landfill raising “ugly” issues. 

“We keep bumping against the wall with 

issues every time we turn around,” he said. 

Dena Geib, Cherokee Nation Businesses 

contracts manager, said the tie-in issue 

with the liners delayed the reopening of 

the landfill by three to four weeks. 

–WC


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Large, hard bound, well-referenced, with many pictures and documents. $60 plus $6 s/h. Send 

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George M. Bell’s 1972 book, “Genealogy of Old & New Cherokee Indian Families.” $50, plus 

$7 for S&H. Send check or money order to: Mr. Watie Bell, 1808 SE Crescent Dr., Bartlesville, OK 

74006. E-mail: watiebell@sbcglobal.net 

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ANNOUNCEMENTS 

Scholarship Deadline: June 12, 2009. Cherokee Nation Higher Education Scholarship 

applications are available for the 2009-2010 academic year. Visit http://scholarships.cherokee.org 

or call the Cherokee Nation Office of Higher Education at 918-207-3948 or 1-800-256-0671, ext. 

5465. 

Oaks Volunteer Fire Dept. Annual Car Show – June 20, 2009. Registration 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. 

Entry Fee $15. Trophies for car show winners. Swap Meet $5 Set-Up Fee, 3-on-3 Basketball 

Tournament $20/team, 50/50 Pot, Door Prizes, Concessions. All Proceeds go to Oaks Volunteer Fire 

Department. For information call 918-868-7544 or 918-868-4231. 

Sequoyah Schools is participating in the Summer Food Service Program, May 26-July 17, 

2009. Free healthy meals will be provided to all children 18 years of age and under regardless of 

race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. Meals will be provided at the site and times as 

follows: 

Sequoyah Schools, 17091 S Muskogee, Tahlequah OK 74464, Breakfast will be served 7 am – 8 

am, Lunch will be served 11 am – 12 pm, For more information about the program, call 

(918) 453-5191. To file a complaint of discrimination, write or call immediately to: 

USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250- 

9410, (800) 795-3272 or (202) 720-6382 (flY) 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

The Cherokee Phoenix publishes classified ads in good faith. However, we cannot guarantee the 

integrity of every ad. If you have doubts concerning a product or service, we suggest contacting 

the Better Business Bureau and exercising proper caution. 

Classified ads are a minimum of $5.00 for the first 10 words and 25¢ for each additional word. Ads 

must be prepaid by check or money order to the Cherokee Phoenix, Attn: Classifieds, P.O. Box 948, 


In Memoriam dmcdsdi 

Esmeralda Mayes Treen, 

96, Dog Enthusiast and 

Writer 

PASADENA, CA.— 

Well-known dog fancier, 

Esmeralda Mayes Treen, 

the granddaughter of 

Cherokee Chief Samuel 

Houston Mayes, died at 

her home here March 28. 

She was 96. 

A journalist throughout 

her adult life, Ms. Treen 

first began breeding Dalmatians in 1950. Over the next 

six decades, she would achieve prominence as a dog 

judge, show official and dog writer. 

Her two books on Dalmatians, written with her late 

husband, Alfred E. Treen, were considered definitive for 

the breed in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Known as a tough, but fair judge, Mrs. Treen rarely 

pulled her punches in criticizing a dog or, for that 

matter, anyone in the dog establishment from other 

breeders and judges to officials of the American Kennel 

Club. Even so, the AKC gave her an Outstanding 

Sportsmanship Award in 2007 and honored her for 50 

years as a judge. 

During her career, she judged dogs in all 50 states 

and a dozen countries, among them Russia, South 

Africa, India, Australia, Japan and Colombia. She was 

an honorary member of Federacion Canafila Mexicana, 

the Mexican Kennel Club. 

After Mrs. Treen and her husband started breeding 

Dalmatians under the name Pryor Creek Kennels, they 

had several successes in the ring, most notably with 

Ch. Coachman’s Chuck-A-Luck. 

Ten years later the couple, along with a few friends, 

launched the Waukesha (Wis.) Kennel Club. 

Mrs. Treen was put in charge of the club’s annual 

show and, until she retired 28 years later, helped it 

grow into one of the largest in the Midwest, drawing 

as many as 3,000 entries. 

In 1957, she started judging obedience trials at dog 

shows and later eventually received licenses from the 

American Kennel Club to judge the Sporting, Non- 

Sporting and Toy Groups as well as several breeds in 

the Terrier Group. 

She was also involved in developing several 

rare breeds in the United States. She helped found 

the Bichon Frise Club of America and served on its 

board for many years. And she judged and promoted 

such breeds as Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, 

Neapolitan Mastiffs and Canaan dogs. 

Born in St. Louis on January 21, 1913, she was the 

daughter of physician Joseph F. Mayes and violinist 

Esmeralda Berry Mayes, one of the first women to solo 

with the St. Louis Symphony. 

Two counties in Oklahoma are named for her 

ancestors—Mayes and Rogers counties. Her 

grandfather, Samuel Houston Mayes, was principal 

chief of the Cherokees from 1895 to 1899. Will Rogers, 

the celebrated humorist, was her cousin. 

One of Mrs. Treen’s close friends growing up in St. 

Louis was playwright Tennessee Williams. 

In “Tennessee Williams Notebooks,” biographer 

Margaret Bradham Thornton said he used her first 

name twice and her last name once for characters in 

plays and short stories. 

Another biographer, Lyle Leverich, described Mrs. 

Treen as Williams’ “constant confidante” at the 

University of Missouri, which they both attended, 

starting in 1930. Williams dropped out but she 

graduated from the journalism school in 1934. 

Three years later, Williams described her outspoken 

nature in his journals, writing, “one likes her because 

she is such an enfant terrible.” 

In 1939 Mrs. Treen moved to Chicago to become 

Midwest editor of Mademoiselle, the now-defunct 

women’s magazine. She married Mr. Treen two years 

later. 

Her husband’s career with the A.O. Smith Corp. 

took them to Houston, St. Louis and Milwaukee. The 

relocations led to different jobs in journalism for her, 

including editor of both the River Oaks Times, a weekly 

in an affluent area of Houston, and the Menomonee 

Falls News in a suburb of Milwaukee. 

But it was her dog writing that captured her 

interest. She edited the Spotter, the publication of the 

Dalmatian Club of American, for 17 years, taking it 

from a newsletter to a magazine. She continued to 

write for the Spotter as well as Dog News, Dog Fancy, 

the AKC Gazette and other publications. Over the years 

she received several awards from the Dog Writers 

Association of America. 

Mrs. Treen served on the board of visitors of the 

School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of 

Wisconsin in Madison for five years. 

Her brother Samuel Mayes, lead cellist at both the 

Philadelphia and Boston Symphony Orchestras from 

1938 to 1984, died in 1990. 

Her son, Joe Treen of Montclair, NJ, a daughter, 

Esmeralda Gibson of Pasadena, CA., and one 

grandchild survive her. 

At her request, there were no services but her ashes 

will be interred at Fairview Cemetery in Pryor. In lieu of 

flowers contributions may be made to the AKC Canine 

Health Foundation, PO Box 90061, Raleigh, NC 27627- 

9061, or the Dalmatian Club of America Foundation, 

4431 Corporate Square, Naples, FL 34104. 

Bobbie Gail Goingsnake Perry was born 

December 5, 1944, in Tahlequah, Okla. and departed 

from this life April 14, 2009, at Hastings Indian Hospital 

in Tahlequah, with her children and husband at her 

bedside. She was the daughter of Vera Mae Christie 

(and her first husband Hugh “Scoot” Goingsnake) and 

George W. Craig, all who preceded her in death. 

Gail and Donald Perry were married August 8, 

1963. The joy of her life was their children and 

grandchildren: Donna Gail Perry and her daughter 

Abigail of Tahlequah; Delana Kimble and her husband 

Jeff, their children Kaycee, Kelsey, and newborn son 

Jett; Dana Dugger and her husband Joe, their son 

Logan; and Donald Perry, Jr. and his wife Sherri, their 

children Jessica and Javen, all of Adair County. Her 

siblings are Sidney Craig and wife Charlene of Park 

Hill, OK; Norma Gruber and husband James of Eldon, 

OK; Beatrice Garcia and husband Ted of Hemet, CA; 

and Virginia Beach of Park Hill, OK; as well as many 

other relatives and a host of friends. She was also the 

great-grandniece of Cherokee statesman and martyr 

Ned Christie. 

Gail lived in the Wauhillau community all of her 

life and attended Freewater Elementary School and 

Stilwell High School. She worked several years as a 

convenience store manager and then in home health 

and hospice. She added to her skills in the nursing 

areas with courses taken at Bacone in Muskogee, 

OK and Westark in Fort Smith, AR. She retired from 

Cherokee Nation Hospice in 2006. 

Gail loved caring for her grandchildren, attending 

their ballgames, reading and visiting antique and junk 

shops. She was proud of her Cherokee heritage and 

enjoyed attending pow-wows. 

Her service was Friday, April 17, 2009 in the Reed- 

Culver Chapel. Burial was at Freewater Baptist Church 

Cemetery. 

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House reps ask for investigation of CN 

Six representatives ask the 

U.S. attorney general to 

investigate the Cherokee 

Nation regarding its 

treatment of Freedmen 

descendents. 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Six members 

of Congress sent a letter to U.S. Attorney 

General Eric Holder on April 30 asking him 

to investigate the Cherokee Nation, along 

with four other tribes, regarding the tribes’ 

treatment of Freedmen descendants. 

The six representatives who signed 

the letter allege the Cherokee, Choctaw, 

Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole nations in 

Oklahoma are abusing the rights of their 

respective Freedmen descendants. Freedmen 

are descendents of freed slaves once owned 

by Indians. 

Department of Justice 

spokesman Alejandro 

Miyar said the DOJ 

would review the letter to 

determine what action, if 

any, is appropriate. 

Reps. Barney Frank, 

D-Mass.; John Conyers 

Jr., D-Mich.; John Lewis, 

D-Ga.; signed the letter, 

as well as lawmakers from 

the Congressional Black 

Caucus, including Reps. 

Diane Watson, D-Calif.; 

Shelia Jackson Lee, 

D-Texas; and Barbara Lee, 

D-Calif. 

“Despite over 100 years of litigation and 

federal laws reaffirming and protecting the 

rights of freedmen, today’s tribal leaders 

of the Cherokee, Seminole, Choctaw, 

Chickasaw and Creek Nations of Oklahoma 

have chosen to ignore their longstanding 

treaty obligations by removing freedmen 

from tribal citizenship rolls or relegating 

them to second-class status within the tribe,” 

the letter states. 

Picnics 


households of Cherokee citizens who 

are in Bakersfield, Fresno and in fact 

spread all up and down the central valley 

over about 300 miles,” she said. “I think 

the percentage is about 64 percent of 

the Cherokee citizens don’t live within 

the (CN) boundaries any longer. That 

represents a great deal of talent, a lot of 

resources that are hopefully not gone.” 

The CCCC hosts monthly meetings so 

its members can participate in cultural 

activities and maintain Cherokee ties. 

“(We) started with stories and 

language. We’ve got some DVDs the 

Nation has supported us with, (and 

we’re) using those DVDs to tell stories 

and to pick up on (the) language,” Twist 

said. “We want to pick up the cultural 

things we’ve lost from the move from 

Oklahoma to California. That’s the 

purpose of these things out here. (We’re) 

drawing together the remembrance of 

who we are and where we came from.” 

Mary Kaulaity, a Cherokee citizen 

originally from Jay, Okla., said she’s lived 

in California for nearly 15 years after her 

job relocated her. 

“To me (the CCCC is) a link to home,” 

she said. “It’s really hard because I don’t 

speak Cherokee but I understand it very 

well and there’s nobody out here who 

“This letter shows 

that…its signatories 

do not care about 

the facts or what’s 

happening in the 

federal courts.” 

– Mike Miller, Cherokee 

Nation Communications 

Officer 

Watson has been a vocal opponent of the 

Cherokee Nation since March 2007. That’s 

when Cherokee voters in a special election 

amended the tribe’s constitution requiring 

verified Indian blood for tribal citizenship. 

The amendment disenfranchised about 

2,800 Cherokee Freedmen descendants who 

could not prove Indian blood linkage to an 

original Dawes Roll enrollee. 

Watson introduced legislation three 

months later to sever federal relations with 

the tribe, but the bill did not garner enough 

support to pass. 

Two federal lawsuits involving Freedmen 

and Cherokee Nation are in the Washington, 

D.C., Circuit Court and the Northern 

District of Oklahoma. A third suit is waiting 

to be heard in the tribe’s District Court. 

Cherokee Nation officials have asked 

Congress not to intervene and to allow the 

courts to settle the matter. 

“This letter shows that, when it comes to 

the Cherokee Nation, its signatories do not 

care about the facts or what’s happening in 

the federal courts. As the Cherokee Nation 

has explained to more than 100 members 

of Congress through meetings, this issue 

has never been about race but only about 

who is a citizen of an 

Indian nation,” Cherokee 

Nation Communications 

Officer Mike Miller said. 

“Furthermore, two federal 

courts are deciding these 

issues in cases in which 

the Department of Justice 

itself is a party. Indeed, 

the Cherokee Nation 

brought one of those cases 

because there was concern 

among several members 

of Congress that a federal 

court should decide the 

issues they now want the 

Department of Justice 

to investigate. So, it appears that these 

members have gone from attack first, facts 

second to guilty first, trial second.” 

Miller said a DOJ investigation would be 

“unnecessary and unwise” but that the tribe 

“would cooperate fully.” 

In the past two years, the CBC has 

targeted Cherokee Nation regarding 

Freedmen citizenship. CBC members have 

pushed to cut the tribe’s federal funding, 

speaks Cherokee.” 

Kaulaity still travels to Oklahoma 

about twice a year, including for the 

annual Cherokee National Holiday on 

Labor Day weekend. 

“A lot of these people who live in 

Bakersfield have never been home 

(to Oklahoma,)” she said. “The only 

connection they have is maybe getting 

the (Cherokee) Phoenix. Here at least, 

it gives them an idea that we have a 

Cherokee community in Bakersfield.” 

The Northern California Cherokee 

picnic took place May 3 in Suisun City, 

with about 200 people attending. 

Jacquie Archambeau, council 

chairwoman of the Cherokee Society 

of the Greater Bay Area, organized the 

picnic, which had the same agenda as 

the Bakersfield event. 

Cherokee satellite organizations of 

northern California, including the 

CSGBA, Cherokees of Northern Central 

Valley and the Cherokee Community of 

the Silicon Valley, hosted the picnic. 

Archambeau said the event allowed 

people to meet elected CN officials, see 

area Cherokee groups, perform cultural 

activities, learn the language and have a 

good time. 

California Cherokees have a “hunger” 

to reconnect to the CN and its citizens, 

Archambeau said. 

including housing 

monies. 

In the letter to 

Holder, the six 

representatives 

accuse Cherokee 

Nation of refusing 

“to process any new 

Freedmen citizenship 

applications” and of 

“severely” limiting 

Freedmen access to 

tribal benefits and the 

tribe’s gaming proceeds. 

“Specifically, the 

Cherokee Nation 

does not give any 

per capita gaming 

handouts to citizens 

whatsoever,” Miller 

said. He added that the 

tribe’s constitution limits 

✃ 

Please accept my contribution to the Cherokee Nation Education Corporation. 

Name: Phone: 

Address: 

Rep. Diane 

Watson 

Rep. John Lewis 

citizenship to people who have an Indian 

ancestor on the Dawes Rolls. 

“Registration cannot accept citizens who 

do not meet the criteria in the constitution. 

So if an application comes in that traces to 

a non-Indian ancestor on the Dawes Rolls, 

that application is set aside until the tribal 

court rules on the matter,” he said referring 

to Freedmen citizenship applications. 

Some non-Indian Freedmen gained 

citizenship during the 12 months that 

non-Indians were eligible for citizenship 

under a March 2006 Cherokee Supreme 

Court ruling, but Miller said the tribe’s 

Registration Department is not processing 

new applications for non-Indian Freedmen. 

He said any non-Indian Freedmen who 

became Cherokee citizens via the 2006 

ruling are eligible for every service that 

other tribal citizens are eligible for, including 

voting rights. 

“I know of no specific instance where any 

non-Indian Freedmen descendant has been 

denied a service that is available to Cherokee 

citizens,” he said. 

Miller called the letter to Holder 

misleading. 

“The phrase that says ‘Cherokee Nation 

voted in 2007 to disenroll its freedmen’… 

implies that non-Indian Freedmen 

descendants were citizens for a long time, 

rather for just one year prior to that,” he said. 

Weeks following the March 2007 

City: State: Zip: 

Amount Enclosed $ Mail to: 

For more information: (918) 456-0671, Ext. 2420 

Email: mraymond@cherokee.org 

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of your new patient appointment. 

special election that 

amended the Cherokee 

Constitution, a 

Cherokee court order 

gave the Freedmen 

temporary tribal 

citizenship as the 

dispute makes its way 

through the courts. 

Freedmen also retained 

the right to vote in 

Cherokee elections 

and social service 

benefits via the court 

order. The court 

order also prevented 

the constitutional 

amendment from being 

effective until the tribal 

case is decided. 

Miller said during 

the past two years he and 

other Cherokee officials 

have met with five 

of the six members 

who signed the letter, 

and more than 100 

Congress members 

in total, to discuss the 

issue. 

“We have been 

completely transparent 

and made it clear 

that we are willing to 

answer any questions 

raised by Congress 

or (Department of 

Justice) DOJ as our 

co-defendant in the 

(Washington) D.C. 

litigation,” he said. 

But the six 

representatives 

justified the call for an 

investigation stating the 

Rep. Barbara 

Lee 

Rep. Sheila 

Jackson Lee 

Rep. Barney 

Frank 

Rep. John 

Conyers Jr. 

