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Inaugural ClassCherokee artist Nathan Young begins his year with the Tulsa Artist Fellowship. CULTURE, 18

Getting PhysicalMale Seminary Recreation Center fitness trainer Nick Kirk is helping tribal citizens get in and stay in shape. HEALTH, 11

Certified NativeNative Oklahoma Magazine publisher Lisa Snell expands her repertoire by selling consignment art. MONEY, 8

CHEROKEE PHOENIX188 Years of Cherokee JournalismMarch 2016 • cherokeephoenix.org

CHEROKEE PHOENIX

BY TRAVIS SNELLAssistant Editor

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Launched during the 2013 Cherokee National Holiday, the Cherokee Nation is moving ahead with its Project 320K as the 2016 race to the White House heats up.

Cohle Fowler, CN Government Relations legislative assistant, said he is coordinating the outreach initiative that aims to raise voter registration among the approximately 320,000 CN citizens.

“Project 320K’s goal is to expand voter registration, and ultimately participation in all elections, including tribal, local, county, state and federal,” Fowler said. “We also aim to encourage parents to expose their children to the political process. When parents take their kids with them into the voting booth, it both demystifies the process for children, and teaches them that voting is an important part of citizenship.”

Fowler said with more than 320,000 CN citizens, the CN has the ability to become a powerful voice if it registers and mobilizes its voting population.

“In last year’s Cherokee elections, around only 7,500 votes were cast out of our tribe made up of over 320,000 citizens around the world,” he said. “Only 34 percent of voters participated in the state of Oklahoma’s general election last year, and turnout in the 2014 national midterm elections only 41.9 percent of voting age citizens participated which is the lowest rate in 45 years. Our hope is that through our efforts to educate Cherokee families on the impact of their vote and cultivate a positive culture around the process of voting, the Cherokee Nation will be able to stand as an example of civic responsibility in

BY LENZY KREHBIEL-BURTONSpecial Correspondent TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation’s Housing Rehabilitation program may be on the move to the Housing Authority of Cherokee Nation. At its Jan. 19 meeting, the HACN board of directors unanimously approved two resolutions that would facilitate moving the tribe’s Housing Rehabilitation program from

the tribe’s Community Services to the HACN, pending approval by Cherokee Nation. As of Feb. 5, no move had been made, nor had any timeline been given for the proposed change. If the switch ultimately happens, approximately 80 tribal employees would be shifted to the HACN. One of the two resolutions approved by the HACN board would allow those employees to keep their accrued leave balances, as well as their original dates of seniority. As of publication, neither Community Services Director Ron Qualls nor HACN Executive Director Gary Cooper responded to multiple requests for comment regarding the possible move.During the Jan. 19 meeting, Cooper noted that the HACN has a similar agreement in place with employees who transfer from Cherokee

Nation Businesses and described the potential move as “apples to apples.” “This would allow…whenever Cherokee

Nation decides what they’re going to do on their end and we’re ready to hire folks over here, this will allow me to make sure that those accrued leave balances to remain,” he said at the meeting.If the move occurs, it would not be the first time employees were transferred from one entity to the other.In May 2008 the Cherokee Nation took the duties of providing housing to Cherokee citizens away from the HACN by transitioning seven programs from the HACN to the tribe.According to a 2009 Cherokee Phoenix article, tribal officials at that time said moving the

HACN programs to the tribal administration would better coordinate programs and reduce costs, allowing more money to go to housing services.The transition of services from the HACN also meant moving employees to the CN. According to the 2009 story, 160 HACN employees transferred to the Nation, while about a dozen took severance packages instead of transferring.Following the election of Principal Chief Bill John Baker in 2011, the tribe transitioned back to building homes for Cherokee citizens through the HACN. The HACN was initially formed in 1966 to provide safe and sanitary housing to low income Native Americans by providing low rent apartments, homeownership through the construction of Mutual Help Homes and rental assistance.

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See 320K, 3

BY TRAVIS SNELLAssistant Editor

GROVE, Okla. – Cherokee Nation Entertainment officials on Jan. 27 announced plans to build its second Delaware County casino, this one in the Grand Lake region that would create an estimated 175 jobs.

The casino, CNE’s 10th in the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction, will be the tribe’s second gaming facility in the county. It operates another gaming facility, as well as a hotel, in West Siloam Springs.

“We understand the role our businesses play in the lives of Cherokee Nation citizens and the future of the tribe,” Principal Chief

Bill John Baker said about the new casino. “We are using facilities like this to create good-paying jobs for our citizens, build local economies and provide funding for services to the Cherokee people. A look right up the road to Jay, our new health center is a perfect example of how dollars from our businesses impact the lives of citizens in this community.”

Officials said the Cherokee Casino Grove is expected to encompass 39,000 square feet and feature 400 electronic games, a restaurant, full-service bar, live music venue, dance floor and complimentary non-alcoholic drinks. The rustic, lodge-style venue is expected to offer event space for hosting private and community events and an outdoor patio, officials said.

“We have a long history of bringing the best of entertainment to the region,” Shawn Slaton, CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses, CNE’s parent company, said. “Our facilities are first-class, and our team is top-notch. We are committed to offering our guests a superior

experience in a safe environment.”Slaton said CNE plans on breaking ground

for the project in April and expected it to be completed in February 2017.

He said a total cost could not be estimated until the project was bid out and a contractor selected. Slaton said a request for bid to hire a general contractor had been posted. Slaton also told the Grand Lake News that he invited Grand Lake-area businesses to submit bids for the job.

“We look forward to working with Delaware County and the community of Grove,” Slaton said. “Experience has shown our business model is good for local economies, and we’ve been fortunate to develop great relationships throughout various communities. We expect to accomplish the same thing here. We are grateful for the support and ready to bring new entertainment options to Grand Lake.”

CNE will build the casino on a 24-acre site

CNE officials announce Grove casino plansThe new facility in the Grand Lake area is expected to create about 175 jobs.

According to Cherokee Nation records, the Grove casino property is located in the northwest quadrant of the intersection of East 250 Road and Highway 59, commonly referred to as Tom Cat Corner, in Delaware County. COURTESYSee CASINO, 2

‘NOTHING BUT A POSITIVE’

Coach and history teacher Corey James speaks to students during an eighth grade social studies class at Nowata Middle School. Nowata Public Schools recieved $45,824 from Cherokee Nation on Feb. 12. COURTESY PHOTOS

CN gives nearly $4.7M to 106 schools

BY JAMI MURPHYReporter

NOWATA, Okla. – With education funds scarce in Oklahoma, officials from 106 schools received good news on Feb. 12 when the Cherokee Nation donated nearly $4.7 million to public education during its annual Public School Appreciation Day.

According to CN Communications, school districts received $165 per CN student enrolled.

“The districts receiving money educate more than 28,000 Cherokee students, although the contributions benefit all students and classrooms in those school districts,” a CN Communications press release states.

The donation was welcomed by school officials following recent budget cuts handed down by the state.

Leon Ashlock of Nowata Public Schools said the $45,825.14 would greatly benefit his school system.

“It’ll be a great help. As far as what going to do with it, it will go into teacher salaries and student supplies,” Ashlock said. “Just the fact that

Cherokee Nation does that for us is great and we appreciate their help.”

He said the money is needed after state officials severely cut education funding.

“It will be nothing but a positive. We’ve learned that we can count on Cherokee Nation. Can’t always count on other sources, so its great that we have them in our corner helping us with that.”

He added that the deficit is across the board for Nowata Public Schools, but he and staff are ensuring to be wise with its spending as well as cutting back where necessary.

Afton Public Schools Superintendent Randy Gardner said the $22,498.99 his system received from the tribe was not earmarked for any budget but would be placed in the school’s operation fund.

“It just gives us a boost, but to specifically say it’s going to be for a bus or whatever it just goes back into the total operation.”

Bluejacket Schools received

More than $4.6 million from tribal motor vehicle tag sales is donated.

Cherokee Nation citizen Katie Sanders works with kindergarten teacher Mrs. Diane Delk on a writing assignment at Nowata Public Schools, one of 106 schools to get CN car tag revenue. See SCHOOLS, 3

CN upping its 2016 voter drive efforts

If the switch happens, approximately 80 tribal employees would go to the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation.

HACN approves motions to facilitate Housing Rehab move

The tribe’s Project 320K initiative aims to raise registration and voting among citizens.

Cherokee Nation’s Project 320K logo. COURTESY

2 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • March 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 2016NEws • dgZEksf

BY STACIE GUTHRIEReporter

COOKSON, Okla. – Being a fraud victim can be detrimental to one’s life, especially when the money is going to important causes. Cherokee elder Weynema Smith learned this lesson the hard way in 2015.

The 83-year-old Cherokee Nation citizen was defrauded out of $11,000 by two men in a truck with a trailer. She said they told her they needed to check her house’s cables and that she did not expect them to do anything but inspect.

“I guess I was just stunned and shocked because I really thought they were there to inspect,” she said. “I have a cable across the roof of my house, and it’s supposed to keep lightning from striking the house. It had been there for years, and when he walked up to me he said ‘we have a contract that we’re supposed to check those every so often, and I thought, ‘well, it hasn’t been checked in a long time’ and so I said ‘OK.’”

Smith said one man took her around the house so she could see on what they were working.

“I was just really naïve I guess. I never thought one time they were just wanting to get me out of the house so one of them could get in there,” she said.

Smith said one of the men then told her the job would cost $800.

“I said ‘I can no way do that.’ He said ‘well, since you’re a senior citizen I might be able to help you and we’ll cut that in half.’ ‘I still can’t do it,’ I said. Brought it down to $400 and he kept on and I said ‘I just can’t do it,’” she said.

Smith said he brought the price down to an affordable $180, but she had to get the money from another room. “I went to another room and he wasn’t in there, but he knew where I went. All this time I guess he was watching.”

She said one man then asked her to go around the house with him. Little did she know the other man was stealing her $11,000 of savings. “So we went out the back door and he was hollering for the other man, and we went on clear around the house, and all this time he’d already had my money with him and I didn’t know it.”

Smith said after they walked around her house, the men sped off from her property.

“Backed up and he about got stuck trying to get out there so fast,” she said. “Then when

I went back in the house. I saw the thing that I had my money in, it was empty.”

Smith was unable to get a tag number because of the trailer attached to the truck. They also gave her a fake address and fake names.

Smith said part of the money she was saving was for her great-grandson’s schooling.

“He wants to go into the ministry, and I really would love to see him get to go, and I thought well every bit I had I’d be putting it back for him,” she said. “That was one of the things that I was really working towards.”

She was also saving money for medication and wood for the winter.

“The winter was coming up and you have to buy wood. Burn propane and it always goes up in the winter time, so I thought I’ll be prepared for that,” she said. “There’s times that you have to buy medication and you have to put money back.”

Smith said she wants others to learn from her experience so it doesn’t happen to them.

“I really wanted that to get out to all the elders, that there are that kind of people out there,” she said. “It just seems so sensible that’s what needed to be done to my house, and you wouldn’t think any other way. That’s why I want to stress to them that you really have to be careful.”

The CN is now working to help elders who face scam situations find justice or to gain a piece of mind about their situations. Attorney General Todd Hembree said the CN started the Elder Fraud Protection Initiative in June to help elders.

“The Elder Fraud (Protection) Initiative is the plan of action of the (Principal Chief Bill John) Baker administration to increase the protection of Cherokee citizens, especially the most vulnerable, which are our elders, and our most valuable from being taken advantage of,” he said. “The initiative is surrounding economic fraud of people coming in trying to misrepresent themselves to get a financial gain from elders.”

Hembree said during a CN Elder Summit in 2015, in which the EFPI was introduced, officials collected information from seniors.

“We sent every Cherokee citizen that was over 65 a questionnaire of what were the issues that were important to them,” he said. “Human Services has taken that information and is digesting it.”

He said from the information CN officials are working to better handle these types of cases.

“From that information we are in the process of drafting and/or amending our criminal statues to make prosecution of these cases more accessible…” he said.

He said he hopes new or amended statutes would eventually help all adults, not just elders.

“Now one thing that this will hopefully parlay into is a complete adult protective services code. Adult protective services not only just covers elders but anyone over the age of 18 that may need additional resources and/or is being taken advantage of,” he said. “We are developing that code now and hope to, by the spring, bring it forth to the Tribal Council. Our goal from one year from the Elder Summit is to be able to present to the Cherokee people a comprehensive plan on protecting elders, and hopefully all adults.”

As for now, Hembree said if elders feel as if they are in fraud situations they should contact their local law enforcement and Human Services.

“If it just doesn’t seem right, ask,” he said. “You would hope that elders would have family members to bounce these things off of. Unfortunately that’s not always the case. I would say that if something just doesn’t seem right, call us. If they felt that they have been wronged, we definitely want to know about it.”

Smith said she is thankful she was not physically harmed and that the money could be replaced.

“I’m really thankful that they didn’t hurt me. If I had maybe fought for the money they may have,” she said. “It’s like I told my granddaughter, it can be replaced. Of course, I won’t get that much back but just enough to get back on my feet and be able to pay for utilities and stuff.”

For more information about the EFPI, call 918-453-5050. To help Smith, visit her GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/WeynemaSmith.

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near Highway 59 and East 250 Road, property the tribe purchased on Aug. 19 2013, from the Arrowhead Group LLC for about $450,000.

According to Delaware County records, in August 2014, 2.7 acres of that property was deeded to eight descendants of Esther Flute after the family’s restricted allotment land in Sequoyah County was taken via constructive condemnation for Marble City Public Schools.

As per federal statute, if restricted Indian land is taken via condemnation proceedings for the public benefit, the money received for the property may be reinvested in another tract as chosen by the allotee with the approval of the secretary of the Interior.

County officials said the 2.7 acres were in restricted status and no taxes were being paid on it.

According to tribal records, the property is located in the northwest quadrant of the intersection of East 250 Road and Highway 59, commonly referred to as Tom Cat Corner.

In 2013, the same eight Flute descendants signed a 10-year lease with CNB to allow a casino on the family’s restricted land in South Coffeyville. Under the terms of that lease, the family received a $100,000 one-time signing bonus, plus $30,000 in rent each month

and $1 for every carton sold at the property’s smoke shop.

The South Coffeyville lease includes an option for one 10-year renewal, which comes with a $200,000 bonus.

According to Nowata County records, CNE bought nearly 40 acres for approximately $100,000 in South Coffeyville in 2012. CNE then deeded part of the land to members of the Birdtail and Christie families – the Flute descendants. The BIA put that land into restricted status. CNE then leased the land from for its South Coffeyville casino.

As of publication, the terms of the pending Grove lease were not available, but according to the deed filed with the Delaware County Clerk’s Office, any improvements made on the property are tax-exempt.

Slaton said the BIA approved the Grove casino project on Dec. 21.

Other Oklahoma-based tribes operate approximately a dozen other casinos in upper Delaware County and Ottawa County. Slaton said despite those casinos CNE has been “interested in the Grove area for a while.”

“The area’s leisure lifestyle and demographics make it attractive,” he said. “We are proceeding after conducting a market analysis because we believe it to be a successful endeavor for the tribe.”

The Cherokee Phoenix reached out to Grove officials for comment regarding the new casino but did not receive a response as of publication.

Fraud victim hopes to inform other elders

Cherokee Nation citizen Weynema Smith in this 2013 photo sews her pucker-toe moccasin during a “Roc your Mocs” class. Smith was a victim of fraud in late 2015 and wants to help other elders stay away from similar situations. JAMI MURPHY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

BY TRAVIS SNELLAssistant Editor

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Officials with the Cherokee Nation’s Election Commission are urging citizens who want to vote in the 2017 Tribal Council elections to register to vote or ensure that their voter registration information is correct at the EC Office.

“The 2017 election year is fast approaching and we would like to encourage the Cherokee citizens who would like to vote in the 2017 Council elections to register to vote,” an EC release states. “Registered voters of the Cherokee Nation who have had an address or name change should also complete a voter registration form and submit to the Election Commission Office to update your registration information.”

According to the release, a registered voter living in the CN jurisdiction who has moved to a new district and wishes to change precincts within his or her district shall re-register for a new district and/or precinct on or before the last business day in March of the election year. In 2017, that day will be March 31.

According to CN law, every resident registered voter shall be registered to vote in the district of his or her residence. Also, a resident registered voter shall have the right to vote only for a Tribal Council candidate of the district in which the voter resides and cannot vote for a candidate of any other district.

Tribal Council seats up for election in 2017 are districts 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, and one At-Large seat.

EC officials said At-Large registered voters should be registered to vote in the At-Large District, unless a voter has elected to remain a voter in a district pursuant to Article VI, Section 3 of the CN Constitution.

At-Large voters who move to new at-large address should provide the EC their new addresses for registration and mailing purposes. At-Large voters who move to addresses within a jurisdictional district

should reregister within their new districts.EC officials also stressed that tribal citizenship

cards do not automatically register citizens to vote in CN elections and that citizens wanting to vote must register with the EC.

According to CN law, one must be 18 years old as of the election day to register to vote. Also, a person must be registered to vote no later than the last business day in March of the election year.

Registration and change of address forms are available at the EC Office located at 22116 S. Bald Hill Road or online at www.cherokee.org/election.

For more information, call 918-458-5899 or toll free at 1-800-353-2895. One can also email election-commission@cherokee.org or visit www.cherokee.org/election. The EC’s mailing address is P.O. Box 1188 Tahlequah, OK 74465.

Voter registration, updated info urged

Cherokee Nation citizens cast votes on June 23, 2015, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Officials with the CN Election Commission are urging citizens who want to vote in the 2017 Tribal Council elections to register to vote or ensure that their voter registration information is correct. JAMI MURPHY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

March 2016 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 3 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 NEws • dgZEksf

a nation seeing historic low turnouts at the polls.”

Fowler said the simplest way CN citizens can participate is to register and vote. He added that sitting down with friends and family members to ensure they are registered is another way to participate.

“Remind those friends and family to vote when elections occur. If you are really excited to get out there and make a difference, you can volunteer with us by registering and talking with possible voters at events and activities we attend,” Fowler said.

He said Government Relations staff members, volunteers and CN Tribal Youth Councilors plan to attend community meetings to register voters throughout Oklahoma and At-Large events in states where CN citizens reside.

“In addition to community meetings, we also set up at high-traffic events such as the

Tulsa State Fair. In addition to our work out in communities, we also hold phone banks where we call to remind voters we have registered of upcoming deadlines or elections,” he said. “We are constantly learning and looking for new ways to reach out and change the culture around voting in our Cherokee communities.”

While many presidential campaigns are focusing their mobilization efforts on baby boomers and millennials, Fowler said Project 320K is focusing on all tribal citizens.

“We are focusing on all Cherokees, not on a certain age group,” he said. “We want to register people to vote, get people in the voting booths and teach kids that voting is a responsibility and a privilege for citizens.”

As the brainchild of Government Relations staff members, the project is an ongoing program but officials are making a push this year because of the presidential elections.

“Voting will be on everyone’s mind, but we also do this work in non-election years,” Fowler said.

For more information or to volunteer, email cohle-fowler@cherokee.org.

$9,264.29, which Superintendent Shellie Baker said would be used to “beef up our Internet infrastructure.”

According to CN Communications, 38 percent of the car tag revenue is used for education. The first full year that CN car tags were sold statewide was in 2015, the release states. This year there was an increase in car tag donations to $4,678,134.97 from $4 million in 2015.

“As the state allocates less and less each year to public education, the Cherokee Nation is making a record-breaking contribution to area schools. That’s something that every one of our tribal citizens can take great pride in. We are investing in our children, investing in our communities and investing in our future as Cherokees and as Oklahomans,” Principal Chief Bill John Baker said.

Since 2002, the tribe has awarded $40.1 million in education donations from car tag revenue to approximately 100 school districts in northeast Oklahoma, according to CN

Communications. “With the success of car tag sales

expanding statewide, the Cherokee Nation Tax Commission is so grateful to be able to make a positive impact in more classrooms than ever before,” CNTC Administrator

Sharon Swepston said. School districts in Adair County got a

combined $412,260, while Cherokee County schools got $780,516. In Craig County, schools got a total of $137,309, while Delaware County schools got $337,319. Mayes County schools got a combined $411,764, and Muskogee County institutions got a total of $495,970. In Nowata County, schools got a total of $79,739, while in Ottawa County schools received a combined $73,452.

In Rogers County, schools received a total of $469,004, while Sequoyah County schools got a combined $409,448. Tulsa County schools garnered a combined $788,291, while Wagoner County systems got $132,181. Washington County schools received a total of $147,401, while Osage Hills School in Osage County got $3,474.

Osage Hills is not located in a county that is part of the tribe’s jurisdiction, but it does have approximately 20 CN citizens enrolled.

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320Kfrom front page

BY STACIE GUTHRIEReporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – During its Feb. 16 meeting, Tribal Councilors unanimously declared support for the continual operation of dependent public schools located within Cherokee Nation jurisdiction.

According to the resolution, there are 26 dependent public schools located within the jurisdiction. Those schools have 6,965 students enrolled, and 3,294, or 47 percent, of them are CN citizens.

The resolution states the CN percentage of students enrolled at the schools is higher than the number of CN students enrolled at independent schools within the tribe’s jurisdiction and that the closure of dependent schools would have a “devastating” effect on CN citizens attending and the CN families living in surrounding communities.

Tribal Council Speaker Joe Byrd said keeping the rural schools open is important for “the good of the students and community.”

“The small, rural dependent school districts are the heartbeat of their community, and the Cherokee Nation has an obligation to help keep that heartbeat going,” Byrd said. “Whether it is financial support through car tag sales or vocal support through legislation, this Tribal Council stands united in backing our dependent school districts and helping them keep their doors open.”

Tribal Councilors also passed an act affirming and codifying CN laws and statues.

Tribal Councilor Janees Taylor said the act acknowledges that tribal officials have created a volume of five books titled “Cherokee Nation Code Annotated” that has the tribe’s laws and resolutions within them.

“It took quite a while to do, but it’s just making it official that those are our laws and our resolutions, basically everything that we have,” she said. “If somebody wants to look up a law for some reason they can do it in one

place now.”Taylor said the books can be found in the

legislative offices and the Attorney General’s Office. The books can also be purchased at the CN Gift Shop for $455.

Legislators also confirmed John Sparks, of Norman, to the Cherokee Nation Gaming Commission; Shaun Shepherd, of Tahlequah, to the Cherokee Nation Businesses board of directors; and Fannie Robinson, of Kansas, Oklahoma, to the Cherokee Nation Tax Commission.

Sparks and Robinson were approved unanimously while three legislators opposed Shepherd’s confirmation.

Sparks said he is thankful for the opportunity to serve on the CNGC.

“Thank you all for having me, and I just want you to know how flattered and honored I am to be asked to serve…to execute my duties in this role,” he said.

While serving on the CNB board, Shepherd said he looks forward to the challenges it holds.

“Mr. Speaker, council, I want to thank everybody in this administration for putting their trust in me for this position,” he said. “I look forward to the challenges, and look forward to serving the Cherokee Nation and its citizens.”

Councilors also passed a resolution supporting the CN’s Promise Zone application.

The Promise Zone is a White House initiative that consists of the federal government investing in and partnering with tribal communities to increase economic activity, create jobs, leverage private investment, reduce violent crime and improve educational opportunities.

According to hud.gov, Promise Zones are “high poverty communities.” The initiative provides resources such as tax incentives, pending enactment of tax incentives by Congress and grants to these communities.

The next meeting is 6 p.m. on March 14.

Fannie Robinson speaks during the Tribal Council’s Feb. 16 meeting. She was confirmed to the Cherokee Nation Tax Commission at the meeting. STACIE GUTHRIE/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Council shows dependent public schools support

BY SHEILA STOGSDILLSpecial Correspondent

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – An Ohio man was

recently ordered to pay the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma $1,000 restitution for reburial costs after he bought skeleton remains of two adults and six children from a grave robber.

Mark Beatty, 56, pleaded guilty in August in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio - Eastern Division for violating the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, federal records show.

Beatty is to have paid between $4,000 to $4,500 for the American Indian remains, said Jennifer Thornton, federal court spokeswoman at the time of his plea.

The skeletons remains of two adults and six children were estimated to be between 400 to 1650 A.D. to 1,000 to 2,000 B.C.

“Cherokee Nation has never prosecuted an individual for theft of human remains or culturally significant artifacts,” Chrissi Nimmo, Cherokee Nation assistant attorney general, said. However, the tribe has prosecuted cases of vandalism of culturally significant sites, she said.

American Indian target sites include prehistoric sites such as rock shelters, caves, rock art, rock alignments, earthen mounds, earthen middens, mound complexes, ceremonial centers, shell mounds, middens, refuse pits, burial pits, graves, cemeteries, domestic and ceremonial structures, storage structures and ruins, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

There are more than 1,000 American Indian artifacts listed on eBay, an online auction site. Prices are as high as $75,000 for a collection of rare atlatl spurs, Clovis Paleo points, Paleo crescents, a Paleo butterfly, charmstones, donut stones, steatite pipes, ground stone crescents, atlatl weights, a Russian Blue bead necklace and an arrow shaft straightener.

If the defendant were a non-Indian, the crime could only be prosecuted in federal court under the NAGPRA, Nimmo said.

Beatty was also put on three years’ probation, pay a $3,500 fine and take out a newspaper advertisement warning others not to engage in the illegal excavation of American Indians and artifacts, according to a federal court document.

The remains were buried near an area known as Sour Run Road in Jackson County, Ohio. An investigation confirmed an individual had “dug up a body, skull and sold it,” Thornton said. In 2013, Beatty confessed to authorities he had purchased the remains and artifacts from the diggers, she said.

Archeologists confirmed the Sour Run Road property rock shelter and associated artifacts were used by American Indians for burials in Jackson County.

An examination showed DNA was well-preserved in the molars and vertebrae of two individuals. Tests on one of the remains showed there was 93 percent probability that it was a female American Indian. Another adult could not be analyzed do to skull deformities. Consistent and repeatable results demonstrate these two prehistoric females belong to well-established American Indian mitochondrial lineages.

“There is likely a black market for certain Native artifacts,” Nimmo said.

Eagle feathers are a prime example because the law makes it nearly impossible for non-Indians to legally possess or own eagle feathers, she said.

In 2005 a Northern Plains Indian headdress that belonged to the famed Indian artist Charles Banks Wilson, was taken from a gallery in Miami, Okla.

The 6-foot-long feathered headdress, believed to be about 100 years old and sometimes referred to as a war bonnet, was believed to have been worn by an Indian warrior. It was made up of 42 rare, black-tipped golden eagle feathers, buffalo horns and fox fur. Because of the black-tipped feathers, the headdress was considered rare and priceless, said Wilson’s daughter, Carrie, at the time of the theft.

The headdress has never been recovered.

Native cultural sites still targeted

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation continues to show strong financial performance by maintaining its bond BBB rating in 2016, according to Fitch Ratings Inc., one of the top three global rating agencies.

