Good money, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome
in. It's time now for our community connection right here on gay one,
the one you trust to and do. We have members of Cherokee Nation and
friends of mine in here today. We have Misty and we have mister Weston
in here. How are we doing, guys, gal doing great time.
We've got a kind of a big deal coming up tomorrow, don't we?
We do? We do Wednesday at noon at the Tri County Technology Events Center
where Kawanas Club of Barsville, which I happen to be president elect of,
is going to be hosting an event about maintaining the challenges of tribal sovereignty and
attendance. Actually as their keynote speaker, we're going to have Chief Chuck Costkin
a Cherokee Nation, and we're going to have a guest speaker, Lieutenant Governor
Matt Panel And also in attendance, we're going to have Chief Standing Bear of
the os Age Nation. We're going to have a Chief Brad Kills Crow of
the Delaware Tribe of Indians, and we're going to have Cherokee Nation Counselors dwar
p Atskowski and Cherokee Nation Counselor Joe Deer with us, Well, it sounds
like we're going to have a packed house. We are, and the public's
welcome. Absolutely, it's a free event. We encourage everyone to come out
and and just listen to what the speakers have to say. And and you
know, really, tribal sovereignty is one of those things that's near and dear
to a lot of us here. I know about the third people of Barsow
live here are Cherokee Nation citizens, and it's just it's one of those things
that since the advent of McGirt, there's been a lot of passionate debate about.
And I think the whole purpose of this event, it really isn't to
talk at each other, is to talk with one another. And I think
we just really need to get past some of the animosity that we've seen in
the past few years and realize that, you know, the tribal nations and
our state government could be great partners and do a lot of great things for
the people who live here. So well, once again, Misty, this
is one of these things where we're not here to have a debate, We're
here to have a discussion exactly right. Yeah, I think John said it
well to talk with each other. Yeah, And this is going to be
good because I think a lot of people are going to understand a few things
and probably get through some misunderstandings. If this goes is I think it probably
will exactly right. This is really going to be outstanding once again. This
takes place at noon to try Dune, Yeah Dune tomorrow the try Khigh Technology
Events Center, free and open to the public. And we're really looking forward
to it, you know, because, like I said, we've had a
lot of issues with I would say, playing politics with tribal sovereignty, you
know, And I think if we can just get past that and embrace the
spirit of reconciliation and friendliness and understand that where you know, Like I told
my wife one night, I said, you know, I said, some
people even try to claim that the tribal citizens are more loyal to their tribe
than they are to the state. And it's like, I don't really see
it that way. What I see is it's like having children. I said,
if you have more than one child, do you love one any less
than the other? No, you don't. You know, we both we
all root for the Sooners, or we all root for those dreaded O Su
cowboys, you know. And it's like, we live here, we pay
taxes here, we send our kids to school here, you know, and
we run businesses here, we serve in the state legislature. Our governor himself
claims to be a Cherokee citizen, you know. So it's yeah, it's
just one of those things that if we can just speak with one another and
really just take on the issue and understand that we are partners in the state
that we live in, but we also have to respect the fact that we're
tribal We are a sovereign tribal nations. Okay, I've been living here for
about five years, and I have family members in Indiana and you know,
in that area. And they said, well, you know, Oklahoma's got
all these tribal lands. Every time we were down there, it says you're
now in Cherokee Nation, you're now in O Sage Nation, You're now in
a different names. Yeah, there's a lot there's a lot of nation going
on here. And they said, well, how does that affect this that
or the other. I said, the thing is, you have to remember
it's a universal set. Yeah, you live in Indiana, but you also
live in the United States. That's correct. So I said, Okay,
you have Oklahoma, Okay, you have uh, the United States, you
have Washington County, Okay, you have you have Cherokee Nation, you have
Nation, have all these other different nations. The thing is, well,
you all just we all just got to get along to it. I said
that, you know, the thing is that that we tried to have everybody
on the same page, follow the same laws as we can and do the
best we can with the hand that's ben deltas by the courts and by the
art history exactly. And you brought up history, you know, and you
really can't dismiss the context of history. I mean, when the McGirt decision
came down, Neil, We're said, who is a Trump appointee? He
wrote the majority opinion for that decision, and he pointed out that there's been
a long history of the federal government not living up to its promises to tribal
nations, you know, And so you really can't without an understanding of that,
you really can't move forward on this issue. You have to understand that
we have an obligations as citizens of both the United States and Oklahoma to our
tribal nations, and that is to observe our tribal sovereignty and to respect the
agreements that we've made with our tribal nations. Now I understand we have some
cultural things that are coming up here in the next few days or weeks.