DOJ “has the legal and moral responsibility” 

to investigate the Freedmen’s civil and voting 

rights. 

“We can no longer afford to sit back 

and allow BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) 

officials, some of whom are major architects 

of the freedmen’s civil and voting rights 

violations, to set policy that runs counter 

to the United States Government’s legal 

obligations to the freedmen,” the letter states. 

YOU can make a 

difference. 

Support the Cherokee Nation 

Education Corporation with a 

Generous Donation Today. 

Promote and preserve the language, 

culture & history of the Cherokee Nation. 

Create progressive learning 

opportunities. Support Cherokee 

students through scholarships. 

Cherokee Nation Education Corporation 

Cherokee Nation • P.O. Box 948 


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Wildlife official: Cherokees need state license 

An Oklahoma wildlife 

official says Cherokees 

will get tickets if caught 

hunting or fishing 

without a license. 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – According 

to Oklahoma Department of Wildlife 

Conservation officials, Cherokee Nation 

citizens caught hunting or fishing without 

proper state licenses in areas where the 

ODWC patrols could get fined or arrested. 

ODWC Law Enforcement Chief Larry 

Manering said he knows about the CN’s 

recently enacted wildlife code and stressed 

that no wildlife agreement between the CN 

and Oklahoma exists. 

He said the only direction his department 

has in dealing with Cherokees using blue 

citizenship cards to fish or 

hunt off tribal or restricted 

land is state law. 

“Articles on Cherokee 

Nation’s Web page warn 

people they may get a ticket 

if they are caught hunting 

or fishing off of tribal or 

restricted lands without a 

state license,” he said. 

“That lets you know that 

even the tribe recognizes 

the fact that there is no 

established agreement, contract or MOU 

(memorandum of understanding) They’re 

saying there isn’t one, and you may be 

subject to arrest if you hunt and fish without 

proper licensing or don’t follow the state 

guidelines on bag limits or season dates. 

We’re not wanting to arrest anybody. We’d 

Working together for 

the good of the people. 

“We’d rather people 

have licensing and 

follow what the 

state law says.” 

– Larry Manering, 

Oklahoma Wildlife 

Conservation Law 

Enforcement chief 

Clarification: 

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rather people have licensing and follow what 

the state law says.” 

A page on www.cherokee.org shows the 

tribe’s wildlife code, but may not answer all 

questions for people interested in hunting 

or fishing with their citizenship cards. Some 

Cherokees are confused about where they 

can hunt and fish using citizenship cards. 

But confusion hasn’t kept everyone from 

testing the waters. Kellie Van, a CN citizen 

from Tulsa, said a game warden recently 

fined her for fishing with only her blue card 

at Oologah Lake. 

“He asked for my license, and I showed 

him my tribal card. I told him that the 

Cherokee chief had stated this was all 

I needed. He laughed and said he had 

heard about this,” she said. “He said I had 

two choices. I could go ahead and buy a 

temporary 30-day license from him for $50, 

or I could take a fine. I told him I would go 

ahead and take the fine.” 

Vann said as the game warden wrote the 

ticket she asked him if she could continue 

fishing and he told her no. 

She said she was with friends 

and wanted to fish, so she 

purchased the temporary 

license. 

“In hindsight, I’m glad 

I chose to go with the 

temporary license. However, 

what I would really like to do 

is try it one more time and 

this time go back to fishing 

whether the game warden 

liked it or not, and see if I 

can land myself in jail. But 

without the proper backing, I doubt I’m 

going to do that,” Vann said. 

CN Marshal Brian Catcher of Tahlequah 

said he harvested a deer in 2008 while 

hunting on restricted tribal land using his 

blue card for a license. But he said he would 

not risk fishing with only his blue card away 

In the story “Council sets scholarships at $1,500” published in the April 2009 

issue, the story states that the Tribal Council Education Committee agreed to set 

the Cherokee Nation Higher Education scholarships at $1,500 per semester at its 

January meeting. However, that legislation has not been passed by the Executive 

and Finance Committee or full Tribal Council, so scholarships for full-time college 

students remain at $1,000 per semester. We apologize for any confusion. 

09.1342.Cherokee_Collection_CP.indd 1 5/15/09 3:32:46 PM 

©2009 Fruchtman Marketing 

from trust or restricted lands. 

“Unless something changes I’ll probably 

stick to tribally owned land. I can’t risk a 

court battle being in the profession I’m in,” 

he said. “Unless something changes in the 

state code, if I hunt or fish off of triballyowned 

land I’ll buy a state hunting or fishing 

license.” 

The Tribal Council approved the code two 

years ago, but Principal Chief Chad Smith 

said the CN delayed implementing it while 

his office attempted to negotiate a compact 

with Oklahoma. Those negotiations failed, 

but the CN decided to move forward, he said. 

A warning in the wildlife code states: 

“there is not yet any written agreement 

with the State of Oklahoma…therefore, 

it is possible that you may be stopped, 

or even cited, for hunting off of trust or 

restricted land using only your Cherokee 

Nation license. If you are in full compliance 

with Cherokee Nation regulations and you 

receive such a citation, notify the Cherokee 

Nation Office of the Attorney General or 

Marshal Service at (918) 456-9224. The 

Nation may or may not attempt to assert 

its hunting/fishing rights in your case as a 

defense.” 

Smith said the CN is committed to 

practicing sound management of wildlife 

resources. The CN would have the same 

consistent rules for how much game and fish 

are taken, for seasons and would prohibit 

poaching and other illegal activities, he said. 

Manering said he appreciates that the CN 

practices wildlife resource management 

based on Oklahoma codes. 

“Choosing to adopt them (state codes), 

they are acknowledging our expertise, and 

I think that’s very appropriate,” he said. 

Manering added that he is concerned 

about CN citizens using citizenship cards 

to hunt and fish because a lot of confusion 

remains. “I think it’s confusing for members 

of the tribe. I think it’s confusing for the 

public, and it’s certainly confusing for law 

enforcement and for the (wildlife) agency. 

It’s going to be very interesting to see how 

this unfolds.” 

The “Cherokee Nation Hunting and 

Fishing Code” allows for Cherokee 

citizens to hunt and fish within the 

“Cherokee Nation’s Treaty Territory” 

(14-county jurisdiction) without 

purchasing state of Oklahoma hunting 

and fishing licenses and associated tags 

and permits. 

The CN Natural Resources 

Department is charged with managing 

the hunting and fishing code, while 

the CN Marshal Service and Office of 

the Attorney General are supposed to 

enforce it. 

Licensing: As per the code, the 

CN citizenship card or blue card is 

considered a valid Cherokee hunting 

and fishing license. When afield, 

Cherokee hunters and anglers must 

carry this card as well as proper photo 

identification. 

Tagging: Where WCLE requires 

harvested game to be tagged, the CN 

Hunting and Fishing Code requires the 

Cherokee licensee to likewise “tag” such 

legally harvested game via affixing a 

photocopy of their CN citizenship card to 

the carcass of the legally harvested game. 

Commercial hunting, fishing and 

trapping activities: The CN Hunting and 

Fishing Code does not allow for any 

form of commercial hunting, fishing or 

trapping activities. Individuals wishing 

to conduct such activities must do so 

under the purview of the WCLE. 

CN Natural Resources Department: 

(918) 453-567. 

http://wildlife.cherokee.org.


Cherokee citizen Verna Bates shows her favorite gourd mask at her recently opened 

art studio in Locust Grove, Okla. The mask, which she calls “Let’s Boogie” won the 

Judge’s Choice Award” in the 2008 Cherokee National Holiday Fine Art Show in 

Tahlequah, Okla. PHOTO BY JAMI CUSTER 

Cherokee opens art 

studio in Locust Grove 

BY JAMI CUSTER 

Staff Writer 

LOCUST GROVE, Okla. – Despite the 

tough economy, Cherokee Nation citizen 

Verna Bates in May opened a Native 

American fine art studio and gift shop just 

south of this small Mayes County town. 

Bates said she had been working toward 

opening her own business for several years 

and on her artwork since the 1980s. She 

began creating gourd art in 1989 and later 

added paintings, jewelry, basket weaving, 

pottery and masks. 

“I had been working in our house in the 

spare bedroom, and I had it full just wallto-wall,” 

she said. 

Bates said she and her husband, Fred, 

bought the property on which the studio 

sits on from her late father-in-law. The 

property set empty for more than a year 

before she approached her husband and 

asked what he thought about her moving all 

her artwork and supplies to a building on 

the property and working there. 

“He got a carpenter and he began to 

work a year ago,” she said. 

The work on the studio did not happen 

quickly, Bates said. She said they worked on 

the studio here and there, taking more than 

a year to set up the shop, which is still not 

completely finished to her standards. 

“I have been in this little business for 

many, many years but worked out of the 

house, and you kind of put back a little bit 

of money. But if it wasn’t for my husband 

believing in me and supporting me 

financially in this little venture, it wouldn’t 

have been done,” she said. 

In an effort to make her business venture 

possible, her husband worked with a 

carpenter on the barter system for some 

Mortgage trouble? MAP can help 

BY LAVONNE TUBBS 

Self-Sufficiency 

Counselor 

Anyone who has 

ever found themselves 

unable to pay credit 

card accounts knows 

how defeated a person 

feels when they open a Lavonne Tubbs 

bill that is 30 to 90 days 

delinquent. 

“Jane Smith” is one such person. But 

a class offered by Cherokee Nation’s 

Mortgage Assistance Program helped Jane 

turn around her financial problems. 

Jane normally paid her debts on 

time, but unexpected circumstances left 

her economically strained and facing 

financial ruin. Having used all her savings 

to survive, Jane discovered she was in 

default with a number of her credit card 

companies. Soon her creditors began 

contacting her. Jane’s financial problems 

became worse when creditors tacked on 

late fees and default interest. 

Trying to be proactive, she contacted 

a private credit counselor who promised 

work on the studio. 

Bates said that it was tough for her 

when first starting in the business because 

the family was essentially relying on one 

income. 

“Sometimes when you very first start out 

as a single person or on one income you do 

well to have money for your home bills and 

food for your kids much less a booth fee,” 

she said. “When I first started out I didn’t 

know it was called arts and crafts. I though 

it was called ‘making do’ because you make 

do with what you got.” 

Bates said to make it sometimes she had 

to cut back the expenses such as grocery 

and electric bills. 

“You just cut back a little bit everywhere 

so you can have a little extra over here,” 

she said. “I won’t put this before my family. 

People learn and if you’re really dedicated 

you will figure out a way to find a dollar to 

make ends meet on this end, too.” 

But she said that if someone is interested 

in starting their business they must believe 

in themselves and surround themselves 

with supportive people. 

“If you don’t try this you will always 

wonder what you could have done, and as 

far as someone new in it, keep trying and 

don’t let something negative stop you,” she 

said. “I want to keep the Cherokee tradition 

out there so don’t give up.” 

Hours at Gourds Etc., are from 

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 

Saturdays. (918) 479-8739. 

www.gourdsetc.net. 

Gourds Etc. 

9198 S. 4392 Rd. 

Locust Grove, OK 74352 

to help her recover from her financial 

situation. He negotiated with the creditors 

and worked out agreements that allowed 

him to act as the administrator of her 

accounts. As the administrator, the credit 

counselor would pay Jane’s bills for 

her. However, the credit counselor also 

charged a fee for his services to be paid 

overtime. The credit card repayment 

agreements he negotiated would have 

slightly reduced her interest rates and 

enabled Jane to make lower payments for 

a term of 60 months. 

Jane felt uncomfortable paying someone 

to pay her bills, but felt she had no other 

alternative. Luckily, before signing the 

agreement Jane read about a budget 

training class offered through the MAP. 

Hoping to learn something that would 

help her out of her current financial 

situation, Jane attended. 

The MAP training taught Jane that she 

has the power to negotiate with creditors 

on her own. She also learned that many 

times creditors will eliminate the late fees 

as well as reduce the interest rate to 0 

percent. 

Jane stayed after the meeting and 

Spare Change 

CN provides micro-enterprise funding 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The tribe’s 

Small Business Assistance Center has 

money available in its Micro-Enterprise 

Development Fund to lend to tribal 

citizens interested in establishing a 

small business but might not otherwise 

be eligible for traditional lending. 

“The funds provide Native Americans 

the opportunity to establish themselves 

as entrepreneurs in our communities,” 

said Veronica Hix, SBAC entrepreneur 

development manager. “The funds will 

help create jobs for Cherokee citizens.” 

Hix said the MEDP is a great way 

explained her credit situation and the 

services offered by the private credit 

counselor. Through the support and 

encouragement offered by the MAP 

trainers, Jane took control of her credit 

situation and acquired the skills to 

negotiate with creditors. 

The trainers explained how anyone 

experiencing a financial setback can 

contact their creditors directly and ask 

to speak to the hardship department and 

work out a deal. Citing examples of past 

successes, the trainers urged Jane to be 

firm when negotiating, to tell the creditor 

what she wanted and not to take the 

creditor’s first offer. MAP trainers also 

suggested getting confirmation of the 

agreement in writing before authorizing 

payments of any kind. 

Empowered, Jane contacted her first 

creditor and asked to speak to its hardship 

department. She explained her situation 

and began the negotiation process. The 

creditor was receptive and within minutes 

Jane negotiated a deal better than the 

outside credit counselor had worked for 

her. 

Jane’s story is just an example of the 

to obtain funding to establish a small 

business, adding that the loans help 

promote innovative thinking and would 

allow Cherokee citizens the opportunity 

to become financially self-sufficient. 

A micro-enterprise is defined as a 

business venture having less than five 

employees, including those businesses 

that operate from home, garage or 

other non-traditional location. Loans 

are limited to a maximum amount of 

$25,000 with re-payment terms of up to 

seven years. Other guidelines apply. 

(918) 207-3955. www.cherokee.org. 

CNI honored for higher education commitment 

STILWELL, Okla. – Stilwell-based 

Cherokee Nation Industries was 

honored recently by the Oklahoma 

State Regents for Higher Education 

for its commitment to economic 

development in Oklahoma. 

CNI was recognized for its partnership 

with Northeastern State University’s 

College of Business and Technology, 

which provides internships and jobs for 

students and graduates of NSU. 

“CNI is committed to creating and 

strengthening the next generation 

of workers for Oklahoma, and that 

begins with furthering education,” CNI 

CEO Bryan Collins said. “Through the 

internship program, hiring business 

college graduates and being involved on 

the NSU campus, CNI has proven we 

Flintco opens Native American Division 

TULSA, Okla. – Flintco Cos. Recently 

unveiled its new Native American 

Division, tracking laws and cultures of 

more than 500 recognized tribes across 

the U.S. 

By improving Flintco’s sensitivity 

to tribal nuances from contract 

negotiations to sacred holidays, this 

division will strengthen the Tulsa 

construction contractor’s relationships 

with about 30 percent of its customer 

base, said Rex Woods, senior vice 

president of the new division. 

The operation provides a resource 

for managing different needs within 

Flintco’s 1,000-member work force, 

more than half drawn from tribes 

across the nation. 

“We are going to work with the tribes, 

discover what they are all about,” Woods 

said. “And we will mold ourselves to 

4 ways to boost business with a blog 

If done correctly, a blog can attract 

a dedicated audience to build upon 

and share expertise, information, ideas 

and content while boosting awareness 

of your company and brand. If done 

incorrectly, however, you can leave 

customers feeling dissatisfied and ready 

to turn to your competitor. 

1. Create friend-sumers: Promote a 

company, product or service by creating 

a blog that features how-to advice, news 

and other information of interest to 

customers. 

2. Provide exceptional customer 

are a committed partner to economic 

and professional development in 

northeast Oklahoma.” 

Collins serves on the Dean’s Advisory 

Council for the College of Business and 

Technology and is regularly involved in 

business college activities. 

“CNI plays a major service role in 

enhancing the business college through 

participation on advisory boards, 

providing speakers for classes and 

mentoring students,” said College of 

Business and Technology Dean John M. 

Schleede. 

College of Business and Technology 

Dean Dr. John M. Schleede nominated 

CNI for the award, which drew 21 

recognitions from across the state. 

www.cherokee-corp.com. 

them, providing services based on their 

tribal regulations and needs.” 

Designed by Matrix Architects, the 

new division will housed in offices 

that employ a variety of recycled and 

sustainable materials, incorporates 

organic colors, textures and styles 

emphasizing Flintco’s environmentally 

friendly operations and Cherokee 

heritage. 

Led by President Ron Petty, the 

Native American Division provides 

a single point of contract for Indian 

Country leaders to work with Flintco, 

which annually handles 200 to 250 

projects companywide. The division 

employees prepare all other Flintco 

divisions for working with individual 

tribes, even down to researching 

potential contracts. 

support: Supplement a company’s 

existing technical support and customer 

service with an online forum for 

customers to openly post questions. 

3. Increase your credibility: A blog 

is an ideal tool to position yourself as 

an expert in our field by sharing your 

experience and insight. 

4. Gain more exposure: As 

independent bloggers to write reviews 

and articles about your company. 

Having your information published on 

different blogs builds your legitimacy. 

–SBAC 

many ways the MAP staff and training 

team work toward the betterment of CN 

citizens. 

Her experience is proof that negotiating 

with creditors can be successful if armed 

with knowledge before starting the 

process. Negotiating skills are honed by 

fire. Be assertive and direct and remain 

firm in the face of opposition. Credit card 

companies, as well as other creditors, 

realize there are circumstances which 

warrant compassion. Often, creditors 

include contingencies written into 

their policies which govern negotiating 

repayment agreements. 

The MAP offers budget training 

classes throughout the year. These classes 

enable people to become better educated 

consumers. 

Remember, paying someone to 

negotiate on your behalf may not always 

render the best result. Empowering 

yourself with knowledge about what 

services and resources are available for a 

variety of financial problems ensures that 

you, as a consumer, are better equipped 

to handle all of your financial situations, 

both good and bad. 