The tribe’s bond rating was upgraded from a BBB- to BBB in 2014 for its solid financial operations, and Fitch affirmed its good credit rating in 2015 and 2016.

Each year the CN is required to have

an independent rating analyst review its financial statements, spending trends, debt and future outlook after the tribe issued tax-exempt bonds in 2006 to construct the Three Rivers Health Center in Muskogee, Nowata Health Center and Redbird Smith Health Center annex in Sallisaw.

Fitch issues bond ratings that range from the highest AAA to lowest D. Fitch said the Nation’s rating was affirmed based on several key drivers, including strong gaming performance, stable and essential health care operations and strong financial operations.

Fitch Ratings gives CN good financial view

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BY BRITTNEY BENNETTIntern

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – A gem with ties to the Cherokee Phoenix went untouched for weeks on eBay before Cherokee researcher Dusty Helbling purchased it. And in January, he gave it to the Phoenix staff.

“I got it, mainly because nobody realized what it was,” Helbling said.

The piece is an artist proof titled “Sequoyah and the Phoenix” depicting Cherokee syllabary creator Sequoyah against a backdrop of the Cherokee Phoenix logo in shades of blue, red, black and brown. The Cherokee Phoenix is spelled below in embroidered syllabary characters. Under the proof is the title, the French words “bon a tirer” meaning “ready for press” and the artist name Phillip M., though the last name is unclear.

Helbling’s discovery came about after searching for Cherokee-related items on eBay.

“This was a one-of-a-kind artist proof that was on the Internet auction,” he said. “It was on for quite a while. They had one auction and nobody bid on it. They lowered the price by half. I thought it was going to go for quite a bit more than I could afford, but I was able to obtain it.”

Though Helbling doesn’t know much about the proof ’s origins, he does know the artist worked for a Georgia company.

“The artist had started to make (the proof) but the company went bankrupt before they got to make any prints, so this is the only one in existence,” he said.

Helbling drove from Ozark, Arkansas, to gift the piece. He had it framed and engraved as a way to honor John Foster Wheeler, who was one of the first printers of the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper.

Wheeler was born in 1808 and began his involvement in the newspaper industry through an apprenticeship in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1822. The experience put him in contact with Isaac Harris, and in 1828 the two men became the first printers of the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper. While Harris eventually left after differing with Editor Elias Boudinot, Wheeler continued.

He saw the U.S. government and the Cherokee Nation clash more than once over treaties and land rights, including the 1835 incident in which Georgia authorities destroyed the paper’s printing equipment. Later that year, Rev. Samuel Worcester, who had moved to Indian Territory, arranged a printing shop at Union Mission, which was north of Fort Gibson, and asked Wheeler to be his printer, making him the first printer in the territory.

“Every turn, the guy was involved in history,” Helbling said. “That’s why I wanted to honor him as the first printer at the Cherokee Phoenix and also the first one in Indian Territory.”

Helbling gave the proof to the Phoenix in part because of his love of history. The son of a professional golfer, Helbling grew up creating history of his own. He was the first 5-year-old in the history of golf to have a hole-in-one and was involved with the Professional Bull Riders in the 1940s and 1950s.

Helbling said he is of Cherokee descent through his great-great-grandfather, which sparked his interest in Cherokee culture. He has spent much time researching the Cherokee people and visiting campsites along the Trail of Tears route in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

His appreciation for Cherokee culture made gifting the proof an easy decision.

“I just thought (the proof) belongs here, and I decided to purchase it and get it all set up with the engraving done to have it up here where it really should be,” Helbling said.

The proof now resides in the Phoenix’s office. Anyone with information on the artist or the proof ’s origin can call 918-453-5269.

ᏓᎵᏆ, ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎹ.– ᎤᏍᏆᏂᎪᏓ ᎪᏪᎵ ᎤᏭᏓᎸᏗᏍᎩ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮭ ᎩᎶ ᏯᎦᏎᏎᏗᏍᎨ ᎢᎸᏍᎩ ᎢᏳᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᏍᎪᎸᏛ ᎾᎿ eBay ᎩᎳ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᏄᏍᏛ ᎤᏯᎸᏍᎩ Dusty Helbling ᎤᏩᏒᎢ. ᎠᎴ ᎾᎿ ᎤᏃᎸᏔᎾ ᎧᎸ, ᏚᏅᏁᎸ ᎾᎿ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅ ᏧᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ.

“ᎠᎩᏁᏒ, ᏅᏗᎦᎵᏗᏙᏗ Ꮭ ᎩᎳ ᏳᏅᏕ ᎠᎴ ᏱᎪᎵᎨ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎨᏒᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬ Helbling.

ᎯᎢᎾ ᎪᏪᎵ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎶᏍᏔᏅᎲᏍᎩ ᎤᏅᏙᏗ ᎬᏂᎨᏒ ᎢᎬᏁᎯ ᏚᏙᎥ “ᏏᏉᏯ ᎠᎴ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ” ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏓ ᏗᏣᎳᎩ ᏏᏉᏯ ᏧᏬᏪᎳᏅ ᏚᏃᏴᎬ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎧᏁᎢᏍᏗ ᏗᎪᏪᎶᏙᏗ ᏚᏬᏢᏁᎯ ᏏᏉᏯ ᏭᏓᏃᏟ ᎣᎾᏗᏝ ᏓᏟᎶᏍᏛ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎯ ᏕᎦᏃᏣᏢ ᏧᎵᏑᎳᏓ ᏌᎪᏂᎨ, ᎩᎦᎨ, ᎬᎿᎨᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎤᏬᏗᎨ.

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅ ᎢᎪᏪᎳ ᎡᎳᏗᏢ ᎦᏰᏫᏓ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏐᎧᏁᎢᏍᏗ ᏕᎪᏪᎳ ᎭᏫᎾᏗᏢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎪᎯᏳᏗᏍᎩ ᎢᎪᏪᎳ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏂᎦᎸᏥ ᏗᎧᏁᎢᏍᏗ “bon a tirer” ᏄᏍᏛᏃ ᎦᏓᎬ ᎠᏛᏅᎢᏍᏔᏅ ᏧᏂᎴᏴᏗᎢ” ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᏓᎶᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᏚᏙᎥ Phillip M. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎣᏂ ᏚᏙᎥ ᏝᏙ ᏱᎦᏴᎪᎵᎦ.

“Helbling’s ᎤᏬᎷᏩᏛᏓ ᎤᎷᏤ ᎣᏂ ᎾᏃ ᎤᏯᎸᏍᎬ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏱᎩ ᏗᎪᏪᎵ ᎾᏍᎩᎴ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎤᏃᏢᏅ ᏱᎩ ᎾᎿ eBay.

“ᎯᎢᎾ ᏌᏊ ᎪᏢᏅᎢ ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏂᎾᏕᏒᎲᏍᎬ ᎠᏏᎳᏕᏫᏒ ᎤᏂᏍᎪᎸᏛᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎡᎵ ᎪᎯᏓ ᎠᏍᎪᎸᏛᎢ. ᏌᏊ ᏄᏂᎾᏕᏒᏅ Ꮭ ᎩᎶ ᏳᏁᏤ ᏱᏚᎬᏩᏝᏁ. ᎡᎳᏗ ᏄᏅᏁᎸᎢ ᎠᏰᏟ ᎢᏴ ᏚᏂᎬᏩᎶᏛ. ᎠᏆᏓᏅᏖᎸ ᎤᎪᏕᏍᏗ ᏚᏂᎬᏩᎶᏕᏍᏗ ᎾᎿ ᎬᏩᏈᏴᏗ ᎨᏒᎢ, ᎠᏎᏃ ᎡᎵᏊ ᎬᎩᏩᎯᏍᏗ ᎨᏒᎢ.”

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ Helbling Ꮭ ᏙᎯᏳ ᎢᏳᏅᏔ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏓᎶᏍᏔᏅ ᏧᏓᎴᏅᎲᎢ, Ꮭ ᏯᎦᏔ ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅᎲᏍᎩ ᏚᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎸ ᎾᎿ Georgia ᎤᎾᏓᏈᎩᎢ.

“ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅᎲᏍᎩ ᎤᎴᏅᎲ ᎪᏢᏍᎬ (ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏙᏗ) ᎠᏎᏃ ᎤᎾᏓᏈᎩ ᏚᎾᎵᏍᏆᎸᏒ Ꮟ ᏄᏃᏢᏅᎾ ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏙᏗ, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎯᎠ ᏌᏊ ᏣᎭ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

Helbling ᏓᏳᏂᎩᏒ ᎾᎿ Ozark, Arkansas,

ᎤᏓᏁᏗ ᎾᎿ ᎤᎲᎢ. ᎤᎵᏔᏁ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏬᏪᎳᏁ ᎾᎿ ᎠᎦᎵᎡᎵᏍᏙᏗ John Foster Wheeler, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎬᏱ ᏗᎪᏪᎵᏍᎩ ᎾᎿ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅ ᎪᏪᎵ ᏗᎦᎴᏴᏔᏅ.

Wheeler ᎾᎿ ᎤᏕᏁ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏁᎳᏚ ᎢᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᏧᏁᎳ ᎤᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎴᏅᎮ ᎨᎳᏗᏙᎲ ᎾᎿ ᎪᏪᎵ ᏓᏂᎴᏴᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎤᎾᏙᏢᏒ ᎾᎿ ᎠᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎨᏎᎢ ᎾᎿ Huntsville, Alabama, ᎾᎿ ᏁᎳᏚ ᎢᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ ᏔᎵ ᎤᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒᎢ. ᎤᏕᎶᏆᎥᏃ ᎾᎿ ᏚᎾᏙᎵᏨ ᎾᏍᎩ Isaac Harris, ᎠᎴ ᎾᎿ ᏁᎳᏚ ᎢᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᏔᎵᏍᎪᏧᏁᎳ ᎤᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒ ᎠᏂᏔᎵ ᎠᏂᏍᎦᏯ ᏄᎾᎵᏍᏔᏅ ᎢᎬᏱ ᏗᏃᏪᎵᏍᎩ ᎾᎿ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅ ᎪᏪᎵ. ᎾᎿ Harris ᎣᏂᏴ ᎤᏂᎩᏎ ᎣᏂ ᏚᎾᏓᎴᏅᏤ ᎾᎿ ᏗᎦᎴᏴᏗᏍᎩ Elias Boudinot, Wheeler ᏂᎦᏯᎢᏐᎢ.

ᏚᎪᎲᎢ ᎠᎹᏰᏟ ᎤᏂᎬᏫᏳᎯ ᎠᎴ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏰᎵ ᏓᎾᏓᎴᎨ ᎤᎪᏛ ᎾᏃ ᏌᏊ ᎢᏳᏩᎪᏗ ᎾᎿ ᎧᏃᎮᏛ ᏚᎾᏠᎯᏍᏔᏅ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ ᎤᎾᏤᎵᎪᎯ ᎦᏙᎯ, ᎠᏠᏯᏍᏗ ᎾᎿ ᏁᎳᏚ ᎢᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᏦᏍᎪᎯᏍᎩ ᎤᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒᎢ ᏄᎵᏍᏔᏂᏙᎸᎯ ᎾᎿ ᏣᏥ ᏄᏂᎬᏫᏳᏒ ᎤᏂᏲᏍᏔᏅ ᎾᎿ ᎪᏪᎵ ᏗᎪᏪᎪᏗ ᏄᏍᏗᏓᏅᎢ. ᎣᏂᏴ ᎾᎿ ᎤᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒ, ᎤᏓᏂᎵᎨ Samuel Worcester, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏓᏅᏒ ᎨᏎ ᎤᎷᏤ ᎾᎿ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ ᎤᏂᎷᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᎦᏙ ᎠᎵᏍᎪᎸᏔᏅ, ᎠᏓᏁᎸᏛ ᏧᏂᎴᏴᏙᏗ ᎪᏢᏒ ᎾᎿ Union Mission, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏴᏢ ᎢᏗᏢ ᎤᏪᏘ ᏗᏐᏴ, ᎠᎴ ᎤᏛᏛᏅ Wheeler ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎪᏪᎵᏍᎩ, ᎪᏢᏗ ᎾᎿ ᎢᎬᏱ ᎪᏪᎳᏅ ᎾᎿ ᎤᏙᏢᏒᎢ.

“ᏂᎦᏓ ᏓᏕᏲᎲᎢ, ᎾᎿ ᎯᎠ ᎠᏍᎦᏱ ᎤᏗᏑᏲ ᎾᎿ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏯᏂᏃᎮ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏊ ᎠᏣᎳᎩ ᏱᎩ,” Helbling ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏅᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᏆᏚᎵᏍᎬ ᎠᎵᎮᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎬᏱ ᏗᎪᏪᎵᏍᎩ ᎾᎿ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎠᎬᏱ ᎾᎿ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ ᎤᏂᎲᎢ ᎦᏙᎯ.”

Helbling ᏚᏅᏁᎸ ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏙᏗ ᎾᎿ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅᎢ ᎢᎦᏓ ᏅᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᎤᎨᏳᏒ ᎧᏃᎮᏢᏅ. ᎤᏪᏥ ᎠᏍᎦᏯ ᎾᎿ ᎤᏍᎦᏎᏍᏗ ᏗᏁᎶᎲᏍᎦ golfer, Helbling ᎤᏛᏒ ᎪᏢᏍᎬ ᎧᏃᎮᏢᏍᎩ ᎤᏩᏌ. ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏩᏌ ᎨᏒ ᎯᏍᎩ ᏳᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎾᎿ ᎧᏃᎮᏢᏍᎩ ᎾᏍᎩ golf ᎤᎩᏍᏗ ᎠᏔᎴᏒ ᎾᎿ ᏌᏊ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏠᏯᏍᏛ ᎾᎿ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎾᏛᏁᎲ Bull ᏗᎾᎩᎸᏗᏍᎩ ᎾᎿ ᏐᏁᎳᏚ ᎢᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᏅᎩᏍᎪ ᎤᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒ ᎠᎴ ᏐᏁᎳᏚ ᎢᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᎯᎦᏍᎪᎯ ᎤᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒᎢ.

Helbling ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏣᎳᎩ ᏂᏓᏳᏓᎴᏅᎯ ᎨᏒ ᏔᎵ ᎤᏔᎾ ᏧᏚᏓ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᏓᏳᎵᏍᏙᏔᏅ ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏓ ᏅᎵᏍᏓᏁᎸ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎢᏳᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ. ᎤᎪᏓ ᎤᏪᎳᏗᏍᏔᏅ ᎾᎿ ᎤᏲᎲᎢ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏕᏙᎲ ᎢᎴᎯᏳ ᎤᏂᎶᏒ ᎤᏍᏗ ᎦᏅᏅ ᏚᎾᏠᏱᎸ ᎾᎿ ᏙᏧᏯᏓᏛ ᎠᎴ ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎹ.

ᎾᎿ ᎠᎵᎮᎵᎬᎢ ᎾᎿ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ ᏄᎵᏍᏔᏅ ᎠᏓᏁᏗ ᎪᎯᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᎯᏓ ᏚᏭᎪᏔᏅᎢ.

“ᎠᏆᏓᏅᏖᎸ (ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏙᏗ) ᎠᎭᏂ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᎨᏒᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎠᏊᎪᏔᏅᎢ ᎠᎩᏩᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏂᎦᏓ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎢᎬᏗ ᎾᎿ ᏧᏃᏪᎶᏗᎢ ᎤᏂᏅᏗ ᎾᎿ ᏙᎯᏳ ᎤᏂᏅᏓ ᎨᏒᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Helbling.

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏙᏗ ᏃᏊ ᎤᏂᎾᎢ ᎾᎿ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅ ᏄᎬᏫᏳᏒ ᎤᏂᏴᏍᏗ. ᎩᎶ ᎾᎿ ᏳᎭ ᎤᏃᎮᏗ ᏗᎾᏟᎶᏍᏔᏅᎲᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ Ꮎ ᏗᏟᎶᏍᏙᏗ ᎯᎠ ᏎᏍᏗ ᏩᏟᏃᎮᏗ 918-453-5269.

Cherokee Phoenix gifted unique historical piece

Will Chavez, Cherokee Phoenix interim executive editor, and Cherokee researcher Dusty Helbling hold an artist proof depicting Cherokee syllabary creator Sequoyah against a backdrop of the Cherokee Phoenix logo. BRITTNEY BENNETT/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

BY STAFF REPORTS

TULSA, Okla. – Cherokee Services Group has secured a $45 million contract to continue its work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado with providing NOAA scientific and technical support to assist with improving efficiency and increasing performance at its research facility.

“This award allows us to continue building our relationship with NOAA and supporting one of the most preeminent weather and climate research laboratories in the country, and even the world,” said Dan Fairchild, CSG project manager. “We take our role very seriously and are dedicated to providing our clients with the quality services and support they expect.”

NOAA’s work at the Colorado facility supports a powerful array of research, data collection and dissemination programs, as well as operational weather forecasts of Earth’s atmosphere and the space environment.

Nearly 40 experienced professionals are supporting the five-year, blanket purchase agreement by delivering IT services such as specialized engineering and systems

administration support.“Our team has a longstanding history

working with NOAA and the many divisions within it,” said Steven Bilby, Cherokee Nation’s diversified businesses president. “We have a thorough understanding of the programs, priorities and history of the organization, including technical infrastructure, policies, procedures, IT governance and security requirements.”

For more than a decade, Cherokee Services Group has specialized in software and application services, network infrastructure services and business process services. CSG’s past performance includes work supporting multiple divisions within NOAA, such as the National Weather Service’s Office of Science and Technology, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research National Severe Storms Laboratory and Office of the Chief Technology Officer; the NOAA Information Technology Center and the National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Region Information Services Division.

Headquartered in Tulsa, CSG has a regional offices in Fort Collins, Colorado, and 22 additional offices nationwide. CSG is part of Cherokee Nation Businesses. For more information, visit www.cherokee-csg.com.

BY JAMI MURPHYReporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation’s Election Commission on Feb. 9 voted to recommend election law changes that will be go before the Tribal Council’s Rules Committee on Feb. 17.

Election Commissioner Carolyn Allen made a motion that the EC adopt the law changes that were discussed during the EC’s Policy Committee meeting. Allen then made a motion to recommend those changes to the Tribal Council.

One election law change the EC recommended defines “term” to mean a

full four years in which the elected or appointed officer may perform the functions of office…and shall not include the

remainder of any unexpired or partial year. Another recommendation adds language that fines $5,000 to anyone who fails to file as a candidate for office after receiving in-kind contributions and/or raised funds in excess of $1,000.

Also on Feb. 9, the EC voted to purchase a safety deposit box and selected the commissioners and staff needed to be able to retrieve the box.

Cherokee Services Group keeps NOAA work

EC recommends election law amendments

March 2016 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 5 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9

March 2016Volume 40, No. 3

The Cherokee Phoenix is published monthly by the Cherokee Nation, PO Box 948, Tahlequah, OK 74465.Application to mail at Periodicals post-age rates is pending at Tahlequah, OK 74464.POSTMASTER: Send address changes toCherokee Phoenix, PO Box 948, Tahle-quah, OK 74465

Will ChavezInterim Executive Editor

will-chavez@cherokee.org

918-207-3961

Travis SnellAssistant Editor

travis-snell@cherokee.org

918-453-5358

Mark DreadfulwaterMultimedia Editor

mark-dreadfulwater@cherokee.org

918-453-5087

Dena TuckerAdministrative Officer

dena-tucker@cherokee.org

918-453-5324

Jami MurphyReporter

jami-murphy@cherokee.org

918-453-5560

Stacie GuthrieReporter

stacie-guthrie@cherokee.org

918-453-5000 ext. 5903

Roger GrahamMedia Specialist

roger-graham@cherokee.org

918-207-3969

Samantha CochranAdvertising Representative

samantha-cochran@cherokee.org

918-207-3825

Joy RolliceSecretary

joy-rollice@cherokee.org

918-453-5269

Justin SmithDistribution Specialist

justin-smith@cherokee.org

918-207-4975

Brittney BennettIntern

brittney-bennett@cherokee.org

918-453-5000 ext. 7258

Editorial BoardLuke BarteauxLauren Jones

Kendra McGeadyRobert Thompson III

Maxie Thompson

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OPINION • Zlsz

Talking CirclesArticle spurs hope

I read your (Interim Executive Editor Will Chavez) recent article “Stilwell train depot remains Adair County fixture” in the Cherokee Phoenix Daily, and I found the article interesting in a number of ways. My grandparents were long time residents of Adair County in the 1940s and 50s. My grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee, and though they were farmers, my grandmother used to act as an interpreter for the Cherokees who lived in the area. I have pictures and documents that may be of interest to those affiliated with the Adair County Historical & Geographical Association.

I plan on calling volunteer Lynda Hagard Monday (because I do not have an email for her). Thanks for the informative article. It has spurred my hope in researching my grandparents’ lives when they

lived in Adair County.Mike WorleyDublin, Ohio

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 by citizens, Tribal Councilors or officials do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial staff or Editorial Board of the Cherokee Phoenix.

The deadline for submissions is the 15th of the month prior to the month of publication. Letters shall not exceed 350 words in length. 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 non-citizens will be published only as space permits and must be Cherokee related. Anonymous letters will not be published.

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ContactJustin Smith

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CHEROKEEPHOENIX.ORG

Making history by curing hepatitis cchIEF’S PErSPEcTIVE

BY BILL JOHN BAKERPrincipal Chief

At our world-class Cherokee Nation health care centers, we are committed to the well-being of our patients. One of the most progressive initiatives we have today is the Hepatitis C Elimination Project. This is a pilot program to screen patients for the disease, with an end goal to cure all those who test positive. I am proud our tribal health department is doing everything possible to eliminate this debilitating disease many of our Cherokee families face.

We are committed to fighting this disease because it touches so many here in the heart of Indian Country. It is a viral infection that can cause serious liver damage, liver failure and even death. About 3.2 million people in America live with hepatitis C, and 75 percent of them don’t even know they are carriers because they are symptom free.

Like with many poor health signifiers, the issue is in even more prominent in our tribal communities. According to the Urban Indian Health Institute, based in Seattle, Indian people are twice as likely to be diagnosed with hepatitis C. Sadly, substance abuse is another contributing factor and critical escalator of our rates with hepatitis C. Opiate abuse is a significant

part of the problem, as 73 percent of cases involve intravenous drug use. Unlicensed tattoo artists reusing ink or not sanitizing needles properly are also contributing.

The rates are not good but there is hope, and that’s why we are tackling this issue head on. So far in the Cherokee Nation’s health system there have been 12,000 patients screened, with 4 percent of women and 7 percent of men testing positive. Of those, roughly 300 patients have taken the medicine, which is non-invasive and allows patients to continue a normal routine, and have been cured. We have seen a high success rate with treatments, and our hope is to eliminate this disease entirely through Cherokee Nation Health Services. As Native people and as Cherokee Nation citizens, we must keep striving to eliminate hepatitis C from our population.

Staying ahead of the rate of infection requires vigilant testing, screening, treatment and creative strategies to prevent future cases. We are now screening all tribal health department patients over the age of 20, which avoids the problems of determining which patients to test, and will help identify a carrier even if the virus is dormant.

Through diligent counseling and public awareness programs, I am confident we will drive down exposure to this infection. In the past, a positive hepatitis C test could be crippling to an individual or family,

both physically and financially. We have dedicated leaders within

our Cherokee Nation Health Services department who partnered with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Oklahoma Department of Health and the University of Oklahoma on this effort. Additionally, Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company, donated $1.5 million to this unique partnership that enabled the creation of a prevention and treatment plan. The Cherokee Nation is the only entity in the country working on an elimination project with the CDC.

Our partners are just as committed as we are to cure patients with hepatitis C and work to reduce the incidents of new infections. The historic joint effort between federal, state and tribal governments will help lay the foundation of a national strategy to fight hepatitis C.

A diagnosis doesn’t have to be a death sentence. I hope you will join us in this battle and help us drive out hepatitis C once and for all. Please ask your medical provider to screen you for hepatitis C. It’s not often we can say a disease can be completely eliminated from a citizenry, but it’s something we can absolutely achieve in the Cherokee Nation.

bill-baker@cherokee.org918-453-5618

6 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • March 2016

The church’s congregation was organized in 1830 and came to Indian Territory on the Trail of Tears.BY SHEILA STOGSDILLSpecial Correspondent

WESTVILLE, Okla. – Every

Sunday morning since 1888 at precisely 10 a.m. the steeple bell at the Old Baptist Mission Church is heard around Adair County ringing, signaling the start of worship services.

For much of the 20th century the small church was noted for its month-long revivals and meetings. Today the 40 members continue meeting in the white church with a modest steeple, just off U.S. 59 between Westville and Watts.

“It’s a pretty popular (job) to ring the bill,” Rev. Tim Bailey, church pastor, said. “A cord pulls the steeple bell to make it ring.”

The church is affiliated with the Baptist Missionary Association of the Ozarks, and Bailey has served as its pastor for nine years. Over the past century, the church has gone through phases of remodeling, but the original church contains the same sanctuary.

“We mostly do maintenance,” Bailey said of work done on the church. “We avoid changing the structure (of the church). There are a lot of people that love the church and don’t want to see it changed.”

The congregation was organized in 1830 and came to Indian Territory on the Trail of Tears where they continued holding services, Jack Baker, Goingsnake District Heritage Association president and Tribal Councilor, said. “It is quite likely the oldest church in Oklahoma that continues to meet. Other churches were founded earlier than the Baptist Mission Church, but they no longer meet.”

Descendants of the original church members continue to worship, have weddings and funerals at the little white church. It was also the site of a family reunion for the descendants of Jesse Bushyhead, a Cherokee minister and Cherokee Nation chief justice.

Baker said it is believed Lilly Carson has the distinction of attending the church the longest, when she was honored in 1989 for being a member for 70 years. She since has died.

“A church is not a building, it’s the people,” Baker said.

Luke Williams, an Old Baptist Mission Church member, echoed

that sentiment saying the present church building is not the original church building.

The church met informally for services following their arrival in the area in February 1839, he said. It was not until 1842 that Baptist missionary Evan Jones established a formal church and served as its first pastor, Williams said.

That church, built with bricks, was destroyed during the Civil War, said Williams, who is also the Adair County Historical and Genealogical Association’s vice president.

After the fire, the church members remained and held services. With a $615 loan from the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York the current church was built in 1888, he said.

“Due to the wording of the sign over the church door, many people falsely believe that the actual church building including the lumber, nails and windows was carried during the Cherokees’ forced removal during the winter of 1838-1839,” Williams said.

This church building did not travel the Trail of Tears – its members did, he said.

“That point is often misunderstood by visitors who read the church sign,” Williams said.

The early church congregation consisted of Cherokees who endured the removal and settled in what is now Oklahoma, Williams said.

“The area surrounding Baptist Mission was settled by more mixed bloods than full bloods,” Williams said. “The Baptist Mission Church contained a surprisingly heterogeneous mixture of members: mixed bloods, full bloods, black slaves and whites.”

