Why I’m considering running for Council

I love the Cherokee Nation. I have spent the last decade of my life learning everything I can so I can give back to the Cherokee Nation. I grew up outside our reservation, so I understand what it’s like to feel distant both physically and spiritually from the heart of our community. I know what it’s like to have limited access to participate in community and culture. I understand that maintaining a close connection requires more effort than we’d like. I want to help at-large Cherokees feel like we’re truly part of the Cherokee community — because we are.

I remember the summers I spent visiting my cousins on the reservation in Sallisaw, though I didn’t fully appreciate then how blessed I was that I was raised around so much Cherokee family. Some of my favorite childhood memories were picking blackberries for my Aunt Dottie’s famous blackberry cobbler. Every June, a hundred people would come to our family reunion to honor my great-great grandmother’s wish for the family to stay close. My great-great grandmother was a Cherokee woman born in Indian territory who raised her nine children as a widow during the Great Depression. My great grandmother was a school teacher. I like to think their strength was passed down to me. My grandmother and great grandmother always taught me to be proud of my Cherokee heritage, so my hope is that I can use whatever strength and talents they’ve passed on to me to help the Cherokee people.

Language
While I grew up knowing my Cherokee heritage and surrounded by Cherokee family, Cherokee culture was never made explicit. No one in my family is a Cherokee speaker, and I never heard the language until I was an adult. As an at-large citizen, I’ve learned the value in preserving our language, yet I’ve had few meaningful opportunities to really learn it well. Sure, I know a few words and phrases, and I recognize some of the syllabary, but I know how difficult it is for those of us at-large to really learn the language without making a pilgrimage to Tahlequah (which I have also done). I want to use my voice to advocate for ways to make it easier for us to learn our language, like incentivizing our young people to learn by developing an online course for college credit. That’s easier said than done, but models exist, like Sophia, for students to gain college credit for online courses, and we could partner with Northeastern State University to develop the program.

Healthcare
I’ve never been wealthy, and even now, I’m uninsured because I can’t afford the ballooning cost of health insurance. I know that many of those living at-large do not have access to a tribal or IHS facilities to receive healthcare. While I wish I could promise to give everybody health insurance, the resources that would require simply don’t exist at this time. However, I do believe it is within our abilities to expand telehealth coverage and pharmacy by mail (though regulations require state-by-state licensing). I also believe we can and should find unrestricted funds that we can set aside to help at-large Cherokees in need to pay for emergency and life-saving healthcare. I personally know of Cherokees who were diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer and could not get help paying for treatment. We must do better.

Environment
When I was in undergrad, I took a course on the Science of Climate change. That class introduced me to the basics of environmental science and gave me an understanding of how humans have shaped our environment, and not always for the better. I learned the mechanics of how our climate is warming and whether is getting more severe because our species has poured tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. I believe that being in good relations with our environment is a core Cherokee value. I believe council has a duty to protect our environment for future generations of Cherokees.