Cherokee Nation Commerce Department, P.O. Box 948, Tahlequah, OK 74465; 1-800-256-0671, (918) 453-5536; Fax: (918) 458-4295 

E-mail: commerc@cherokee.org; Web site: www.cherokee.org/Services/Commerce/Default.aspx


CHEROKEE 

CASINOS 

Employing Cherokees 

• Cherokee Casinos create jobs by devoting 70 percent 

of its profits, or $77.9 million in 2007, to creating 

jobs for Cherokees. 

• In the last six months, Cherokee Casinos’ expansions 

in Catoosa and West Siloam Springs have created 

hundreds of new jobs - the majority filled by 

Cherokee citizens - allowing Cherokee citizens to 

live and work right in our communities. 

• In addition to creating new jobs, expanding existing 

facilities also creates advancement opportunities for 

current employees. Robert Teehee, Cherokee citizen, 

started to work at Cherokee Casino West Siloam 

Springs in 2006 and has earned three promotions 

since then. Since his latest promotion, due in part to 

the growing property’s increased business, Robert 

is now ‘manager on duty,’ fully responsible for 

managing casino operations and staff during his shift. 

Cherokee Casinos generated $33.7 million for Cherokee Nation services last year. 

The remaining gaming profit was reinvested to create jobs in Cherokee communities, a 

formula that has produced more than 2,000 new jobs in the last four years. 

TULSA | ROLAND | WEST SILOAM SPRINGS | SALLISAW | TAHLEQUAH | CLAREMORE | FORT GIBSON 

www.CherokeeCasino.com • (800) 760-6700

B June 

sports 

unp5d 

2009 

Quilt-making 

Area women learn how to sew 

quilt pieces together to make a 

quilt. CULTURE, B-5 

Two of the four medals 

come in the 400-meter 

run. 

BY WESLEY MAHAN 

Sports Writer 

Graduation 

Lady Indians end softball 

season in heartbreaker 

Sequoyah’s softball team 

exits the state playoffs by 

losing a slugfest. 


Sports Writer 

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sequoyah 

Lady Indians had their quest for a Class 5A 

slow-pitch softball championship halted 

May 12 in the state quarterfinals, losing 

17-15 to Antlers at the Amateur Softball 

Association Hall of Fame Stadium. 

Sequoyah scored most of its runs in the 

game with two outs, and it began in the 

first inning. Kayla Sourjohn reached base 

on a fielder’s choice and Lindsey Hammer 

was intentionally walked. Caitlin Dry 

stepped to the plate and blasted a three-run 

homer to give Sequoyah a 3-0 lead. 

Antlers got a run back in the bottom 

half of the inning thanks to three 

Sequoyah errors, but squandered a basesloaded 

opportunity on an inning-ending 

double play. 

“That was 

one of 

the most 

exciting 

games 

I’ve ever 

been a 

part of.” 

– Larry 

Grigg, 

Sequoyah 

softball 

coach 

Both teams went 

quietly in the second, 

but the Lady Indians 

scored again in the 

third as Sourjohn led 

with an infield single. 

Hammer handled the 

rest, smacking a tworun 

home run to give 

Sequoyah a 5-1 lead. 

Antlers closed it to 5-3 

when Tori Jones went 

deep in her team’s half 

inning. 

Sequoyah went in 

order in the top of the 

fourth and the Lady 

Bearcats tied the score 

5-5 thanks to a throwing 

error on a double play 

ball that would have ended the inning. 

Sequoyah’s fifth inning began with 

Saharra Henson’s leadoff triple, and 

Sourjohn brought her home with a sacrifice 

fly. Hammer and Dry also reached base and 

later scored when an Antlers throw to first 

found its way into the Sequoyah dugout. 

But Antlers rallied as Shayla Martin 

and Jones sent the first two pitches in the 

bottom of the fifth over the fence to make 

it 8-7. 

Sequoyah once again found some twoout 

magic in the sixth as Taylor Johnson 

singled and then scored on Henson’s homer 

to right field. The Lady Indians tacked 

on two more runs when an errant throw 

ended up in right field. 

With the score at 12-7 in favor of 

Sequoyah in the bottom of the sixth, 

Antlers scored a run before loading loaded 

the bases. Martin then hit a grand slam 

over the left center field fence to tie the 

score. The Lady Bearcats plated three more 

runs to take a 15-12 lead. 

The Lady Indians found themselves 

down to their final out when some magic 

happened again. Sequoyah loaded the bases 

and Henson delivered her fourth hit of the 

game to score Haley Beck. The throw went 

to third, but got away from Jones, which 

Pitching rule blunder ends 

Sequoyah’s baseball season 

The Indians lose by 

forfeit in a regional 

elimination game against 

Vian. 


Sports Writer 

KEYS, Okla. – Rarely do baseball fans 

see a game end in a forfeit because of 

an illegal substitution rule, let alone a 

season. But that’s what happened May 7 

to the Sequoyah Indians during a regional 

tournament elimination game against the 

Sequoyah’s Trent Johnston slides into 

home plate May 7 against the Vian 

Wolverines in a regional tournament 

game at Keys, Okla. Sequoyah lost the 

game due to an illegal substitution. 

PHOTO BY WESLEY MAHAN 

Sequoyah pitcher Kayla Sourjohn eyes a pitch while at bat May 12 in the Class 5A state 

quarterfinals in Oklahoma City. The Lady Indians lost 17-15 to Antlers, finishing the 

season 24-7. PHOTO BY WESLEY MAHAN 

Vian Wolverines. 

According to an Oklahoma Secondary 

School Activities Association rule, a pitcher 

can only pitch 10 innings in one day, 

provided he doesn’t pitch more than five 

innings in the first game. 

In Sequoyah’s first game on May 7, 

Indians pitcher Dustin Jones pitched a 

complete game, seven-inning shutout 

against Keys to stave off elimination from 

the regional tournament. 

In the second game against Vian, 

Sequoyah coach Jeff Turtle tried to 

substitute Jones as a pitcher during the 

sixth inning against Vian. 

Turtle sent Jones in to relieve pitcher 

Eric Kirkpatrick in the bottom half of the 

inning with Sequoyah trailing 15-14. When 

Jones toed the rubber and threw a warmup 

pitch, the Vian coaching staff pointed 

out the infraction. 

After several minutes of conferencing, the 

umpire declared Vian the winner by forfeit 

and Sequoyah’s season came to an end. 

“He toed the rubber, and he shouldn’t 

have. That’s my fault. I should have asked 

first (about the rule)...I just worried about 

trying to throw strikes,” Turtle said. 

The game had been a slugfest up to that 

point, with both teams’ pitching stretched 

thin. The Indians grabbed an early lead 

with three runs in the top of the first before 

Vian exploded for six runs in the bottom of 

the second, taking a 7-4 lead. 

Sequoyah fired back with five runs in 

the third, sending 10 hitters to the plate, 

but Vian knotted the score at nine in the 

bottom of the inning. 

The Indians plated five runs on three hits 

and three walks in the top of the fourth. 

However, the Wolverines answered with 

five runs of their own, highlighted by a 

two-run homer by Dylan Taylor to tie the 

score at 14. 

The Indians’ bats cooled in the fifth and 

allowed a run to score. Antlers pitcher 

Morgan Beasley retrieved the overthrow 

and fired it over the catcher’s head allowing 

Johnson to tie the game. 

However, it wasn’t enough for Sequoyah 

as Antlers’ Kenzi Baldwin singled to start 

the bottom of the seventh. Martin then 

crushed her third straight home run to 

send the Lady Bearcats to the semifinals 

with a 17-15 victory. 

“That was one of the most exciting games 

I’ve ever been a part of. We both gave each 

other some runs...you just knew it was 

going to come down to who batted last,” 

Larry Grigg, Sequoyah coach said. 

Grigg said he was proud of his team and 

excited for next season. 

“We had a good season. We finished up 

24-7 and we got everybody back, except 

for our pitcher (Sourjohn), and she will be 

missed,” he said. 

Two women will soon begin 

their residencies after completing 

medical school. EDUCATION, B-9 

TULSA, Okla. – Sequoyah Schools’ track 

teams brought home a few medals as they 

wrapped up their seasons May 8-9 in the 

Class 3A state meet at East Central High 

School in Tulsa. 

Nikki Lewis and Ashton Parent both 

medaled in the 400-meter dash. Lewis was 

second and Parent fourth with respective 

times of 1 minute, 00.05 seconds and 

1:02.06. 

Ashley Ross scored a fourth-place medal 

for the Lady Indians in the 1,600-meter 

INSIDE UWnd< 

Culture................. B-5 

Education............ B-7 

Health.................. B-10 

Cherokee citizen Brian Jackson meets 

the world’s shortest man Mr. Ping 

Ping, who stands 2.4 feet high, during 

his recent trip to Italy where he set 

his second world record for bursting 

hot water bottles. COURTESY PHOTO 

World records 

put Jackson 

on map 

The Cherokee citizen 

owns two world 

records for bursting 

hot water bottles. 

BY JIM TRICKETT 

Sports Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Not 

many people can say they are in the 

Guinness Book of World Records, but 

on April 13, Cherokee citizen Brian 

Jackson added his name to the book 

by bursting three hot water bottles in 

world-record time. 

The 44-year-old Tahlequah resident 

and motivational speaker attempted 

to break a world record in December 

in Spain, but failed to inflate a weather 

balloon to 8 feet in circumference. 

Despite missing, Guinness officials 

invited him for another attempt to 

break a world record – bursting three 

hot water bottles in less than 3 minutes. 

“I was to have a challenger for the 

attempt in Milan, Italy, where the show 

took place, but the other person failed 

Jackson, B-2 

Traven McCoy takes the inside lane for Sequoyah during the 3,200-meter relay on May 

8 at the Class 3A state track meet in Tulsa, Okla. Sequoyah’s 3,200-meter relay team 

finished in 12th place. PHOTO BY WESLEY MAHAN 

Sequoyah track teams bring 

home 4 state medals 

run in 5:29.80, a new Sequoyah record. 

Shakota Cutnose finished eighth in the 

event, covering the distance in 5:55.50. She 

also finished ninth in the 800-meter run 

with a time of 2:28.50. 

Saharra Henson jumped a distance of 

15 feet, 4.25 inches to finish seventh in the 

long jump, while Andy Pickup finished 

seventh in the shot put with a toss of 32- 

10.50 and 14th in the discus with a throw 

of 88-08. 

The lone state medalist for the Indians 

was David Lewis in the 800-meter run 

just edging out teammate Traven McCoy. 

Lewis finished sixth in 2:03.23, and McCoy 

finished seventh in 2:04.47. McCoy also 

ran the 1,600 meters and finished eighth 

at 4:48.80, while Robert Ketcher was 

12th in the event with a time of 4:55.40. 

Baseball, B-2 Track, B-2

Track 

from B-1 

B-2 Cherokee Phoenix • june 2009 

Ketcher also just missed a medal in the 

3,200-meter run, finishing seventh at 

10.40.18. 

The team of Lewis, McCoy, Ketcher 

and Corri HorseChief finished 12th 

in the 3,200-meter relay, while Caleb 

Deardurff threw the shot put 42-10.5, 

which was good enough for 13th place. 

Sequoyah coach Sam HorseChief 

said he was proud of his medalists and 

encouraged by the experience his young 

squads gained during the season. 

The athletes earned their trips 

to state by qualifying at the May 2 

regional meet at Catoosa. 

Overall, the Lady Indians placed 

third in the team rankings, while the 

Indians finished fourth. 

Lewis won the 400-meter dash with 

a time of 1:00.14 seconds, while Parent 

finished second in 1:02.46. 

Cutnose and Krista Wildcat ran the 

800-meter distance in times of 2:31.73 

and 2:37.59 respectively, which was 

good enough for third and fifth places. 

Ross claimed her third straight regional 

title in the 1,600 meters with a time of 

5:41.31. Cutnose was third for the Lady 

Indians with a time of 5:54.24, and Jodi 

Hooper covered the distance in 6:05.70. 

Hooper and Krissa Goodrich ran the 

3,200 meters for Sequoyah registering 

fourth and sixth place finishes 

respectively. 

Henson took first in the long jump 

with a distance of 15-7, while Pickup 

scored second in the shot put and 

discus events. She threw the shot 33-8.5 

and the discus 93-6. 

For the boys, Lewis finished second 

in the 800 meters with a time of 2:05.80. 

McCoy finished third in 2:08.68. 

Ketcher finished fourth in the 

1,600 meters and McCoy was fifth 

with respective times of 4:59.40 and 

5:03.39. Ketcher also qualified in the 

3,200-meter race by finishing third 

with a time of 10:44.70. Brandon 

Gibson ran the distance in 11:14.47, 

which was good enough for a 

qualifying sixth place. 

The Indians scored a fifth-place 

finish in the 400-meter relay and third 

place in the 1,600-meter relay. The 

team of McCoy, Ketcher, Lewis, and 

Corri HorseChief finished second in 

the 3,200-meter meter relay. 

Justin Lepley was sixth in the 

long jump with a distance of 18 feet. 

Deardurff was third in the shot put 

throwing it 41-7, while Taylor Poe was 

fourth with a throw of 39-10 and Chris 

Hummingbird was sixth with a toss of 

38-05. 

Andy Pickup tosses a shot put at the 

Class 3A state track meet on May 8 in 

Tulsa, Okla. Pickup finished in seventh 

place with a distance of 32 feet, 10.5 

inches. PHOTO BY WESLEY MAHAN 

Baseball 


He will probably play 

power forward at the 

college level. 


Sports Writer 

sixth innings as Sequoyah was unable to score. Vian went 

1-2-3 in the fifth, but in the sixth got a man on via walk to 

Dillon Craighead. Craighead then scored from first on a 

bunt single and an errant throw to first base. 

Sequoyah’s Kirkpatrick then walked Vian’s Zach Truett. 

After the walk, Turtle attempted to substitute Jones and 

the game ended on the illegal substitution. 

The Indians ended the season with a 25-9 record. 

In the first game of the day, Jones was masterful, 

holding Keys scoreless and no-hitting them for the final 

six innings. Jones received some defensive help from left 

fielder Sonny O’Field, who performed a couple of runsaving, 

acrobatic catches. 

The Indians offense was powered by a two-run 

homer by Trent Johnson in the third, and a solo shot by 

Kirkpatrick in the sixth. The Indians won 3-0 and ended 

the Cougars season. 

The Indians earned a regional tournament trip after 

winning a district title, sweeping the Kansas (Okla.) Comets 

Matt Qualls, a Cherokee citizen and recent Tahlequah High School graduate, soars 

above three Guthrie players during the 2008 Class 5A state basketball tournament 

in Norman, Okla. Qualls recently signed to play college basketball for the 

University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. COURTESY PHOTO 

Qualls to play hoops at UCO 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Matt Qualls, a 

Cherokee citizen and recent Tahlequah 

High School graduate, recently signed his 

letter of intent to play college basketball 

in Edmond for the University of Central 

Oklahoma. 

The 6-foot, 7-inch center averaged 23.1 

points, 13 rebounds, two assists, three 

blocks and four steals per game this past 

season. 

Qualls chose UCO, a NCAA Division 

II team, over such schools as North 

Alabama, West Florida and Texas-San 

Antonio. Division I schools Southern 

Illinois and Wichita State were interested 

as well, but Qualls said he knew where he 

belonged. 

“They’re (UCO) going to play for a 

national title pretty much every year. 

Coach Evans seems like he’s going to 

make sure I can be as comfortable as I 

can be. He really wanted me really bad... 

it’s good to be going to a place where 

you’re really wanted,” Qualls said. 

Qualls said the recruiting process was 

stressful and inconvenient at times, with 

all the attention thrown on him, but that 

it was a good experience. 

He also said he isn’t resting on 

his laurels and has begun a rigorous 

offseason training program. 

“I’ve already started doing a lot of 

cardio work and running, a lot of trips to 

the gym and eating really healthy,” Qualls 

said. “I can tell I’ve already gotten more 

athletic since the season ended.” 

He said he is expected to contribute 

next season at power forward and that 

UCO head coach Terry Evans expects 

him to be a big factor in a run for a 

national championship. 

“I want to win a national 

championship and make UCO a wellknown 

school. It’s definitely on the 

uprise,” said Qualls. 

Qualls’ father, Leroy, is proud of his son 

on two levels, since he has been his coach 

throughout his high school career. 

“It’s kind of a dream come true. I’ve 

seen his aspirations in his eyes... since 

he was a youngster shooting around. 

As a coach, I’m very excited and happy 

for him. As a parent, I’m very proud of 

the dedication he has shown that others 

might not have seen,” Leroy said. 

The younger Qualls said he might take 

a look at the family business when his 

playing career is finished. Not only is his 

father a coach, but so is an older brother. 

Matt said he plans to major in education 

and get into coaching on the college level 

after he finishes playing. 

Matt Qualls profile 

• Led his team to a 20-8 season and to the 

Class 5A state semifinals 

• Averaged 23.1 this season and 13 

rebounds a game 

• Averaged 31 points a game in the area 

and state tournaments 

• Made Class 5A All-State Tournament 

first team 

• Named to the “Super 5” in the 

Oklahoman 

• Named to the first team All-State by the 

Tulsa World 

• Made CoachesAid.com Tip-Off 

Magazine’s “Super 5” 

• Oklahoma Coaches Association Large 

East All-State 

• Oklahoma Basketball Coaches 

Association District 3 “Player of the Year” 

• Selected to the Oklahoma Faith 7 team 

• McDonald’s All-American Nominee 

• 2,123 career points and 1,291 career 

rebounds 

• Averaged a double-double for his four 

year career 

in a best-of-three game series on April 30 at Sequoyah. 