ᎢᎪᏗᎢ, ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ. – ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬᎢ ᏂᏕᎦᎵᏍᏔᏁᎬᎢ 1888 ᏂᏗᎬᏓᎴᏂᏍᎩ ᎾᎯᏳ 10 a.m ᎠᏟᎠᎵᏒᎢ ᏑᎾᎴᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᎭᎸᏂ ᎤᏃᏴᎬᎢ ᎠᏛᎪᏗ ᎨᏐᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ ᎤᏪᏘ ᏗᎾᏓᏬᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ, ᏕᎦᏃᏣᎵᏍᎬᎢ ᎤᎾᎴᏅᏗᎢ ᏗᎦᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ.

ᏭᎪᏛᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ 20th ᏱᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏍᏗᎢ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᏃᏟᎩ ᎨᏒᎢ ᏏᏅᏓ- ᏱᎪᎯᏓ ᏓᏂᎳᏫᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ. ᎪᎯ ᎢᎦᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ 40 ᎾᏂᎠ ᎠᏁᎳ ᏂᎬᏂᎯᎵᏐᎢ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ ᎤᏁᎦ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎦᏚᎢ ᎠᏝᎭ ᎤᎭᎸᏂ ᎫᏢᏛᎢ, U.S. ᎠᏠᏒᏊ 59 ᎢᎪᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏩᏗᏏᎢ ᏥᏕᎦᎫᎭ ᎠᏰᏟ.

“ᎢᎦᏃ ᎦᎸᏉᏗ (ᏗᎦᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗᎢ ) ᎾᏍᎩ ᎦᏃᏴᎵᏍᏗᎢ ᎤᎭᎸᏂ,” ᎠᎵᏣᏙᎲᏍᎩᏃ Tim Bailey, ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᏗᎦᏘᏱ, ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ. “ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏍᏕᏱᏗ ᎦᏌᏁᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏳᏃᏴᎵ

ᎤᎭᎸᏂ.” ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎢᏧᎳ

ᏚᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎰᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮎ ᏗᎾᏓᏬᏍᎩ Missionary Association of the Ozarks, ᎠᎴ Bailey ᏧᏁᎳ ᎢᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏂᏓᎦᏘᏲᎢ. ᎯᎠᏃ ᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᎢᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏥᏛᎦᎶᎯ, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎯᎸᏍᎩᏃ ᎢᏳᏩᎪᏘ ᎤᏃᏢᎯᏌᏅᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎬᏱᎢ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᏓᏁᎸᎢ ᎠᏎᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᎬᏩᏍᏙᎢ ᎤᎾᎵᏣᏗᎢ.

“ᏭᎪᏛᏃ ᏍᏗᏊ ᎦᎷᎳᎾᎥᎢ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎾᏅᏁᎰᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Bailey ᏗᎦᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ ᎦᎷᎳᎾᎥᎢ ᎥᎿ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ. “ ᎥᏝ ᏲᎦᏕᏯᏙᏔᏃᎢ ᎠᏁᎬᏍᏛᎢ ( ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ). ᎤᏂᏣᏘᏃ ᏴᏫ ᎤᏂᎨᏳᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎥᏝᏃ ᏳᎾᏚᎵᎠ ᎤᏂᎪᏩᏛᏗᎢ ᎦᏁᏟᏴᏓ.”

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏗᏂᎳᏫᏥᏙᎯ ᎤᎾᏓᏡᏅᎢ ᎾᎯᏳᎢ 1830 ᏥᎨᏒᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏂᎷᏤᎢ ᏴᏫᏯᏍᏛᎢ ᎾᎯᏳᎢ ᏥᏗᎨᏥᎢᎸᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᎥᎿᏃ ᏂᎬᏂᎯᎵᏐᎢ ᏓᏂᎳᏫᎬᎢ, Jack Baker, ᎢᎾᏓᎠᎾᎢ ᏍᎦᏚᎩ Heritage Association ᏄᎬᏫᏳᏒᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏗᎦᎳᏫᎩ, ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ. “ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏩᎦᏴᎵᏴᎢ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᏓᏁᎳ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᎬᏯᎢᏐᎢ ᏓᏂᎳᏫᎬᎢ. ᏗᏐᎢᏃ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᏚᏙᏢᎭ

ᏓᎦᏴᎵ ᎠᏏᏅ ᎯᎠ ᏗᎾᏓᏬᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ, ᎠᏎᏃ ᎥᏝ ᏃᏊ ᏱᏚᏂᎳᏫᏦᎢ.”

ᎢᎬᏱᏃ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏨᎢ ᏂᏓᏳᎾᏓᎴᏅᎢ ᎠᏁᎳ ᏂᎬᏂᎯᎵᏊ ᏓᏂᎳᏫᎬᎢ, ᏕᎨᎦᏨᏍᏗᏍᎪᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏓᎾᎵᏨᏗᏍᎪᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ ᎤᏍᏗ ᎤᏁᎦ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ. ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᏊ ᎤᏙᏢᎭ ᎠᏂᏏᏓᏁᎸᎢ ᏧᎾᏠᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮎ Jesse Bushyhead ᏂᏓᏳᎾᏓᎴᏅᎢ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᎵᏣᏙᎲᏍᎩ ᎨᎲᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ᏄᎬᏫᏳᎯ ᏗᎫᎪᏗᏍᎩ.

Baker Z ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᏃᎯᏳᏐᎢ Ꮎ Lilly Carson ᎾᏍᎩ ᏩᎪᎯᎸᎢ ᏂᏗᎬᎳᏫᏥᏙᎲᎢ, ᎾᎯᏳᏃ ᏣᏂᎸᏉᏗᎲᎢ ᎾᎯᏳᎢ 1989 ᏥᎨᏒᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ 70 ᎢᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎨᎳ ᏂᎨᎰᎢ. ᎥᏝᏃ ᎾᏊ ᏰᎭ.

“ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᏃ ᎥᏝ ᎠᏓᏁᎸᏊ ᏱᎩ, ᎾᏍᎩᏍᎩᏂ ᏴᏫ ᎤᎬᏫᏳᏐᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Baker.

Luke Williams, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᎦᏴᎵ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎨᎳ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏃᎮᏛ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎪᎯᏴᏥᎩ ᏣᏓᏁᎳ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎥᏝᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎬᏱᎢ ᎤᎾᏁᏍᎨᏛ ᏱᎩ.

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᏁᎳ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎦᎢ ᎣᏂ ᎢᎬᏩᏂᎷᏨᎢ ᎠᏂ ᎡᏍᎦᏂ ᎾᎯᏳ ᏥᎨᏒᎢ ᎧᎦᎵ 1839 ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. 1842 Ꮓ ᏥᎨᏒᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᎾᏃ ᏗᏓᏬᏍᎩ ᎠᏥᏅᏏᏛ Evan Jones ᎤᎴᏅᎮᎢ ᏧᏂᎾᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎬᏱᏃ ᏗᎦᏘᏱ ᎨᏒᎩ, ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Williams.

ᎾᏍᎩᏍᎩᏂ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ, ᏗᎬᏔᏅᎢ ᎬᏗ ᎠᏁᎬᏍᏔᏅᎢ, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᏴᏢᏃ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎦᎾᏩ ᏓᎿᏩ ᏣᎾᏟᎲᎢ ᎤᏂᏲᏍᏔᏅᎢ, ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Williams, ᎾᏍᎩᏊ

Ꮎ ᏥᎩ ᏓᏫᏍᎦᎶ ᎢᏍᎦᏚᎩ Historical ᎠᎴ Genealogical ᏔᎵᏁ ᎠᏓᎴᏁ ᎤᎬᏫᏳᎯ.

ᎤᎪᎾᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᏁᎳ ᏂᎬᏂᎯᎵᏐᎢ ᏓᏂᎳᏫᎬᎢ. $615 ᏕᎨᎦᏙᎳᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ Ꮎ ᏥᎩ ᎠᎹᏰᏟ ᏗᎾᏓᏬᏍᎩ ᎤᎾᏓᏡᎬᎢ ᏄᏯᎩ ᎠᏁᎭ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎾᏊ ᏣᏓᏁᎳ 1888 ᏥᎨᏒ ᎤᎾᏁᏍᎨᎲᎢ.

“ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏥᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᎭ ᏧᏂᏫᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᏍᏚᏗ ᎬᏙᏌᏛᎢ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏥᎪᏪᎳᎾᎢ, ᎤᏂᏣᏘ ᏴᏫ ᎰᏩ ᎠᏁᎵᏍᎪᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗ ᏣᏓᏁᎳ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎬᏩᏠᏯᏍᏗ ᏗᏯᏖᎾ, ᏴᎩ, ᎠᎴ ᏗᏦᎳᏂ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎬᏂᏰᎿᎢ ᏥᏗᎨᏥᎢᎸᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᎠᏣᎳᎩ ᎾᎯᏳᎢ ᎪᎳ 1838-1839 ᏥᎨᏒᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Williams.

ᎯᎠᏃ ᏧᏂᏫᎳᏍᏗ ᏣᏓᏁᎳ ᎥᏝ ᏥᏗᎨᏥᎢᎸᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᏳᏂᏲᏢᏁᎢ - ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏁᎳ ᎤᎬᏫᏳᏎᎢ ᏥᏧᎾᏂᎩᏎᎢ, ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

“ Ꭰ Ꮎ Ꮣ Ꮹ Ꮫ Ꭿ Ꮩ Ꭿ Ꮓ ᎤᏂᎵᏓᏍᏗᎰᎢ ᏄᏍᏛ ᏥᎪᏪᎳ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᏍᏚᏗ ᎬᏙᏌᏛᎢ ᎦᎸᎳᏗᏢᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Williams.

ᎡᏘᏴᏃ ᏣᏁᎲᎢ ᏗᏂᎳᏫᎩ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩᏃ ᎨᏒᎩ ᏥᏗᎨᏥᎢᎸᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏧᏁᏅᏒᎢᏃ ᏄᎵᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᎠᎭᏂ ᎠᎯᏴᏥ ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ, ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Williams.

“ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏗᎾᏓᏬᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗ ᎬᏩᏚᏫᏛ ᏴᏫ ᏄᎾᏛᏅᎢ ᎤᏂᎪᏛᎢ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎤᎾᎬᎭᏟ, ᎠᏏᏅ ᎠᏂᎧᎵ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎨᏒᎢ,” Williams Z ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏗᎾᏓᏬᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎳᏫᏍᏗᎢ ᏧᎾᏓᎴᏅᏓᏃ ᎠᏁᎳ ᎨᏒᎩ: ᎤᎾᎬᎭᏟ, ᎠᏂᎧᎵ, ᎠᏂᎬᎿᎨᎢ ᏗᎨᏥᎾᏝᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏁᎦ.

Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 2016COmmuNITy • nv 0nck

A church is not a building, it’s the people.

– Tribal CouncilorJack Baker

Old Baptist Mission Church enduring after 186 years

The Old Baptist Mission Church near Westville, Oklahoma, got its beginnings in 1830 before crossing the Trail of Tears and settling what is today Adair County. LUKE WILLIAMS

BY ROGER GRAHAMMedia Specialist

VINITA, Okla. – The Home of Hope on Feb. 10 held its “A Chocolate Affair” gala at the Craig County Community Center to raise money for the organization’s operations.

Kendra Montana, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Home of Hope’s director of planning and development, said like Home of Hope events in past years, “A Chocolate Affair” brought supporters from around northeastern Oklahoma.

“The ‘Chocolate Affair’ gala is one of our premiere fundraising events. The money raised goes toward programs and operating the home. It’s our local fundraiser and as everyone can see, it’s big,” she said.

Montana, who also serves on the Cherokee Phoenix Editorial Board, said the gala is only possible through the generosity of local residents and businesses, and that revenue is raised via individual donations, corporate sponsorships, ticket sales, silent auctions and other activities. She said the amount of money raised was not available as of publication because it takes several weeks to get a full accounting.

According to its website, the Home of Hope is a nonprofit institution that for the last 47 years has provided residential, vocational and activity services to people with developmental

and other disabilities with the mission of promoting choices, independence and a meaningful way of life.

The organization assists more than 200 people with disabilities and is one of the largest employers in the county with approximately 400 employees.

Dist. 11 Tribal Councilor Victoria Mitchell Vazquez attended the event and spoke about the importance of supporting the Home of Hope.

“I grew up here in Vinita and knew the family who founded the Home of Hope,” she said. “They and Kendra are friends of mine, so I donated some of my art for the silent auction. It’s just one of the best causes to donate to in the county.”

Another CN citizen, Vronika McChurin, who was on a date night with her 9-year-old son, said they decided to stop by after having dinner. “It’s a good cause with lots of chocolate,” she said.

This year’s sponsors consisted of the Cherokee-owned Shout and Sack convenient stores, Clanton’s Cafe, First National Bank, Shangri La Grand Lake Resort, Pier 13 Wine and Spirits, Craig County General Hospital, Arrowhead Yacht Club, Sugarshack, Vinita FFA, The Artichoke, Daylight Donuts and The Lighthouse.

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Home of Hope has ‘A Chocolate Affair’

People check out chocolate cakes up for auction during the Home of Hope’s ‘A Chocolate Affair” on Feb. 10 in Vinita, Oklahoma. ROGER GRAHAM/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

CHEROKEEPHOENIX.ORG

March 2016 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 7 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 COmmuNITy • nv 0nck

Community MeetingsMarch 1Tulsa Cherokee Community Organization 6:30 p.m., 805-551-6445tulsacherokees@gmail.comMuldrow Cherokee Community Organization MCCO Building 6 p.m., Pat Swaim 918-427-5440Vian Peace Center 604 W. Schley, 5:30 p.m.March 3Greasy Fellowship Community OrganizationGreasy Community Building, 7 p.m.Washington County Cherokee Association, 300 E. Angus Ave., Dewey7 p.m., Ann Sheldon 918-333-5632March 7 Rocky Mountain Cherokee Community Organization, 6 p.m.Vicki McLemore 918-696-4965Lost City Community Organization, 6 p.m.Native American Association of Ketchum280 East Gregory, Ketchum, 6:30 p.m.Belfonte, 6:30 p.m.Sallie Sevenstar 918-427-4237Marble City Community OrganizationMCCO Building, 7 p.m.Eucha Indian FellowshipEucha Community Building, 8 p.m.March 8No-We-Ta Cherokee CommunityCherokee Nation Nutrition Site, 6:30 p.m.Carol Sonenberg at 918-273-5536Victory Cherokee Organization1025 N. 12th St. Collinsville, 7 p.m.Call Ed Phillips 918-371-6688victorycherokee@att.netMarch 10Lyons Switch, 7 p.m.Call Karen Fourkiller at 918-696-2354Native American Fellowship Inc.215 Oklahoma St., South Coffeyville 6:00 p.m., Call Bill Davis 913-563-9329Okay Senior Citizens, Inc. Okay Senior Building, 3701 E. 75th Street, 7 p.m.Adair County Resource Center110 S. 2nd St., Stilwell, 6:30 p.m.Stilwell Public Library Friends Society

5 N. 6th St., Stilwell, 5 p.m.March 12 Mt. Hood Cherokee Satellite Community Wilshire United Methodist Church3917 NE Shaver St., Portland, Oregon10 a.m. to 1 p.m.March 13 Rogers County Cherokee Association2 p.m., Contact Beverly Cowan at beverlycowan@sbcglobal.netMarch 14Marble City Pantry, 7 p.m.Call Clifton Pettit at 918-775-5975Brent Community Association 461914 Hwy. 141, Gans, 6 p.m.Call 918-774-0655brentcomm@live.comMarch 15Fairfield, 7 p.m.Call Jeff Simpson at 918-696-7959Central Oklahoma Cherokee Alliance Oklahoma CityBancFirst Community Room4500 W. Memorial Road, 6 p.m.Call Franklin Muskrat Jr. 405-842-6417Oak Hill/Piney, 7 p.m.Call Dude Feather at 918-235-2811Fairfield Community Organization, Inc. 6:30 p.m., Jeff Simpson 918-605-0839March 19Kansas City Cherokee Community Picnic 9550 Pflumm, Lenexa, Kan.12-4 p.m. , Visit KCCherokee.orgMarch 21 Neighborhood Association of CheweyChewy Community Building, 7 p.m.March 22Dry Creek, 7 p.m.Call Shawna Ballou 918-457-5023March 24 Tri-County (W.E.B.) AssociationJ.R.’s Country Auction, 6 p.m.Orchard Road Community Outreach (Stilwell), Turning Point Office6 p.m.March 28Christie, 7 p.m.Call Shelia Rector at 918-778-3423

Community CalendarMondays, Wednesdays and ThursdaysMarble City Nutrition Center711 N. Main Marble City, Okla. 918-775-2158 The Marble City Nutrition Center serves hot meals at the Marble City Community Center at 11:30 a.m. First Friday of every monthConcho Community BuildingConcho, Okla. 405-422-7622Year RoundWill Rogers Memorial MuseumClaremore, Okla. 918-341-0719Fourth Thursday of each monthAmerican Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma – Eastern Chapter monthly luncheon at Bacone CollegeMuskogee, Okla. 918-230-3759The lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. at Benjamin Wacoche Hall. Please RSVP one week ahead of time.Second Saturday of each month

Cherokee Basket Weavers Association at the Unitarian Universalist CongregationTahlequah, Okla. 918-456-7787Monthly meetings are at 6 p.m.Second Tuesday of each monthCherokee Artists Association at 202 E. 5th Street, Tahlequah, Okla. 918-458-0008www.cherokeeartistsassociation.orgThe CAA meets at 6 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month.Every Friday of each monthDance at Tahlequah Senior Citizens Center230 E. 1st St. in Tahlequah, Okla.For seniors 50 and over, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.Admission is $2.50, includes pot luck dinnerEvery Tuesday of each monthDance at Hat Box Dance Hall540 S. 4th St. in Muskogee, Okla.For seniors 50 and over, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.Admission is $2.50, includes pot luck dinner

John Andrews Rogers July 7, 1928 – January 19, 2016

In Memoriam

8 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • March 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 2016mONEy • a[w

BY BRITTNEY BENNETTIntern

CATOOSA, Okla. – During its Feb. 12 meeting, the Cherokee Nation Gaming Commission honored outgoing Chairwoman Stacy Leeds. The meeting marked the end of Leeds’ three-year appointment by the Tribal Council in February 2013.

“Thanks so much for your friendship and these last three years,” Leeds said during the meeting. “I’ve had a blast. I’ve learned a lot, and I will see you all very frequently. I think we are in excellent hands.”

CNGC Director Jamie Hummingbird presented Leeds with a traditional Cherokee basket purse created by Darlene Crosby as a “token of appreciation” for her service.

“I just want to say to you, thank you for your three years of putting up with me and these other yahoos,” he said. “I can’t speak for them, but I think they appreciate you just as much as I do, and it has been a pleasure having you as my chair. I know you aren’t completely gone from the picture as far as Cherokee Nation’s concerned and we hope to see you around. You’re welcome back any time.”

Reflecting on her time on the commission, Leeds said changes over the course of her tenure made the job a challenge but she is satisfied with the progress made.

“I think that everyone knows that the last few years in the gaming and regulation news within our tribe, there’s been a lot of change and we’re still in the middle of a big transition, so I like to think that we handled that in a pretty professional way all the way through and saw through the implementation of a few of those changes. So that’s a positive,” she said.

One change that took place during Leeds’ tenure was the Tribal Council amending the Gaming Commission Act in

April 2014. The amendment limited the CNGC’s

regulatory powers over Cherokee Nation Entertainment operations with Legislative Act 07-14. In June 2014, technical changes were made with LA 17-14. Principal Chief Bill John Baker signed both acts, though the amendments didn’t become law until the National Indian Gaming Commission gave approval on Oct. 27, 2014.

The amendment called for the CNGC to regulate and issue regulations only related to CNE’s gaming operations and follow only the NIGC’s minimum internal control standards or MICS. Before, the CNGC was required to establish tribal internal control standards or TICS to meet the tribe’s specific gaming needs. The amendment also placed regulation authority over nongaming operations including food, beverage, hotel and entertainment with Cherokee Nation Businesses and CNE rather than the CNGC.

Moving forward, Leeds said she hopes there is continued cooperation between businesses and regulators and that she is “confident that things will eventually work out.”

Though Leeds has left the commission and will devote more time to her position as dean and professor of law at the University of Arkansas School of Law, she will still have a presence at the CN through her upcoming participation in the 2016 Remember the Removal Bike Ride.

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BY MARK DREADFULWATER Multimedia Editor

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Writer, designer, editor, art consignor…the list goes on for Cherokee Nation citizen Lisa Snell. The Native American Times and Native Oklahoma Magazine owner recently moved her home-based operation to a quaint, downtown shop called Certified Native.

Snell started working out of her home as a part-time employee with the Native American Times in 2006. She said she and her husband just had a baby and working from home allowed her to raise their child and work. Once she purchased the publication, she operated it from home.

“When I bought the Native Times, I basically had a desk set up on the dining room table and I did my work there,” she said. “It took about six months when the advertising money started coming in and I was able to get caught up and push it into the black. By the end of the first year, I was able to take our one-car garage and make that into an office space.”

Snell said once her daughter was old enough for school, she looked into getting an office outside of the home. However, that plan was halted because of her second child.

“I stayed at home again and was able to stay home with my son and work,” she said. “In my office, he’d be lying in my lap or in the floor playing, but I was able to take breaks throughout the day.

“Working at home I was always at work. Some people think it’s great, you just roll out of bed and you walk over to your desk and you’re fine,” she added. “I did that, but also at 10 o’clock at night, I’d think of something I needed to do. I’d be in the office doing that instead of spending time with my family. It was distracting for me to work from home.”

She said after her son started attending pre-school in August, she again started looking for an office.

“We’d drive down main street in Tahlequah and I’d see this little building that had been empty for a while,” she said. “I thought, you know, that would be a good spot to have an office because it’s just the size I need. I was ready to get out of the garage,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to get out and separate my home environment from my work environment.”

The 245-square-foot facility is located at 306 N. Muskogee Ave. and houses the Native American Times and Native Oklahoma Magazine. Also, Snell said since she had some extra space, she sells art provided by Native artists.

“Through the course of my work, I’ve met so many artists that don’t have the resources, money or time to market themselves or they are up and coming and don’t have a place to show their work,” she said. “So they are trying to do art shows that get cost prohibitive.”

She said travel and other expenses lead to artists losing money while attending shows.

“I thought I could open this and let some of these artists that I talk to…put their artwork here,” she said. “At least people can come by and see it.”

She sells the artwork on consignment but at a lower fee than regular art galleries. She said does that because selling art is not her primary business.

“I’m a writer. That’s what I do,” she said. “I’m a writer and publisher. This is just something I thought would be neat to try and to help some people out. There are so many talented artists here and they just need a place to be seen.”

Snell said selling artists’ works benefit them, but she benefits from it, too, and that it’s more than financial.

“If someone comes and buys something it gets replaced and I get to have new office décor all the time,” she said. “So it’s a win-win. They sell some stuff and I get a nice office to sit in.”

Some artists that have artwork for sale at Certified Native are Cherokee potter Jane Osti, Cherokee gourd artist Verna Bates, Comanche painter Timothy Tate Nevaquaya, Choctaw jeweler Hayley Miller, Muscogee Creek artist Merle Welch, Pawnee artist Robie White and late Cherokee author Robert J. Conley.

For more information on Certified Native email info@certifiednative.com or call 918-708-5838. For more information on the Native American Times and Native Oklahoma Magazine go to http://nativetimes.com and http://nativeoklahoma.us, respectively.

Snell expands career with office opening

ABOVE: Cherokee Nation citizen Lisa Snell works on a project for the Native American Times. Snell moved her publishing business to downtown Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Within it she sells Native American art on consignment. RIGHT: Certified Native located at 306 N. Muskogee Ave. in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, houses the Native American Times, Native Oklahoma Magazine and Native American artwork on consignment. PHOTOS BY MARK DREADFULWATER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Cherokee Nation citizen Lisa Snell grows her business from newspaper and magazine publishing to art consignment.

Outgoing Gaming CommissionChairwoman Leeds honored

Chairwoman Stacy Leeds, center, ended her three-year term with the Cherokee Nation Gaming Commission after its Feb. 12 meeting at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Catoosa, Oklahoma. BRITTNEY BENNETT/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

March 2016 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 9 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 mONEy • a[w

BY JAMI MURPHYReporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Cherokee Nation citizen Richard Fields first learned to make handcrafted bows and arrows in the late 1980s from a family member, but it wasn’t until later that he found his true potential in carving a business out of being a bowyer.

“I used to travel around building restaurants all the time, and when I come home (I) didn’t have nothing to do. My older cousin said ‘hey how’d you like to learn how to make your own bow?’” Fields said. “I said ‘I don’t know, I don’t got enough patience for that. I started then.”

Fields said he was originally from Catoosa, and then moved to Kansas, Oklahoma, where his father’s family was from. Growing up, he said, he didn’t know much about making bows.

“It’s all new to me you know, back then. I learned a lot of things just through my family. I was more the type of kid that just like to run around and do things you know,” he said. “I wasn’t into this stuff and that’s what’s wrong nowadays. Not very many kids get interested in this stuff. We almost lost it for awhile.”

He said he began selling bows in the 1990s, and chose to work it as a business around 2012. That was at the suggestion of a student to whom he had been teaching bow-making skills.

“His name was Tom Nave. He was wanting to learn how to make a bow, so he come to my house to learn and he said ‘man you ought to sell these things,’” Fields said. “I said ‘I sell one once in a while’ and he said ‘man, you make fantastic bows.’ He

said, ‘you ought to get into business.’”After that, Fields said he sought out the Spider Gallery in

Tahlequah and began teaching bow-making classes, as well as selling bows and arrows.

Fields uses seasoned Bois d’arc wood to make his bows. A long bow with an arrow rest whittled into the handle costs $900. A flat bow or “D-bow” and a regular-handled bow costs $500. He sells his arrows in a set of 3 for $45.

“Here lately I’ve been selling them all (the flat and regular) just for $500 because the economy was going down and not very many people can afford that,” he said. “In order to keep business going that’s what I’ve done.”

A bow, on average, takes Fields about 40 hours to complete.About 20 years ago, Fields said he asked to take part in an

elder camp where they taught cultural lessons. He asked a Cherokee elder what it would take to make a bow for himself, and the response he got was “you’ve got a long ways to go.”

“He said, ‘you’re not a bowyer until you got some years underneath your belt.’ I finally figured out what he was talking about because it don’t matter who you are or how good you are, there’s always going to be a busted bow,” Fields said. “Not everything is perfect. The Indian has never been perfect.”

Fields’ next class at the Spider Gallery is set to begin April 1.“Because I take time out for January and February to cut

and scout for next year’s wood and when I start classes, I like to have about six or seven (students),” he said.

