Skip to main content

Letter to the Editor

Sept 2, 2008
Dear Editor, Tahlequah Daily Press:

This is a response to a letter of Aug 29th written by Murv Jacobs and the recent disturbance he created at a Cherokee Identity program.

With all due respect to all involved - the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Oklahoma has set up very specific criteria for citizenship. 1. You need to have a Cherokee Ancestor 2. That Cherokee Ancestor needs to be on the Dawes Roll. Under self-governing rules the Cherokee Nation does indeed have that right to determine who can or can not be called a Citizen of the Nation. We do not have a blood-quantum and I believe we are better for that.

Murv Jacobs claims to be Kentucky Cherokee - no mention that he's got a Cherokee Ancestor on the Dawes Roll or that his family lived in the NE part of Oklahoma which was a requirement for Dawes enrollment, which in fact he does not have.

He claims to be a Cherokee Artist - the Federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act requires that one be a member of a Federal or State recognized Tribe to be able to call oneself an Indian Artist of any Tribe - he does not have even that to claim Cherokee Artist. Recently the Cherokee Nation passed legislation which requires tribal citizenship for artists of any Federally recognized tribe to enter certain art shows or sell items in certain Cherokee owned and operated businesses.

I can assure you, although he claims to not state that he is a tribal member, the general public doesn't know enough to ask for Tribal enrollment numbers, in most cases they either ask if you are *An Indian or Cherokee* or assume that if one claims Indian heritage or writes or paints or does other artistic endeavors on Indian subjects, that you are indeed a member of a tribe. So the mere fact that he doesn't clearly state that he is not a tribal member, in and of its self allows folks to believe he is indeed a member of a tribe by implication.

Rather than accepting the fact that the Federal Government as well as the Cherokee Nation do not recognize him as a Native American Artist much less a Cherokee Artist or even of Cherokee descent, he continues to rant and belittle the current administration and council of the Cherokee Nation. Will this gain him citizenship? No, he needs that Cherokee Ancestor on the Dawes Roll for that. Will this gain him Indian status as an artist? No, he needs to be a member of a Federally recognized tribe under Cherokee law or a state recongized tribe under Federal Law. I find it indeed interesting that any non tribal member, reacts much the same way he does, when these things are brought to their attention. A *look what I've done for you* attitude. However, the Cherokee Nation and people are quite capable of *doing* for themselves without the outside help of folks who self-ID as *Indians*.

It is indeed unfortunate that self-id Indians seem to want to force themselves upon Tribal Citizens or upon Tribal Nations. When self-id Indians do this they devalue the citizenship of every Native American in the US. The Cherokee Nation and people have decided to take a stand and I am indeed proud of them for that. Non-Tribal members need to have respect for this rather than belittling everyone on the council or the tribal chief.

I personally find the Cherokee Council and Councilors to be extremely helpful and independent thinkers. When I have had questions or need help I have found the Cherokee Nation staff to be very promote, courteous and friendly. We have a Chief that is gracious, bright, dedicated and taking the brunt of the Freedmen Issue to date. He has extended a welcoming hand to those of us that don't live in the 14 county area of Oklahoma and this particular citizen is grateful for that. They have given us, two at-large councilors, showing again that with that Cherokee Ancestor on the Dawes we have a common interest. That common interest is to protect our Nation and the Identity of that Nation's people.

I personally can't say enough about Cara Cowan and Julia Coates as councilors - they are bright, very knowledgeable of the Cherokee Nation affairs, courteous and warm.

Thank you Cara Cowan, I for one am glad you are a Cherokee Councilor!

Murv Jacob's letter and subsequent conduct is not the temperament of a Cherokee or the way the Cherokee conduct themselves, but merely the rantings of an angry man who has no basis for imposing himself on either the Cherokee Nation or its people.

Sincerely,

Charlotte Coats
a Cherokee Citizen in California

(you don't see a link here, because apparently it never made it online....:)

Popular posts from this blog

Americanization of Native Americans

Americanization can refer to the policies of the United States government and public opinion that there is a standard set of cultural values that should be held in common by all citizens. Education was and is viewed as the primary method in the acculturation process. These opinions were harshly applied when it came to Americanization of Native Americans compared to immigrant populations who arrived with their "non-American traditions". The Americanization policies said that when indigenous people learned American customs and values they would soon merge tribal traditions with European-American culture and peacefully melt into the greater society. For example in the 1800s and early 1900s, traditional religious ceremonies were outlawed and it was mandatory for children to attend English speaking boarding schools where native languages and cultural traditions were forbidden. The Dawes Act of 1887 , which allotted tribal lands to individuals and resulted in an estimated total o

Indian Boarding Schools - the US Solution to the Indian Problem

American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many by Charla Bear This is the first in a two-part report. For the photos with this piece and the rest of the story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16516865 May 13, 2008 Col. Richard H. Pratt founded the first of the off-reservation Native American boarding schools based on the philosophy that, according to a speech he made in 1892, "all the Indian there is in the race should be dead." CORBIS 'Kill the Indian...Save the Man' According to Col. Richard Pratt's speech in 1892: "A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one, and that high sanction of his destruction has been an enormous factor in promoting Indian massacres. In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man." From Need to 'National Tragedy' Early in the history of American Indian boarding schools, the

Cherokees and their California Connections

Sheriff Edward “Ned” Bushyhead http://sheriffmuseum.org/index.php?/Museum/comments/sheriff_edward_ned_bushyhead The San Diego Sheriff’s Department’s history is rich with men who were not only recognized as being excellent lawmen, but built often colorful reputations outside of law enforcement. From our first Sheriff, Agostin Harszthy, who moved north to start the California wine industry and who seemingly was eaten by an alligator, SDSO sheriffs were prominent figures throughout the history of the United States. San Diego County’s 12th sheriff, Edward “Ned” Wilkinson Bushyhead was no exception. Perhaps no character in all Cherokee history was more revered and respected by his people than Rev. Jesse Bushyhead, who was born in the old Cherokee Nation of southeastern Tennessee in September 1804. Called Unaduti by his Indian friends, he had two children with his first wife and nine children with his second wife, Eliza Wilkinson who was half Cherokee. The Bushyhead home was in a small Chero