The Indians sent Jarrett Travis to the mound in the 

series’ first game as he retired 11 Kansas batters in a row 

during one stretch. 

Sequoyah’s offense helped Travis by giving him a fiverun 

lead in the bottom of the first. The Indians’ scoring 

was highlighted by nine hitters coming to bat, a Travis RBI 

single and a couple of Kansas errors. 

The Indians’ bats got hot again in the bottom of the 

fourth, with Nathan Linch and Johnston starting the 

inning reaching on walks. Travis and Ryan Walker 

followed up with hits. A couple more hits and Sequoyah 

had an 11-0, sending 11 hitters to the plate in the process. 

Kirkpatrick closed out the game for the Indians as the 

five-inning run rule victory gave Sequoyah the 1-0 lead in 

the series. 

The second game started similar to the first game as 

Sequoyah grabbed a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Nine 

Indians came to bat, and the inning was fueled by a couple 

of Kansas errors and a two-run single by Caleb Kingfisher. 

Jones got the ball in game two, striking out four in the 

first two innings. He also worked out of a second inning 

jam, which saw runners on second and third with nobody 

out. The Indians added a couple more runs in the second 


Jackson 

from B-1 

in their attempt after blowing up only 

one water bottle and tried to burst a 

second one, but gave up,” Jackson said. 

“It was then that the Guinness officials 

said that because the other person had 

failed that I would set the world record 

regardless of the time it took to blow up 

and burst the three hot water bottles.” 

Jackson owns the world record for 

the fastest time to burst a hot water 

bottle of 51.98 seconds, which he 

coincidently set on April 13, 2006. The 

old record of 52.68 seconds was held by 

a man from Germany. 

When Jackson 

“They 

announced 

the time 

would be 

the new 

world 

record and 

it was a 

1:08.” 

– Brian 

Jackson, 

Guinness 

Book of 

Word Record 

holder 

took the stage in 

Italy, he quickly 

burst the first water 

bottle and started 

blowing up the 

second bottle. It 

burst as quickly 

as the first one 

and the crowd 

encouraged him 

on as he started 

blowing up the 

third bottle. When 

it burst the crowd 

went wild and 

Jackson earned 

his second world 

record for blowing 

up and bursting 

hot water bottles. 

But when the 

Guinness officials 

announced the 

time, it even surprised Jackson. 

“They announced the time would be 

the new world record and it was a 1:08,” 

Jackson said. “I asked them if that was 

for one and they said no, it was for all 

three bottles. I could not believe that I 

did that so fast.” 

Jackson performs motivational 

speaking in the Tahlequah area and 

across the country through his “I 

Believe” self-esteem program. His talent 

of blowing up balloons and hot water 

bottles began in 1992 as a part of his 

motivational speeches. 

“It all started in 1992 when I started 

blowing up balloons for the kids and 

making the balloon animals for them,” 

he said. “I can blow up 10 balloons at a 

time, and that’s when I realized that I 

had a special talent and started to add 

the hot water bottles to the speaking 

engagements.” 

The trip to Italy was a special one 

for Jackson, as he not only met people 

like him in the world-renowned book, 

but also met Hollywood actress Sophia 

Loren, who hosted of the show. 

“That was the highlight of not only 

the trip, but the show as well,” Jackson 

said in meeting her. 

He said he also got to meet the 

world’s tallest and shortest men, along 

with others who have special feats in 

the Guinness Book of World Records. 

Jackson’s feat will appear in the 

2010 edition of the Guinness Book of 

World Records and on Fox Sports’ Top 

50 Random Acts of Awesome on the 

network’s “Best Damn Sports Show 

Period” He has also been contacted by 

“The Late Show with David Letterman” 

and could be heading to New York for 

an appearance. 

“About a week ago, David Letterman’s 

people contacted us, and there is a 

possibility that I may be on his show 

in the future,” Jackson said. “We will be 

on Fox Sports later this week (May 14), 

but we don’t have a firm date or what I 

might do on the Letterman show.” 

www.ibelieveguy.com 

to make it 7-0. 

Jones stifled Kansas over the next three innings, striking 

out the sides in the fourth and fifth. He surrendered two 

runs in the sixth before Travis came in and closed the 

game in the seventh, with Sequoyah wining, 7-2. 

Sequoyah’s Dustin Jones delivers a pitch during a 

regional tournament elimination game May 7 against 

Keys. PHOTO BY MARK DREADFULWATER


Sequoyah running back Casey Arnold jukes a Bethel defender at the 2008 Sequoyah 

Indians team football camp in Tahlequah, Okla. ARCHIVE PHOTO 

Sequoyah High School to 

host summer sports camps 


Sports Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Summer is 

almost here and so are Sequoyah High 

School’s annual sports camps. 

Larry Grigg, Sequoyah’s boys hoops 

coach, said he would host the seventh 

annual summer boys basketball camp 

June 1-4 at the school’s gym, “The Place 

Where They Play.” The camp costs $45, 

and participants will receive a T-shirt, 

basketball and a daily sports drink. 

“Fundamentals are the main thing. We 

try to give them fundamentals they can take 

home and work on to make them a better 

player. We work mostly on skills,” he said. 

Indians football coach Brent Scott 

said he expects more than 300 campers 

from Chandler, Roland, McLoud, Bethel, 

Woodland, Foyil, Hulbert and Muskogee to 

attend Sequoyah’s team football camp June 

1-3 on campus. 

He said so many teams wanted to attend 

the camp that he was forced to use a firstcome, 

first-served basis for acceptance. 

“We’re just trying to learn some 

fundamentals and work on some 

things. We always come out of team 

camp knowing how tough we are. It’s 

a very difficult camp; it’s very physical 

and demanding. It’s a hard camp, but it 

definitely pays dividends,” he said. 

University of Oklahoma quarterback 

coach Josh Heupel and Travis Boswell, 

a current Northeastern State University 

Riverhawk football player and former 


Sports Writer 

SAPULPA, Okla. – The Sequoyah 

Indians golf season ended May 11 at 

the regional tournament at the Charles 

Hamilton Golf Course in Sapulpa. The 

Indians came into the tournament playing 

their best golf of the season, but it wasn’t 

enough to qualify for the Class 3A state 

tournament. 

The regional tournament was a 36-hole, 

two-round qualifier for state. The first 

round’s highlight was Nick Wacoche, a 

freshman who started strong posting a 41 

on the front and back nines to shoot an 82. 

The score put him in contention to qualify 

for the state tournament individually. 

Leighton Mouse fired an opening round 

93 for Sequoyah, shooting a respectable 43 

on the backside to recover from a 50 on the 

front nine. 

Ryan Mouse and Tanner Alley both 

opened the tournament with scores of 104, 

while Clayton Saiz had the highest score for 

the Indians with a 119 in the first round. 

“We got off to a terrible start. I think 

the guys had some nerves early on, but 

settled down,” Indians golf coach Shane 

Richardson said. 

The four best individual scores are tallied 

for a team score. Sequoyah’s first round 

team score of 383 left the Indians virtually 

no chance for state as a team. 

In round two, the focus switched to 

Wacoche and his quest for state, but the 

going got tough. Wacoche hit a stretch of 

bogeys in the middle of the front nine to 

shoot a 49. The freshman battled his way 

back into contention on the back nine. 

However, he posted a 10 on a par 5 near the 

finish to drop out of the running. He shot 

a second round 94 for a total of 176 and 

missed out on state by only a few strokes. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the team came 

back to shoot lower scores in the second 

Sequoyah Indian, are expected to offer 

instruction to campers. 

Shane Roller’s All-Star Wrestling Camp 

makes its fifth appearance at Sequoyah 

June 21-26. Campers can choose from two 

types of instruction: a technique camp for 

$300 and an intensive camp for $400. 

Campers will receive instruction from 

some of the world’s best technicians, 

including Olympic silver medalist Jamil 

Kelley and NCAA champions Coleman 

Scott, Chris Pendleton and Mike Sheets, 

along with Daniel Cormier. 

A tournament will be held June 26 for 

all campers to try new techniques in live 

competition. The camp’s goal is to give 

individual attention to help develop and 

enhance campers’ skills for the upcoming 

wrestling season. 

The summer camp schedule kicked off 

May 26 with a three-day girls basketball 

camp at the “The Place Where They Play” 

hosted by Bill Nobles, Sequoyah’s girls 

basketball coach. 

It was the sixth year for Nobles and 

staff to welcome players to the Sequoyah 

campus. The camp cost $35 and 

participants received a T-shirt, a Nike 

basketball and lots of basketball knowledge. 

“More than anything we just want kids 

to get interested and involved in basketball 

and help them as much as we can along 

that path,” Nobles said. 

He said the younger groups worked on 

fundamentals, while the older campers got 

a little more in depth with strategy. 

wesleymahan@yahoo.com 

Sequoyah golfers fall 

short of state tourney 

round. The biggest improvement was Ryan 

Mouse, who lowered his score by 21 strokes 

for an 83. Leighton Mouse posted an 87; 

Alley broke 100 with a 96; and Saiz fired a 

110 in the second round. 

The team shot a 360 in round two, but it 

was too little too late to qualify for state. 

“The second round score is more like 

what I thought we would shoot. I’m sure 

we’re disappointed, but this was a great 

learning experience and we know what to 

expect in the future,” Richardson said. 

However, Richardson took some comfort 

in knowing that all five team members are 

expected to return next season. 

Indians golfer Leighton Mouse readies 

himself for a putt on May 11 in the 

Class 3A regional tournament at Charles 

Hamilton Golf Course in Sapulpa, Okla. 

The Sequoyah boys team failed to qualify 

as a team for the state tournament and 

had no golfer qualify individually. 

PHOTO BY WESLEY MAHAN 

june 2009 • Cherokee Phoenix B-3 

Sports Shorts 

Cherokees named All-State Indian in basketball 

FAIRFAX, Okla. – Twenty-one Cherokee boys and girls have been 

named to the 14th annual Oklahoma Indian All-State basketball teams. 

The teams will compete in the games, which has been set for June 13 

at Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville. The girls game starts at 

6 p.m. with the boys game following. 

Nineteen additional athletes were name to the second team this year. 

Second team selections do not play in the games, but are recognized in 

the games official program and in the press. 

Since its inception in 1996, the Indian All-State games have played 

host to more than 600 of Oklahoma’s most talented American Indian 

high school seniors. The games provide a way of recognizing these 

Native American student athletes whose exceptional abilities may have 

otherwise gone unnoticed. 

Each year more than 100 nominations are received, with only 24 boys 

and 24 girls chosen. The student athletes chosen this year represent 

many tribes across the state as well as some tribes out of state. The 

players are selected on the basis of their individual basketball, academic 

and extracurricular record. (918) 642-3162 

Girls First Team 

Fritz, Kelby D. 5’7” Vinita Cherokee 

Fuller, Megan 6’0” Claremore-Sequoyah Cherokee 

Luper, Kevi L 5’10” Adair Cherokee, Creek 

Martin, Sarah E. 5’10” Muldrow Cherokee 

Matthews, Ciera 6’0” Talihina Cherokee 

McSpadden, Siera R. 6’0” Chelsea Cherokee 

Shandi, Duncan 5’9” Stilwell Cherokee 

Smith, Kera 5’6” Gore Cherokee 

Snider, Sarah 6’0” Sallisaw Cherokee 

Vickery, Kanetta M 5’11” Cameron Cherokee 

Boys First Team 

Cox, Weston 6’6” Tahlequah Cherokee 

Culwell, Mark Albert 5’10” McCurtain Cherokee 

Foster, Dewayne W. 5’10” Ft. Gibson Cherokee 

Hall, Brook T. 6’1” Pryor Cherokee 

Lewis, Brennan N. 5’10” Stigler Cherokee 

Qualls, Matt 6’7” Tahlequah Cherokee 

Steeley, John H. 5’11” Vian Cherokee 

Wind, Michael 6’0” Sasakwa Cherokee, 

Choctaw, Seminole and Creek 

Second Team 

Cawhorn, Jillian “Taylor” Howe Cherokee 

Green, Rachel Chelsea Cherokee 

Sovo, Alyxandra L. Vian Cherokee 

No Cherokee boys were named to the second team. 

McGrath to train at Olympic Training Center 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. 

– USA Shooting has announced 

that Jon Michael McGrath II of 

Tulsa, Okla. will live and train 

this summer at the United States 

Olympic Training Center in 

Colorado Springs. McGrath is 

a junior at Bishop Kelley High 

School and is considered a top 

Olympic hopeful in the sport of 

shooting for the 2012 Olympic 

Games in London. 

McGrath is the 2008 U.S. 

National Champion for Men’s 

Shotgun in the discipline of 

International Skeet and is a 

member of the USA Shooting 

National Team. He will 

represent the United States at 

the International Shooting Sport 

Federation (ISSF) World Cup in 

Minsk, Belarus June 6-13 and the 

World Shotgun Championships in 

Maribor, Slovenia August 7-16. 

– USA Shooting 

Maryetta archery program 

hits bull’s-eye in 1st year 


Sports Writer 

STILWELL Okla. – When many people 

think of archery, they may think deer 

hunting or Robin Hood. However, Maryetta 

Schools in Stilwell is helping people to see 

it as a competitive sport and even sent its 

archery team on May 8-9 to the National 

Archery Contest in Louisville, Ky. 

At the competition, 

Maryetta’s team consisted 

of 16 shooters with four 

being required to be of 

opposite gender. Each 

shooter then shot 15 

arrows at 10 meters and 

15 arrows at 15 meters, 

with each arrow being worth a maximum 

of 10 points. The top 12 scores were kept, 

including all four opposite gender scores 

and tallied for a team score. Shooters also 

competed for individual accolades as well. 

And though the Maryetta School team 

finished 37th in the national competition, 

individually Danny Phillips scored 287 

points out of a possible 300 to finish second 

in the nation for seventh grade boys. 

Teammate Michelle Holiman was 

also impressive, scoring 264 points and 

finishing 22nd among sixth grade girls. 

In order to qualify for nationals, a team 

had to shoot a score of 2,700 at the state 

championships. Maryetta shot a 2,879, 

which was also good enough for fourth in 

Oklahoma. 

What makes the feats of the team and its 

“It really helps with 

self-confidence.” 

– Dale Girdner, Maryetta 

Schools archery coach 

members even more impressive is that this 

is the archery team’s first year. When school 

started in August, archery was only offered 

as an elective class. 

The program works in conjunction 

with the Oklahoma Wildlife Department, 

which offers a grant to pay half of the cost 

to buy the equipment. Team coaches are 

required to go through training to become 

a National Archery and Students Program 

certified instructor. 

Maryetta coach Dale 

Girdner said he got the 

program off the ground 

in March 2008 by taking 

the course and later 

holding a fitness camp 

and training program for 

the kids. 

“We had a two week fitness camp and 

the kids came in and were allowed to go 

through the course. It takes about 10 days 

to do all the bookwork and safety aspects 

of it, since it is a dangerous sport,” he said. 

Girdner said the program helps the 

students in several ways. 

“It really helps with self-confidence. You 

can only teach them so much, they have to 

do the rest on their own and when they do 

it, it builds confidence,” he said. “It’s also a 

part of our physical education department. 

The kids can go on in life and tryout for the 

Olympics or become hunters. They really 

enjoy it.” 

Girdner said the program has been a 

complete success and that kids and parents 

have been excited and enthusiastic.

B-4 Cherokee Phoenix • june 2009 Ewf #>hAmh • [UMI 2009 

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todayshillcrest.com • 1120 South Utica Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma


ᎠᏫ ᎤᏂᏴᏍᏗ, ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎻ.--- ᎠᏂᎨᏯ ᏧᏓᎴᏅᏓ 

ᎢᏧᎾᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎾᏝᎬ ᏚᎾᏕᎶᏆᎥ ᎠᎭᏂ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎾᏓᎴᏅ 

ᎠᏰᏟ ᎤᎪᏛ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏗᏰᎦᏟ ᏗᎪᏢᏗᎢ. 

Barbara Buckner ᎠᎴ ᎤᏪᏥ ᎠᎨᏯ Randi 

Killer, ᎢᏧᎳ ᏓᎵᏆ ᎠᏁᎯ, ᏚᏁᏲᏅ ᏧᏁᎳ ᎢᏯᏂ 

ᎠᏂᎨᏯ ᎣᏌᏂᏴ ᏗᎦᏰᏫᏍᏗ ᏗᎾᏬ ᏰᎦᏟ ᎪᏢᏗ ᎠᎴ 

ᏚᏂᏍᏕᎸᎲ ᎢᎦᏓ ᎤᎾᎴᏅᏗ ᎯᎠ ᏰᎦᏟ ᏳᏂᏰᏫᏌ 

ᎯᎠ ᎤᏔᎾ ᎠᏓ ᎪᏢᏔᏅ ᎦᏐᎪᎸ ᎢᎬᏃᏙᏗ ᏰᎦᏟ 

ᎦᏰᏫᏍᏗᎢ. 

Buckner ᎠᎴ Killer ᎪᎯᏓ ᏚᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎸ 

ᎠᎾᏨᏏᏰᏍᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏍᏗ 

ᏗᎦᎳᏫᏍᏗ ᏣᏓᏁᎳ ᎾᎿ 

ᏓᏂᏍᏕᎵᏍᎬ ᎯᎠ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ. 

“ᏝᏃ ᏗᎦᏕᏲᎯᏍᎦ ᏱᎩ. 

ᎠᏆᏅᏔᏊᏍᎩᏂ ᎢᎬᏗ 

ᎦᏰᏫᏒᏗᎢ. ᎠᏎᏍᎩᏂ ᏰᎦᏟ 

ᏕᎪᏢᏍᎪ ᏂᎪᎯᎸᎢ,” ᎤᏛᏅ 

Buckner. 