For more information on classes, call the Spider Gallery at 918-453-5728. To inquire about purchasing a bow, contact Fields through his personal Facebook account.

Cherokee Nation citizen Richard Fields has made handcrafted bows and arrows for more than 20 years. Here he strips a piece of Bois d’arc wood to form his bow. JAMI MURPHY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

From beginner to bowyer, Fields learns bow-making skills

ᏓᎵᏆ, ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎹ.– ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎨᎳ Richard Fields ᎢᎬᏱ ᎤᎴᏅᎲ ᏧᏬᏢᏗ ᏧᏬᏰᏂ ᏧᏙᏗ ᏧᏬᏢᏗ ᏗᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏗᎦᏟᏗ ᎾᎿ ᎣᏂ ᎢᏗᏢ ᏐᏁᎳᏚ ᎢᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᏁᎵᏍᎪ ᎤᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏏᏓᏁᎸᎢ, ᎠᏎᏃ Ꮭ ᎾᎯᏳᏊ ᎣᏂᏴ ᎤᏕᎶᎰᏒ ᎾᎿ ᏗᎬᏩᏲᏟᏗ ᎨᏒ ᎢᎦ ᎾᎿ ᏗᎬᏩᎾᏗᏅᏓ ᏧᏬᏢᏅ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ.

“ᎨᏙᎵᏙᎲ ᏓᏓᏁᎸ ᏧᎾᎵᏍᏓᏴᏗ ᏂᎪᎯᎸ, ᎠᎴ ᏱᎠᎩᎷᏥ ᏗᏇᏅᏒ (1) Ꮭ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᏯᎩᎮ ᎠᏆᏛᏗ. ᎤᏓᏂᎵᎨ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎠᏋᎾ ᎤᏁᏨ ‘ᏱᏣᏚᎵᏍ ᏣᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏨᏌ ᏗᏦᏢᏗ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ?” ᏠᎨᏏ ᎤᏛᏅ. ᎠᎩᏁᏨ ᏝᏛ ᏯᏆᏅᏔ, Ꮭ ᎡᎵ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎪᎯᏓ ᏱᎦᎦᎵᏍᏛᏡᎦ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏯᏆᏛᏁᏗᎢ. ᎾᎯᏳ ᎠᏆᎴᏅᎲᎢ.”

ᏠᎨᏏ ᎤᏛᏅ ᎾᎾ ᏂᏓᏳᏂᎩᏓ ᎨᏒ ᎦᏚᏏᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᏃᏊ ᎤᏓᏅᏌ ᏭᎷᏤᎵ ᎢᎪᏓ ᎦᏅᎯᏓ, ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎹ, ᎾᎿ ᎤᏙᏓ ᏏᏓᏁᎸ ᎤᎾᏓᎴᏅᎢ. ᎤᏛᏏᏗᏒ, ᎠᏗᏍᎬ Ꮭ ᎤᎪᏓ ᏯᏆᏅᏖ ᏗᎪᏢᏗ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ.

“ᏂᎦᏓᏃ ᎢᏤ ᎨᏒ, ᎾᎯᏳᏃ ᏥᎨᏒ. ᎤᎪᏓ ᏧᏓᎴᏅᏓ ᎠᏆᏕᎶᏆᎥ ᏏᏓᏁᎸ ᎦᏥᏕᎶᏆᎡᎲᎢ. ᎠᏯᏃ ᏥᏲᏟ ᏥᎨᏒ ᏥᎨᏒ ᎤᎪᏛ ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏛ ᎣᎦᏝᎢᏓᏍᏗ ᏧᏓᎴᏅᏓ ᎣᎩᎸᏉᏛ ᏲᎦᏛᏗ ᏣᏅᏔᏛ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᏝᏃ ᎯᎠ ᏧᏓᎴᏅᏓ ᏥᎾᎾᏛᏁᎰ ᎩᎳ ᏗᎾᏛᏍᎩ ᏱᏃᏣᏛᏁᎮᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏥᏂᎦᎵᏍᏔᏅᏍᎩ ᎪᎯ ᏥᎩᎢ. ᏝᏃ ᎤᏂᎪᏓ ᏗᏂᏲᏟᎤᎵᏍᎨᏓ ᏱᏄᎾᎵᏍᏓᏁᎰ ᎯᎠ ᎦᎪᏢᏅᏗ ᎨᏒᎢ. ᎠᎴᏃ ᏂᎩᏲᏎᎰ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ.”

ᎤᏛᏅ ᎤᎴᏅᎮ ᏕᎦᎾᏕᎬ ᏗᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᎾᎿ ᏐᏁᎳᏚ ᎢᏍᎪᎯᏧᏈ ᏐᏁᎵᏍᎪ ᏧᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒ, ᎠᎴ ᎤᏑᏰᏎ ᏧᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ ᎤᏩᏌ ᏱᏣᏓᎾᏂ ᎡᎵᏍᏗ ᎤᏂᏃᎮᎴ ᎠᎴ ᏓᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᏗᎪᏢᏗᎢ.

“ᏚᏙᎥᎢ Tom Nave. ᎤᏚᎵᏍᎬ ᎤᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏧᏬᏢᏗ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ, ᎭᏩᏃ ᎤᏪᏙᎸ ᏗᏓᏁᎸ ᎤᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏙᎯᏳᎧ ᏱᏘᎾᏕᎦ ᎡᎵᏍᏗ ᎯᎠ ᏗᎦᎵᏣᏗ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᏠᎨᏏ. “ᎠᎩᏁᏨ ‘ᏌᏊ ᏥᎾᏕᎪ ᎢᏴᏓᎭ ᎠᎴ ᎯᎠ ᏄᏪᏒ ‘ᎢᎦᏃ ᏦᏌᎾ ᏗᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᏕᎰᏢᏍᎪᎢ.’ ᎤᏛᏅ, ᎡᎵᏍᏗ ᎢᏨᏌ ᏱᏣᏓᎾᏂ.”’

ᎣᏂᏃ, ᏠᎨᏏ ᎤᏛᏅ ᎤᏯᎸ ᎤᏪᏙᎸ ᎾᎿ ᎧᎾᏁᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᏢᎾᎥᎢ ᎾᎿ ᏓᎵᏆ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎴᏅᎲ ᏓᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᏗᎪᏢᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏓᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬ, ᎾᏃᏍᏊ ᏕᎦᎾᏕᎬ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᎠᎴ

ᏗᎦᏟᏗ.ᏠᎨᏏ ᎬᏗᏍᎪ seasoned ᏓᎶᏂᎨ ᎧᎶᏇᏗ ᎠᏓ ᏕᎪᏢᏗᏍᎪ

ᎦᎵᏣᏗ. ᎦᏅᎯᏓ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎦᏟᏓ ᎤᏠᏯᏍᏗ ᎠᏲᏞᏅ ᎪᏱᏅᏍᏗ ᏓᎬᏩᎶᏛ ᏐᏁᎳᏥᏊ. ᏌᎨ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ” ᎠᎴ ᎤᏠᏯ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᏚᎬᏩᎶᏛᎢ ᎯᏍᎩᏧᏈ. ᏗᎦᏟᏓᏃ ᏕᎦᎾᏕᎪ ᏦᎢ ᏗᎦᏛᎩᏓ ᏅᎩᏍᎪ ᎯᏍᎩ ᎢᏕᎸᎢ.

ᎯᎢᏃ ᎾᏞᎬ ᏕᏥᎾᏕᎬ ᏂᎦᏓᏊ (ᏗᏌᎨ ᎠᎴ ᏗᏐᎢ) ᎾᏍᎩ ᎯᏍᎩᏧᏈ ᏅᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᏃᏊ ᏚᏂᎬᏩᎶᏛ ᎡᎳᏗ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏍᎪ ᎠᎴ Ꮭ ᎤᏂᎪᏓ ᎠᏂᏴᏫ ᎡᎵ ᏗᎬᏩᏂᏩᎯᏍᏗ ᏱᎨᏎᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᏂᎦᏯᎢᏎᏍᏗ ᎨᎵᏍᎬ ᎠᏓᎾᏅ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎾᏆᏛᏁᎵ ᎦᏲᏟᎨ ᏓᎬᏩᎶᏛᎢ.”

ᎦᎵᏣᏗ, ᎣᏍᏓ ᎢᎩᏓ, ᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᏳᏲᏞᏂ ᎡᎵ ᏅᎩᏍᎪ ᎢᏳᏟᎶᏓ ᏩᏥ ᎤᏪᏅᏍᏗ ᎠᏱᎵᏙᎭ ᎠᏍᏆᏗᏍᎪᎢ.

ᎾᎿ ᏯᏛᎾ ᏔᎵᏍᎪ ᎾᏕᏘᏯ ᏥᎨᏒ, ᏠᎨᏌ ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎤᏓᏛᏛᏅ ᎬᏩᏖᎳᏗᏍᏗ ᏧᎾᏔᎾᏯ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᎿᏓᎾᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬ ᏂᏧᎵᏍᏔᏅᏍᏔᏅ. ᎤᏛᏛᏅ ᎠᏣᎳᎩ ᎤᏔᎾᏯ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎬᏙᏗ ᎨᏒ ᎪᏢᏗ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ ᎤᏩᏌ ᎤᏙᏗ, ᎠᎴ ᎠᎦᏬᎢᎵᏴᎡᎸ ᎯᎠ ᎾᏥᏪᏎᎴ “ᎤᏓᏅᎯᏓᏛ ᏣᏂᎩᏍᏗ ᎩᎳ ᎢᎨᏣᏛᏗ.”

“ᎤᏛᏅ, ᏝᏃ Ꮟ ᏙᎯᏳ ᎯᎦᎵᏣᏛ ᏱᎩ ᏃᏊ ᎨᎳ ᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏗᏣᎵᏌᎳᏁᎸ ᏱᎩ ᏗᎦᎵᏣᏗ.’ ᎡᎵᏃ ᎤᏬᎯᏨ ᎦᏓᏅᏖᏍᎬ ᎨᎳ ᎠᏉᎵᏨ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬ ᎯᎳ ᎢᏲᏍᏓ ᏱᎩ ᏗᏦᏢᏗ, ᎠᏎ ᎢᎸᏢ ᏛᏲᏥ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᏠᎨᏏ. “ᏝᏃ ᏂᎦᎥᎢ ᎣᏍᏓ ᏱᎩ. ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ Ꮭ ᎢᎴᎯᏳ ᎧᎵᏬ ᏱᎦᎩ.”

ᏠᎨᏏ ᏙᏛᏕᏲᏂ ᎾᎿ ᎧᎾᏁᎵᏍᎩ ᎤᏂᏢᏅᏗ ᎠᏓᎴᏂᏍᎩ ᎧᏬᏂ ᎢᎬᏱᎢ.

“ᏅᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᏙᎢ ᎾᏆᏛᏁᎸ ᎤᏃᎸᏔᏂ ᎧᎸ ᎠᎴ ᎧᎦᎵ ᏕᎧᎸ ᏓᏂᏯᎸ ᏐᎢ ᏩᏕᏘᏴᎲ ᏗᎬᏙᏗ ᎠᏓ, ᎠᎴ ᎢᎦᎴᏅᎥ ᏛᎦᎴᏅ ᏕᎦᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬᎢ, ᎤᏆᏚᎵ ᏑᏓᎵ ᎠᎴ ᎦᎵᏉᎩ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᏗᎦᏥᏰᏲᏗ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

ᎤᎪᏛ ᏣᏕᎶᎰᎯᏍᏗ ᏱᏣᏚᎵ ᎾᎿ ᏓᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬ, ᏫᏣᏟᏃᎮᏗ ᎧᎾᏁᏍᎩ ᎤᏂᏢᎾᎥᎢ ᎯᎠ ᏎᏍᏗ 918-453-5728. ᎤᎪᏛ ᎠᏕᎶᎰᎯᏍᏗ ᏲᏚᎵ ᎠᏩᎯᏍᏗ ᎦᎵᏣᏗ, ᎠᏛᎪᏙᏗ ᏠᎨᏏ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏩᏌ ᎤᏤᎵ ᎾᎿ Facebook account.

SCAN CODE TO SEE VIDEO

Life coach helps people better lives

BY WILL CHAVEZSenior Reporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Cherokee Nation citizen Trese Chuculate said she has been creating positive changes for people as a life coach with her business “Life Coaching For Positive Changes” since April.

“As a life coach I motivate my clients to follow their goals and dreams. It doesn’t matter how old you are. Everyone has goals,” she said. “A life coach is exactly that, a coach. I stand by your side and assist you with staying on track with your goals and dreams whether it be work, school, buying a house or car, restoring your home, starting a class, dating, relationships. I am here for you,” she said.

Chuculate said she’s always been interested in the life-coaching career, which helps her help people.

“Life coaching allows me to help numerous individuals with a wide variety of issues. I am not a counselor, but a life coach. There is a difference. A life coach assists an individual with their goals and dreams and how to get to that point. I refer the individuals to seek counseling if needed,” she said. “Life coaching has been very fulfilling because it is very satisfying to guide my clients to their goals and dreams and to also refer them to the providers needed to help them.”

Her clients begin working with her by first completing a questionnaire so she knows where they are in life and what type of assistance they need. Then I top it off with a vision statement, which I share with the client. The vision statement keeps them on track with their goals,” Chuculate said.

One client wanted help with being a procrastinator and suffered from anxiety.

“We figured out that her anxiety was the reason she was a procrastinator. She didn’t like dealing with people or anything that made her nervous so she just wouldn’t deal with it. I encouraged her to see her doctor or counselor to get on the medication she needed for her anxiety,” Chuculate said.

She also gave the client a list of things on which the client needed to work.

“She said it caused her anxiety, but she tackled her list. She is still working on her list. It hasn’t happened overnight, but she is still working on her problems,” Chuculate said. “As long as the individual realizes their problems, then they can fix them. I worked on her vision statement and she broke into tears, not because she was sad, but because she knew she could do it.”

Another client needed help with relationships with men. Eventually Chuculate recommended she see a counselor.

“She had been hurt time after time in all of her relationships. We figured out that she was trying way too hard. She was doing everything for these men to taking out the trash, cooking, cleaning, laundry, packing their lunch everyday. She wouldn’t allow them to do anything. She had a very strong personality,” Chuculate said. “They all cheated on her. We figured out that these men needed to be the man of the house. They went looking for a woman that would allow them to be the man of the house. She is now working on her feminine side. She was also a very negative thinker and speaker. I am working with her on how important it is to think and talk positively. To think before you respond. We are making much progress.”

Life coaching requires approximately four to five sessions depending on the client’s goals. Each session is $50, and she meets with her clients once a week. She does not accept insurance.

Chuculate emphasized changes don’t happen overnight, but she believes people can change their behavior by changing the way they think.

“I teach my clients how to think and speak positive and of course, to have faith in God. Nothing would be possible without God. I am very thankful for everything I have, and I teach my clients to be thankful even if they have very little. I also encourage my clients to stay away from negative things or people who may keep their life in chaos. Basically, I teach a positive outlook and to see the very best in everyone and every situation,” she said.

For more information, call 918-571-3030 or email lifecoachingwithtrese@gmail.com.

Trese Chuculate

Trese Chuculate operates “Life Coaching For Positive Changes,” assisting individuals with their goals and how to achieve them.

Life coaching allows me to help numerous individuals with a wide

variety of issues. – Trese Chuculate, life coach

10 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • March 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 2016HEAlTH • aBk 0sr

BY JAMI MURPHYReporter

SALINA, Okla. – Cherokee Nation citizen Tina Snell is an ambulatory care nurse manager at the AMO Health Center who brings with her about 15 years of health field experience.

Snell, a full blood, grew up in Kenwood, went to school in Wickliffe and Salina and received her registered nursing degree from Rogers State University. After graduating RSU in 2001, she’s worked several places within CN Health Services.

“I’ve kind of been around the block through Cherokee Nation a time or two. I actually went and worked at (W.W.) Hastings (Hospital) in the operating room as a circulator for a while (after working at the Sam Hider Clinic). Then I took a job with IT as a clinical applications coordinator, and I worked pretty much at Muskogee for about a year and a half when we first started the electronic health record. My role there was to get the computers set up and get the electronic health record going…teach pretty much everybody how to use it.”

In 2011, Snell took a case manager position in the Salina clinic. In 2013 she was hired to be the nurse manager, her current position, in which she oversees about 25 employees consisting of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, clerks and nursing assistants.

“I just oversee them, make sure staffing is adequate. You know, every provider has a nurse, so we make sure that everything is covered from day to day,” Snell said.

Since taking the position, Snell said her direct patient care has decreased.

“I don’t do a lot of direct patient care, but I do occasionally when I need to get out there and help them…If they just feel like ‘hey I need some help’ you know, I’m always willing to get out there and help.”

Many times Snell helps with patient transfers because they take time can delay regular patients with appointments.

“And we do have the occasional urgent patient…sometimes we do get them where we need to send them to a higher level of facility to

be taken care of, so I’ll usually jump in there and help with something like that,” she said.

Some situations she’s come across when her nursing experience was needed dealt with starting IVs.

“A lot of times I can step in there and get that done. Since I do have a lot of experience in that area and a lot of people are hard to get sometimes, but we have a really good staff here,” she said. “If a couple people can’t get it and then they call me I know it’s going to be a challenge.”

Other times she’s been called on were to deal with people occasionally falling or passing out.

Snell said when she first took the manager position her first thought was that she “could be a really good resource for my nursing staff.”

“Because I’ve been to just about every clinic in Cherokee Nation and I’ve worked at Hastings and I know a lot of people, I know who is where. If somebody mentions a name I’ll usually know where they come from. And I feel like I’ve done that. I fell like, you know, I’m a good

resource so let me find out what we do in that situation,” she said.

For something as small as an issue with computers, she can usually fix it without having to call Information Technology because of her IT background in Muskogee.

A typical day for Snell includes checking the schedules to see who is set to work.

“So that I kind of know what to expect through the day. I’ll usually, when everybody gets here and gets to their work stations, I’ll usually go around and check on everybody,” she said. “I just go around and check on everybody and make sure everything is flowing like it should.”

Once her staff is working, she looks ahead to the upcoming days to ensure she’ll have a complete staff to adequately serve patients because they are and should feel welcome by those they see in the clinic. This is something she expresses to her staff as well.

“I just remind them a lot of times about good customer service skills.

How they’d like to be treated…introduce yourself. I find that we lack in that area of letting the patient know,” she said. “I’ve really been pushing for that…just let that

patient know (who you are) because I feel like that gives them a little bit of relief like ‘they actually know who we are’ when they come through that door.”

Snell knows ins, outs of CN Health Services

Tina Snell, an ambulatory care nurse, helps a co-worker at the Cherokee Nation’s AMO Health Center in Salina, Oklahoma. Snell oversees about 25 employees at the center. PHOTOS BY JAMI MURPHY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Cherokee Nation citizen Tina Snell is an ambulatory care nurse at the AMO Health Center in Salina, Oklahoma.

March 2016 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 11 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9

We’re the ones that kind of give them that motivation to keep going and keep pushing.

– Nick Kirk, MSRC Primary Prevention Projects supervisor

HEAlTH • aBk 0sr

MSRC trainer helps individuals get fit The tribe’s Male Seminary Recreation Center has trainers to help individuals become healthyBY STACIE GUTHRIEReporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – With New Year’s gone, many people are following up on resolutions to get healthy, and some are going to the Cherokee Nation’s Male Seminary Recreation Center to do so.

MSRC Primary Prevention Projects Supervisor Nick Kirk, who is also a fitness trainer, said for gym newcomers, he and his fellow trainers are there to help them learn how to correctly exercise.

“We have a lot of technique-based moves that we have to teach,” he said. “We start them on the basics, how to squat, how to do a proper push-up, how to just get them moving a little bit to just kind of ease (them) from the overwhelming side of it. We want to make sure that we nail the basics first.”

He said it’s important to exercise frequently to maintain longevity and strength as we get older. To help do that the gym offers classes such as spin, Zumba and boot camps.

“Boot camp classes is a lot of cross-training,” he said. “You’re doing various, different types of movements. It’s something different each day. You could be running one day, but doing minimal exercises. There’s probably over 20 moves that we teach and incorporate here for our classes.”

Kirk said the MSRC offers five boot camps, with one beginner class. Regular boot camps take place at 5 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 p.m. and 5:20 p.m., Monday through Friday. The beginner class is at 6:30 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday.

Kirk said most early classes average about 25 people, but during his class he often sees 30 people.

He also sees various age groups participating in the boot camps.

“If you come to the 9 o’clock (a.m.) class it’s more of an older population. There’s a few younger ones but typically it’s probably 40s to 60s, and I think our oldest member is 72. That’s the most diverse class,” he said. “Noon is probably more of the people in college and people that are working steady that have to come during their lunch break. Morning classes are kind of a combination. And then the 5:20 p.m. is kind of a combination of it all.”

Kirk said when it comes to his class he knows many participants on a first-name basis, and when new people join he helps them learn the basics before they get to harder exercises.

“You kind of have to introduce the movements and kind of start them down on a very basic movement list,” he said.

Kirk said when it comes to shedding weight his cousin is a “success” story thanks to MSRC classes.

“He started at 315 pounds and now he weighs, I think, 185. He’s in here all the time. He’s had a huge success with classes and stuff,” he said. “There’s just a handful of people that we could talk about that have seen benefits from our classes and kind of gravitate toward different trainers and our regimen that we do here.”

He said a good way to maintain weight loss is regularly going to the gym.

“Just keep coming back,” he said.

“Obviously motivation plays a big part of that so they come here and they rely on us. We’re the ones that kind of give them that motivation to keep going and keep pushing.”

Kirk said exercising is important for Native Americans because of high diabetes rates.

“That’s just how it’s always been with Cherokee Nation citizens,” he said. “It’s important to keep that in check by regulating that. It’s (type 2 diabetes) very avoidable by exercising, but a lot of people don’t know how to exercise so they need to come and ask for advice and help and that’s what we are.”

Kirk said he got involved with exercising when he was in the seventh grade. His wanting to learn more about exercise and the body eventually led him to a master’s degree in health and kinesiology.

“After that I just started wanting to know more about the science behind it and trying to educate myself more on the movements and how to eat properly,” he said.

CN citizen Walter Pigeon said Kirk’s boot camps are perfect for him. “It’s just a really intense boot camp. For me, that’s what I like, is a high-intensity workout, basically everything that Nick puts us through.”

Pigeon said he’s attended the gym for about two years and has seen significant fitness improvements.

“I’ve been here for two years and my fitness is awesome,” he said. “Not bragging on myself, bragging on the staff. All the equipment we have here is just awesome. You have a variety, not just boot camp, but the whole gym. The experience is awesome for anyone.”

The MSRC also has treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical trainers and other exercise machines. There is also a free weight room, resistance room, basketball court, outside track and personal trainers.

The MSRC is open from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Membership is free for CN citizens and employees and their immediate families. The center also offers child watch from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday.

For more information, call 918-453-5496 or visit http://cherokeepublichealth.org/msrc-gym.

ᏓᎵᏆ, ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ. – ᎢᏤᏃ ᎠᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ ᎤᎶᏐᏅᎢ ᏥᎩ, ᎤᏂᏣᏘ ᎠᏂᏍᏓᏩᏕᎦ ᏒᏍᏛᎢ ᎤᏂᏚᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᏙᎯᎢ ᎢᏳᎾᎵᏍᏙᏗ,

ᎢᎦᏓᏃ ᎠᏁᎪᎢ ᎥᎿ ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎠᏂᏧᏦᎢ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎤᏙᏢᏒᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏰᏃ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᏗᎢ.

MSRC ᏄᎬᏫᏳᏒᎢ ᏗᏓᏅᏗᏍᏗᎢ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᏄᎬᏫᏳᏒᎢ NICk kIRk, Z ᎾᏍᏊ ᏗᏏᎾᎯᏍᏗᏍᎩ, ᎢᏳᏪᏓ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᏅᎵᎩᏐᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏂᏤᎢ ᎠᏂᎷᎩ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏩᏌ ᎠᎴ ᎬᏩᏍᏕᎵᏍᎩ ᎠᏂᏏᎾᎯᏍᏗᏍᎩ ᎠᏁᏙᎰᎢ ᏰᎵᎢ ᏗᎦᏳᏂᏍᏕᎸᎡᏗ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᏂᏚᏳᎪᏛᎢ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗᎢ.

“ᎯᎸᏍᎩᏃ ᏂᏚᏓᎴᎢ ᎢᏗᏛᏁᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᎵᏕᎸᏂᏓᏍᏗᎢ ᏙᎩᎭ ᏦᏤᏲᏗᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᏫᏓᎯᏗᏳᎢ ᏙᏣᎴᏅᏗᏍᎪᎢ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᏗᎵᏂᏆᏅᏗᎢ,ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᏚᏳᎪᏛᎢ ᎠᏓᏌᏙᏍᏗᎢ -ᎦᎸᎳᏗ,ᎾᏍᎩ ᏰᎵᎢ ᎬᏩᎾᎵᏖᎸᏂᏓᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᎾᏓᏲᎯᏍᏗ ᏂᎨᏒᎾ. ᎣᎦᏚᎵᎠ ᎤᏂᎩᏍᏐᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎬᏱᏱᎢ ᎠᏓᎴᏂᏍᎬᎢ.”

ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ Ꮓ ᎢᏙᏳᏃ ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏗᎢ ᎠᎵᏖᎸᏂᏓᏍᏗᎢ ᏂᎪᎸᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎪᎯᏓ ᎠᎴᏂᏓᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏟᏂᎪᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᏴᎦᏴᎳᎩ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᎠᎵᏍᎸᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎡᏓᏍᏗᏃ ᎤᎾᎵᎩᏐᏗᎢ ᏧᏙᏢᏒᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂᏃ ᎠᎾᎵᏍᎪᏟᏗᏍᎪ SPIN, ZUMBA ᎠᎴ BOOT CAMPS.