Am I correct? I do so. Within the last couple of years there
was a new Cherokee Cultural Committee developed in dewey On. I was there for
the you were well, that's right, I think I saw you there.
So it's just a great community and a way to get all of the citizens
together and to preserve our tribe and all the education that there is behind us.
And so it's open to the public. We have meetings the third Thursday
of every month. We're starting those this spring at six o'clock and then coming
up on March first, Operation Eagle is doing a Fried Indian Taco fundraiser.
So I think that person a lot of years up right, everybody exactly a
long line for Ada there will be so the details on that. It's March
first, from ten thirty to two, and then March second, from eleven
to six. The proceeds are going to go to their spring pow wow,
and it's ten dollars and it includes a drink and dessert and they'll do delivery,
pickup or dine in. So I think everyone needs to mark their calendars
for that. Yeah, Yeah, and we welcome you know, we're really
trying to grow that committee and it's open to the general public. You can
be a member for for there's no membership fee. So but we would definitely
want to grow that. Just go to a Cherokee Cultural Committee on community sorry
on Facebook and I like that page and followed on there yet Misty and I
were there last Saturday. We welcome Sean Crittendon. The Chief is tasked Sean
with heading up a task force, uh for for a new program the Cherokee
Nation is unrolling called the Good Dougie, the Good Corps and Gogie and Cherokee
just means working together and basically it's, uh, it's going to be a
volunteer organization. We're going to really get our youth involved and kind of and
just as Sean said at the meeting, kind of help fill in some of
the gaps that we see sometimes when the tribe is trying to offer services of
help to our citizens. It just is gonna kind of further our ability to
help our citizens and be a more responsive government to those those people that need
our help. And also the volunteers that you be involved with that too,
are going to feel search of ownership and really gonna uh get a good feel
what it means to belong exactly. And we're looking at mentoring programs that you
know, uh bolstering our emergency services. We have a disaster that might you
know, occur in one of our districts that's a little farther away from Tahlequaan
in those areas, and you know, I just I think it's it's it's
very encouraging. I think it's going to be a wonderful program and and I
can't wait to see get off the ground and start serving with these of our
hurt in a moment too soon, because in Oklahoma, you're you're never a
good day away from a tornado or a coin exactly. Exactly. Yeah,
it's a lot of big things on the horizon, for sure. That is.
I remember when I had a cheap Hoskin on the UH with me about
a month and a half ago, and he was talking about that. He
was very amp very excited about it. So obviously you should think think AmeriCorps,
I think a few of the these other things where young people will open
to anybody really can just volunteer and do something positive. Yeah, he said,
that's it's just that simple. He has a vision for it, and
I think it's really up to us to all chip in and make sure that
vision becomes a reality. Where did you get his energy? I'd like to
know. I'd like to tap into it. You could bottle it his.