Buckner ᏚᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎸ 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎾᏁᏍᎨᏍᎩ 

ᎤᎾᏓᏅᏖᏟᏓᏍᏗ ᎤᏙᏢᏒ 

ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎠᎴ ᏂᎦᏚ ᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ 

ᏃᏊ ᏙᎢ ᏄᏛᏁᎸ. ᎤᏛᏅᏃ ᎢᎦ ᎤᏠᏅᏓᏕᎲ 

ᏧᏕᏲᏗ ᎯᎠ ᏰᎦᏟ ᏗᎪᏢᏗ Ꮎ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎾᏓᎴᏅ ᎠᏰᏟ 

ᎬᏩᏟᏍᏓᏁᎵ ᏧᏕᏲᏗ ᎤᎬᏩᏟ. 

ᎤᏪᏅᏒ “ᎢᎸᏍᎩ ᎢᏳᏓᎴ ᎾᏛᏁᎰ ᏍᏗᎦᎭ,” 

ᏕᎬᏍᎪ ᎾᏍᏊ, ᎠᏓᏍᏓᏴᎲᏍᎪ, ᏙᎦᏚᎲᏍᎪ, ᎠᎴ 

ᎦᏰᏫᏒᏍᎪ ᎠᎴ ᏗᏰᎦᏟ ᏕᎪᏢᏍᎪᎢ. ᎠᏁᎸᏗᏍᎬ, 

ᎤᏛᏅ ᎠᏓᏅᏖ ᏦᎳ ᏧᏛᎯᏍᏓᏁᏗ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎪᎯ 

ᎪᎩ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎯᎠ ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲᎢ. 

“ᎯᎠ ᎠᎨᏯ ᎪᎯᎩ ᏄᎵᏍᏔᏅᏅ ᎠᎦᏔᎯ,” ᏣᎳᎩ 

ᏧᎾᏓᎴᏅ ᎠᏰᏟ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏗᏓᏘᏂᏙᎯ Tonia 

Weavel ᎤᏛᏅ, ᎾᏍᎩᎾ ᎤᏯᏅᏓ ᎨᏒ Buckner 

ᏧᏕᏲᏗ ᎯᎠ ᏗᏰᎦᏟ ᏧᏃᏢᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᏲᏗᎢ. 

Buckner ᎤᏛᏅ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎤᏰᎸᏐ ᏰᎦᏟ ᏕᎪᏢᏍᎬ 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏕᎨᏲᎲᏍᎪ “ᎠᏂᎨᏳᏣ.” 

“ᎤᎪᏙ ᎤᏬᏢᏛ ᎨᏐ ᏳᏂᎪᏓ ᎠᏂᎨᏳᏣ 

ᏯᏁᎳᏗᏙᎭ,” ᎤᏛᏅ. “ᎠᏯ ᏭᎪᏛ ᎤᏬᎸᏗ ᎨᏙᎭ 

ᎯᎠ ᏕᎦᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬᎢ.” 

ᏌᏊᏃ ᏗᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ Dr. Laurie McLemore 

ᎾᏍᎩ Nowata ᎡᎯ, Ꮭ ᎢᎴᎯᏳ ᎤᏁᎳᏛᏅ ᏱᎨᏎ 

ᏰᎦᏟ ᎤᏬᏢᏗᎢ ᎩᎳ ᎠᎭᏂ ᏧᏴᏟᏝ ᏙᎬ ᎤᏩᏌ 

ᎤᏓᏕᏲᏅ ᎤᏩᏰᏫᏒᏗ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ 

ᏦᎢ ᎾᏕᏘᏯ ᏥᎨᏒᎢ. ᎠᏗᏍᎬ 

ᏚᏩᏰᏫᏒ ᏗᎬᎭᎸᏓ ᏗᎾᏬ ᏝᏍᎩᏂ 

ᏰᎦᏟ ᏱᎨᏎ ᎠᏈᏍᏙᏍᎩᏂ 

ᎫᏝᏙᏗ ᎨᏎᎢ. ᎤᏛᏅ ᏚᏭᎪᏛ 

ᏗᏰᎦᏟ ᏧᏬᏢᏗᎢ ᏌᏊ ᎢᎦ. 

“ᏝᏃ ᏙᎯᏳ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏱᎾᏍᏓᏱ 

ᎾᏃ ᎦᏓᏅᏖᏍᎬᎢ, ᎠᎴ 

ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏔᏅ ᏗᏉᏰᏂ ᎬᏗ 

ᏗᏉᏢᏗᎢ ᎡᎵᏊ ᎠᏓᏴᎵᏛᏍᎩ 

ᎬᏆᎬᏙᏍᏙᏗ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬ. “ᎾᏍᎩ 

ᎯᎠ ᏧᎬᏩᎶᏗ ᏥᏄᏍᏗᏓ, 

ᎤᎪᏗ ᎠᏂᏴᏫ ᎠᎾᏕᎶᏆᎢ, ᎤᏂᏫᏒᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏅᏙᏗ 

ᎬᏔᏅᎢ.” 

ᎤᏛᏅ Ꮎ ᎦᏰᏫᏒᏍᎬ ᎠᏅᏓᏗᏍᎬ ᏴᎩ 

ᎦᏏᏁᎾᏛᏁᎲ ᎤᎵᏏ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏍᏕᎵᏍᎬ ᎦᏰᏫᏒᏅᎢ. 

“ᏰᎦᏟ ᏯᎩᏰᏫᏌ, Ꮟ ᎣᎩᎾᎵᎠᏐ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬ 

McLemore. 

Cari Santee ᎾᏍᎩ Skiatook ᎡᎯ ᎢᎸᏍᎩ 

ᎢᏳᏓᎴ ᎠᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏓᎾᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬ ᏧᏕᎶᏆᎥᎢ Ꮎ ᏣᎳᎩ 

ᏧᎾᏓᎴᏅ ᎠᏰᏟ. ᎤᎪᏛ ᎤᎸᏉᏛ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎯᎠ ᎦᏓᏆᎵ 

ᏗᎪᏢᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏔᎷᏣ. 


CHC hosts quilt-making class 


Staff Writer 

PARK HILL, Okla. – Women of all ages 

recently attended a class at the Cherokee 

Heritage Center to learn more about the art 

of quilting. 

Barbara Buckner and her daughter Randi 

Killer, both of Tahlequah, taught eight 

women the finer points of sewing cloth 

pieces together to make a quilt and helped 

some of them get started with sewing using 

a wooden hoop. 

Buckner and Killer stayed busy for hours 

moving back and forth across the small chapel 

on the CHC grounds helping their students. 

“I’m not a teacher. I just know how to sew. 

But I’ve been quilting forever,” Buckner said. 

Buckner worked for the Housing 

Authority of the Cherokee Nation and the 

Cherokee Nation for 14 years before retiring. 

She said she had plenty of time to teach the 

quilting class when CHC officials called 

asking her to teach. 

She said at home she does “a little bit 

of everything,” including crochet work, 

cooking, baking, as well as sewing and 

quilting. As part of an experiment, she said 

she even plans to take up tobacco growing 

for the CN this summer as part of a heritage 

plant program. 

“She’s an old school Cherokee woman,” 

CHC Education Director Tonia Weavel said, 

who asked Buckner to teach the quilting class. 

Buckner said she enjoys quilting because 

she gets to work with “the girls.” 

“Of course it’s a lot more fun when you 

got a bunch of girls working with you and 

we can carry on,” she said. “I have more fun 

than anyone else.” 

One of Buckner’s students, Dr. Laurie 

McLemore of Nowata, said she had not 

quilted anything before taking the class but 

that she taught herself how to sew 23 years 

ago. She said she pieced and sewed together 

quilt pieces during the class not for a quilt 

but for a pillow cover. She added that she 

plans to tackle making a quilt someday. 

“It’s not as hard making this as I thought 

it would be, and I like doing it by hand 

because you can sit and watch TV,” she 

said. “With the economy the way it is, more 

people are learning how to sew, plant a 

Quilting teacher Barbara Buckner, sitting, teaches students how to sew together quilt pieces using a wooden hoop during a recent 

quilting class at the Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, Okla. The students, from left, are Kathy Barham, Willa Redding, Kay Ferguson 

and Tonia Weavel. PHOTOS BY WILL CHAVEZ 

garden and reuse things.” 

She said sewing takes her back to a 

time when she threaded needles for her 

grandmother and helped her sew. 

“When I quilt, I’m still with her,” 

McLemore said. 

Cari Santee of Skiatook has taken 

numerous cultural classes at the CHC. She 

said her favorite classes so far have been 

Cherokee pottery and basket making. 

During the quilting class she sewed a 

piece that may be used as a decoration piece 

for a wall or a place mat. She said she hopes 

to work on a more difficult quilt design that 

has individual Indian girls with yarn braids 

in each quilt block. 

She said gaining more knowledge of 

Cherokee culture has helped her with her 

job as an Indian Child Welfare caseworker 

when she is required to give “expert 

testimony” in child custody cases where 

“ᏝᏃ ᏗᎦᏕᏲᎯᏍᎦ ᏱᎩ. 

ᎠᏆᏅᏔᏊᏍᎩᏂ ᎢᎬᏗ 

ᎦᏰᏫᏒᏗᎢ. ᎠᏎᏍᎩᏂ 

ᏰᎦᏟ ᏕᎪᏢᏍᎪ 

ᏂᎪᎯᎸᎢ.” – Barbara Buckner. 

non-Indian families attempt to take custody 

of Indian children. 

“I would love to be able to do cultural 

camps for kids that are in (ICW) custody,” 

she said. 

One of the younger students in the 

quilting class, 21-year old Ashley Santee, said 

she always wanted to learn how to make a 

quilt and things for herself. 

“I wanted to know the basics and how to 

get started doing all this. I love being able to 

do stuff on my own. There’s not many girls 

my age that want to learn how to quilt,” she 

said. 

McLemore said she is glad the Cherokee 

culture classes are available every year 

because some youth are getting involved. 

“We will lose our arts if we don’t have 

something like this. I’m glad to see our 

young people here so we can keep this 

going,” she said. 

A quilter sews decoration onto quilt pieces 

during a quilting class recently held at the 

Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, Okla. 

CHC information: (918) 456-6007, 

www.cherokeeheritage.org, education@ 

cherokeeheritage.org. 

ᎾᏃ ᏗᏰᎦᏟ ᏓᏃᏢᏍᎬ ᎤᏬᏢᏅ ᎪᏛᏍᏙᏗ. ᎤᏛᏅ 

ᎤᏚᎩ ᎤᏩᎯ ᎤᎪᏛ ᏍᏓᏯ ᏗᎪᏢᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ 

ᎠᏂᎨᏳᏣ ᏧᏂᏍᏨᏯ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎯᎠ ᏅᎩ ᏧᏅᏏᏯ 

ᏗᏰᎦᏟ ᏗᎪᏢᏙᏗ. 

ᎤᎪᏛ ᎠᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꭰ.ᏣᎳᎩ ᏄᎾᏛᏁᎵᏙᎸ 

ᎤᏍᏕᎵ ᎯᎠ ᏚᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎲ ᎯᎠ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ ᏗᏂᏲᏟ 

welfare ᏗᏍᏕᎸᎯᏙ ᎾᏍᎩ “ᎤᏅᏫᏍᏗᏍᎩ 

ᎤᏓᏁᏗ ᎧᏃᎮᏓ” ᎯᎠ ᏚᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎲ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮭ 

ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ ᏗᏂᏲᏟ ᎠᎾᏁᎸᏗᏍᎪ ᏧᏂᏯᏅᏗ ᎯᎠ 

ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ ᏗᏂᏲᏟ. 

“ᏯᏆᏚᎵ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎯᎠ ᏂᏧᎵᏍᏔᏅᏍᏔᏅ camps 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏂᏲᏟ (ICW) ᎤᏓᏅᏖᏗ,” ᎤᏛᏅᎢ. 

ᏌᏊ ᎠᏓᎨᎯᎨᏍᏗ ᏗᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏰᎦᏟ 

ᏓᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬ, ᏔᎵᏍᎪ ᏌᏊ ᎢᏳᏕᏘᏴᏓ Ashley 

Santee, ᎤᏛᏅ ᏂᎪᎯᎸ ᎤᏚᎵᏍᎬ ᎤᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ 

ᏗᏰᎦᏟ ᏧᏬᏢᏗ ᎤᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏧᏓᎴᏅᏓ ᎤᏩᏌ 

ᎤᏙᏗ. 

“ᎠᏆᏚᎵ ᎠᏆᏅᏓ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᎠᎴᏅᏗ ᎠᎴ 

ᎠᎴᏅᎯᏓᏍᏗᎢ. ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏓ ᎠᏋᏌ ᎠᏉᏝᏅᏗᎢ. ᏝᏃ 

ᎤᏟ ᏯᏂ ᎠᏂᎨᏳᏣ ᎾᏍᎩᏊ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᎾ ᏳᎾᏚᎵᏍᎪ 

ᏰᎦᏟ ᏧᏃᏢᏗ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ, ᎤᏛᏅᎢ. 

McLemore ᎤᏛᏅ ᎠᎵᎮᎵᎪ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏣᎳᎩ 

ᏄᎾᏛᏁᎵᏙᎸ ᎠᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬ ᎠᎴ ᏓᎾᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬ 

ᏂᏓᏕᏘᏴᎯᏒ ᎢᎦᏓᏃ ᎩᎳ ᏗᎾᏛᏍᎩ ᎠᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎪ. 

“ᏱᎩᏲᎱᏌ ᎯᎢᎾ ᎢᎩᎲ ᎢᎦᏛᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏂᎦᏛᏁᎸ 

Ꮟ ᎢᎦᏅᏛᎢ. ᎦᎵᎡᎵᎪᎢ ᎦᏥᎪᏩᏗᏍᎬ ᎯᎠ ᎩᎳ 

ᏗᎾᏛᏍᎩ ᎠᏁᎳᏗᏙᎲ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎣᏣᎢᏐᎢ,” 

ᎤᏛᏅᎢ. 

ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎾᏓᎴᏅ ᎠᏰᏟ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎩ: (918) 456- 

6007, www.cherokeeheritage.org, education@ 

cherokeeheritage.org.


CHC announces Trail of 

Tears Art Show winners 

PARK HILL, Okla. – The Cherokee 

Heritage Center recently announced the 

winner of its 38th annual Trail of Tears Art 

Show. 

Artists from across the country 

competed in various categories for cash 

awards during the competition. Bank of 

Oklahoma and Thalden-Boyd Architects 

made the prize money possible. Cherokee 

Nation and Cherokee Nation Enterprises 

provided additional funding. 

First, second and third prizes were 

awarded in seven categories, as well as a 

grand award and numerous honorable 

mentions. This year’s grand prize winner 

is Gary Allen for his sculpture entry titled 

“The Cherokee Birdman.” 

The Trail of Tears Art Show began 

in 1972 as a means of fostering the 

development of painting as a form of 

expressing the Native American heritage in 

the CN. 

The show and sale will be displayed at 

the Cherokee National Museum, located on 

the CHC grounds, through May 17. View 

the online gallery found on the center’s 

Web site at www.cherokeeheritage.org. 

The 2009 Trail of Tears Art 

Show & Sale winners in seven 

categories are: 

Painting 

1st- Sharon Irla – “Mississippian ink” 

2nd- Merlin Little Thunder – “The Petition” 

3rd- Sean Ross – “Grandpa Loves Merle 

Haggard” 

Honorable Mention 

Gebon Barnoski – “Cheyenne Buffalo 

Warrior” 

Lori Reed – “A Good Practice” 

America Meredith – “Bringing Harmony to 

the World” 

Gary Allen – “Crucifixion of the Cherokee 

Birdman” 

Gwen Coleman Lester – “Golden Harvest” 

Bobby Martin – “Aunt Inez” 

Graphics 

1st- Gwen Coleman Lester – “Serving 

Banaha No. 2” 

2nd- Dublin Pearson – “Passage & Pride” 

3rd- Chris Pappan – “21st Century Ledger 

Painting” 


Robert Lewis – “Smoke Chases Rabbit” 

Pottery 

1st- Joel Queen – “Dancing Swallows” 

2nd- Stephen Wood – “Grandmother’s 

The grand prize winner of the 38th annual 

Trail of Tears Art Show is a sculpture by 

Gary Allen titled “The Cherokee Birdman.” 

Hummingbirds” 

3rd- Ron Tanyon – “Classic” 


Gina Burnett – “Birth” 

Basket 

1st- Bessie Russell – “Living Legacy” 

2nd- Burl Ford – “Chief’s Daughter Design” 

3rd- Teresa Million – “Basket” 


Dana Sanders Talbert – “Dart Quiver” 

Sculpture 

1st- Roger Cain – “Rhetorical” 

2nd- PJ Gilliam Stewart – “Kissing Birds” 

3rd- Eddie Morrison – “Sequoyah 

Contemplating” 

Miniature 

1st- Merlin Little Thunder – “Hunters 

Camp” 

2nd- Gwen Coleman Lester – “The Secret 

Path of Wild Onions” 

3rd- Mark Wolf – “Regalia” 


Dino Kingfisher – “Fisherman” 

Trail of Tears 

1st- Dorothy Sullivan – “My Heart is on 

this Ground” 

2nd- Ron Mitchell – “Even Mother Earth 

Cried” 

3rd- Clesta Martin Manley – “Cheer on the 

Trail” 

Culture Briefs 

Miss Cherokee contestants sought 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Each 

year during the Cherokee National 

Holiday, a new Miss Cherokee 

is crowned to reign over the 

holiday festivities and represent 

the Cherokee Nation as a goodwill 

ambassador throughout the year 

to come. 

To be eligible to compete for the 

Miss Cherokee title, contestants 

must be a CN citizen between the 

ages of 17 and 22 before Aug. 29, 

and be at least one-quarter Cherokee. 