“BOOT CAMP ᏓᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏧᎾᏕᎴᎢ -ᎠᎾᎵᏏᎾᏫᏍᏗᏍᎬᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎾᏍᎩ ᏅᏛᏁᎲᎢ ᎯᎸᏍᎩ, ᎢᏧᏓᎴᎢ ᎢᏧᏍᏗ ᎠᎵᎩᏐᏙᏗ. ᎪᎱᏍᏗᏃ ᏄᏓᎴᎢ ᎨᏐᎢ ᏳᎩᏨᎯ. ᏳᏓᎵᎭᏃ ᎡᎵᏊ ᏯᏓᎾᏫᏍᏗᎭ, ᎠᏎᏃ ᎠᎦᏲᏟᏃ ᏴᎵᎩᏐᏗᎢ. 20 Ꮓ ᎢᏧᏓᎴᏅᏓ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᎵᏖᎸᏂᏓᏍᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏙᏤᏲᎲᏍᎪᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏙᏣᏠᏯᏍᏗᎰᎢ ᎠᎭᏂ ᎠᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬᎢ.”

kIRk Z ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮎ MSRC ᏓᎵᏍᎪᏗᎭ ᎯᏍᎩ

ᏱᎦᎢ BOOT CAMPS, ᏌᏉᏃ ᎠᎾᎴᏂᏍᎩᏭ ᎠᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ. ᏙᏃ ᎣᏍᏓᏭ BOOT CAMPS 5 A.M, 9 A.M, 12 P.M. ᎠᎴ 5:20 P.M, ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ ᏧᎾᎩᎶᏍᏗ ᏓᎾᎴᏂᎰᎢ ᎠᎾᎴᏂᎰᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎩᎳ ᎠᎾᎴᏂᏍᎩ ᎠᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬᎢ 6:30 P.M. ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ ᎠᎴ ᏦᎢᏁ ᎢᎦ .

kIRk Z ᎢᎧᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎢᎦᏓᏃ ᎢᎬᏱᏱᎢ ᏓᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬᎢ 25 Ꮲ ᎾᏂᎣᎢ ᏴᏫ, ᎠᏎᏃ ᎾᎯᏳ ᏓᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬᎢ ᏳᏓᎵ 30 ᎾᏂᎰᎢ ᏴᏫ ᏓᎪᏩᏘᏍᎪᎢ.

ᎯᎸᏍᎩᏃ ᎢᏧᎾᏓᎴᏅᏗ ᎢᏧᎾᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏳᎾᏓᏡᎩ ᏓᎪᏩᏘᏍᎪᎢ ᎠᎾᎵᎩᏐᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ BOOT CAMPS .

“ᎢᏳᏃ 9 ᎢᏳᏩᏂᎸᎢ ᏱᏣᎷᏣ (A.M.) ᎠᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᎤᏂᎪᏙᎢ ᎤᎪᏗ ᎢᏧᎾᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎠᏁᏙᎰᎢ. ᎯᎸᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏂᏓᎨᎢ ᎠᏁᏙᎰᎢ ᎠᏎᏃ ᏭᎪᏛᏃ 40S ᎠᎴᏱᎩ 60S ᎢᏧᎾᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎠᏁᏙᎰᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᏂᎨᎵᏍᎬᎢ ᏩᎬᏴᎵᏴᎢ 72 ᎢᏳᏕᏔᏴᏓ ᎨᎳ ᎡᏙᎰᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ Ꮎ ᏅᏩᏓᎴᎢ ᏗᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎢᎦᏃ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏭᏂᎪᏛᎢ ᏴᏫ ᏩᎦᎸᎳᏗᏳ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎠᏁᏙᎯ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂᏏᏴᏫ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ ᎠᏎᎢ ᎢᎦ ᎠᏂᏲᎢᏍᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎤᎾᏟᏅᏓᏁᎰᎢ ᎤᏁᏓᏍᏗᎢ. ᏑᎾᎴᏃ ᏗᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩᏯᏃ ᏌᏊ ᏱᏗᎬᏁᎸᎢ. ᎠᎴ ᎬᎾᏍᏊ 5:20 P.M. ᎾᏍᎩᏊ ᎤᏠᏱ ᏱᎬᏁᏗᎢ ᏂᎦᏓ.”

kIRk Z ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏚᏅᏙᎢ ᎠᏂᏏᏴᏫᎭ ᏚᎾᏙᎥᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎾᎯᏳᏃ ᎠᏂᏤᎢ ᏳᎾᏖᎳᏗ ᏓᏍᏕᎵᏍᎪᎢ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏫᏓᎯᏗᏴᎢ ᎠᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎣᏂᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏫᏓᏍᏓᏴᎢ ᎠᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ.

“ᎬᎯᏃᏎᏗᏃ ᎬᏂᎨᏒᎢ ᏱᎦᎯᏴᏁᏗ ᏳᏍᏗ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᏗ ᎤᎾᎵᏖᎸᏂᏓᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎠᎴᏅᏗᎢ ᏗᎯᏓ ᎢᎬᏱᏱᎢ ᎤᎾᎴᏅᏗ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

“ ᎤᎴᏅᎯᏃ 315 ᎢᏳᏓᎨᏓ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎾᏊ 158, ᏄᏓᎦ, ᎨᎵᎠ. ᎠᏏᏃ Ꮟ ᎡᏙᎠ. ᎣᏍᏓᏃ ᏳᎵᏍᏓᏁᎸᎢ ᎠᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ,” ᎠᏂᎦᏲᏟᏃ ᎠᏂᏐᏴᏫᎭ ᏱᏙᏥᏃᎲᎵ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᎾᎵᏍᏕᎸᏙᏔᎾ ᎪᎦᏕᎶᏆᎡᎲᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎠᎾᎵᎩᏐᏗᏍᎩ ᏓᎾᏓᏁᏟᏴᏍᎪᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏄᏩᏓᎴ ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎰᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ ᎠᏏ ᎠᏂ ᎨᏒᎢ .”

ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᎣᏓᎨᏒᎢ ᎠᏲᎱᏎᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᎾᎵᎩᏐᏗᎢ ᏴᏙᎠ ᏂᎪᎯᎸᎢ.

“ ᎢᎮᏙᎮᏍᏗᏊ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎠᏕᎳᎰᎯᏍᏗᏊ ᏴᎵᏖᎸᏂᏙᎠ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏂᎷᎪᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎪᎬᎵᏍᎦᏍᏗᏍᎪᎢ. ᎠᏯᏃ ᏙᏥᎵᏏᏅᎯᏍᏗᏍᎪᎢ ᏂᎬᏂᎯᏐᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏙᏥᏌᏙᏍᎬᎢ.”

kIRk Z ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᏴᎵᏖᎸᏂᏙᎠ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏗᏯ ᏅᏁᎯᏴᎢ ᎠᎹᏰᎵ ᏂᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗᎭ ᎧᎵᏎᏥ ᎤᏁᎲᎢ.

“ ᏂᎪᎯᎸᏃ ᎥᏍᎩᏭ ᏂᎤᏍᏕᎢ ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎠᏁᎳ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏗᏳ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏳᏓᎵ ᎠᎦᏛᏗᎢ. (TyPE 2 DIABETES) ᏙᏳᎢ ᏱᏛᏓᏅᏗᏍᏗ ᏴᎵᏖᎸᏂᏙᎠ, ᎠᏎᏃ ᎤᏂᎪᏗ ᏴᏫ ᎥᏝ ᏯᏅᎵᏖᎸᏂᏙᎰᎢ ᎾᏊᏃ ᎠᏂᎷᎪᎢ ᎠᎾᏛᏛᎲᏍᎪᎢ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎠᎵᏍᏕᎸᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᏲᎦᏛᏁᏗ.”

kIRk Ꮓ ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎦᎵᏉᎩᏁ ᏗᎧᏂᏙᎯ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎤᎴᏅᎲᎢ. ᎤᎪᏗᏃ ᎤᏚᎵᏍᎬᎢ ᎤᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏰᎸᎢ ᎤᏘᏅᏒᎢ MASTER’S DEGREE ᎠᏰᎸᎢ ᏄᏍᏗᏕᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ kINESIOLOGy.

“ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏆᏍᏆᏓ ᎤᏓᎴᏅᎲᎢ ᎠᏆᏚᎵᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᏆᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏍᎬᎢ SCIENCE ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎦᏁᏟᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎤᎪᏗ ᎠᏆᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᏴᎵᏖᎸᏂᏙᎠ ᎠᎴ ᎢᏯᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᏚᏳᎪᏛᎢ ᎠᎵᏍᏓᏰᏗᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

CN ᎨᎳ WALTER PIGEON ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ kIRk’S BOOT CAMP ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎣᏍᏓ ᏱᎦᏳᏛᏁᏗ. “ᏙᏳᏃ ᎤᏍᎦᏎᏗ BOOT CAMP. ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᏯᏆᏛᏁᏗ, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏗ, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏍᏓᏱ ᏗᎦᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᎦᎥᏊ ᎢᎦᏲᎦᏛᏁᏗ ᏃᎬᏁᎲᎢ NICk.”

PIGEON Z ᎢᎧᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎤᏪᏙᎸᎢ ᎥᎿ ᎠᏰᎵᎢ ᏔᎵ ᎢᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎪᎭ ᎬᏁᏉᎬᎢ.

“ᏔᎵ ᎾᏕᏘᏯ ᏂᎨᏙᎰᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏂᎦᏛᏁᎲᎢ ᎣᏍᏓ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. ᎥᏝ ᏱᎦᏢᏩᏍᎦ, ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎦᏥᏢᏆᏎᎭ . ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏂᎦᏓ ᎬᏔᏂᏓᏍᏗ ᎣᎩᎲᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏂᎦᏓ ᎣᏍᏓ. ᎯᎸᏍᎩᏃ ᏱᎦᎢ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎬᏑᏰᏍᏗ, ᎥᏝ BOOT CAMP ᏗᏊ ᏱᎦᎢ ᏱᎩ, ᏌᏎᏅᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᎦᎥᏊ ᎠᏰᎵᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏴᎵᏖᎸᏂᏙᎠ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎾᏂᎥᎢ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎢᏳᎾᎵᏍᏓᏁᏗ.”

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ MSRC ᎾᏍᎩ ᏕᎤᎭ TREADMILLS, STATIONARy BIkES ELLIPTICAL TRAINERS ᎠᎴ ᏗᏐᎢ MACHINES . ᎠᎴᎾᏍᏊ ᎠᏎᏭᎢ ᎡᏓᏍᏗ WEIGHT ROOM, RESISTANCE ROOM, BASkETBALL COURT, ᏙᏱᏗᏜ ᎠᎴ ᎣᏩᏌ ᎠᏓᏍᏕᎵᏍᎩ.

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ MSRC 5:30 A.M. TO 9 P.M. ᎠᏍᎢᏐᎢ ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ ᏦᎢᏁ ᎢᎦ ᏳᏓ.ᎯᏓ, 5:30 A.M. TO 7 P.M. ᏧᎾᎩᏕᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M. ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏈᏕᎾ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏆᏍᎬᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎥᎨᎳ ᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᎠᏎᏭᏃ ᎢᎩ ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎥᎨᎳ ᏱᎩ ᎠᎴ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ ᎠᎴ ᎾᎥᎢ ᎠᏂᏏᏓᏁᎸᎢ ᏱᎩ . ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏰᎵᎢ ᎠᎵᏍᎪᏟᏗᎭ ᏗᏂᏲᏟ ᏧᎾᎦᏎᏍᏗᎢ 8 A.M. TO 1 P.M. ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎢ ᎠᏓᎴᏂᏍᎩ ᏧᏂᎩᏕᏍᏗ, 4 P.M. TO 9 P.M. ᎾᎯᏳᏃ ᎤᎾᏙᏓᏉᏅᎢ ᏅᏯᏁ ᎢᎦ ᏳᎾᏅᎯᏓ ᎠᎴ 4 P.M. TO 7 P.M. ᎾᎯᏳᏃ ᏧᎾᎩᏕᏍᏗ.

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᎪᏗ ᏲᏚᎵᎠ ᎠᏕᎶᎰᎯᏍᏗᎢ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᏩᏟᏃᎮᏗ 918-453-5496 ᎠᎴᏱᎩ HTTP://CHEROkEEPUBLICHEALTH.ORG/MSRC-GyM.

Nick Kirk, the Primary Prevention Projects supervisor at the Cherokee Nation’s Male Seminary Recreation Center, second from left, talks to his 5:20 p.m. boot camp class in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Kirk said his boot camp is available Monday through Friday. PHOTOS BY STACIE GUTHRIE/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Primary Prevention Projects Supervisor Nick Kirk works out alongside his 5:20 p.m. boot camp class to help keep them motivated. Kirk said many people use the Male Seminary Recreation Center to help stay or get fit.

SCAN CODE TO SEE VIDEO

12 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • March 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 2016EduCATION • #n[]Qsd

The Northeastern State University Department of Cherokee and Indigenous Studies adds the classes for the Spring 2016 semester.BY BRITTNEY BENNETTIntern

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Northeastern State University students have a wider choice of classes this semester with the addition of three courses in the Cherokee and Indigenous Studies Department.

The classes are Native American film and media with Dr. Kimberli Lee, as well as sustainable communities and strategies of education with professor Tiffanie Hardbarger.

Lee, who holds a doctorate in American and Native American literature, said she’s excited to teach Native American film and media, which also covers general film history and Hollywood cinematic techniques.

“I think the course had been taught before, but it had been many years and I kind of wanted to reawaken it and bring it back because I think Native people are making great inroads into film and media these days,” she said.

Lee said she was inspired to teach it after seeing the 2009 documentary “Reel Injun,” which studies how Native Americans are portrayed in Hollywood.

“In that documentary about Native film, you see the trajectory of how these images have sort of came to be ensconced in the greater American mind,” she said. “Recently, I would say since the early 1990s, more Native American directors, writers and actors are coming to the fore. Honestly, they’ve been there all along but they don’t get much attention.”

Students are expected to watch films in addition to screening “Reel Injun,” “Trudell,” “The Lesser Blessed” and “Older Than America.” Lee said these films put to the

forefront Native American topics, including how gender is portrayed and stereotypes.

“There is literally such a wealth of media and access to it, and the images are changing, slowly but surely,” she said. “I feel like media has been a big target for blame in the stereotyping, but I think we can look forward to more and more honest representations of Native peoples and cultures, if we have more Native people in charge of that stuff.”

Hardbarger, a Cherokee Nation citizen who expects to earn a doctorate in community resources and development this year, said she hopes to reach the public through her sustainable communities course.

“We’re going to be doing a photo voice project to take photographs of what (students) think about sustainability and community, what it means,” she said. “We’ll all bring our photos back and sort out

themes there and do a presentation at the American Indian Symposium here in April.”

Cherokee Cultural Studies junior Ahyoka Youngdeer said she looks forward to the project.

”I am excited about it because they do say a picture is worth a thousand words,” she said. “There are a lot of things that can come out of just a picture. It will definitely have to do with our community and elders and things like that.”

Youngdeer, a fluent Cherokee speaker, said she encourages others to take the class to help preserve the culture. “If anyone is at all passionate about making sure that our language, culture, ways are sustained and perpetuated, knowing how to work with a sustainable community is a very important part of that.”

Hardbarger said she became interested in sustainable community

work after taking a sociology class at the University of Oklahoma. The class led her to research community

development, nation building and activism in the partially recognized state of Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Algeria, Africa.

While there, a friend from Tahlequah contacted her.

“She said, ‘Why are you doing stuff in Algeria when we need you here? This is your home. This is your community,’’ Hardbarger said. “‘You’re a Cherokee. Why aren’t you here helping your people?’ and I said, ‘Oh, I guess I should be.’”

Hardbarger said she hopes to give back to the Cherokee community through students such as Youngdeer.

Hardbarger is also teaching strategies of education, an online class focusing on topics such as economic development, the environment and water rights. “Within the strategies and education class, it’s more about strategies of self-determination and utilizing education and pedagogy and research and art, so those kind of three things, and how people use those to fight for, struggle for, realize self-determination strategies.”

Hardbarger said she would eventually like to make the class a blended class for students to interact in person and online.

She said the class is beneficial for students who are interested in going to graduate school. “That is one of my goals, to see more Cherokee and American Indian students go to grad school because the more scholars that we get in grad school, the more we can have a legitimate voice at the table.”

NSU adds 3 Indigenous Studies classes

Professor Tiffanie Hardbarger meets with her sustainable communities class each Thursday in the common area of the Department of Cherokee and Indigenous Studies. The class is new to Northeastern State University this spring. PHOTOS BY BRITTNEY BENNETT/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Students enrolled in Dr. Kimberli Lee’s Native American film and media class prepare to watch the 1970 film “A Man Called Horse” during their weekly screening. Other films to be screened include “Trudell,” “The Lesser Blessed” and “Older Than America.”

If anyone is at all passionate about making sure that our language, culture, ways are sustained and perpetuated, knowing how to work with a sustainable community is a very important part of that.

– Ahyoka Youngdeer,Northeastern State University junior

March 2016 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 13 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9

The grade is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014, and affects about 30 people who took tests at Cherokee Nation sites. BY TRAVIS SNELLAssistant Editor

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Officials with the Cherokee Nation’s Career Services said about 30 people who have taken General Equivalency Diploma tests through its Alternative Education and Assessment program now have passing grades after the national score dropped from 150 to 145 in January.

Landra Alberty, Alternative Education and Assessment manager, said her office received notice days after the Jan. 20 revision that lowered passing grades to 145. She said the revised score is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014, and affects the scores of 29 people who took computer-based GED tests at CN testing sites.

“So anyone who has taken all of the test or a part of the test since Jan. 1, 2014, and scored 145 or more have passed that subject,” Alberty said. “We have some (clients) in our department that we can’t get a hold of that have done that very thing. They may only need one or two subjects to get their diploma, so we’re trying to get in touch with everybody we can and let everybody know.”

However, Alberty said it would be March 1 before the score changes could be implemented through www.myged.com or www.diplomasender.com for state and GED testing services such as transcripts and diplomas.

According to GED Testing Service.

com, the GED score was lowered to 145 because data show that GED graduates are performing as well as, and in many instances, outperforming high school graduates in terms of not needing remediation when entering postsecondary programs.

National GED officials also implemented a GED College Ready score of 165 and a GED College Ready + Credit score of 175.

In addition to the scoring changes, the GED testing service is making changes to the social studies test. Effective March 1, social studies tests will no longer have the extended response items and testing time will drop by 20 minutes.

“They had an essay question and now they’re going to take that off. They (students) won’t have to do that. They call it an extended

response,” Alberty said. “The testing time for the social studies (test) will be reduced by 20 minutes. It’s going to go from 90 minutes to 70 minutes due to the adjustment.”

She said there are GED tests in four subjects: reasoning through language arts, science, social studies and math. For a person to earn a GED, he or she must pass now score 145 or higher in all four subjects.

Alberty said the CN conducts GED classes and testing for the state in Claremore, Jay, Kansas, Collinsville, Pryor, Sallisaw, Stillwell, Tahlequah, Tulsa, Warner and Westville. She said the service is open to everyone, but if an individual wants the tribe to pay for tests he or she must be enrolled in a federally recognized tribe and live within the CN jurisdiction. Testing amounts for each of the four subjects is $34.

“We don’t just serve Cherokees. Our testing services are open to everyone,” Alberty said. “There could be a lot of people that come through for testing we didn’t pay for, but we did test them in our testing center.”

She added that applicants must meet other guidelines as well such as being able to pass a GED practice test.

Alberty said the Alternative Education and Assessment program helped 165 Native Americans pass GED tests in 2015, and believes that with the passing score being lowered more people may seek their high school equivalency diplomas.

“So I think now that they’ve lowered the score a little bit and changed the format of the social studies test more people will complete the requirements to receive their high school equivalency diplomas.

For more information on the tribe’s GED testing, call 918-458-0577, email landra-alberty@cherokee.org or visit http://www.cherokee.org/Services/Career/AssessmentandCertifications.aspx.

EduCATION • #n[]Qsd

GED passing score lowered to 145

Our focus is college and career, so we’re going to be supporting students in examining careers, preparing themselves for college, and we’re doing leadership activities.

– Margaret Carlile,Grand View School federal

grants director

Grand View School launches Parent University The school conducts its initial run of a program that focuses on college and career readiness.BY STACIE GUTHRIEReporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – On Jan. 14, Grand View School held its first Parent University to inform parents and students about college and vocational opportunities, as well as grants and scholarships.

The school’s federal grants director, Margaret Carlile, said the focus was to get students thinking about higher education. She said officials from the Cherokee Nation’s College Resource Center and Career Services spoke about scholarship opportunities and available programs.

She said workers also helped parents and students apply for Oklahoma’s Promise Scholarship, which students must enroll for while in the eighth, ninth or 10th grade. The student’s family income must also not exceed $50,000 per year to be eligible for the scholarship.

“It’s an amazing program. It’s not just for colleges. They can use it at vocational programs, also,” she said.

Carlile said a grant from the U.S. Education and Interior departments funds the Parent University.

“Tonight is our first Parent University for our National Youth Community Project Grant. We were one of 12 groups in the nation, and the only public school, stand-alone public school, who received one of these four-year grants,” she said.

According to a 2015 Cherokee Phoenix article, the school received approximately $341,000 for the first year with the possibility of being funded up to four years, depending on congressional approval.

Carlile said with the grant school officials want to get students interested in opportunities after they complete their high school.

“Our focus is college and career, so we’re going to be supporting students in examining careers, preparing themselves for college, and we’re doing leadership activities,” she said. “We’ve partnered with the Cherokee Nation Foundation and Northeastern (State University) and some other groups in the area to provide mentoring and (to) visit campuses.”

Carlile said she even hopes to take students to the Oklahoma State University-Institute of Technology in Okmulgee.

“I want the kids to not only think about college because you know the answer, ‘well, I want to be a doctor,’ but I want them to understand that there’s great jobs from a technical institute, also,” she said.

She said getting students on local campuses helps them feel familiar with the surroundings if they plan to attend one of the universities or institutions.

“I want them to learn that it’s not

scary up there,” she said. “I want you to be able to go on that campus and say, ‘oh, I’ve been in there before.’”

Carlile said she and her colleagues try to make differences in their students’ lives.

“Sometimes you don’t know for a long time that you made a difference, but sometimes they come back and check in and say ‘I’m in school. I wanted to let you know that it made a difference,’” she said.

Carlile said school officials plan to continue the Parent University as a monthly event.

“The emphasis will be different, but tentatively we’re planning a resource fair of some sort in February. March will be a literacy event, and in April we’re going to have a family STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) night. We’ll have hands-on science activities that the children and their families will do and, we’ll just kind of be there to facilitate it,” she said.

Tahlequah resident Melissa Wofford said she attended the first Parent University to learn more about it. Her son, Caleb, attends the school and is in the fourth grade.

“I was kind of hoping to see what it was about and see what was going on up here at the school and

see what opportunities they had because I heard they had gotten a grant, but I didn’t really know what it was about,” she said.

Wofford said she’s glad to see Grand View offering such opportunities.

“Grand View’s an awesome school, and they give a lot of really cool opportunities,” she said. “We’ve really, really enjoyed having our kids here.”

Carlile said in the future school officials hope to get more families coming to Parent University events.

“This is just our first step. We’re going to get better at it. Most people don’t know what we’re doing yet. It’s taken a little while to disseminate the information and the opportunities,” she said. “We have high expectations and high hopes for what we’ll be able to accomplish.”

Carlile said if anyone is interested in talking to students about careers or giving students tours of their workplaces to call at 918-456-5131.

ᏓᎵᏆ, ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎹ. – ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏃᎸᏔᏅ ᏂᎦᏚᏏᏁ, GRAND VIEW ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎤᏂᏍᏆᎸᎡᎸ ᎢᎬᏱ ᏧᎾᏓᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᎤᏔᎾ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎩ ᏧᎾᏓᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᎠᎴ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎤᎬᏩᏟ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎾᎵᏏᎾᎲᏍᏙᏗ ᎨᎨᏲᏗ ᎠᏙᏢᏍᎬᎢ, ᏃᎴᏍᏊ ᎠᏕᎳ ᎬᏩᏂᎩᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎾᎵᏍᎪᎸᏗᏍᎪᎢ.

ᎾᏍᎩ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏩᏥᏂ ᎠᎵᏍᎪᎸᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᏓᏅᏖᎵᏙᎯ, MARGARET CARLILE, ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎤᎾᏓᏅᏖᎸ ᎾᎿ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎤᎾᏓᏅᏖᏗ ᎾᎿ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ. ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᏂᏁᏥᏙ ᏂᏓᏩᎾᏂᎩᏓ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᏰᏟ ᎠᎴ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ ᎤᏂᏩᏛᏗ ᏗᏂᏍᏕᎵᏍᎩ ᎤᏬᏂᏏ ᎤᏃᎮᎸ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏙᏗ ᎠᎵᏍᎪᎸᏛ ᎠᎴ ᏗᏐᎢ ᎤᎾᏛᏅᎢᏍᏛ ᏚᏙᏢᏒ.

ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ ᎾᏍᏊ ᏚᏂᏍᏕᎸᎲ ᎤᎾᏓᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᎠᎴ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎪᏪᎵ ᏚᏂᏢᏅ ᎾᎿ

ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎹ ᎠᏚᏍᏛ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏙᏗ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎠᏎ ᏧᏃᏪᎶᏗ ᎾᎿ ᏧᏁᎵᏁ ᏱᏓᏂᏂᏙᎯ, ᏐᏁᎵᏐ ᎠᎴ ᏍᎪᎯᏁᎢ. ᎾᎿ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᏏᏓᏁᎸ ᎠᏕᎳ ᎠᏃᏢᏍᎬ Ꮭ ᎤᏓᏬᎯᎳᏗᏍᏗ ᏱᎩ ᎾᏃ ᎯᎦᏍᎪ ᏯᎦᏴᎵ ᏯᏃᏢᏍᎩ ᏑᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎤᏂᎩᏍᏗ ᎯᎠ ᏗᏕᎶᏆᏍᏙᏗ.

“ᎤᏍᏆᏂᎪᏓ ᎯᎠ ᎤᏙᏢᎭ. ᏝᏃ Ꮩ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏙᏗ ᎢᎦ ᏱᎩ. ᎾᏍᎩᏍᎩᏂ ᎨᏥᏏᎾᎲᏍᏙᏗ ᏳᏙᏢ ᎾᏍᏊ ᎬᏩᎾᏙᏗ, ᎣᏍᏊ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

CARLILE ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᎵᏍᎪᎸᏔᏅ ᏂᏓᏳᏓᎴᏅ ᎠᎹᏱᏟ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏩᏥᏂ ᎤᏙᏢᏒ ᎠᎾᎵᏍᎪᎸᏗᏍᎪ ᎾᎿ ᏧᎾᏓᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ.