But the big deal tomorrow is going to be at noon, and it is
open to the public, and it will be with Chief Chuck Hoskin Junior,
the Principal Chief Cherokee Nation, and Lieutenant Governor Matt Pannell. Be kind of
difficult to tell them apart because they love wearing the same blue blade. Never
mind me, we were a little inside joke. But anyway, it's going
to be a good time and a very very uh you're gonna you're gonna get
your eyes open to a few things, and you might be challenging yourself on
a few things as well, So be prepared to listen with both ears,
speak with one and if we if we have time time, I've got a
couple of other things I like to mess and go about our Cherokee communities,
our Noida Cherokee Community Foundation, and we have three communities here in District twelve,
which is store of Patskowski's district. Uh. And in these communities,
of course, are the Cherokee Cultural Community in Dewey, which is a seven
hundred east term very nice building. It really is very very available wedding anniversar
and full full kitchen service. Yeah, it's a huge kitchen. Yeah,
absolutely, Well, the NODA Cherokee Community Foundation, they have their meetings typically
the second Tuesday of each month. Now sometimes that's that's is subject to change.
They really should follow them on their Facebook page just to know exactly what
they will be meeting exactly a lot of exciting things happening over there. We're
building a Cherokee Nation is building a huge head start center just to the north
of that building. We've got a food distribution center over there for for to
make sure a lot of our tribal citizens aren't food insecure. We're actually feeding
elders over there now. And you know, you can follow those those programs
on our Cherokee Nation website and also you can go to the the WA to
Cherokee Community Foundation Facebook page and follow those folks. And we have another Cherokee
community down in the southern part of the county near Ocean Leda. I'm the
secretary there at the Washington County Cherokee Association. We typically have our meetings the
first Thursday of each month, and on April twenty seventh, we're going to
have a cultural Day. We didn't really have two cultural days a year,
and this cultural Day is going to be a little different from the one that
we had in the fall because it's going to be more hands on cultural day.
Oh cool. So we're going to do things like feather painting and copper
impressions and different things that are just really going to be a fun, hands
on activity and just fun for the whole family. That's good. Remember last
followed there was a lot of a performance art that would be exactly exactly and
April twenty seventh, that event will run from eleven to three pm and we
hope to see you know, a lot of people there. It's always it's
always great we can get together and not only with other Cherokees, but with
the community as a whole and just share our culture. That is wonderful.
You know, the little ones get such a big kick out of it.
And once we start doing things with their hands, they start doing That's exactly
right. That's right. Where the hands go, the mind will follow.
And it's really a nice situation that you have out there in Oceania too.
You know that community area, and of course the medical facility out there,
the Ko Health Center, is located right directly. You said that because I
knew I was going to mispronounce it. Yeah. I recently made a sign
for our friends up to the Dative American Fellowship in South Cokerville. We have
this kind of running joke where we're into tomahawk throwing and they've established the Kui
Scuy Tomahawk Commission, which is not officially sanctioned by Cherokee Nation, but it's
something we just kind of joke around about. And uh, so I made
him a sign. I three D printed elements of this sign, and one
of the things I had to do is three D print the word kooey scooey,
And let me tell you, that is not an easy word to get
on. Yeah, and uh and so it took me a little time just
on that word alone to put the sign together. But but it was a
lot of fun. And I we really do all these communities. We love
working with each other. We just were friends and you know, it's you
really and I'm glad that we we talk about go doogie quite a bit because
they're working together. We don't even have a word in Cherokee for community.
It is googie, you know, and we live and breathe that in these
communities all year long, and I think it's just a wonderful thing that we
all share. Well, this is great. Once Cain wins the Indian Taco
March first in March, second March first two big days, because you know
you want to come back for second Star, that's right, Yeah, yeah,
Friday night if if you're interested. The Key Club and Dewey, which
is affiliated with our Kuanas Club here in Bardosville, they're going to be having
a bingo fundraiser and it's going to be at the Dewey High School Student Union.
Starts at five point thirty. If you want to pre order tickets,
you can do that online. They're ten dollars online, but if you want
to pay at the door, it's fifteen all right, Very good, very
good. I want to thank you for both coming in here today, Missy
and missed. We very nice to have you both in here, and tomorrow
is going to be a big day. And make sure you say how do
eat everybody, because everybody's going to say how do do you. We're looking
forward to it.