Other eligibility requirements 

must be met. Application packets 

must include all required documents 

and must be postmarked 

no later than July 17, 2009. 

The Miss Cherokee Leadership 

participants will be judged in several 

categories, including an interview, 

platform presentation, social 

skills, tribal knowledge and usage 

of the Cherokee language. 

According to Nancy Scott, Miss 

Cherokee Competition Leadership 

coordinator, several scholarships 

are will be awarded as part of the 

competition, including a $3,000 

scholarship to the winner, and 

$2,000 and $1,000 scholarships 

provided to the first and second 

runners-up respectively. (918) 

453-5259. nscott@cherokee.org 

CHC to offer flat reed basketry class 

PARK HILL, Okla. – Explore 

the art of creating a Cherokee flat 

reed basket from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

June 13 at the Cherokee Heritage 

Center. 

Basket maker and Cherokee 

citizen Betty Frogg will instruct the 

class. She has been perfecting the 

skill of flat reed basketry and will 

offer a historical perspective about 

designs and how to bring these 

cultural treasures into the present 

through the use of readily available, 

CHC to host Cherokee Games 

PARK HILL, Okla. – The Cherokee 

Games represent an ancient 

tradition played by the Cherokees 

for hundreds of years. Join us at 

10 a.m. June 6 at the Cherokee 

Heritage Center for a day filled 

with activities such as a cornstalk 

and blowgun shoots. 

Cash prizes will be awarded to 

the winners in each competition. 

First place is awarded $100, second 

place receives $50 and third 

place gets $25. 

The cornstalk shoot dates back 

to a time when Cherokee hunters 

maintained their shooting accuracy 

with bows and arrows. To 

keep the tips of the arrows from 

breaking, participants would shoot 

at a large bank of dried cornstalks. 

– CN Communications 

non-toxic materials and a variety 

of techniques while learning the 

gathering, dyeing and basketry 

construction processes. Each participant 

will complete a basket. 

Pre- registration is recommended 

due to limited seating. 

The $40 fee includes tuition and 

materials. (918) 456-6007. education@cherokeeheritage.org. 

www. 

cherokeeheritage.org. 


Today the game is played in much 

the same way. 

Blowguns are made from river 

cane, which is similar to bamboo. 

Darts for this six to eight-foot long 

gun are typically made of Bois 

d’arc wood and thistle down. Traditionally, 

the blowgun was used 

for hunting small game. 

There is no charge to compete 

in the games and you are not required 

to be Cherokee. You will, 

however, need to bring your own 

equipment in order to participate 

in each of the games. 

(918) 456-6007, ext. 241 or 

1-888-999-6007. education@cherokeeheritage.org. 

– CN Communications



Cherokee Connections helps kids and caregivers 

The three-part program 

helps prepare children for 

school and develop social 

skills. 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Parents, grandparents 

and other child care providers looking 

for help with children’s activities, the Cherokee 

language and school-preparedness have 

a Cherokee Nation program available to 

them called Cherokee Connections. 

Cherokee Connections is a three-part program 

that offers Cherokee language incentives, 

home visits and weekly Play and Learn 

groups to promote early childhood learning. 

“We try to stimulate that early learning 

with good quality activities and try to make 

parents and providers aware of the activities 

they can do with their child to put their 

best foot forward when they start in school,” 

Phyllis Yargee, Child Care Resource Center 

manager, said. “Then they will have a step up 

above other children who have not received 

this quality of care.” 

The language incentives addresses 

language revitalization and communitybuilding 

by supporting child care givers who 

instruct children in the Cherokee language 

with financial incentives. 

The incentives are on two levels, with the 

regular-level speaker working with children 

in the home seven to 10 hours a week for 

a $50 per month incentive. The enhanced 

level offers a $100 incentive if the child care 

provider speaks 90 percent of the time while 

with the children. 

Speakers in the program must complete a 

monthly log of activities and sign a one-year 

participation agreement. Speakers must also 

meet fluency levels established by the CN 

Cultural Resource Center. 

Cherokee Connections also includes Play 

and Learn Groups to provide social activities 

for the caregiver and the children, help 

with school readiness, help with the Cherokee 

language and give caregivers the opportunity 

to mentor and volunteer at the community 

level, said Arlene Greenawalt, CCRC 

program coordinator. 

“We offer centers in different areas such 

as blocks, art, music, reading, dramatic play, 

and we do circle time. We do provide materials 

that center around Cherokee culture, 

and we give them resource information 

around health and safety in the home,” 

Greenawalt said. 

The play groups are free for any children 

ages birth to 5 years old, but must attend with 

a caregiver, parent or relative, Yargee said. 

“Even if the attendees aren’t Cherokee 

they’re getting exposed to the Cherokee 

language,” she said. “We pick out about five 

words a month to focus on.” 

The Play and Learn groups are available in 

Tahlequah, Stilwell, Locust Grove and Sallisaw. 

As for the home visit program, it’s available 

to registered relatives who provide child 

care and have a contract with the CCRC. 

The yearly program consists of a monthly 

visit with trained early childhood educators 

to assist the provider with preparing the children 

for school, improving health and safety 

and the other goals of the Play and Learn 

group and language incentive program. 

Community helps Bell School 

meet state standards 


Staff Writer 

BELL COMMUNITY, Okla. – In years 

past, the school located in this small 

Adair County community had issues 

with academic performance, graduation 

rates and attendance. But thanks to better 

community involvement, it looks like those 

problems have been solved. 

In the 2003-04 school year, the 

kindergarten to eighth grade school 

tested below Oklahoma benchmarks in 

all three categories. Bell Superintendent 

Nancy Oosahwe said poor attendance and 

curriculum was the contributing factors in 

state test scores. 

“I thought I was giving 

the students what they 

needed by teaching the 

text books, but we weren’t 

preparing them for what 

they needed in the state 

testing,” she said. 

She said the state gave 

the school, which has a 

97 percent Native American enrollment, a 

score of “in need of improvement” and that 

the state sent the school an “improvement 

team.” The team visited with school staff 

members and determined what needed 

to be done to bring the school up to state 

standards. But Oosahwe said the real 

reason for the school improving so greatly 

was due to the involvement of Bell citizens 

and teachers. 

“Our parent-teacher conferences went 

from five parents to about 25 parents, 

and when you consider that we have 102 

children, and many of them are siblings, 

we have more than 50 percent of our 

parents showing up for parent-teacher 

conferences,” she said. “The parents coming 

in and getting more involved is a definite 

reason for the scores going up.” 

The school also changed its appearance 

to make it more welcoming. Oosahwe said 

it is now common to see Bell residents 

visiting the school or having coffee because 

they feel a part of it. 

She said parents have taken an 

ownership in the school’s production and 

feel more in tune with the teachers. 

“…we weren’t 

preparing them for 

what they needed in 

the state testing.” 

– Nancy Oosahwe, Bell 

School superintendent 

Nina Washington, right, helps a child on May 11 at the Tahlequah Cherokee Connections Play and Learn Group. Washington teaches 

children Cherokee words for the various centers within the group. PHOTO BY CHRISTINA GOOD VOICE 

“I think a lot of the parents may have felt 

intimidated by the teachers. It’s easy to feel 

that way when you think someone is more 

educated or richer,” Oosahwe said. 

She added that teachers have made 

a great effort to make the parents feel 

they are needed. Many of the attendance 

problems occurred because the school was 

isolated, Oosahwe said. 

“We have direct communication between 

the teachers and the parents, but for years 

no one in Bell had a phone so that made 

it difficult. But I believe the parents feel 

like they can come in a be heard when 

they come in with a complaint or a 

complement,” she said. 

Other Bell citizens 

besides parents of 

students have also reached 

out to help. Cherokee 

Nation citizen Patsy 

Morton belongs to the 

American Association 

of the University of 

Women. Some women 

in the AAUW Tahlequah 

branch have visited the school in the past 

and presented programs about manners, 

mentoring and personal conduct. 

“I went to school here and I grew up in 

this community,” Morton said. “When I 

was here the school was very populated. 

There were lots of families that lived here. 

The teachers and the people who were 

here formed my being. I can see the need 

for kids to have the background and the 

push from older people who understood 

the community to come back and give 

back to them.” 

With state recommendations and better 

community involvement, the school met 

the state’s benchmarks for the 2007-08 

school year. Oosahwe said it has taken the 

school nearly six years to achieve that level 

and that the school is no longer on the “in 

need for improvement” list. 

“We felt like we were overlooked, but 

now when we go to OKC and say we are 

from Bell people pat us on the shoulder 

and shake our hands because they know 

Bell and they know Bell achieved those 

scores last year that got us off that state list,” 

she said. 

Marilyn Ballard, CCRC Early Childhood 

educator, said she works with grandparents 

and great-grandparents who offer child care 

to their grandchildren. 

“I provide early childhood activities to 

their home and they choose their learning 

plan on their first visit,” Ballard said. “Then 

I provide activities that coincide with the 

learning plan they’ve chosen.” 

The home visit program mainly serves 

families in rural areas who don’t have access 

to daycares or head starts. 

“It’s a school-readiness program,” Ballard 

said. “They are so appreciative of the activities 

we bring into their home. It is a wonderful 

program for school readiness.” 

Yargee said overall Cherokee Connections 

isn’t about just the children, but also for parents 

or whoever provides child care. 

“Our goal is we want providers or parents 

to become familiar with quality child care 

activities or quality educational activities,” 

Yargee said. “Because our knowledge is 

that children learn from birth until before 

they go to school, not just when they get to 

school.” 

Gail Blevins, Cherokee citizen and a 

grandmother who’s been a provider with the 

CN for nine years, has utilized the resources 

offered by Cherokee Connections. 

“They have a lot of educational programs 

they offer,” Blevins said. “Every training that 

I’ve been to they always provide excellent 

materials for us.” 

Blevins cared for a granddaughter 

through the program, and now she cares for 

a 15-month-old grandson. 

“They enjoy the interaction with the other 

children and they provide activities I sometimes 

don’t have at home,” she said. “When 

children tire of activities they have at home 

and when they go somewhere else it’s like 

something new. So they enjoy it. It’s really 

been beneficial to me and my grandchildren.” 

(918) 453-5300 or 1-888-458-6230. phyllisyargee@cherokee.org. 

www.cherokeekids.net.


Sequoyah talent show boosts confidence 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – In an effort to 

boost self-confidence, Sequoyah Schools 

held its first talent show May 7 with 

contestants coming from the school’s 

immersion program, seventh and eighth 

grades and high school. 

The evening included skits, bands, 

impersonators, singing and a Rubik’s cube 

solver among other talents. 

Twenty-one entries performed, which 

was a good number for the school’s first 

talent show, Amanda Ray, Sequoyah Schools 

performing arts instructor, said. She said 

performing also helped students with selfconfidence 

and responsibility. 

“I think the students being on stage gives 

them so much confidence, so much more 

confidence than they may have had before,” 

she said. “For one, they learn a lot more 

responsibility. They have to rehearse it, and 

I don’t make them rehearse. So I think just 

right there it builds a lot of self-esteem, selfconfidence 

and responsibility.” 

Sequoyah faculty members judged the 

show and awarded the top three acts. 

Winners were presented trophies that state 

“I’ve got talent.” 

First place went to Jessica Velasquez and 

Jordan Wapaha who portrayed the “Grease” 

musical characters Danny and Sandy as they 

sang “Summer Lovin’.” Second place went 

to David Lewis for a guitar solo, and third 

place went to Breanna Olaya for singing. 

“I’m just so proud of these students,” Ray 

said. “I came into this not knowing any of 

them and the things they have accomplished 

so far are just outstanding.” 

Senior Kourtney Vann performed in two 

acts, impersonating Cher in one while singing 

Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe” and 

singing as one of the Supremes in the other. 

“I decided to enter this talent show 

because I have just grown to love being on 

stage and entertaining people,” she said. “This 

will help me in the future because I will be 

more comfortable talking into large crowds.” 

Vann said she used to be shy, but that 

drama, acting and singing helped her 

overcome that. 

Wapaha also said she liked being on stage 

because it was a confidence booster. 

“I liked being the one that goes out there 

that is not shy, only I’m kind of shy,” she 

said. “This will teach you confidence even if 

you’re not that good of a singer, if you have 

confidence you can go far.” 

Sequoyah Principal Cory Bunch said he 

was proud of the students who performed. 

“We feel that art gives our students 

another form of expression. It brings out 

their creativeness so that helps in their 

academic skills,” he said. “We really believe 

that art goes hand in hand with what we 

offer here at Sequoyah and we are very, very 

proud of them.” 

ᏓᎵᏆ, ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎻ--- ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏍᏕᎸᏗ 

ᎤᏅᏌ-ᎤᎾᏓᏙᎯᏳᏒ, ᏏᏉᏲ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ 

ᎢᎬᏱ ᎤᏂᏍᏆᎸᎡᎸ ᎠᎾᏍᎬᏘ 

ᎦᎵᏉᎩᏁ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏁᎳᏗᏙ ᏂᏓᏳᎾᏂᎩᏓ 

ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏣᎳᎩᎭ ᎠᏂᏬᏂᏍᎬ 

ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ, ᎦᎵᏉᎩᏁ , ᏧᏁᎵᏁ 

ᏗᏂᏂᏙᎯ ᎠᎴ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ. 

ᏒᎯᏱᏯ ᏄᎾᏛᏁᎸ skits, 

ᏗᏂᏃᎩᏍᏗᏍᎩ, ᎠᎾᏓᏱᎵᏍᎩ, ᏗᏂᏃᎩᏍᎩ 

ᎠᎴ Rubik’s ᏅᎩ ᏧᏅᏏᏯ ᎠᏃᎷᏩᏗᏍᎩ 

ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂᏐᎢ. 

ᏔᎵᏍᎪ ᏌᏊ ᏚᏃᏪᎳᏅ ᎾᏍᎩ 

ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏗᎢ, ᎣᏏᏃ ᎢᎦ ᏄᏂᏨᎢ 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎢᎬᏱ ᎾᏍᎩ 

ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ,Amanda Ray, 

ᏏᏉᏲ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏗ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᎥ 

ᏗᎨᏲᏂᏙᎯ, ᎤᏛᏅᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩ ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ 

ᎠᎾᎵᏍᏕᎸᏙᏗᏍᎪ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏅᏌ 

Tammy Gass and Johnny Manley tell students about the different methods of Civil War 

medicine during Wells Middle School’s Civil War Field Day on May 8 in Catoosa, Okla. 

PHOTO BY JAMI CUSTER 

Students learn interactively 

at Civil War Field Day 


Staff Writer 

CATOOSA, Okla. – Wells Middle School 

dedicated May 8 to interactively learning 

about the Civil War and the effects it had in 

Indian Territory thanks to a grant provided 

by the Cherokee Nation Learn and Serve 

program. 

“We want the kids to have an interactive 

experience to learn about the Civil War, 

so we try to bring in the cultural parts of 

the Civil War,” Glenda Deathridge, Wells 

Middle School teacher, said. “It’s just a 

really fun day for them to get out and 

actually hand-on see what it’s all about.” 

This is the third year for the school to 

hold a Civil War Field Day, which is the 

school’s main Learn and Serve project 

during the school year. 

“We have a lot of service learning 

activities, which is academic and service 

learning going on all throughout the 

school, and we use this one to reflect 

on what we have learned this year and 

celebrate that,” Deathridge said. 

Wells eighth grader Wyatt Peterson said 

his favorite was learning about the cannons 

and artillery used during the Civil War. 

When asked what he most liked about it he 

said “the guns.” 

Left photo: First-place winners, Jordan Wapaha and Jessica Velasquez, perform “Summer Lovin” as the characters Danny and Sandy 

from the musical “Grease.” Right photo: Kourtney Vann and Jordan Wapaha perform the Sonny and Cher classic “I Got You Babe” at the 

Sequoyah School May 7 talent show in Tahlequah, Okla. PHOTOS BY JAMI CUSTER 

“When they shoot off the cannon it 

makes a big, loud boom,” Peterson said. 

Several tents were set up on school 

grounds for students to walk through 

and listen to actors talk of Cherokee Gen. 

Stand Watie, Civil War doctors and nurses, 

weapons used in the war and the types of 

uniforms. 

Students said they enjoy the Learn and 

Serve project because it allows them to 

have fun while learning. 

“You get to do projects to help the 

community and have fun doing it and you 

get to learn Cherokee,” said Wells student 

Shawna Vann. 

The tribe’s Learn and Serve program helps 

strengthen communities through increased 

exposure to Cherokee cultural virtues. 

School-based service-learning projects are 

held via subgrants given by the CN to grades 

kindergarten through 12 in Oklahoma 

public schools located within the CN. 

Projects involve young people working 

with community members and practicing 

ga du gi, which in the Cherokee language 

means working together for the good of all. 

The Learn and Serve program is 

federally funded through a grant seeking to 

promote youth as resources in schools and 

communities through service learning. 

ᎤᎾᏓᏙᎯᎿᏒ ᎠᎴ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏗᎢ. 

“ᎨᎵᎠ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎠᎨᏯᏗᏟ 

ᎠᎾᎴᏅᏍᎬ ᎤᎪᏙ ᎤᏂᏍᏕᎵᏍᎪ 

ᎤᏅᏌ ᎤᎾᏓᏙᎯᏳᏒ, ᎤᎪᏛ ᎾᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ 

ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲᎾ ᏥᎨᏒᎢ,”ᎤᏛᏅ. “ᏌᏊ ᎨᏒ 

ᎤᎪᏓ ᎨᏩᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ. 

ᏝᏃ ᏯᎾᎵᏏᎾᎲᏍᏗᏍᎪ, ᎠᎴ Ꮭ 

ᏱᎦᏥᏅᏫᏍᏗᏍᎪ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ 

ᎦᏕᎶᏍᎪ ᏚᎾᏓᏙᎯᏳᏒ.” 