“ᎪᎯ ᎤᏒ ᎾᎿ ᎢᎬᏱ ᏧᎾᏓᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᎤᏔᎾ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎾᎿ ᏂᎬᎾᏛ ᎠᏂᏓᎨ ᏍᎦᏚᎩ ᎠᏎᎸᎯ ᎤᎾᎵᏍᎪᎸᏔᏅ. ᎠᏯᏃ ᏌᏊ ᎣᎦᏗᏑᏴ ᎾᎿ ᏔᎳᏚ ᎢᏳᎾᏓᏡᎩ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎠᏰᎵ, ᎠᎴ ᎣᎬᏌ ᎨᏒ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎾᏂᎥ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ, ᎣᎬᏌ ᎾᏂᎥ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ, ᎾᏍᎩ ᎣᎩᎩᏒ ᏙᎩᎩᏒ ᎯᎠ ᏅᎩ ᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎠᏕᎳ ᎤᎾᎵᏍᎪᎸᏔᏅ ᏓᎾᏓᏁᎲᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

ᏚᎾᏙᎵᏤᎲ ᎾᎿ ᏔᎵᏯᎦᏴᎵ ᏍᎩᎦᏚ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏧᎴᎯᏌᏅ ᎤᏬᏪᎸ, ᎾᎿ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎤᏂᎩᏎ ᏯᏛᎾ ᏦᎢᏧᏈ ᏅᎩᏍᎪ ᏌᏊ ᎢᏯᎦᏴᎵ ᎢᎬᏱ ᎤᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗᏒᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎡᎵᏊ ᏅᎩ ᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ, ᎢᏳᏃ ᏩᏥᏂ ᏗᏂᎳᏫᎦ ᎣᏏ ᏯᏂᏱᎸᏍᎩ ᏯᏃᎯᏗᎠ.

CARLILE ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎾᎿ ᎨᏥᏁᎲ ᎠᏕᎳ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎾᏓᏅᏖᎵᏙ ᎤᎾᏚᎵᏍᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎤᎵᏍᎨᏓ ᎢᏳᏃᏗ ᎾᎿ ᎯᎠ ᏱᏚᏂᏍᏆᏓ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ.

“ᎣᏥᎪᏩᏘᏍᎬ ᎾᎿ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎢᎬᏩᎾᏛᏁᎵᏓᏍᏗ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᏙᏥᏍᏕᎵ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎤᎾᎦᏎᏍᏙᏗ ᎯᎠ ᎬᏩᏂᎩᏍᏗ ᎨᏒᎢ, ᏙᏣᏛᏅᎢᏍᏓᏁ ᎾᎿ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ, ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᏊ ᏙᏤᏲᎲᏍᎦ ᏗᎾᏓᏘᏂᏙ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᏙᏥᎵᎪᏁ ᎾᎿ ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏰᎵ FOUNDATION ᎠᎴ ᎤᏴᏢᎢ ᎧᎸᎬ ᎢᏗᏢ ᏍᎦᏚᎩ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏗᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᏗᏐᎢ ᏚᎾᏓᏡᎬ ᎾᎿ ᎠᎭᏂ ᏓᏁᎲ ᎤᎾᏛᏅᎢᏍᏗ ᏗᎬᏩᏂᏍᏕᎸᏗ ᏱᎩ ᎠᎴ ᏗᎬᏩᏂᏩᏛᎯᏓᏍᏗ

ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ.” CARLILE ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏚᎩ

ᎤᏩᎯ ᏧᏘᏅᏍᏗ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎾᎿ ᎣᎦᎵᎰᎹ ᏍᎦᏚᎩ UNIVERSITy-INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGy IN OkMULGEE.

“ᎠᏆᏚᎵ ᏗᏂᏲᏟ ᏝᏙ ᎤᎾᏓᏅᏖᏗᏊ ᎢᎦ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏅᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᏣᏅᏔ ᎦᏬᎯᎵᏴᏍᏗᎢ, ‘ᎠᏆᏚᎵ ᎾᎿ ᎠᏂᎦᏅᎦᏘ ᎢᏳᎾᎵᏍᏙᏗ,’ ᎠᏎᏃ ᎠᏆᏚᎵ ᎤᏃᏟᏍᏗ ᎾᎿ ᎣᏍᏓ ᏗᎦᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ ᎤᏙᏢᏒ ᎾᎿ TECHNICAL INSTITUTE, ᎠᎴᏍᏊ” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎾᎥ ᎠᏁᎯ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᎤᏂᏍᏕᎵᏍᎪ ᏄᏍᏛ ᏚᎾᏓᏅᏛ ᎤᏁᏙᎸ ᏱᎩ ᎾᎿ ᏱᏙᏛᎾᏕᎶᏆᎢ ᎾᎿ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎨᎨᏲᏅᏗᎢ.

“ᎠᏆᏚᎵ ᎤᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎤᏂᏍᎦᏍᏓᏅᏗ ᏂᎨᏒᎾ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎠᏆᏚᎵ ᎾᎿ ᏣᏂᎩᏍᏗ ᏂᎦᎭᎢᏐ ᎾᎿ CAMPUS ᎬᏗᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᏣᏗᎢ, ‘Ꭳ ᎠᏇᏚᎸ ᎾᎿᎢ ᎦᏳᎳ.”

CARLILE ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᎴ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ ᎠᎾᏁᎸᏗᏍᎪ ᏄᏓᎴ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᏓᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬ ᎠᎾᎴᏂᏙᎲᎢ.

“ᎢᏴᏓᎭ Ꮭ ᏲᏅᏙ ᎢᎪᎯᏓ ᏄᏓᎴ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏍᎬ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎨᏒᎢ, ᎠᏎᏃ ᎢᏴᏓᎭ ᎠᏂᎷᎪ ᎠᎴ ᎯᎠ ᎾᏂᏪᏍᎪ ᏕᎦᏕᎶᏆᎠ. ᎠᏆᏚᎵ ᏣᏅᏗ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎾᏛᏁᎸ ᏄᏓᎴ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏍᎬ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

CARLILE ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ ᎦᏄᎪᏓ ᏂᎦᏯᎢᏐ ᎾᎿ ᏧᎾᏓᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎾᎿ ᏏᏅᏓ ᎢᏳᏓᎵ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗᎢ.

“ᏚᏄᎪᏔᏅ ᏄᏓᎴ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ, ᎠᏎᏃ ᎾᏞᎬ ᏚᏧᎪᏗᎭ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᎵᏍᏕᎸᏙᏗ ᎣᎩᏍᏆᎸᏙᏗ ᎾᎿ ᎧᎦᎵ ᎧᎴᏍᏗ. ᎠᏅᏱ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᎪᏪᎶᏗ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ, ᎠᎴ ᎧᏬᏂ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏏᏓᏁᎸ STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGy, ENGINEERING, ᎠᎴ MATHEMATICS) ᎤᏒᎢ. ᎾᎿ ᏧᏃᏰᏂ ᏗᎬᏗ ᎠᏃᏢᏅᏍᎪᎢ ᎾᎿ SCIENCE ᎾᎿ ᏗᏂᏲᏟ ᎠᎴ ᎾᎿ ᎠᏂᏏᏓᏁᎸ ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎰ ᎠᎴ, ᎣᏤᏙᎰ ᏙᏥᏍᏕᎵᎯᏙᎰᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

ᏓᎵᏆ ᎦᏁᎵ MELISSA WOFFORD ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎤᏪᏙᎴ ᎾᎿ ᎢᎬᏱ ᏧᎾᏓᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎤᎪᏛ ᎤᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ. ᎤᏪᏥ ᎠᏧᏣ, CALEB, ᎤᏪᏙᎴ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎾᎿ ᏅᎩᏁ ᏗᎧᏂᏙᎯ.

“ᏍᏗᎩᏓᏃ ᎠᏋᏒ ᎠᎩᎪᏩᏛᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏔᏅᏍᎬ ᎾᎿ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎠᎩᎪᏩᏛᏗ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᏓᏙᏢᏍᎬ ᎤᏝᏅᏛ ᏂᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᎠᏆᏛᎦᏅ ᎤᎾᎵᏍᏕᎸᏙᏗ ᏚᏂᎩᏒᎢ, ᎠᏎᏃ Ꮭ ᏙᎯᏳ ᏯᏆᏅᏖ ᏙᎯᏳ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎨᏒᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

WOFFORD ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᎵᎮᎵᎬ ᎠᎪᏩᏘᏍᎬ CRAND VIEW ᎠᎾᎵᏍᎪᎸᏗᏍᎬ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᎬᏩᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

“GRAND VIEW’S ᎢᎦ ᎣᏍᏓ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ, ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂᎩᏍᎪ ᎤᎪᏓ ᏧᏓᎴᏅᏓ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎦᎬᏔᏂᏓᏍᏗ ᎠᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎢᎦᏃ ᎣᏣᎵᎮᎦ ᎠᎭᏂ ᏓᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᎬ ᏗᏂᏲᏟ ᎠᎭᏂ.”

CARLILE ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎠᏟᎢᎵᏒ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᏧᏂᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎯ ᎤᏚᎩ ᎣᎬᎭ ᎤᎪᏛ ᎠᏂᏏᏓᏁᎸ ᎤᏂᎷᎯᏍᏗ ᎾᎿ ᏧᎾᏓᎦᏴᎵᎨ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎲᎢ.

“ᎯᎠ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎬᏱ ᎠᎳᏍᎬᏗ. ᏓᏤᏞᏍᏗ. ᎤᏂᎪᏛ ᎠᏂᏴᏫ Ꮭ ᏳᎾᏅᏔ Ꮟ. ᏝᎦ ᏓᏟᎢᎵᏙᎯ ᏂᎦᏓ ᎧᏃᎮᏗ ᎢᏳᏍᏗ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏔᏅᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏝᏅᏓᏗᏍᎬᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ “ᎢᎦ ᎤᏚᎩ ᎣᎬᎭ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎪᏓ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏔᏅᏍᏗᎢ ᎣᏍᏓ.”

CARLILE ᎠᏗᏍᎬ ᎢᏳᏃ ᎩᎶ ᏳᏚᎵᎭ ᏗᏕᎶᏆᏍᎩ ᏳᏚᎵᎭ ᎤᎪᏛ ᎤᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎤᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗ ᎤᎪᏛ ᎯᎠ ᏭᏟᏃᎮᏗ ᎯᎠ ᏗᏎᏍᏗ 918-456-5131.

Jeff Vance, Cherokee Nation’s Career Services Employment Programs director, speaks with Melissa Wofford about opportunities his department offers during the Jan. 14 Parent University at Grand View School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The school’s first Parent University was designed to inform students and parents about college and career opportunities. STACIE GUTHRIE/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

So anyone who has taken all of the test or a part of the test since Jan. 1, 2014, and scored 145 or more have passed that subject.

– Landra Alberty, Alternative Education and Assessment manager

Lila Killer, an adult education teacher with Cherokee Nation’s Career Services, helps CN citizen Linwood Sapiel navigate through his General Equivalency Diploma account on a computer at the Career Services Learning Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. In January, the passing score for GED test dropped from 150 to 145. JAMI MURPHY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

14 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • March 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 2016sERvICEs • nnrpH

BY STACIE GUTHRIEReporter

STILWELL, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation’s Roads Department is working with contractors to improve roads and bridges in several counties within the tribe’s jurisdiction because such improvements help CN citizens who travel them.

Roads Department Director Michael Lynn said recent projects consist of two roads and five bridges.

Lynn said one road located in Adair County is near completion. He said it’s a .9-mile stretch of Industrial Park Road in Stilwell. “It serves the Cherokee Nation Food Distribution program over there as well as the (PECO) Facet (Oklahoma LLC) that is in the industrial park.”

Lynn said half the road was built with reinforced concrete and the other half with asphalt.

“The reason for the two differences is because the truck traffic coming in and out,” he said. “As the industrial park expands over the future years it may be necessary to come in and concrete the rest of the road, but we went ahead and just did about half of it in concrete now because of the industries that are out there.”

He said the road needed work because it was deteriorating.

“It was asphalt up to Facet and Food Distribution, and from there it was just dirt or gravel on towards the Cherry Tree Road,” he said. “The asphalt was extremely deteriorating and there was some soft spots in it and they just potholed out really bad. We had been getting complaints on it for quite a while, and we’re fortunate enough to be able to come in and make these improvements.”

He said the road should last 20 to 30 years. Lynn said the approximate $1.6 million project, which was awarded to Glover and Associates of Muskogee, is one of the first CN projects to have overhead lighting. He said the lighting would be solar-powered as the tribe attempts to go “green.”

“It’s just something that we kind of been exploring for a while, and we knew this would be a project that was a good candidate for it, especially since Facet operates, I believe 24 hours a day. So there’s traffic going in and out of there at night,” he said.

Lynn said the other road project is in Cherokee County across portions of East 863 and East 862 roads. It began in November and is set for completion in June.

“It runs right in front of Tenkiller School, and it serves kind of the Hungry Mountain area and Barber communities,” he said.

Lynn said a focus would be in front of Tenkiller School where crews would be installing a crosswalk light and sidewalks.

“Their school gym is across the road, so they cross that road multiple times a day. It can be a dangerous situation if teachers and teacher aides aren’t watching and monitoring those kids,” he said. “They’ll be able to walk up, push a button, they’ll have a stoplight that changes from green to red and will stop traffic while they’re crossing the road.”

Lynn said contractors are clearing trees and obstacles for the road, starting on the west side of the project near the county line and making their way back to the school.

He said the approximate $3.8 million project contracted through Glover and Associates would consist of two lanes with shoulders except near the school where there would be two lanes and sidewalks.

He said the 3.1-mile project would be an easier drive once finished.

“The curves will be straightened out as much as we can and also what we call the vertical alignment, which is your dips and valleys, will be smoothed out as much as possible, too,” he said.

Lynn said the five bridge projects completed or are near completion are spread across Mayes and Delaware counties. He said four bridges along Kenwood Road in Delaware County are contracted through Paradigm Construction and Engineering in Tulsa for approximately $5.6 million. The one bridge in Mayes County is contracted through Bronze Oak in Bixby for approximately $1.8 million.

“The Wickliffe (Creek) Bridge in Mayes

County with Bronze Oak is just recently completed,” Lynn said. “The other four bridges in Delaware County, three of the

bridges are virtually complete and one bridge is waiting on asphalt.”

He said once asphalt is laid, he expected that bridge to be done with all stripes, signs and guardrails by late February, weather permitting. Lynn said because many people travel Kenwood Road it is important to ensure the bridges along the route are safe.

“Eastern Oklahoma and Oklahoma in general is heavily spotted around with structurally deficient bridges, so this takes five structurally deficient bridges off the system and gives good bridges for everybody to travel on,” he said.

Lynn said once projects are completed they are turned over to the counties for maintenance. He added that he’s glad his department can help improve roads and bridges.

“It’s a huge benefit for me to be able to do what I do, to help the people that we help,” he said. “Our focus is Cherokee citizens and Native Americans, but one thing about the roads, they’re open to anybody. They’re open for the general public, so it does impact everybody 100 percent of the people that travel those roads.”

Roads Dept. improves heavily traveled roads, bridges

Men shovel lose asphalt at one of the five bridge locations the Roads Department has recently improved. Officials said all bridges are either completed or are near completion. PHOTOS BY STACIE GUTHRIE/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Heavy equipment sits at a Cherokee County construction location that spans across portions of East 863 and East 862 roads with part of the road going in front of Tenkiller School.

Our focus is Cherokee citizens and Native Americans, but one thing about the roads, they’re open to anybody.

– Michael Lynn, Roads Department director

BY JAMI MURPHYReporter

SPAVINAW, Okla. – Members of the Spavinaw Building board said recent price hikes and changes to the Cherokee Nation’s Nutrition Services have caused a decline in participation and revenue.

SBB Chairwoman Wilma Vaughn said a typical week used to bring in about $150 in revenue. Since the increase of lunch costs from $3 to $5, she said that revenue is down by approximately half.

“I’ve heard quite a few complaints from that. The numbers are down some,” Vaughn said.

According to information provided in an email from Tribal Councilor Harley Buzzard, guest meals are based on federal regulations, and those regulations state the cost is determined by the total meal cost, including production. Meal cost and production include not only the cost of food but also how often the center is open, cost of and number of employees, utilities, repairs and equipment maintenance.

“So they’re (participants) kind of boycotting us right now because of the cost,” SBB Secretary/Treasurer Susan Winn said. “The food is still the same. The menu is still the same. We have to go by the menu that the Cherokee Nation provides us.”

Another change, Vaughn said, is clients who are not eligible, meaning they are not CN citizens or citizens of a federally recognized tribe and who are homebound, can no longer have meals delivered.

Buzzards email states meals are not delivered to non-eligible participants’ homes by CN senior nutrition sites. According to a nutrition site worker, delivery to ineligible homebound participants is not allowed and shouldn’t have been done in the past. Non-eligible participants include those who are not Native American, Native Hawaiian or spouses and widows of those.

The eligible participants under this program are Native Americans, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiians plus their spouses and widows or widowers of eligible participants, if they haven’t remarried, according to Buzzard’s email.

His email also states, the only participants that should be lost, if any, would be those who are considered non-eligible participants because eligible participants eat free.

The cost for a Native American or Alaska Native person under the age of 50 who uses the program is $5. Any non-Native participant also pays $5. All participants over 50 who are Native are free to eat at any nutrition site.

Workers at other nutrition sites around the CN jurisdiction said they are also suffering some losses. However, they said it’s difficult to narrow down where the decrease is happening and why.

In Spavinaw’s case, SBB officials said having no cook and other staff coupled with the price increase has meant lower participation and revenue.

“We do look forward to the future and are optimistic that things will work out,” Winn said. “Cherokee Nation has contacted us and is trying to work with the board on the hiring of staff, as well as some menu changes.”

BY STACIE GUTHRIEReporter

PORUM, Okla. – The Commerce Department’s Mortgage Assistance Program helped one Cherokee Nation citizen purchase his home in late 2015 with funding assistance as well as information and advice.

Jack Reese, 25 of Porum, received MAP help to purchase his first home. He said with support from his CN MAP housing counselor, Kellie McKinney, he learned the home-purchasing process.

“Once you get accepted into the program and start your stuff, you get assigned to a counselor. Mine was Kellie McKinney…Made everything super, super easy,” he said. “They make you feel comfortable. If you feel uncomfortable about anything they sit there and break it down with you, and they’ll explain it to you and just make it feel right instead of being uncomfortable about the situation.”

After a year’s search, Reese said he and his fiancé purchased a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,740-square-foot house built in 2010 that sits on two acres of land. He said the house cost about $120,000, and he put down $24,000 thanks to the MAP.

“Definitely would not have got this house without the MAP program. It makes a world of difference to aid somebody to get started off,” he said.

Reese said he waited for a home he could see living in for years to come.

“It’s a big deal. It’s your first home. Some people may live there forever. Some people may look at it and be like, ‘OK, I’m going to stay here for X amount of years and try to move somewhere else.’ I waited for a home to stay in the general area that I wanted to be in,” he said.

Reese said he is “appreciative” of the help the program provided and believes it made the experience easier.

“It’s just something I strongly recommend to anybody that can get into it…If there’s any assistance you can get, it’s always great just to be able to get someone to talk to and kind of coach you through things,” he said. “They’ve done a very good job at that. I’m very appreciative of that.”

Commerce Department Executive Director Anna Knight said the MAP has helped low- to moderate-income families

purchase homes since 2006.“A home is one of the best investments a

family can make in their financial future as it provides marked stability, community and neighborhood pride,” she said. “And it’s an asset whose value typically increases over time.”

For fiscal year 2016, Knight said 55 families have used the MAP to buy homes.

“However, many more are in the process of preparing themselves to become homeowners,” she said.

She added that people able to purchase a home over $100,000, such as Reese, are likely able to do so because the program increased its funds in 2013.

“In 2013, Mortgage Assistance was increased from $15,000 to $25,000 allowing an additional $5,000 to be used as a down payment on the home and making another $5,000 available through the MAP matched savings program, which can be used for unforeseen structural or major appliance issues during the first five years of homeownership,” she said. “Prior to this change the average value of a home purchased by MAP participants was approximately $85,000. That value has increased to approximately $100,000, as housing prices have remained fairly steady over the last couple of years. We surmise the additional $5,000 down payment, combined with financial skills coaching and changes in the mortgage market, have allowed MAP participants to purchase higher priced homes.”

To be eligible, the head of household must be a citizen of a federally recognized tribe, with preference given to CN citizens; must be a first-time home buyer, meaning the buyer must have not owned a home the previous three years or they have only had a mobile home; the household income must not exceed 80 percent of the national median income as determined by HUD; and those who live in the house and are over 18 years old must undergo a criminal background check.

Other guidelines include that the home must be located in the tribe’s jurisdiction, pass an environmental inspection, be structurally sound or funding must be secured to return it to a secure condition, and if a mortgage loan is necessary, the loan must meet CN’s non-predatory lending standard.

For more information, call 918-453-5536 or visit http://bit.ly/1QGBStA.

SBB, residents adjust to Elder Nutrition changes

Reese buys first home via tribe’s Mortgage Assistance Program

Spavinaw (Okla.) Nutrition Center participants get salad and dessert during lunch on May 14, 2014, during the center’s 25th anniversary celebration.JAMI MURPHY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

SCAN CODE TO SEE VIDEO

March 2016 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 15 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 sERvICEs • nnrpH

BY STAFF REPORTS

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Mary Kunze, U.S. Department of Agriculture Oklahoma Farm Service Agency County executive director, said farmers and ranchers may be eligible for federal farm programs to help them recover from recent heavy rains and flooding.

“Many farmers and ranchers are experiencing prevented planting, failed acres, displaced and deceased livestock and property damage due to the record high rainfall throughout the area,” Kunze said.

The FSA offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist agricultural producers in their recovery efforts following floods or similar qualifying natural disasters. Available programs and loans are: • Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program – Provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters (includes native grass for grazing). Eligible producers must have purchased NAP coverage for 2016 crops.• Livestock Indemnity Program – Offers payments to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather. Eligible losses may include those determined by FSA to have been caused by hurricanes, floods, blizzards, wildfires, tropical storms, tornados, lightning, extreme heat and extreme cold. Producers will be required to provide verifiable documentation of death losses resulting from an eligible adverse weather event and must submit a notice of loss to their local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the loss of livestock is apparent. • Tree Assistance Program – Provides assistance to eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers who have experienced an 18 percent death loss of qualifying trees, shrubs and vines due to the natural disaster event.• Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program – Provides emergency relief for losses due to feed or water shortages, disease, adverse weather or other conditions, which are not adequately

addressed by other disaster programs. ELAP covers physically damaged or destroyed livestock feed that was purchased or mechanically harvested forage or feedstuffs intended for use as feed for the producer’s eligible livestock. To be considered eligible, harvested forage must be baled. Forage that is only cut, raked or windrowed is not eligible. Producers must submit a notice of loss to their local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the loss is apparent. ELAP also covers up to 150 lost grazing days in instances when a producer has been forced to remove livestock from a grazing pasture due to floodwaters. For beekeepers, ELAP covers beehive losses (the physical structure) in instances where the hive has been destroyed by a natural disaster including flooding, high winds and tornadoes.• Emergency Loan Program – Available to producers with agriculture operations located in a county under a primary or contiguous Secretarial Disaster designation. These low-interest loans help producers recover from production and physical losses due to drought and flooding.• Emergency Conservation Program – Provides cost share assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate land severely damaged by the natural disaster event. Assistance may include removal of debris, repair of conservation structures, such as dams and terraces, repair of sheet and

rill erosion and/or fence restoration or replacement. Areas subject to flooding according to soil survey maps are not eligible for assistance. • HayNet – Is an Internet-based Hay and Grazing Net Ad Service allowing farmers and ranchers to share “Need Hay” ads and “Have Hay” ads online. Farmers also can use another feature to post advertisements for grazing land, specifically ads announcing the availability of grazing land or ads requesting a need for land to graze. www.fsa.usda.gov/haynet.• Conservation Reserve Program, Continuous Signup – Provides vegetative (grass and tree) cover cost share assistance and annual rental payments for 10 to 15 years to establish conservation buffers such as filter strips and riparian areas along permanent and intermittent streams.

To establish or retain FSA program eligibility, farmers and ranchers must report prevented planting and failed acres (crops and grasses). Prevented planting acreage must be reported on form FSA-576, Notice of Loss, no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date as established by FSA and Risk Management Agency.

For more information on disaster assistance programs and loans, producers should call the Cherokee/Adair/Sequoyah Counties FSA at 918-456-1924, ext. 2 or visit www.fsa.usda.gov/ok.

BY STACIE GUTHRIEReporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation recently received news it would be awarded $92,500 from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

CN officials said the tribe would use the funds to purchase a Compressed Natural Gas or CNG transit bus to replace an old, worn out bus.

Cherokee Nation Roads Department Director Michael Lynn said the new transit bus would ultimately save the tribe on fuel costs.

“The Nation’s grant award resulted in enough funding to purchase one CNG bus with a small amount of funds left over,” he said. “The addition of a new CNG bus will not only save the Nation on fuel cost, it will replace an existing worn out vehicle used by the transit agency to operate the Nation’s daily routes.”

Lynn said safety is important when it comes down to transporting people across the tribe’s jurisdiction.

“This award helps the Nation to further its transit program by ensuring safe and efficient transportation of Cherokee communities,” he said.

He said once the tribe receives the funds, which should be within the next 30 to 60 days, it would take nearly an additional 8 months before the bus would be used in the transit system.

“It usually takes about six months to procure a transit bus from the manufacturer and another one to two months to have the vehicle ready for service, which includes registration, tag and insurance,” he said.

Lynn said the remainder of the $92,500 would most likely be used to make improvements to other buses in the fleet.

Lynn said the tribe’s transit buses are used for daily fixed-and-demand-response routes.

According to Cherokee.org, the fixed-routes are routes that are “for anyone needing transportation to the specified locations within the established timeframes,” which are listed on the website. The routes are open to the public.

Fares are 50 cents for one-way and $1 for a round-trip ride for tribal employees and tribal citizens. In order to receive the discount they must either present their work identification badge or their Certified Degree of Indian Blood or tribal citizenship card upon pick-up. Fridays are free on these routes.

According to the website, the demand response-routes are “for Native Americans who are unable to utilize the fixed routes and do not qualify for New Freedom, Sooner Ride or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families assistance.”

These routes take individuals to locations such as healthcare facilities, government facilities, financial institutions, places of employment and grocery stores nearest to the individual’s pickup location. The fares are also 50 cents for one-way and $1 for a round-trip ride for tribal citizens who present their Certified Degree of Indian Blood or tribal citizenship cards upon pick-up.

For more information about the CN transit program, visit http://bit.ly/1NOTqoB.

USDA offers flood-impacted Oklahoma farmers, ranchers aid

CN to receive $92K for new CNG transit bus

Flooding on Dec. 28 floods the entrance to Cherokee Nation citizens Al and Frankie Herrin’s home just off the bank of the Illinois River near Welling Road near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. JAMI MURPHY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Native sobriety conference set for March 25-27A handful of Native American men who attended AA meetings started the conference 26 years ago.

BY TRAVIS SNELLAssistant Editor

TULSA, Okla. – The Trail of Hope

is holding its 26th annual Native American Sobriety Conference March 25-27 at the Crowne Plaza Southern Hills located at 7902 S. Lewis Ave.

Trail of Hope Chairwoman Lana Harjochee said the conference started 26 years ago after a handful of Native American men attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings never saw other Natives share their strengths, hopes and experiences as they started life clean and sober.

