Smith not doing job

June 11, 2008 09:06 am

— Editor, Daily Press:
This letter is in regard to all the letters I have been reading about the chief of the Cherokee Nation Chad Smith. In several papers – Muskogee, Tulsa, Tahlequah – I have seen stories about this man, nothing good in my eyes.
First, the story about Smith wanting to change the name of the Sequoyah High School Indians: I am very much for all schools changing their names if those names include Indians, warriors, chiefs, redskins, etc. But at a school where the students are Indians, like Sequoyah, why should he have a say in it?
This is my opinion, but believe me, it is not up to me.
American Indians are not as politically powerful as other racial groups, so nobody would ever name their teams after another race. For this reason alone, I think Sequoyah should change its name to set an example to schools like Tulsa Union, or to encourage the Oklahoma Legislature to pass laws to make schools change their names.
In my opinion, to change the name should be left up to the students and the alumni. It should not have anything to do with Chad Smith. He didn’t go to school at Sequoyah and wasn’t even raised around here. It is not his school, so why is he even trying to change it?
In regard to the Oklahoma state law making English its official language: Chad does like getting his name in the paper. But why is he worried about this? Chad only speaks English; he doesn’t speak Cherokee. Now, if he said he is doing it to protect Cherokee citizens, that would be a different story. All I have seen him say is, “ I” – “I will fight this bill all the way.”
If he wants to do some good for the tribe, mention the tribal people once in a while.
The takeover of W.W. Hastings: Why would he want to do this? The hospital is fine as it is. Cherokee Nation cannot even run its own clinics well. Why was this issue not put to a vote of the people, the citizens of Cherokee Nation? He will put to a vote, the question to throw out people from the tribe. Why not have a vote on taking over the hospital?
The hospital will affect a lot more people than the number of people he is trying to throw out of the tribe.
Are our tribal councilors scared to stand up to this little man? Tina Glory Jordan told me she is against the takeover.
Not once did I read anywhere that she ever stood up and said, “I am against this.” She might have, but it sure was not a fight to the bitter end.
In my opinion, Chad didn’t think the Cherokee people are smart enough to vote on this type of issue. Chad wins all his elections from votes outside the 14-county jurisdiction. Those people don’t depend on Hastings, the Cherokee people do – and not only Cherokees, but Creeks, Seminoles, Cheyenne, Arapahos, Poncas, Kiowas, etc. These are all tribes who live here, too.
The people in office at Cherokee Nation have been elected to make good choices for the good of the people. They are not doing that; quit rolling over and doing whatever Chad wants.
What if people cannot get the same quality of health care they receive now?
Chad should think about things like this before he jumps into something he knows nothing about. He is not a doctor or a hospital administrator. He is a person, just a person, elected to do a job for the good of the Cherokee Nation. He is not doing this job, and something needs to be done about it.
John Farris Jr.
Tahlequah