ᏏᏉᏲ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ ᏗᏂᎪᏗᏍᎩ 

ᎨᏒ ᎯᎠ ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎾᏓᏒᏅ 

ᏦᎢ ᏩᎦᎸᎳᏗᏴ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲᎢ. 

ᎤᎾᏓᏒᏅᏃ ᎯᎠ ᎪᏪᎸ “ᎠᎩᎭ ᎠᎩᎭ 

ᎢᎬᏆᏛᏗ.” 

ᎢᎬᏱ ᎠᏌᏍᏛJessica Velasquez ᎠᎴ 

Jordan Wapaha ᏚᎾᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅ “ᎪᎢ” 

ᏓᏂᏃᎩᏍᎬ ᎠᎴ ᏚᎾᏓᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅ Danny 

ᎠᎴ Sandy ᏚᏂᏃᎩᏒ “Summer Lovin’.” 

ᏔᎵᏁ ᎠᏌᏍᏛ David Lewis ᎤᎩᏒ 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏑᏓᎵ ᏗᏏᎳᏗ ᏚᏃᎩᏍᏔᏅ ᎤᏩᏌ, 

ᎠᎴ ᏦᎢᏁᎢ ᎠᏌᏍᏛ Ꮎ Breanna Olaya 

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏚᏃᎩᏒᎢ. 

“ᎢᎦ ᎦᏥᎵᎡᎵᎦ ᎯᎠ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ,” 

ᎠᏗᏍᎬ Ray. “ ᎠᎭᏂ ᎠᎩᎷᏨ Ꮭ ᏯᏆᏅᏕ 

ᎠᎴ ᎦᏥᏲᎵᎦ ᏱᎨᏎ ᎢᏳᏍᏗᎴ ᏄᎾᏛᏁᎸ 

ᎠᎴᏃ ᎢᎦ ᎣᏍᏓ.” 

ᏔᎳᏚᏏᏁ ᏗᎦᏂᏙᎯ Kourtney Vann 

ᏔᎵ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏗ ᎨᏒ ᏄᏛᏁᎸ, ᎤᏠᏯ 

ᏄᏛᏁᎸ Ꮎ Sonny ᎠᎴ Cher ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ 

ᏱᏚᏂᏃᎩᏏ “I Got You Babe” ᎠᎴ ᏐᎢ 

ᎤᏠᏯ ᏄᏛᏁᎸ ᎾᏍᎩ Supremes ᎤᏠᏯ. 

“ᏓᏊᎪᏔᏅ ᎠᏆᏖᎳᏗᏍᏗ ᎯᎠ 

ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ ᏅᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏓ 

ᎠᎬᏯᏗᏢ ᎠᏆᎴᏗ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎠᏆᏛᏗᎢ 

ᏴᏫ ᎤᏂᎪᏩᏛᏗ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎯᎢᎾ 

ᏗᎩᏍᏕᎸᎯ ᎤᏩᎦᏗᏗᏒᎢ ᎤᎪᏕᏍᏗ Ꮭ 

ᏱᏥᏍᎦᎢᎮᏍᏗ ᎤᏂᎪᏓ ᎠᏂᏅ ᎠᏂᏴᏫ 

ᎠᎩᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗᎢ.” 

Vann ᎤᏛᏅ ᎠᏆᏕᎰᏌᏗ ᎨᏒᎢ, 

ᎠᏎᏍᎩᏂ ᎯᎠ ᏃᎦᏛᏁᎸ ᎠᎩᏍᏕᎸᎲ 

ᎦᏕᎣᏍᎬ ᎤᎵᏛᏙᏗᎢ. 

Wapaha ᎾᏍᏊ ᎤᏛᏅ ᎤᎸᏉᏔᏅ 

ᎠᎴ ᎤᎪᏓ ᎤᏍᏕᎸᎲ ᎤᏩᏌ 

ᎤᏓᏙᎯᏳᏒᎢ. 

“ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏔᏅ ᎯᎠ ᏃᎦᏛᏁᎸᎢ ᎠᎴ 

ᎠᏕᎰᎯᏍᏗ ᎠᎵᏛᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᎯᏗᎨ ᎨᏐ 

ᎢᏯᏛᏗ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᏯᏆᏛᏗ ᎠᎬᏯᏗᏢ 

ᏴᏫ ᎠᏂᏅ ᏯᏆᎴᏂ,” ᎤᏛᏅᎢ. “ᎯᎢᎾ 

ᎠᏇᏲᎲᏍᎦ ᎠᎴ ᎣᏍᏓ ᏗᎩᏃᎩᏍᏗᎢ 

ᏂᏥᏍᎦᎢᎲᎾ.” 

ᏏᏉᏲ ᏗᏘᏂᏙᎯ Corey Bunch ᎤᏛᏅ 

ᎢᎦ ᏕᎦᎸᏉᏍᎬ ᎯᎠ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎾᏍᎩ 

ᏄᎾᏛᏁᎸᎢ. 

“ᏙᎦᏓᏅᏛ ᎣᏤᎵ ᎯᎠ ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ 

ᎯᎠ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎤᏂᏍᏕᎵᏍᎬᎢ. 

ᎠᏂᏅᎪᏫᏍᎦ ᏄᏍᏛ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᎥ ᎠᎴ 

ᎤᎾᏅᏛᎢ ᎯᎠ ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲ ᎤᏂᏍᏕᎵᎭ,” 

ᎤᏛᏅᎢ. “ᏙᎯᏳ ᎣᏤᎵ ᎯᎠ ᏃᏣᏛᏁᎲ 

ᏓᏙᏯᏂᏱᎭᏊ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎯᎠ ᏏᏉᏲ.



Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Two 

Cherokee medical students prepare 

to continue their training after 

receiving doctorates of osteopathic 

medicine during a May 15 graduation 

ceremony. 

Rachel Ray, 28, of Tulsa and Cerissa 

Key, 25, of Jenks attended Oklahoma 

State University Center for Health 

Sciences/College of Osteopathic 

Medicine in Tulsa. Osteopathic 

physicians learn a holistic approach 

to medicine that focuses on finding 

health rather than only treating 

illness. Their education includes 

additional training on bones, muscles 

and nerves as the foundation upon 

which the body’s health depends. 

The women will start three-year 

residencies, Ray at OU-Tulsa and 

Hillcrest Hospital and Key at OSU 

Medical Center and at St. Francis 

Children’s Medical Center in Tulsa. 

Ray said their residencies include 

working rotations through surgery, 

pediatrics, emergency room care and 

family medicine. 

After her residency, Ray said she 

plans to practice family medicine at 

an Indian Health Service outpatient 

clinic in Oklahoma. 

“I chose a career in medicine 

because I wanted to help people, and I 

wanted a career that was challenging. 

Medicine is constantly changing, and 

it is something I would never get 

bored with. It will really challenge me 

to work really hard,” she said. 

Ray said the past two years of 

medical school were “fun” because she 

got to take part in clinical rotations 

at Oklahoma hospitals and clinics 

and put to use some of the things she 

learned in the classroom. 

Though the rotations at each 

location were short, she said, she 

enjoyed meeting different people and 

establishing relationships with some 

of the patients. 

“That was the best part, meeting 

people and getting to practice what 

we had learned,” Ray said. 

Key said after her residency she 

plans to stay in the Tulsa area to 

Rachel Ray of Tulsa, Okla., left, and Cerissa Key of Jenks, Okla., graduate May 

15 from the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences/College of 

Osteopathic Medicine in Tulsa. COURTESY PHOTO 

practice medicine, possibly at the 

Indian Health Care Clinic. 

Completing medical school is part 

of long journey for Key that began 

when she was child. She said going 

through numerous eye surgeries as a 

child allowed her to see how doctors 

work and it was then she developed 

an interest in medicine. 

“I was born cross-eyed. I had to 

have seven or eight surgeries on my 

eyes to get them straight, so that led 

me to be interested in medicine and 

how to help heal people. And I’ve 

always loved kids. I thought about 

being a teacher in middle school and 

high school,” she said. “One of my 

teachers said I should think about 

going into medicine, so I joined the 

pre-med society at my high school, 

and I thought it was really fun.” 

Key said in high school she got to 

“shadow” some doctors. 

“I thought then maybe pediatrics 

was the thing for me,” she said. 

Key said the first two years of 

medical school involved a lot of 

reading and studying while the last 

two years involved mostly clinical 

work – training with doctors at area 

hospitals and clinics. 

“It was long hours, sometimes 16 

hours a day at a clinic or at a hospital. 

Rounding (making rounds) on the 

weekends and having to work on 

Thanksgiving and Christmas is a 

different feeling,” Key said. “When you 

first get your pager you think, ‘I’ve 

finally arrived in the medical world,’ 

but by the end of med school you’re 

ready to toss it back at them. It’s hard. 

It’s a lot of sacrifice, but then you 

realize it’s preparing you for the real 

world when patients call you.” 

She said she credits her husband 

and strong family support for helping 

her making it through medical school 

and “a lot of prayer.” 

Key said one of the hardest parts 

of medical school is getting in and 

that she advises high school and college 

students interested in studying 

medicine to “get involved” in research, 

community service projects and premed 

societies or clubs. 

“People that have the same goals 

as you can encourage you. There are 

nights when you want to give up, you 

just want to go to bed and don’t want 

to study anymore, but you just have to 

stay strong and look at the end result. 

It’s just one step at a time,” she said. 


2 Cherokee women 

graduate medical school TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Five Sequoyah Schools 

Education Briefs 

Tribe’s scholarship deadline set 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The deadline for new 

or continuing students to apply for this year’s 

Cherokee Nation scholarships is June 12, and all 

applications must be postmarked by that day in 

order to be considered. 

More than 2,000 scholarship recipients are 

funded each year. The amount for a scholarship 

can be up to $1,000 per semester for eight 

semesters, depending on hours a student 

carries and whether they are in graduate or 

undergraduate studies. Students must be enrolled 

at least six hours, must be a CN citizen and 

students who are not eligible for the federal Pell 

Grant must have a permanent residence within 

the CN boundaries to be eligible for funding. 

Undergraduate students must complete 

and submit a Free Application for Federal 

Student Aid before they can apply for the 

CN scholarship. Recipients are required to 

volunteer one hour of community service for 

CN or a non-profit organization for every 

$100 they receive in scholarship funding. If 

a recipient needs help in choosing a nonprofit 

organization the department of Higher 

Education can provide a list of resources. 


34 Sequoyah students qualify 

for science awards 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Thirty-four Sequoyah 

Schools students have earned an honor from 

the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement 

of Science and Technology by meeting or 

exceeding the average state ACT score and 

having completed one or more upper-level 

science classes. 

“These students are our future engineers, 

inventors and entrepreneurs who will create 

the products, technology and treatments of 

tomorrow,” OCAST Executive Director Michael 

Carolina said. 

Sequoyah students who qualified for the 

award are David Adair, Katie Belt, Matt Billy, 

Rebekah Blueback, Shayne Boyd, Stacey Carey, 

James Chaffin, Tafv Coachman, Ronnie Davis- 

Pachica, Garrett Drapeau, Karrington Drapeau, 

Evan Evans, Zach Gann, Curtis Glory, Keli 

Gonzales, Stephanie Hammer, Joseph Hiers, 

Alma Holmes, Cole Hornett, Cody Ketcher, 

Monte LaRoque, Nathan Linch, Mindy Potts, 

Ross Reeder, Ashley Ross, Mallory Sequichie, 

Rikki Shook, Corey Still, Jacob Stopp, Kortney 

Vann, Jamie Wagnon, Anna Walker, Jordan 

Wapaha and Andrianna Yahola. 


Tribe contributes $25K to 

Special Olympics 

TULSA, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation recently 

gave the Special Olympics $25,000 at the group’s 

Tulsa headquarters. 

“On behalf of Special Olympics Oklahoma, 

we’re honored to partner with the Cherokee 

Nation in reaching more individuals with 

intellectual disabilities,” Special Olympics 

Executive Director Adrian DeWendt said. “The 

Cherokee Nation’s long term support of Special 

Olympics continues to make a significant impact 

through the communities that we serve.” 

Special Olympics is a non-profit organization 

that provides athletic training and competitive 

outlets to children and adults with intellectual 

disabilities, empowering them to become 

physically fit, productive and respected 

members of society. 

Special Olympics organizers said people with 

intellectual disabilities who participate in Special 

Olympics develop improved physical fitness, 

motor skills, self-confidence and a more positive 

self-image. 


5 Sequoyah seniors earn 

Gates scholarships 

seniors recently received notification of their Gates 

Millennium Scholarships, which are all-expense paid 

scholarships to the colleges of their choice for the next 

eight years. 

The recipients are Rikki Shook of Oktaha, Shayne 

Boyd of Hulbert, Corey Still of Tahlequah, Kaheya 

Hooper of Bunch and Courtney Reeder of Calumet. 

“There were a lot of essays to write,” Reeder said. “I’ve 

worked on it since November.” 

Reeder said she has chosen to attend the University 

of Oklahoma in Norman and will major in either 

Native American Studies or medicine. Reeder also 

credited Augusta Smith, Sequoyah’s college preparatory 

class teacher, for all of Smith’s help through the Gates 

application process. 

“She was my nominator,” Reeder said. “The 

nominator and recommender who wrote my letters 

really helped me. We have to have letters from teachers 

nominating and recommending us for the scholarship 

so they can see how our teachers feel about us and our 

potential to go onto college.” 

“I never tire in acknowledging the efforts of my 

seniors at Sequoyah Schools,” Smith said. “Their hard 

work and perseverance has paid off in receiving this 

coveted honor of being named as Gates Millennium 

Scholars. Gates has given them such a tremendous 

opportunity. Now they must move forward in 

achieving the goals they have set.” 

The Gates Millennium Scholarship is a scholarship 

awarded to minority students who show outstanding 

academic achievements and leadership abilities. 

Twenty-eight Sequoyah seniors qualified this year 

to apply for the scholarship and 12 were chosen as 

semifinalists. 

The record number of students from Sequoyah to 

receive the scholarships in one year is eight, which the 

class of 2008 achieved. 

The Gates Millennium Scholarship Foundation 

recognized Sequoyah earlier this year for its 

outstanding preparation of college-bound students. 

In 2008, Sequoyah had the second-highest number 

of Gates Millennium Scholars to come from any one 

high school in the United States and had the highest 

number of scholars in Gates’ Native American division. 

This year’s five scholars bring the total of Sequoyah 

graduates who have received Gates scholarships to 28. 

“I am proud to have had this many Gates Scholars 

come from Sequoyah,” Sequoyah Superintendent Gina 

Stanley said. “Our teachers and staff go above and 

beyond the call of duty to help our students in any way 

possible, even staying late to help them complete their 

Gates applications. It’s an honor to be recognized for all 

of their hard work.” 


Cherokee Scholars 

program encourages 

students to reach high 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – This spring Cherokee Nation 

hast teamed with the Oklahoma Scholars program to 

give Cherokee students a better opportunity to prepare 

for their futures. 

The Oklahoma Scholars program is a high-impact, 

low-cost, business-led program that starts with placing 

business leaders into eighth grade classrooms to 

share with students the benefits of completing the 

scholars program, such as college preparedness and 

scholarships. 

The program is offered to all students, but is aimed at 

catching those students who might otherwise take the 

path of least resistance if not encouraged to do more. 

“This partnership is an important extension of 

Oklahoma Scholars, as the Cherokee Nation will help 

deliver the program in the rural areas,” Oklahoma 

Scholars Director Terri Nicoll said. “Their focus is to 

reach Cherokee Nation students specifically, but the 

fall-out effect will benefit the other students in the 

communities as well.” 

The new partnership has created the Cherokee 

Scholars program, which is designed to increase 

the percentage of Cherokee high school graduates 

prepared to enter college by encouraging them to take 

more demanding classes during high school. 

Students can achieve the Oklahoma Scholar 

designation by completing the Scholars Course of 

Study, a specific sequence of academic courses in math, 

science, language arts and social studies. Oklahoma 

Scholars receive special recognition for academic 

achievements during high school and upon graduation 

and become stronger candidates for certain types of 

financial aid and scholarships. 

The application deadline for all students is July 31 

following their high school graduation. To qualify 

students must be a CN citizen, have completed the 

Scholars Course of Study and have passed each course 

with a minimum of a 2.5 grade point average. 

“The educational opportunities provided by 

Oklahoma Scholars will add a much needed dimension 

to the Cherokee Nation Educational Services program,” 

said Dr. Neil Morton, CN Education Services group 

leader. “We are excited to be a part of this proven, 

result-oriented program.” 

Qualifying Cherokee students residing in Oklahoma 

will also receive the honor of being named a Cherokee 

Scholar along with the title of Oklahoma Scholar, and 

some may qualify for additional scholarships. (918) 

207-4991.www.cherokee.org/Services/Education/ 

default.aspx. 

– CN Communications

Obesity levels in kids age 

10 to 17 are considered to 

be the highest in the southcentral 

part of the U.S. 


Staff Writer 


Lifestyles put Cherokees at obesity risk 

TAHELQUAH, Okla. – Cherokee Nation 

health officials have said that many children ages 

10 to 17 living within the tribe’s jurisdictional 

area face obesity. 

Dr. Tom Kincade, Pediatrics chief at Three 

Rivers Health Center in Muskogee, said obesity 

for that age group is a factor in the CN. He said 

obesity is usually not genetic or inherited and is 

rarely caused by medical conditions. 

“Instead, the reason we see obesity in families 

is that family members tend to have the same 

diet and activity levels,” Kincade said. 

The Phoenix contacted CN Health Services 

for statistics regarding obese Cherokee teens, but 

none were provided. 