“There were no conferences or meetings for Native Americans to hear other Native Americans except maybe one or two AA meetings in Tulsa,” Harjochee said. “These men began a Native American conference that our people would be proud to attend and gather together sharing with one another life’s experiences, hopes, strength as a new person without the chemical that controlled and destroyed their lives.”

Harjochee said the conference has been in Tulsa for most of the past 26 years, moving to Lawrence, Kansas, for several years before returning to Tulsa. She said attendance for the 2015 conference was around 125 people but hopes more people attend this year.

“From what I understand, a long time ago it (attendance) used to be pretty low and then it grew, and its my understanding, when the conference moved off to Kansas it died basically and then when they brought it back it came back,” she said. “Last year we had between 100 and 125 or something like that. This year we’re hoping that there will be a lot more people, they’ll hear about the conference and will come. I’ve been going to Ponca City a lot this last month to different powwows, dances, sobriety meetings and things like that and none of them knew about Trail of Hope.”

She said the Trail of Hope is indigenous people trying to reach others who have been in some sort of chemical dependency, either

drugs or alcohol. Harjochee said the group is not affiliated with AA or Narcotics Anonymous. She added that because the group is small, its main goal is to prepare for the following year’s conference.

“So we are trying to give the information that there is sobriety help out there. There are other Native Americans who are willing to talk to other Native Americans,” Harjochee said. “We know how our people are not wanting to tell others…about how alcohol has affected us and what it has done to us. So we’re trying to reach out and tell people that there is hope out there, that there is a way of living without it.”

The conference’s first day consists of registration, an opening ceremony, a speaker, entertainment and Talking Circles. Harjochee said Talking Circles are listening sessions divided by gender.

“The women will be in one group. The men will be in a different group. It’s just gives each other a chance to sit down and talk and basically tell what’s going on in their lives at that time. It’s kind of like a healing process,” she said.

The second day includes a sobriety walk, several speakers, Talking Circles and a sweat lodge at a separate location. Harjochee said the day also includes a Medicine Wheel workshop.

“The Medicine Wheel teaches us basically that everything is in circles in the Native ways. With sobriety, once you quit drinking or using drugs you’re starting all over like a baby. You’re learning life all over without all the chemical dependency,” she said. “Everything you’re doing, that’s what the medicine wheel teaches us, is everything is in a cycle, and as long as it’s all in balance everything is good.”

The last day consists of yoga, Talking Circles, a speaker and a cedar ceremony.

Registration for the conference is $20. Send a check or money order to Trail of Hope, PO Box 580941, Tulsa, OK 74158. Rooms at the Crowne Plaza are $89. Mention Trail of Hope by March 6 to receive the conference rate.

For more information about the Trail of Hope, call Harjochee at 918-407-7865, email trailofhopendnz@gmail.com or visit the organization’s Facebook page Trail of Hope Supporters.

ᏔᎸᏒᎢ, ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ. – ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᏚᎩ ᎦᏅᏅᎢ ᏑᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏳᏓᎵ ᏅᏁᎯᏯ ᎤᎾᏓᏅᏘᏌᏅ ᏧᎾᏠᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᎤᏂᏍᏆᎸᎡᎠ ᎠᎾᏱ ᎧᎸᎢ 25-27 Crowne Plaza southern Hills ᎥᎿᎾᏂ 7902 S. Lewis Ave.

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᏚᎩ ᎦᏅᏅᎢ ᏧᏓᏘᎿᎢ Lana Harjochee ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ 26 ᎢᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏥᎨᏒᎢ ᎤᎴᏅᎲᎢ ᎯᎸᏍᎩᏃ ᏅᏁᎯᏯ ᎠᏂᏍᎦᏯ ᎤᏁᎵᏛᎢ Alcoholics Anonymous ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ ᎥᏝ ᎢᎸᎯᏳ ᏧᎪᎲᎢ ᏅᏁᎯᏯ ᎬᏂᎨᏒᎢ ᎾᏅᏁᎲᎢ ᏄᎾᏟᏂᎬᎬᎢ, ᎤᏚᎩ ᎤᏅᏒᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏄᏛᏍᏛᎢ ᎤᏂᎦᏛᎴᏒᎢ ᎾᏊ ᎤᎾᎴᏅᎯ ᎤᎾᏓᏅᎦᎸᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎤᎾᏓᏅᏔᏌᏅᎢ.

“ᎥᏝᏃ ᏗᎬᏩᎾᏠᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᎸᏢᎢ ᏳᏙᏢᏎᎢ ᏅᏁᎯᏯ ᏧᎾᏠᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᎾᏛᎪᏗᎢ ᎠᏂᏐᎢ ᏅᏁᎯᏯ ᎠᎴᏱᎩ ᏌᏊ ᎠᎴ ᏱᎩ ᏔᎵ AA ᏧᎾᏠᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᏔᎸᏒᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Harjochee. “ᎯᎠᏃ ᎠᏂᏍᎦᏯ ᎤᎾᎴᏅᎲᎢ ᏅᏁᎯᏯ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏗᎦᏤᎵᎢ ᏴᏫ ᏰᎵ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎬᏩᏂᏰᏟᏗ ᎤᏁᏓᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏌᏊ ᏗᎵᎪᏁᏗᎢ ᎬᏂᎨᏒᎢ ᏂᏓᎾᏓᏛᏁᎲᎢ ᏄᏍᏛᎢ ᎤᏂᎦᏛᎴᏏᏙᎸᎢ.”

Harjochee Z ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ ᏔᎸᏒᎢ ᏗᏍᏆᎵᎲᎢ 26 ᎢᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏥᏛᎦᎶᎯ, Lawrence kansas Z ᏭᏂᎷᏤᎢ, ᎯᎸᏍᎩ

ᎢᏧᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎠᏏ ᏔᎸᏒᎢ ᏣᏄᏂᎷᏨᎾ. ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᏃ 2015 ᏥᎨᏒᎢ ᏢᏃ 125 ᏄᏂᏨᎢ ᎠᏎᏅ ᎤᏚᎩ ᎤᏅᏒᎢ ᎤᏂᎪᏗ ᎤᏂᎷᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᎯᎠ ᏧᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗ.

“ᏄᏍᏛᏃ ᎪᎵᎬᎢ, ᎪᎯᎩᏴ ᏥᎨᏒᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ( ᎠᏁᏙᎯ ) ᎠᏂᎦᏲᏟᏃ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎾᏊ ᎤᏛᏒᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎪᎵᎬᎢ, ᎾᎯᏳᏃ kanas Ꭲ ᏥᏄᎾᏛᏅᏔᏅᎢ ᏭᏂᏑᎵᎪᏨᏭ ᎠᎴ ᎾᏊᏃ ᎢᎤᏂᏯᏟᏃ ᎠᎭᏂᏴᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ ᎡᏘ ᏥᎨᏒᎢ ᏢᏃ 100 ᎠᎴ 125 ᎠᎴᏱᎩ. ᎯᎠᏃ ᏧᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗ ᎤᏚᎩ ᎣᎬᎭ ᏳᏂᎪᏕᏍᏗ ᏴᏫ, ᏳᎾᏛᎦᎾᏃ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏯᏂᎷᎩ. Ponca City Ꮓ ᎤᎪᏗ ᏩᏇᏙᎸᎢ ᏐᎢ ᏥᎧᎮᎢ ᏔᎵ ᎢᏧᏓᎴ powwows, ᎠᎾᎵᏍᎩᏍᎬᎢ, sobriety ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩᏯᎢ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎢᏧᎳᏃ ᎥᏝ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᏳᎾᏂᏖᎢ ᎪᏢᏒᎢ Trail of Hope.”

ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏚᎩ ᎦᏅᏅᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏅᏁᎯᏯ ᎠᎾᏁᏟᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᏂᏐᎢ ᏧᏂᏃᎯᏎᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏓᎴᎿᎢ chemical ᎤᎾᎵᏍᎦᏍᏛᎢ, ᎠᎴᏱᎩ ᎠᏓᎸᏕᏍᏗᏍᎩ ᎠᎴᏱᎩ ᎠᏗᏔᏍᏗ. ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Harjochee ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᎾᏓᏡᎬᎢ ᎥᏝ ᏳᎾᎵᎪᎭ AA ᎠᎴᏱᎩ Narcotics Anonymous. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏠᏯᏍᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᏂᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗᎭ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᎾᏓᎺᎬᎢ ᎤᏍᏗᎢ ᏳᏍᏗ, ᏄᎬᏫᏳᏒᏃ ᎤᏂᏁᏉᏍᏗᎢ ᎢᎸᎯᏳᎢ ᏥᎨᏎᏍᏗ.

“ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎣᏣᏁᏟᏗᏍᎪᎢ ᎣᎩᏃᎮᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎪᏢᏒᎢ sobriety ᏕᎨᏥᏍᏕᎸᎡᏗᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏂᏐᎢ ᏅᏁᎯᏯ ᎠᏁᎭ ᎤᎾᏛᏅᎢᏍᏓ ᏧᎾᏟᏃᎮᏗᎢ ᎠᏂᏐᎢ ᏅᏁᎯᏯᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Harjochee. “ᏦᏦᎵᎦ ᏦᎦᏤᎵᎢ ᏴᏫ ᎥᏝ ᏳᎾᏛᏅᎢᏍᏓ ᏧᏂᏃᎯᏎᏗ ᎠᏂᏐᎢ… ᎾᏍᎩ ᏄᏍᏛ ᎠᏓᏴᏍᏕᏍᏗᏍᎩ ᏄᏅᏁᎲᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏄᏍᏛᎢ ᏂᎬᏁᎸᎢ.

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎣᏣᏁᏟᏗᎭ ᎠᎴ ᏦᏥᏍᏕᎸᎡᏗᎢ ᎠᏂᏐᎢ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏰᎵᎢ ᎬᏩᎾᏓᏍᏕᎸᎡᏗ, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏴᏕᎲᎩ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮎ ᏅᏠᏯᏍᏛᎾ ᏱᎩ.”

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ ᎢᎬᏱᏱᏃ ᏫᎪᏪᎶᏗᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂᏍᏚᎢᏏᏙᎲᎢ, ᎦᏬᏂᏍᎩ, ᎣᏍᏓᏃ ᎠᏰᎸᏅᏗ ᎠᎴ ᎠᎾᏓᏡᏍᎬᎢ ᏓᎾᏟᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ. ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Harjochee ᏓᎾᏟᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎾᏓᏡᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎾᏛᏓᏍᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᏔᎵ ᎢᏳᎾᏓᏛᎢ ᎠᏂᎨᏯ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏂᏍᎦᏯ.

“ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏂᎨᏯ ᎤᎾᏓᏟᎪᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏂᏍᎦᏯ ᎤᏓᎴᎿᎢ ᎤᎾᏓᏡᎪᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᎾᏟᏅᏓᏁᎰᎢ ᎤᎾᏅᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏧᎾᏟᏃᎮᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏂᏃᎮᏗᎢ ᏄᏍᏛᎢ ᏓᏁᎲᎢ ᎾᎯᏳᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎥᏟᏅᏫᏍᎬᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏔᎵᏁ ᎢᎦ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᏠᏯᏍᏗ sobriety ᎠᏨᏏᏰᏗ, ᎯᎸᏍᎩ ᎠᏂᏬᏂᏍᎩ, ᏓᎾᏟᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎤᎾᏓᏕᏱᏍᏛᎢ ᎠᎴ sweat lodge ᎯᎸᏍᎩ ᏂᏚᏓᎴᎢ ᏕᎪᏢᎭ. ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ Harjochee ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩᏊ ᎢᎠᏠᏯᏍᏗ Medicine Wheel workshop.

“ᎾᏍᎩᏃ Medicine Wheel ᎢᎨᏲᎲᏍᎦ ᏂᎦᎥᎢ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎠᏕᏲᎰᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏄᏍᏗ ᎤᏬᎯᏳᎭ ᏁᎯᏯᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ

sobriety, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏱᏣᏑᎵᎪᏣ ᎭᏗᏔᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎴᏱᎩ ᎲᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᏓᎸᏕᏍᏗᏍᎩ ᏴᎭᎴᎯᏌ ᎾᏍᎩᏯ ᎠᏓᎨᎢ ᎤᏍᏗᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎢᎭᏕᎶᏆᎠ ᏄᏍᏛᎢ ᎠᏕᏗᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎾᏠᏯᏍᏛᎾ ᏂᎦᎥᎢ chemical ᎠᎵᏍᎦᏍᏙᏗ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ . ᏂᎦᎥᏃ mᏛᏁᎲᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎢᎨᏲᎲᏍᎦ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮎ Medicine Wheel, ᏂᎦᎥᏃ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎠᏕᏲᎰᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏱᎪᎯᏓ ᎨᏒᎢ ᏱᎦᏘᎭᎢ ᏱᎩ ᎣᏍᏓᏃ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗ.”

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎣᏂᏱ ᎢᎪᎯ ᎾᏍᎩ yoga ᎾᎾᏛᏁᎰᎢ, ᏓᎾᏟᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎾᏓᏡᏍᎪᎢ, ᎦᏬᏂᏍᎩ, ᎠᎴ ᏗᏥᎾ ᏓᏂᎦᏒᏍᏗᏍᎪᎢ.

ᎪᏪᎶᏗᏃ ᎥᎿ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ $20. ᏗᎵᎬᏩᏢᏍᎩ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏕᎳ ᏗᏎᎯᏍᏗ ᏱᏮᎦᏅᎠ ᎠᎴᏱᎩ ᎠᏕᎳ ᎠᏓᏅᏍᏗ ᏫᎦᏅᏗ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ Hope of Trail, PO Box 580941, Tulsa, Ok 74158, ᏕᎧᏅᏑᎸᏃ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ ᎾᏍᎩ Crowne Plazza $89. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎧᏃᎮᏗ Trail of Hope ᎠᏏ ᏂᎨᎭᎾᏭ ᎠᏅᏱ 6 ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᏕᎶᎰᎯᏍᏗ ᏧᎬᏩᎶᏗ ᏓᎾᏠᏍᎬᎢ.

ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᎪᏗ ᎧᏃᎮᏢᏅᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏂᎦᎵᏍᏔᏅᏍᎬᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ Trail of Hope, ᏩᏟᏃᎮᏙᏗ Harjochee ᎥᎿ 918-407-7865, ᎠᎾᎦᎵᏍᎩ ᎪᏪᎵ ᏫᎦᏅᏗᎢ trailofhopendnz@gmail.com ᎠᎴᏱᎩ ᏩᏩᏛᎯᏓᏍᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏙᏢᏒᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ Facebook ᎤᎦᏅᏓᏛᎢ Trail of Hope ᎠᎾᎫᏍᏛᏍᎩ.

Trail of Hope logo COURTESY

This year we’re hoping that there will be a lot more people, they’ll hear about the conference and will come.

– Lana Harjochee,Trail of Hope chairwoman

16 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • March 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 2016PEOPlE • xW

BY JAMI MURPHYReporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Twenty-nine year-old Cherokee Nation citizen Steve Brickey, a professional calf roper, has competed in rodeos since about age 6. His drive to compete comes from a deep-rooted family tradition.

“I grew up in Rocky Ford, about 10 miles north of Tahlequah. My grandpa roped and got me started roping when I was 5 or 6 years old. I rode horses my whole life,” he said. “I just rope everyday. I mean it’s my living. I mean that’s what I do. That’s what I work at. I get up every day and look forward to roping. I like my job.”

Brickey competed in junior, high school and college rodeos and is now roping calves professionally.

“I love it. It’s in my heart. It’s my passion. I mean I love the western heritage and I want my kids to do it. My wife, she runs barrels, and you know it’s just in my blood,” he said. “I get to rope and do something I love. I don’t think I’ve ever had a job that I loved besides roping. I can’t look forward to going and mowing the grass or something like that. I love saddling up and roping calves.”

Brickey’s main rodeo horse is M&M, a 14-year-old quarter horse bred from Doc O’Lena, an American quarter horse that was

inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1997.

“He is outstanding in my opinion. I’ve had a lot of people try to buy him off me for lots of money. I’ve had him two years. He’s unbelievable. You don’t have to worry about him doing his part because it’s going to be done,” he said. “He scores so good, like in the box, and he can run. His strongest point is he can stop so hard. So he can make a stronger calf better once I rope him.”

Brickey also rides four to five other horses while roping daily just to keep him and the horses in shape.

Over the years, Brickey has won more than 20 saddles at junior rodeo, made the national high school finals and college national finals twice, and in 2007, won the International Professional Rodeo Association’s world title.

“Then I just worked my way up. Then the next year I won the Prairie Circuit, which is the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys

Association). I won that in 2008 and I’ve just been going strong ever since,” he said.

In 2012, Brickey won the tie down calf

roping event at the Indian National Finals rodeo in Las Vegas and plans to return this year. However, in 2014, Brickey suffered a serious foot injury.

“I was roping and stepped off a horse and it was turned completely sideways, so I didn’t get to rope for about nine months. I was on the couch, so I figured I better take care of myself a little bit better so I could rope,” he said. “You got to stay fit in my event, the tie down roping, because you got to jump off your horse, you got to run and flank a calf. I go to the gym, try to, in the mornings and try to stay fit. There’s guys doing it professional until they’re 45, 46. They’re kind of on the downhill slide. It really becomes harder then, you know. I’m just trying to stay fit, take care of myself.”

After being injured, Brickey said he “wasn’t going to take anything for granted.”

“I mean I’m going to work, put out the effort, and just do my best,” he said.

Brickey was scheduled to compete at several rodeos in January and February hoping to earn a spot in The American Rodeo on Feb. 28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for a chance to win $1 million.

“Not every day you get to rope for a million,” he said. “I’ve traveled pretty hard rodeoing. You win a lot, but it takes a lot of money to get up and down the road. I’ve got a lot of help this year hopefully it turns out for the best.”

SCAN CODE TO SEE VIDEO

BY MARK DREADFULWATERMultimedia Editor

NEW YORK – When Garrett Million left Tahlequah, Oklahoma, for New York City to attend New York University in August, he knew NYU would be challenging. Having completed a semester, Million said the university has definitely proved his expectations.

“I expected it to be challenging, yet enriching,” Million said. “It really takes a lot of determination to juggle acting studio classes, academic classes, required crew assignments for shows and still trying to maintain something that might resemble a social life.”

The Sequoyah High School graduate said almost every student feels the same challenges he does and it is an enriching part of the move he didn’t expect.

“You form this amazing community, with not only people in the same acting studio as you, but just with other people you see freaking out like you in the library during finals, as well as others enjoying the amazing parts with you,” Million said.

Million is majoring in drama, but is also looking into majoring in English with

possible minors in creative writing or film. He said, so far, his classes have gone well.

“They can certainly be a challenge, but I’m still passing them and doing well,” he said. “So I’m happy with how I have been doing.”

Million said he would love to do anything involving theater even if it’s hemming costumes or working backstage.

“It also really is just how I feel on some days when I think about it,” he said. “One day I will want to do a scene where I’m a man having an intense screaming match with his spouse, but some days I really just want to play a cartoony Jewish aunt telling an amazing story about her nephew. Some days I am belting out ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ 20 times in a row. It just really depends, but I want to do it all.”

He said NYU does more than 150 productions per year through clubs and studios. However, freshmen aren’t allowed to audition because they are in the beginning stages of training. He added that he doesn’t really feel he is missing anything.

“Though I was kind of miffed when I found out they are doing ‘Hairspray’ this semester,” he said.

Million said in his time at NYU, he’s made friends in classmates and teachers.

“My best friends that I have actually have none of the same classes as I do,” he said. “I also have a speech teacher and a movement teacher that I just sort of sit and have conversations with on the subway sometimes. That’s one thing I didn’t really think would happen at NYU. The fact that I have teachers that get to know you at a 50,000-student university is astounding.”

Along with NYU friendships, Million said he still has a great support group in Oklahoma. “I’ve gotten so much support from the community back in Oklahoma, he said. “It’s great when I go to FaceTime my friend or a teacher and hear and see a bunch of people telling me they’re thinking of me. It really helps knowing you have a support system even from 1,400 miles away.”

After graduating from NYU, Million said he wants to attend graduate school to further his drama skills. He said he also wants to audition for roles and work professionally as an actor. Although he said he really isn’t going to limit himself to one genre.

“One weird thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of the kids want to go mainly in one direction when it comes to movies, TV or theater,” he said. “But I really don’t think that way and I would love to do any of those.”

Brickey carries on family rodeo tradition

During practice, Cherokee Nation citizen Steve Brickey leaps from his horse, M&M, to tie a calf after he roped it. PHOTOS BY JAMI MURPHY/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Cherokee Nation citizen Steve Brickey comes from a family of rodeo competitors.

ᏓᎵᏆ, ᎣᎦᎳᎰᎹ.- ᏔᎵᏍᎪ ᏐᏁᎳ - ᎢᏳᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ᎨᎳ Steve Brickey, ᏧᎪᎾᏔᏅᎢ ᏩᎦ ᎠᏂᎩᎾ ᏗᏍᏜᏗᏍᎩ, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ 6 ᎢᏳᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏂᏗᎬᏓᎴᏂᏍᎩ ᏂᎨᎳᏗᏙᎰᎢ ᏓᏂᏍᏜᏗᎲᎢ. ᏄᏍᏛᏃ ᎤᎸᏉᏛᎢ ᎢᏳᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᎠᏂᏏᏓᏁᎸᎢ ᏧᎾᏛᏁᎸᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᎤᎩᏓ.

“ᏅᏲᎢ ᏙᏗᎦᏐᎬᎢ ᎠᏆᏛᏒᎢ, 10 ᎯᏃ ᎢᏳᏟᎶᏓ ᎤᏴᏢ ᎢᏗᏜ ᏓᎵᏆ ᎠᏂᎩᏓ. ᎠᎩᏚᏓᏃ ᏗᏍᏜᏗᏍᎩ ᎨᎲᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏯ ᎥᏆᎴᏅᏔᏅᎢ ᏕᏥᏍᏜᏗᎲᎢ 5 ᎠᎴ 6 ᎢᏯᏆᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏥᎨᏒᎢ. ᏐᏈᎵᏃ ᏗᎦᎩᎸᏗᏍᎩ ᏂᎨᎰᎢ ᎾᎯᏳᎢ ᏂᏗᎬᏓᎴᏂᏍᎩ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᏧᎩᏨᏅᏓ ᏕᏥᏍᏜᏗᏍᎪᎢ. ᎥᏍᎩᏭ ᏄᏍᏗ ᎨᎥᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏂᎤᏍᏗ ᎢᏯᏆᏛᏁᏗ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏂᎤᏍᏗ ᏥᏓᎩᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎰᎢ ᏧᎩᏨᏅᏓ ᏯᏆᏗᏛᎭ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏓᏭᎪᏙᎢ ᎢᏯᏆᏛᏁᏗ ᏗᎩᏍᏜᏗᏍᏗᎢ. ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏙᎢ ᏄᏍᏛᎢ ᎠᎩᎲᎢ ᏗᎩᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗᎢ.”

Brickey Z ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᏓᎾᎵᎪᏂᏍᎬᎢ ᎤᏪᎳᏛᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᏩᎦᎸᎳᏗᏴᎢ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᏓᏂᏍᏜᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ Ꮓ ᎾᏊ ᏧᎪᎾᏛᏅᏃ ᏩᎦ ᎠᏂᎩᎾ ᏓᏍᏜᏗᏍᎪᎢ.

“ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏙᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏂᎤᏍᏙᎢ ᎠᎩᎿᏫᎢ. ᎢᏙᎯᏳᎯᏯᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏩᎩᎸᏉᏛᎢ. ᏙᏳᏃ ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏙᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏕᎵᎬᎢ ᏂᏧᎾᏛᏁᎸᏍᏔᏅᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏓᏆᏓᏘᎿᎥᎢ ᎠᏆᏚᎵᎠ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎤᏠᏱ ᎢᏳᎾᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᎠᏆᏓᎵᎢ ᎾᏍᏊ, ᏧᏒᏙᏂ ᏕᎦᏕᏱᏍᏗᎰᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎢᏣᏂᏔ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏄᏍᏗ ᎩᎬ ᎠᎩᏁᎲᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏰᎵᎢ ᏗᎬᎩᏍᏜᏗᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏰᎵᎢ ᏱᎬᏆᏛᏁᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏩᎩᎸᏉᏛᎢ. ᎥᏝ ᏱᎨᎵᏍᎨᎢ ᎢᎸᎯᏳ ᏯᎩᎮᎢ ᏗᎩᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᏗ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏳᏍᏗ ᏩᎩᎸᏉᏛᎢ ᏕᏥᏍᏜᏗᏍᎬᎢ. ᎥᏝ ᏱᎦᏥᎦᏖᏃᎭ ᎠᏪᏅᏍᏗᎢ ᎦᏄᎸ ᎠᎩᎦᎵᏍᏗᎢ ᎠᎴᏱᎩ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᏍᎩᏯᎢᏳᏍᏗ. ᎠᎩᎸᏉᏙᎢ ᏥᏯᏯᎤᎶᏗᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏩᎦ ᎠᏂᎩᎾ ᏗᏥᏍᏜᏗᏍᏗᎢ.”

Brickey’s Z ᏄᎬᏫᏳᏒᎢ ᏓᏍᏜᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᏐᏈᎵ ᎤᎩᎸᏙᏗ M&M, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ 14-

ᎢᏳᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᏗᏙᎩᏯᏍᎩ ᏐᏈᎵ ᏂᏓᏳᏓᎴᏅᏃ Doc O’Lena, ᎠᎴ ᎠᎺᎵᎧ ᏗᏙᎩᏯᏍᎩ ᏐᏈᎵ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎠᎨᎳᏛᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ ᎠᎺᎵᎧ ᏗᏙᎩᏯᏍᎩ ᏐᏈᎵ Hall of Fame ᎾᎯᏳᎢ 1997 ᏥᎨᏒᎢ .

“ᎥᏍᎩᎾᏃ ᏫᏓᏤᏢᎢ ᎠᏯ ᏂᎨᎵᏍᎬᎢ. ᎤᎾᏍᏈᏍᏙᏒ ᏴᏫ ᎤᎾᏁᏟᏔᎾ ᎬᎩᏩᎯᏎᏗ ᎤᎪᏗ ᎠᏕᎳ ᎠᎾᏈᏱᏍᎬᎢ. ᏔᎵ ᎾᏕᏘᏯ ᏂᏥᎾᏝᎣᎢ. ᏍᏓᏱᏛ ᎰᏩ ᏛᎵᏍᏗ ᎾᏛᏁᎲᎢ. ᎥᏝ ᎠᏓᏅᏖᏗ ᏱᎦᎩ ᏱᏂᏛᏛᏁᎵ ᎢᏳᏛᏁᏗᎢ ᏂᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᏂᏛᏛᏁᎳᏭ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. “ᎣᏍᏓᏃ ᏕᎦᏅᏍᎪᎢ, ᎾᏍᎩᏯ ᎧᏁᏐᎢᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᏯᏓᎾᏫᏍᏓ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏭᏟᏂᎬᎬᎢ ᎠᏍᏓᏱᏭ ᏯᎴᏫᏍᏓ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏳᏟᏂᎪᎯ ᏩᎦ ᎠᎩᎾ ᎾᏊ ᏱᏥᏍᏜᏓ.”

Brickey Z ᎾᏍᏊ ᏅᎩ ᎠᎴ ᎯᏍᎩ ᎠᏂᏐᎢ ᏐᏈᎵ ᏚᎾᏝᎢ ᏧᎩᎸᏙᏗ ᎠᎾᎯᏳ ᏓᏍᏜᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᏧᎩᏨᏅᏓ ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎤᏩᏌ ᎠᎴ

ᏐᏈᎵ ᎠᏅᏂᎦᎵᏍᏓ ᎽᏍᏙᏗᎢ. ᏂᏓᏕᏘᏴᎯᏒᎢ, Brickey 20 ᎠᎴ ᏳᎪᏗ

ᏗᎦᏯᎱᎶ ᏧᏓᏒᏅᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ ᎩᎳ ᏗᎾᏛᏍᎩ ᏓᏂᏍᏜᏗᏍᎬᎢᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎤᏪᎳᏛᎢ ᎢᎬᎾᏕᎾ ᎦᎸᎳᏗ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᏓᏂᏍᏆᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏩᎦᎸᎳᏗᏴᎢ ᏧᎾᏕᎶᏆᏍᏗᎢ ᏓᏂᏍᏆᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᏔᎵ ᎢᏳᏩᎬᏗ, ᎠᎴ ᎾᎯᏳᎢ 2007 ᏥᎨᏒᎢ, ᎤᏓᏒᏅᏃ ᎾᏍᎩ International Professional Rodeo

“ᎾᏊᏃ ᏍᏓᏱ ᏓᎩᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎳ. ᎾᏊᏃ ᏩᏕᏘᏱᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᏆᏓᏠᏒᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ Prairie Circuit, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏥᎩ PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Assocition). ᎠᏆᏓᏠᏒᎢ 2008 ᏥᎨᏒᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏟᏂᎩᏓ ᏂᎦᎢᏐᎢ ᎾᎯᏳᎢ ᏂᏗᎬᏓᎴᏂᏍᎩ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

ᎾᎯᏳᏃ 2012, Brickey Z ᎤᏓᏠᏎᎢ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮎ ᏗᎧᏁᏯᎸᎢ ᏩᎦ ᎠᏂᎩᎾ ᏗᏍᏜᏛᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ Indian National Finals Rodeo ᎥᎿᎾᏂ Las

Vegas ᎠᎴ ᎠᏓᏅᏖᎠ ᎤᏪᏅᏍᏗᎢ ᎯᎠ ᏧᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗ. ᎠᏗᎠ, ᎾᎯᏳᏃ 2014 ᏥᎨᏒᎢ, Brickey Ꮓ ᎤᏍᎦᎮᏗ ᎤᏲᎤᎸᏅᎢ ᎤᎳᏏᏕᏂ.

“ᏕᏥᏍᏜᏗᎲᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎦᏠᏏᏙᎲᎢ ᏐᏈᎵ ᏥᏯᎩᎸᏛᎢ ᎠᎴ ᏌᏆᎬᏘ ᏗᏜ ᎤᎦᏛᎲᏓ ᎨᏒᎩ, ᏐᏁᎳᏃ ᏱᏅᏓ ᎠᎩᏄᎸᏅᎢ ᏗᎩᏍᏜᏗᏍᏗᎢ. ᎦᏍᎩᎶᎢ ᏥᏂᎬᎢ, ᏓᏊᎪᏔᏁᏃ ᎾᎯᏳ ᏓᏤᏢ ᎠᏆᏓᎵᏏᏅᏙᏗᎢ ᏰᎵᎢ ᏗᎬᎩᏍᏜᏗᏍᏗᎢ ᏭᏟᎠᎶᎯᏍᏗᎢ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ. ᎠᏎᎢ ᎥᎬᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗ ᏯᏍᏆᎵᎠ, ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᏗᎧᏴᏗᎢ ᏛᏍᏜᏗᏍᎬᎢ, ᏂᏗᎦᎵᏍᏙᏗᎭ ᎠᏎᎢ ᏫᏓᎵᏔᏗᏅᏗ ᏐᏈᎵ ᏲᎩᎸᏓ , ᏣᏓᎾᏫᏍᏙᏗᏃ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏍᏛᎢ ᎦᎷᏤᏗ ᏩᎦ ᎠᎩᎾ. ᏧᎾᎵᎩᏎᏗᎢ ᏫᎨᏙᎰᎢ, ᎦᏁᏟᏗᎰᎢ, ᏑᎾᎴᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎦᏁᏟᏗᎰ ᎬᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗᏯᏆᎵᏍᏙᏗᎢ. 45,46 ᎢᏧᎾᏕᏘᏴᏓ ᎠᏂᏍᎦᏯ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎾᏅᏛᏁᎰᎢ ᎠᎾᎵᎩᏐᏗᎰᎢ. ᎾᏍᎩᏃ ᎡᎳᏗᏊ ᏄᎾᏍᏗᏓ. ᎾᎯᏳᏃ ᎠᏍᏓᏘᎢ, ᎠᏯᏃ ᎦᏁᏟᏗᎭ ᎬᏂᎦᎵᏍᏗ ᏯᏆᎵᏍᏗᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᎠᏆᏓᎵᏏᏅᏙᏗᎢ.”

ᎾᎯᏳ ᏣᏆᏓᏲᎤᎸᏅᎢ ᏂᏗᎬᏓᎴᏂᏍᎩ, Brickey ᎢᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎢ “ ᎥᏝᏃ ᎪᎱᏍᏗ ᎠᏎᏭᎢ ᏱᎩ.”

“ᏙᏛᎩᎸᏫᏍᏓᏁᎵ, ᏓᎬᏟᏂᎬᏁᎵ, ᎠᎴ ᎾᎩᏤᎲᎢ ᏂᏓᎦᏛᏁᎵ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ.

Brickey Z ᎯᎸᏍᎩ ᏧᏓᎪᎾᏗᎢ ᎨᏒᎢ ᎯᎸᏍᎩ ᏓᏍᏆᎵᎲᎢ ᏓᏂᏍᏜᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎾᎯᏳ ᎤᏃᎸᏔᏂ ᏥᎧᎸᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎧᎦᎵ ᎤᏚᎩᏃ ᎠᏋᏒᎢ ᎥᏇᎳᏗᏍᏗᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ ᎾᏍᎩ ᎠᎺᎵᎧ ᏓᏂᏍᏜᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎧᎦᎵ. 28 ᎧᎸᎢ ᎥᎿᎾᏂ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, ᎾᏍᎩ ᏰᎵᎢ ᎬᏆᏓᏠᎯᏍᏗᎢ $1million.

“ᎥᏝ ᏧᎩᏨᏅᏓ ᎥᏍᎩ ᏱᏂᎬᏴᏛᎦ ᏗᏓᏠᎯᏍᏗᎢ ᎥᏍᎩ ᏱᎦᎢ ᎢᏳᏆᏗᏅᏓ ᎠᏕᎳ,” ᎠᏗᏍᎬᎢ ᎠᏇᏙᎵᏙᎳ ᏕᏥᏍᏦᏗᏍᎬᎢ. ᎤᎪᏗᏃ ᏴᏓᏠᎯ, ᎠᏎᏃ ᏍᏈᏯᎢ ᏓᎵᎬᏩᏢᏍᎪᎢ ᏛᏙᎵᏓᏍᏗᎢ ᏂᎬᎢ. ᎤᎪᏗᏃ ᎥᏆᏍᏕᎸᎲᎢ ᎯᎠ ᏧᏕᏘᏴᏌᏗ ᎤᏚᎩᏃ ᎠᏋᏎᏍᏗ ᎣᏍᏓ ᎢᏳᎵᏍᏙᏗᎢ.”

Steve Brickey has been involved with rodeo nearly all his life, beginning at the age of 6. Since then he has gone on to become a professional calf roper.

Cherokee Nation citizen Steve Brickey ties a calf during practice near his home in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Brickey is a professional calf roper.

Cherokee Nation citizen Garrett Million, second from left, enjoys a show held in September during New York University’s welcome week event in New York. COURTESY PHOTOS

Garrett Million poses with a cardboard cutout of Yoda during a Star Wars-themed finals midnight breakfast held in the Fall 2015 semester at New York University.

Million enjoying time at NYU

AARP Oklahoma Indian Honors

accepting nominationsBY STAFF REPORTS

OKLAHOMA CITY – Officials with the eighth annual AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors are accepting applications for the 2016 tribal elders to be recognized.

Applications will be accepted until June 1 for the October event. At the event, 50 elders from Oklahoma tribes and nations will be honored for contributions to their tribe, family, community, state or nation.

According to an AARP press release, AARP wants to honor at least one person from each of the 39 federally recognized tribes and nations in Oklahoma. Those nominated must be enrolled in an Oklahoma tribe or nation, must be at least 50 years old and living.

The release states, the AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors is the largest Native American recognition program in the state and has honored 350 elders. The AARP welcomes the public and tribes to submit nominations at www.aarp.org/okindiannavigator or by calling 405-715-4474.

Eight Cherokee Nation citizens and one United Keetoowah Band citizen were among honorees at the AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors on Oct. 6. They were Tom Anderson, Norman W. Crowe Jr., Carol “Jane” Davis, Dr. John Farris, Howard Hansen Sr., Doris “Coke” Lane Meyer, Ollie Starr, Bonnie Thaxton and Dr. Pamela Jumper Thurman.

From left to right are Cherokee Nation citizens Dr. John Farris, Ollie Starr, Retired Sgt. 1st Class Norman W. Crowe Jr., Dr. Pamela Jumper Thurman, Tom Anderson and Carol “Jane” Davis. Sitting is CN citizen Doris “Coke” Lane Meyer. COURTESY

March 2016 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 17 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 PEOPlE • xW

BY STACIE GUTHRIEReporter

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. – When it comes to staying active and healthy at an older age, Cherokee Nation citizen Harold Hicks proves this can be achieved. Age is not something that’s held him back from racing in marathons and other distances since beginning running more than seven years ago.

Hicks, 62, said prior to running he rode bicycles to stay fit.

“I had been bicycle riding for about 10 years before that. I really was an avid cyclist, and the winters were really just starting to kind of bother me a little too much,” he said. “On a bicycle, you’re generating some wind speed, too, so the cold was just getting to be too tough for me. I remember in January that year (2009) I decided, ‘OK, I’ll try running.’”

At first he wasn’t “thrilled” about running.

“After I got out and got use to it, it is an adjustment because the cycling muscles are different from running muscles as I found out,” he said. “I thought I could go out and run two or three miles with no problem. Well I was lucky to go five or six blocks then having to stop and take a little breather. But it didn’t take long and I was doing a mile and then two miles.”

Hicks said in that first year he ran the 9.3-mile Tulsa Run. He’s added marathons to his resumé, too.

“In that year I did the Tulsa Run. That was my first organized run. So I’d been running about nine or 10 months by then and enjoyed that,” he said. “Since then I’ve done a few marathons here in Tulsa and done the Tulsa Run each year since then.”

As he ran more he cycled less and eventually switched to just running.

“The next winter I did more running and less cycling, and then it got to where anymore I just do the running,” he said. “It got to where I was not able to do cycling and running as well as I wanted to. If I want to run, I want to run the best I can. If I want to cycle, all my friends that road bikes were pretty fast, and if I wanted to keep up with them then I had to cycle almost all the time to stay in that kind of shape. It just kind of became one or the other if I want to do it well. And I

stuck with the running. I could do it all winter, for one thing, without freezing.”

Hicks said when preparing for a marathon, which is 26.2 miles, he trains for approximately 19 weeks.

“Nineteen weeks long is plenty of time if someone’s in any kind of reasonable shape to start with,” he said.

He said a runner usually strengthens his or her body for upcoming marathons.

“You gradually work your way up. Start off with like, let’s say five or six miles that first Saturday. And you should run a couple of times during the week, and then the next Saturday you’ll do that five or six (miles) again and then you’ll gradually add it up to seven or eight miles,” he said. “Maybe you’ll get up around 10, then you’ll drop down to eight. Then you’ll work your way up to 12 or 14 and then drop down for a week,” he said. “You kind of build your body up and then you drop back the mileage to let your body rest and recover. Then you build back up a little bit farther, so it’s kind of a two steps up, one step back.”

Hicks said he typically runs two marathons a year and has participated in seven total.

He said although he was “late” in the game, it hasn’t stopped him from achieving his goals.

“If you go back to 2009, I was in my late 50s then. There’s always hope. No matter how old you are, if you can get up and move around at all you can get out and do something,” he said. “At 62, I’m able to do this people think, ‘you’re just lucky. You’re doing this and it’s easy for you.’ Well, it wasn’t easy to begin with. When I got into cycling I hadn’t really been doing anything…You’ve got to start somewhere, and if you don’t start now, where are you going to be five years from now?”

Hicks said for people wanting to run to take it easy at first and set goals.

“Start with walking. That’s probably the best thing that a lot of people can do. It’s easy. It’s not very stressful on your body, and all it takes is a decent pair of shoes. You’re outside getting some fresh air, which is good for you,” he said. “Start off easy. Set a goal. Find a group. That will help a lot of people. A lot of people, they’re trying to do it by themselves, it’s easy to put it off.”

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STAYING HEALTHY BY STAYING ACTIVE

Cherokee Nation citizen Harold Hicks, 62, runs along the approximate mile-long trail that circles Northeastern State University’s campus in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Hicks began running in 2009. PHOTOS BY STACIE GUTHRIE/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Harold Hicks proves that age is just a number by running and competing in marathons.

Harold Hicks said if people want to begin running, he suggests starting with easy tasks and setting goals.

There’s always hope. No matter how old you are, if you can get up and move around at all you can get out and do something. – Harold Hicks, Cherokee Nation citizen

Cherokee Nation citizen Harold Hicks stretches after a brief jog. He has competed in marathons since he started running in 2009. He cycled before turning to running.

Williams Route 66 Marathon Results

2015: Injured2014: 3:56.142013: 3:50.062012: 3:43.382011: 3:46.102010: 3:57.11

Tulsa Run 15K Results

2015: 1:15.232014: 1:11.562013: 1:10.162012: 1:09.172011: 1:08.012010: 1:09.002009: 1:13.06

Golden DrillerMarathon Results

2015: 4:05.12

His Fastest 5K Results

2011: 21:192011: 21:442011: 21:502014: 22:10

I think that my experience here in Oklahoma is very unique. I want to tell that story, and so this fellowship makes that possible.

– Nathan Young, Cherokee Nation

citizen

18 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • March 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 2016CulTuRE • i=nrplcsd

BY STACIE GUTHRIEReporter

TULSA, Okla. – Cherokee Nation citizen Nathan Young tells stories through his art, and this year he has an opportunity to tell his stories by participating in the inaugural Tulsa Artist Fellowship.

The George Kaiser Family Foundation program is designed to expand Tulsa’s art community by recruiting artists to live and work in the city. The artists began the fellowship on Jan. 4 and received a $40,000 stipend. In most cases, fellows also received free housing and an art studio.

Young, who is also Pawnee and Kiowa, is one of 12 artists chosen for the TAF. He said he’s grateful for the fellowship for various reasons, one being able to work in Oklahoma.

“I’ve spent a lot of time, the last 10 years, working in a collective all throughout the southwest and never had the opportunity to show in the southwest. I’ve showed internationally, all kinds of great shows in Canada. Collaborated with indigenous people all over the world, but never had the chance to really show or create my artwork here in a way that I had a platform like this,” he said.

Young said while participating in the TAF he should be able to focus on his art.

“This fellowship is really important to me because I have the space, the time and I can focus on my work in the place that I want to focus because a lot of my work is about my experience as an Oklahoma Indian, as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, somebody who grew up in Tahlequah, Oklahoma,” he said. “I’m a multi-racial, multi-traveled person. I think that my experience here in Oklahoma is very unique. I want to tell that story, and so this fellowship makes that possible.”

He said he feels “privileged” to work with other TAF artists and that the fellowship is “important.”

“There are already artists here that are the highest caliber. Getting to know them, getting to know their work, how they work, what they’ve been doing, where they’ve been, I am blown away. There are amazing artists here, so

I think that it’s really off to a great start,” Young said. “I know it’s going to get larger and larger. There’s 12 fellows here now. Ideally there’ll be 24 fellows here next year. They’re adding on writing. It’s just a very exciting time, and I’m happy to be a part of the inaugural class.”

Young said he became an artist by working with Native American languages.

“I studied Cherokee and Creek and Choctaw at the University of Oklahoma,” he said. “I moved back to Tahlequah after college, and I met Joseph Erb and learned how to animate. I started making clay animations at Fort Gibson Public Schools in the Cherokee language.”

He said from there he resigned from the school to pursue art.

“I was making films. I met another Native American documentary filmmaker, I traveled with him (Erb) around the country learning how to do documentaries. I had a production company called “Native Airspace” for 10 years. I produced documentaries on social justice and wellness,” he said. “At the same time…I was starting an art collective called Postcommodity with a number of other artists scattered throughout the southwest. So concurrently I was making films, working in social justice and health in American Indian communities, getting to travel to different reservations, communities all over the United States. But also it made it possible for me to travel around and create fine art, instillation art.”

He said he left Postcommodity recently for the fellowship.

“I had worked for Postcommodity for about 10 years,” he said. “I wanted to pursue my own work. I wanted to spend more time in Oklahoma. This fellowship was perfect because it gives me the chance to do that.”

Young said his art is sometimes characterized as “multi-disciplinary.”

“What that means is that I work across many different mediums and forms. I work sculpturally. I create prints. I’ll do ethereal installations, ethereal sculptures, performances that are unconventional music performances, community performances,” he said. “I create large-scale landscape instillations with sound. I’m really just kind of concerned with telling a story and whatever medium I feel best tells that story I pursue.”

He said he also tries to expand on Native American art forms.

“I do a lot of unconventional things like, for instance, turn Native American drums into speakers and they become part of a larger installation environment. That’s something that very much has the signifiers of American Indian,” he said. “One thing with my practice is I really oftentimes try to avoid those forms. I don’t really try to avoid them; I’m trying to expand on those forms.”

He said he’s been working on a series of sculpture pieces that relate to his time growing up.

“It’s about the Native American Church or the peyote religion, which is a big part of my life growing up. I go to these ceremonies, the Native American Church. It’s a part of my Plains (Indian) background,” he said.

He said the series is titled “The Altar Maker.”“It’s named after an old Native American

Church peyote art painting called the “The Altar Maker,” he said.

Young said being Native has helped mold

his artistic career.

“Growing up in Tahlequah, and as a member of the Cherokee Nation, I felt really fortunate. It was very unique in that I’m a Delaware, but I have always been a member of the Cherokee Nation and never felt like I was a second-class citizen in the Cherokee Nation,” he said. “I think that being a member of the Cherokee Nation has really kind of made my idea of what it means to be Native a lot more expansive, and I think that’s reflected in my work.”

Young partakes in inaugural Tulsa Artist Fellowship

Artist Nathan Young pours concrete mixture into a wooden square in which he will shape a sculpture-type piece as part of being an inaugural member of the Tulsa Artist Fellowship. PHOTOS BY STACIE GUTHRIE/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Cherokee Nation citizen and artist Nathan Young puts on gloves before mixing concrete for his sculpture-type piece that will be part of a series titled “The Altar Maker,” which relates to his time growing up. Young is part of the inaugural Tulsa Artist Fellowship, a program through the George Kaiser Family Foundation designed to expand Tulsa’s art community.

Artist Nathan Young opens a box of concrete to use for his series titled “The Altar Maker,” which will have a combination of concrete pieces each named after a notable person in his life from the Native American Church.

ABOVE: Cherokee artist Nathan Young smoothes concrete before adding the final touches to his sculpture-type piece.BELOW: Nathan Young’s finished sculpture-type piece for his series, “The Altar Maker,” sits against a wall in his studio provided to him by the Tulsa Artist Fellowship. He is an inaugural member of the program.

Nathan Young mixes concrete to create an art piece for his series, “The Altar Maker.”

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CulTuRE • i=nrplcsd March 2016 • CHEROKEE PHOENIX 19 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9

BY BRITTNEY BENNETTIntern

KEYS, Okla. – When Cherokee Nation citizen Ray Kirk tried crafting knives as Christmas gifts for his family in 1989, he had no idea knife making would become his passion.

“I first started forging knives because I wanted to make some Christmas presents and that seemed like the easiest, simplest thing to do,” he said. “Just make some knives. I was a welding instructor at a vo-tech at that time and we went to forging some, and one of my night class students gave me a book and some stuff on how to make knives. I liked it and I just kind of kept doing it.”

More than 27 years later, Kirk owns Raker Knives and Steel and forges most knives from 52100 round bar steel, a far cry from his earlier knives forged from car springs. Though the material has changed, Kirk’s intent has not.

“I love to make knives for working people,” he said.

During the years, he’s honed his process, beginning with heating steel to a forging temperature in either his propane or natural gas forges.

“The propane forge has a blower on it, and that enables me to have a neutral atmosphere at low heat, and also at very high heat,” he said. “As long as you get the volume of gas and the volume of air mixture correct then you can get a pretty hot fire. I have a little blower on the front to keep it from blowing back on me when it’s running.”

Once the steel is ready, he moves it to an air hammer for flattening. Once flattened, he works it using a homemade press and a hammer and anvil to shape it into a blade. He then grinds and sands it to smooth rough edges. After the blade is satisfactory, Kirk stamps his name into it and heat treats it so a handle can be added. He uses various handle materials, including Bois d’arc wood and antlers from sambar stag and elk.

In addition to his business, Kirk travels to knife shows and even appeared on the History Channel series “Forged in Fire,” in which he competed against other bladesmiths in New York City.

He is also a member of knife-making associations, including the American Bladesmith Society. He said its purpose is to promote forging as an art and that he joined to further his skills.

“They have documentation and a

paper trail for your expertise,” he said. “In other words, you start off as an apprentice for two to three years and you pass a test. You become a journeyman for at least two years and then you pass a harder test and you become a master smith. I got my master smith in 2005. There’s only 115 in the world.”

To put things into greater perspective, Kirk said he’s one of five master smiths from Oklahoma and the only Cherokee master smith.

His tribal roots have also influenced his work, including the creation of a Trail of Tears knife.

“The last time I was in Dahlonega, Georgia, is when I was picking up some 52100 round bar at the ball bearing factory there,” he said. “One of the guys said, ‘One of the Trail of Tears started here.’ I thought, yeah I knew that, but I never put it together. And then on the way home I decided to make a knife that would be representative of the Trail of Tears.”

The blade and handle form a teardrop, and Kirk stamped it with teardrops that fall from the knife’s point. “The story of a knife sometimes is important or more important than its abilities to perform its duties as a cutting tool,” he said.

The bar from Dahlonega is also in a

Damascus knife Kirk made for a Cherokee Phoenix giveaway. Entries can be obtained by donating to the Cherokee Phoenix elder fund or buying a subscription or merchandise. One entry is given for every $10 spent. A winner will be announced April 1. For more information, call Samantha Cochran at 918-207-3825 or Justin Smith at 918-207-4975 or email samantha-cochran@cherokee.org or justin-smith@cherokee.org.

For more information on Raker Knives and Steel, visit www.rakerknives.com, email ray@rakerknives.com or call 918-207-8076.

Kirk’s passion stems from homemade Christmas gifts

Cherokee Master Smith Ray Kirk stands in front of an air hammer, which flattens steel. Once flattened, he works with the steel using a homemade press and a hammer and anvil to shape it into a blade. Kirk began making knives in 1989 and is one of 115 master smiths in the world.BRITTNEY BENNETT/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

The Cherokee Phoenix and Master Smith Ray Kirk, owner of Raker Knives and Steel, are partnering to give away a unique knife on April 1. The knife is Damascus, featuring steel from Dahlonega, Georgia, and is finished with a sambar stag antler for the handle. COURTESY

BY ROGER GRAHAMMultimedia Specialist

PARK HILL, Okla. – After more than a decade, the Cherokee Heritage Center has a new curator. One who is familiar with the center after having worked at it before.

Callie Chunestudy, 34, took over the position on Nov. 9 after former CHC Curator Mickel Yantz accepted a job with the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art in Tulsa.

Chunestudy is a graduate of Northeastern State University with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts.

“The Heritage Center has always held a big place in my heart. It’s where I worked at 16 on (Cherokee Nation) Summer Youth (Employment Program) and at 18 for the pottery division back when that was going on,” she said.

Through the Summer Youth Employment Program, Chunestudy said she gave tours in Adam’s Corner, the CHC’s rural village that depicts Cherokee life in the 1890s before Oklahoma statehood. Chunestudy added that she also worked in the museum archives department and as a secretary under the same employment program, giving her a total of two years experience at CHC before her current position.

As for her curator job, she said in many ways she wants to follow her predecessor’s path.

“Mickel was here 11 years, so I have big shoes to fill. He left a legacy of great shows and exhibits that he put together for the Heritage Center,” she said. “My hope is to continue that legacy while bringing new eyes and new things to the table. We have some really great shows coming up, including our current exhibit, ‘Talking Leaves to Pixels: The History of the Cherokee Syllabary,’ which runs from Jan. 15 until April 2.” Chunestudy said she is also looking forward to the 2016 Trail of Tears Art Show, which follows the syllabary exhibit.

“It will be the first time I’m completely in charge of an art show and competition, so I’m very excited about that,” she said. “And for the first time, we’re going to partner with Cherokee Art Market and also hold their youth art show and competition. So it will run concurrent, here at the Heritage Center, and the winners’ art will be up for the duration of the Trail of Tears Art Show.”

As for why she wanted the curator job, Chunestudy said she’s always been interested in helping preserve and showcase Cherokee culture.

“Art is a great way to do that because everyone can find common ground in beauty. Working at the Cherokee Heritage Center and being a good steward of our collections while helping promote the Cherokee artists that are living today is a very important goal for me,” she said.

CHC Executive Director Candessa Tehee said the CHC is fortunate to have Chunestudy join the staff again.

“She has a background in fine arts yet brings a deep understanding of Cherokee culture and communities with her to the position,” Tehee said. “Her enthusiasm for Cherokee art traditions is evident in her approach to her work and she has a bright future with the CHC.”

The CHC is located at 21192 S. Keeler Drive. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday from Sept. 16 until June 14 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday from June 15 to Sept. 15.

Chunestudy feels at home as CHC curator

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20 CHEROKEE PHOENIX • March 2016 Ewf #>hAmh • AnIl9 2016