However, a study published by Springer 

Science and Business Media states that the 

south-central region of the U.S., which includes 

Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation, had the 

highest prevalence of obesity in children ages 10 

“…the reason 

we see obesity 

in families is 

that family 

members tend 

to have the 

same diet and 

activity levels.” 

– Dr. Tom 

Kincade, Three 

Rivers Health 

Center Pediatrics 

chief 

to 17. 

Gopal Singh, an 

author of the study, 

said that higher obesity 

rates and risks in the 

region could be partly 

attributed to lower 

socioeconomic factors 

such as family income, 

poverty status and race/ 

ethnicity. 

He said along with 

the usual factors of 

increased TV viewing 

and lower physical 

inactivity and sports 

participation, other 

factors for obesity 

included neighborhood 

deprivation, crime and 

safety. Singh added that community social and 

physical environments such as access to outdoor 

parks, sidewalks, modes of transportation and 

fast food outlets also play a role in teen obesity. 

However, most health agencies are trying to 

refrain from using the term “obese” because 

there is a risk involved with identifying someone 

young with that term. 

“They actually say ‘at risk’ for obesity or ‘at risk’ 

for overweight,” said Lisa Pivec, CN Community 

Health Promotion director. “Because they know 

they’re growing and they don’t use the same kind 

of charts, like the BMIs (body mass index) for 

adults. They use the height and weight charts 

that Centers for Disease Control have on their 

Web site.” 

Pivec said CN health officials discourage using 

the BMI on children, especially in the school 

setting. 

“The CDC has determined that they cannot 

say it’s not effective, but they certainly can 

say it is because there’s a risk associated with 

classifying someone as obese or overweight at 

that young age,” she said. “For us, we use the 

word ‘at-risk.’” 

Teenagers could be at an increased risk due to 

their hormones causing an increased appetite, 

but hormones are not the main cause of obesity 

in adolescents, Kincade said. 

“Teenage hormones are not a direct cause 

of obesity, but the mix of hormones can cause 

increased appetites and if kids are already 

overweight or inactive then this can push their 

weight higher and higher,” he said. 

Pivec said that less “screen time” was one of 

the biggest factors for teenagers across the U.S. 

She said computers, TVs and handheld devices 

are preventing kids from having more active 

time and making healthier food choices. 

If children are not given or taught healthy 

food choices early in life they may find 

themselves going through other conditions 

that can be associated with obesity Kincade 

said. Those could be asthma, diabetes, high 

blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, 

osteoporosis, sleep apnea, menstrual problems 

and increased rates of psychiatric problems such 

as depression. 

According to Bio-Medicin.org, 9 million 

adolescents (17 percent of the U.S. population) 

are overweight and 80 percent of overweight 

adolescents grow up to be obese adults. Also, 

childhood obesity rates have tripled since 1970. 

The site also states that children all over the 

world are becoming heavier at younger ages, not 

just the U.S. 

But there is some good news. Pivec said 

there are certain measures that can be taken 

if someone is at risk for obesity. She said it’s 

more about creating healthy environments – in 

other words, making the healthy choice the easy 

choice. 

“And instead of just relying on personal 

responsibility on someone and changing their 

habits, it’s about making those habits part of 

your culture, part of your mainstream and part 

of your life,” she said. 

Greenwood Elementary fourth-graders in Tahlequah, Okla., do push-ups in a 

physical education class. P.E. classes help keep kids active at school, but for 

some kids it’s the only activity they get. PHOTO BY CHRISTINA GOOD VOICE 

Poor meal choices 

and not enough 

physical activity for 

children can lead to 

obesity. 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – With the 

technology boom, more children are 

staying indoors with iPods, televisions, 

computers and video games 

and less time outdoors being physically 

active or not being active at all. 

This sedentary lifestyle tied with 

poor meal and drink choices set children 

up for health problems, weight 

struggles and possibly obesity, Cherokee 

Nation health officials said. 

Dr. Tom Kincade, chief of Pediatrics 

at the Three Rivers Health Center 

in Muskogee, said he believes obesity 

is already a problem in the CN. 

“Current research tells us that approximately 

one in three children 

born in the Cherokee Nation will become 

overweight or obese,” he said. 

Kincade’s opinion follows an April 

study released by the Archives of 

Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 

that states American 

Indian and Native 

Alaskan children 

have the highest 

prevalence of obesity 

among U.S. preschool 

children in 

different racial and 

ethnic groups. The 

study reports Indian 

children are twice as 

likely to be obese as 

non-Hispanic white 

or Asian children. 

Obesity prevalence 

among 4-yearold 

children in the 

U.S. is rising with the 

study reporting that 

almost one in five American 4-yearolds 

is obese, and the rate is higher 

among American Indian children, 

with nearly one-third of them obese. 

The Cherokee Phoenix contacted 

CN Health Services for statistics specific 

to Cherokee Nation children but 

did not receive a response. 

Obesity in childhood and even later 

in life can lead to life-threatening 

diseases, Kincade said. 

“There are several conditions and 

diseases associated with obesity: 

asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, 

high cholesterol, heart disease, 

osteoporosis, sleep apnea, menstrual 

problems and increased rates of 

psychiatric problems such as depression,” 

he said. 

CN Community Health Promotion 

Director Lisa Pivec said the 

study unfairly lumps all Indian children 

into that category and didn’t 

state the fact that some Indian children 

have easier access to healthier 

foods and physical activity than 

those who live on reservations. 

“It’s really hard to take some of 

that generalized ‘Native American’ 

research and associate it to us (the 

Cherokee Nation),” she said. “In the 

study they talk about the reservation 

school meals and the USDA (United 

States Department of Agriculture) 

food distribution programs. But really 

for us, I don’t think that those 

Native children (on reservations) 

“Current research 

tells us that 

approximately 

one in three 

children born 

in the Cherokee 

Nation will become 

overweight or 

obese.” 

– Dr. Tom Kincade, 

Three Rivers Health 

Center Pediatrics chief 

have any (access.) It’s what you have 

access to and not race.” 

Pivec said the contributing factors 

to obesity aren’t different among racial 

groups. 

“They’re actually the same factors 

as they are in any population,” she 

said. “What it really boils down to is 

changing the environment and the 

lack of healthy food, lack of consumption 

of healthy food and lack of 

physical activity.” 

Parents play a major in the food 

consumed by children, she said. 

“For children, especially children 

under 5, those choices are made predominantly 

by their parents,” Pivec 

said. “It’s not a personal choice issue 

for a child to say, ‘oh I’m going to eat 

healthily.’” 

Ditching the “bad” foods and drinks 

and becoming active doesn’t mean 

having to eat special foods or creating 

a strict exercise regimen, she said. 

“It’s not just about learning how 

to eat healthy,” Pivec said. “It’s about 

increasing the availability and utilization 

of places to play and deciding 

what kinds of foods we’re going to 

feed our children.” 

Kincade said that obesity usually 

isn’t genetic or inherited, but that 

family members tend to have the 

same diet and activity levels. 

Overconsumption, food choices 

and sedentary life- 

styles are also major 

causes of obesity, he 

said. 

“One dietary 

chemical that is a 

major problem in 

obesity is high fructose 

corn syrup,” 

Kincade said. “This 

is what makes sodas 

and some juice 

drinks taste so good. 

The problem with 

it is that our brains 

don’t respond to this 

chemical and therefore 

it doesn’t change 

our appetite.” 

He said too much 

TV, not enough sleep, increased soda 

consumption and large infrequent 

meals are some warning signs for 

parents to watch for so they can take 

action to send their children down a 

healthier path. 

The key to being successful at getting 

kids to healthy weights and keeping 

them on a healthy path for life 

starts at home with family physical 

activities and promoting more family 

meals, Pivec said. 

“Create a home environment that’s 

conducive to eating healthy – healthy 

snacks, healthy meals, reducing the 

‘screen time’ whether it’s computer, 

TV or handheld games” she said. 

“It’s more about reducing that screen 

time and encouraging active play and 

eating a healthful diet than it is about 

trying to eat all kinds of special foods 

and making sure you have a regimented 

exercise program.” 

Both Pivec and Kincade said one 

precaution mothers can take to decrease 

their child’s chances at becoming 

obese is to breastfeed their babies. 

“Reasons for this are not proven 

but most think it is because breastfed 

kids have no external prompting to 

finish a bottle therefore they selfregulate 

their intake,” Kincade said. 

“Also breast-fed children have been 

shown to have higher Leptin levels – 

a chemical which tells the body that 

we have had enough to eat.” 

Overweight and obesity 

is a serious situation for 

people in the CN, both 

Native and non-Native. 


Staff Writer 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Based on an 

Oklahoma health report released in May, the 

overall health of the state’s citizens is poor. In 

that report a statistic shows the state’s obesity 

level is nearly 29 percent compared to 26 

percent for the United States. 

Estimates show that at the present rate of 

increasing prevalence of obesity, by the year 

2030, 90 percent of U.S. adults will be obese. 

Overweight and obesity is a serious 

situation for people in the CN, both Native 

and non-Native, said Lisa Pivec, CN 

Community Health Promotion director. She 

said some people are overweight and obese 

due to a lack of physical activity and poor 

food choices. 

“Eating better, moving more” is a phrase 

she and her staff use to encourage people to 

lose weight. 

The Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention defines obesity as an 

excess accumulation of body fat. Health 

professionals define 

“It’s not 

necessarily 

about being in 

an organized 

exercise 

program; it’s 

about working 

more physical 

activity into 

your day.” 

– Lisa Pivec, 

Community 

Health Promotion 

director 

overweight as an 

excess amount of 

body weight that 

includes muscle, 

bone, fat, and water. 

Obesity specifically 

refers to an excess 

amount of body fat. 

Some people, such 

as bodybuilders or 

other athletes with 

a lot of muscle, 

can be overweight 

without being 

obese. 

As a rule, women 

have more body 

fat than men. 

Most health care 

providers agree 

that men with 

more than 25 percent body fat and women 

with more than 30 percent body fat are 

obese. 

In recent years, the body mass index or 

BMI has become the medical standard used 

to measure overweight and obesity. BMI uses 

a mathematical formula based on a person’s 

height and weight. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 

indicates a person is overweight. A person 

with a BMI of 30 or higher is considered 

obese. Though BMI is closely associated with 

measures of body fat, it does not show the 

difference between excess fat and muscle. 

Data from the most recent National 

Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 

shows that among adult men the prevalence 

of obesity was 33.3 percent in 2005-06. 

Among adult women, the prevalence of 

obesity in 2005-06 was 35.3 percent. The 

ever-increasing rate of obesity raises concern 

because obesity increases the risk of diseases 

and health conditions, including coronary 

heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancers, high 

blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea and 

osteoarthritis. 

The recent state health report also shows 

diabetes deaths (per 100,000) is 30 percent in 

Oklahoma compared to 24.6 percent for the 

rest of the country. And Oklahomans average 

29.6 percent for no physical activity compared 

to 22.6 percent for the U.S. as a whole. 

Improving eating habits and getting more 

exercise can help people who are overweight 

and obese, but Pivec said some people are 

not able to increase their physical activity 

due to medical reasons. 

“Some of them may have a back injury or 

a knee injury or may not have a place where 

they can exercise,” she said. 

Pivec said people should be cautious about 

blaming overweight or obese people for 

their situations or stereotyping them and 

assuming they do not exercise or know how 

to eat better. 

“It’s a little more complicated than that. All 

of us know to do those things, but if it’s not 

affordable, convenient and acceptable, we 

may not do that,” she said. 

She said dieticians on staff at CN 

clinics can help people needing help with 

overweight and obesity issues. Those health 

providers can help make an action plan to 

lose weight. 

There are also physical activity events 

occurring in the area and community group 

programs that allow citizens to exercise with 

other community members, she said. 

“It’s not necessarily about being in an 

organized exercise program; it’s about 

working more physical activity into your day 

– whether you decide to walk somewhere or 

you park farther away at the grocery store – 

all of those little things add up,” she said.



Mosquitoes bring West Nile Virus threat 

BY TRAVIS SNELL 

Assistant Editor 

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – As spring turns to 

summer, more and more people will venture 

outdoors for activities, which means West Nile Virus 

activity will increase as mosquitoes infected with the 

disease bite people, birds and other animals. 

The Centers for Disease Control experts believe 

WNV is established as a seasonal epidemic in North 

America that flares up in the summer and continues 

into the fall. 

According to the CDC, the virus can be a lifealtering 

and sometimes even fatal disease. In 2008, 

the CDC reported 1,356 confirmed human cases 

of WNV with 44 of them resulting in death. In 

Oklahoma, nine humans were diagnosed with WNV 

with no deaths. 

Of the 1,356 cases, 687 were reported as West Nile 

meningitis or encephalitis, 624 were reported as 

West Nile fever, and 45 were clinically unspecified. 

Every state in the U.S. had reported cases 

excluding Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire and 

Alaska. 

The CDC states that about one in 150 people 

infected with WNV will develop severe illness. The 

severe symptoms can include high fever, headache, 

neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, 

convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness 

and paralysis. These symptoms may last several 

weeks, and neurological effects may be permanent. 

Up to 20 percent of the people who become 

infected have symptoms such as fever, headache, 

and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes 

swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, 

stomach and back. Symptoms can last for as short as 

a few days, though even healthy people have become 

sick for several weeks. 

Approximately 80 percent of people who are 

infected with WNV will not show any symptoms at 

all, according to the CDC. 

Dr. Gloria Grim, Cherokee Nation Health Services 

Medical director, said since Oklahoma’s first 

reported WNV case in 2002, the tribe has increased 

its educational efforts through public health 

awareness and individual patient awareness. 

“Cherokee Nation coordinates our efforts with 

the state to increase awareness of all infectious 

diseases affecting our area,” she said. “We are in 

communication with county and state health 

officials to stay abreast of any developing issues. 

We use similar educational materials and provide 

personnel and technical resources if needed. 

We provide updates to our medical staff when a 

potential threat of an infectious disease occurs as in 

the case of WNV.” 

Map shows the distribution of avian, animal or mosquito 

infection occurring in 2008 with number of human cases if 

any, by state. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 

How does WNV spread? 

Infected mosquitoes. Most often, WNV is spread by the bite 

of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when 

they feed on infected birds. Infected mosquitoes can then 

spread WNV to humans and other animals. 

In a small number of cases, WNV also has been spread 

through blood transfusions, organ transplants, breastfeeding 

and even during pregnancy from mother to baby. 

WNV is not spread through casual contact such as touching 

or kissing a person with the virus. 

How soon do infected people get sick? 

People typically develop symptoms between three and 14 

days after they are bitten by an infected mosquito. 

How is WNV infection treated? 

There is no specific treatment for WNV infection. In cases 

with milder symptoms, people experience symptoms such as 

fever and aches that pass on their own, although even healthy 

people have become sick for several weeks. In more severe 

cases, people usually need to go to the hospital where they can 

receive supportive treatment, including intravenous fluids, help 

with breathing and nursing care. 

What should I do if I think I have WNV? 

Milder WNV illness improves on its own, and people do not 

necessarily need to seek medical attention for this infection 

though they may choose to do so. If you develop symptoms 

of severe WNV illness such as unusually severe headaches or 

confusion, seek medical attention immediately. Severe WNV 

illness usually requires hospitalization. Pregnant women and 

nursing mothers are encouraged to talk to their doctor if they 

develop symptoms that could be WNV. 

What is the risk of getting sick from WNV? 

People over 50 at higher risk to get severe illness. People over 

the age of 50 are more likely to develop serious symptoms of 

WNV if they do get sick and should take special care to avoid 

mosquito bites. 

What can be done to prevent outbreaks 

Prevention and control of West Nile virus and other arboviral 

diseases is most effectively accomplished through integrated 

vector management programs. These programs should include 

surveillance for West Nile virus activity in mosquito vectors, 

birds, horses, other animals and humans and implementation 

of appropriate mosquito control measures to reduce mosquito 

populations when necessary. Additionally, when virus activity is 

detected in an area, residents should be alerted and advised to 

increase measures to reduce contact with mosquitoes. 

How often should repellent be reapplied? 

In general you should re-apply repellent if you are being 

bitten by mosquitoes. Always follow the directions on the 

product you are using. Sweating, perspiration or getting wet 

may mean that you need to re-apply repellent more frequently. 

Repellents containing a higher concentration (higher 

percentage) of active ingredient typically provide longer-lasting 

protection. 

How does mosquito repellent work? 

Female mosquitoes bite people and animals because they 

need the protein found in blood to help develop their eggs. 

Mosquitoes are attracted to people by skin odors and carbon 

dioxide from breath. The active ingredients in repellents make 

the person unattractive for feeding. Repellents do not kill 

mosquitoes. Repellents are effective only at short distances 

from the treated surface, so you may still see mosquitoes flying 

nearby. 

Which mosquito repellents work best? 

CDC recommends using products that have been shown 

to work in scientific trials and that contain active ingredients 

which have been registered with the Environmental Protection 

Agency for use as insect repellents on skin or clothing. When 

EPA registers a repellent, they evaluate the product for efficacy 

and potential effects on human beings and the environment. 

EPA registration means that EPA does not expect a product, 

when used according to the instructions on the label, to 

cause unreasonable adverse effects to human health or the 

environment. 

Of the active ingredients registered with the EPA, CDC 

believes that two have demonstrated a higher degree of efficacy 

in the peer-reviewed, scientific literature. Products containing 

these active ingredients typically provide longer-lasting 

protection than others: 

• DEET 

• Picaridin 

Oil of lemon eucalyptus, a plant-based repellent, is also 

registered with EPA. In two recent scientific publications, when 

oil of lemon eucalyptus was tested against mosquitoes found 

in the U.S. it provided protection similar to repellents with low 

concentrations of DEET.

B-12 Cherokee Phoenix • june 2009 Ewf #>hAmh • [UMI 2009

Court makes term-limit ruling - Cherokee Phoenix

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