Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People

(Theme music) JENNIFER LOREN Coming up... Former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Ross Swimmer, shares with us his history-making tenure that brought a renewed constitution to our Nation.

ROSS SWIMMER Having the constitution tells people on the outside that, that we're really legitimate and that we're an organization they have to deal with.

JENNIFER And... COLEMAN PROCTOR Rodeo has taught me some of the greatest lesson in the world and it's brought the greatest people in my life.

And it's somethin' I'll always be grateful for.

JENNIFER Meet six-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, Coleman Proctor as he lassos his way through life with his eyes on a team roping world title.

Plus, hear from Cherokee Nation citizens about what it means to be Cherokee.

We explore the traditions that have shaped us, misconceptions of who we are, and look to the future and what it may hold for the next seven generations.

KIMBERLY TEEHEE Bein' Cherokee is not about yourself, but about serving the people.

It's a term we often call Gadugi which means we serve the greater good rather than the self.

(Theme music begins) MAN 1 The Cherokees.

WOMAN 1 A thriving American Indian tribe.

MAN 2 Our history... WOMAN 2 our culture... WOMAN 3 our people... MAN 1 our future.

MAN 3 The principles of a historic nation MAN 1 sewn into the fabric of the modern world.

WOMAN 2 Hundreds of thousands strong... WOMAN 3 learning... WOMAN 1 growing... MAN 1 succeeding...

MAN 3 and steadfast.

WOMAN 1 In the past, we have persevered through struggle, WOMAN 2 but the future is ours to write.

MAN 1 Osiyo!

WOMAN 2 Osiyo.

WOMAN 1 Osiyo!

MAN 1 These are the voices of the Cherokee people.

(Theme music fades out) CHUCK HOSKIN JR. Osiyo.

Welcome to the Cherokee Nation.

I'm Principal Chief, Chuck Hoskin, Jr.

For generations others have told the Cherokee story.

But now, through this groundbreaking series, we're taking ownership of our own story and telling it as authentically and beautifully as possible.

I hope you enjoy these profiles of Cherokee people, language, history, and culture.

Wado.

JENNIFER LOREN Osiyo.

It' how we say, 'Hello' in Cherokee.

I'm your host, Jennifer Loren, at the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch near Oologah, Oklahoma; a home originally belonging to Will Rogers' father, noted Cherokee politician, Clem Rogers.

Clem was an important figure in Cherokee Nation politics, leading up to Oklahoma statehood.

(Bold music plays) DR.

JULIE REED I think that we can safely say that through most United States history there is always an attempt to get rid of Indian people and Indian sovereignty.

JENNIFER Learn more about the effects Oklahoma statehood had on the Cherokee Nation later in our Cherokee Almanac.

(Bold music ends) But first, from John Ross to Lewis Downing to Wilma Mankiller, the history of the Cherokee Nation is filled with strong leaders who devoted their lives to serving the Cherokee people.

One such leader is Principal Chief Ross Swimmer, who oversaw the re-constitution of our Tribe in the 1970's.

Under Chief Swimmer's guiding eye, our Tribe was set on a path that we continue to forge to this day.

(Slow music plays) ROSS SWIMMER What I feel about what we were able to accomplish in, you know, somewhat limited time, ten years, we just kinda started the wheels in motion.

When we set, sort of set the stage for it with the constitution, that has allowed the Tribe to grow.

My name is Ross Swimmer, Formerly Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, 1975-1985.

I'm, I'm originally from Oklahoma City.

After I graduated high school, went to the University of Oklahoma, and I decided to go for law.

And that actually led me to the Cherokee Nation.

I was appointed as General Counsel by Keeler for the Cherokee Nation, and, and continued in that job until 1975.

After 1887, the government stopped making treaties with us or any tribe.

Keeler's appointment lasted until 1970, and that's when the first election since statehood was held, was in 1971.

It was a new day within the Cherokee Nation.

Keeler had said he will run as the first Chief to be elected after statehood.

And he was elected overwhelmingly.

I'd been the second Chief to be elected.

Keeler was very instrumental in that.

He was convinced that the Tribe needed someone with my background, experience, law and what have you.

And he thought that given the cast of candidates I'd be the best one to do that.

So, I did.

And I, I was not a politician.

I had no, no real background in that.

But I didn't, I'd never run for anything myself.

And for at least a period of time, I was the sole control for the Cherokee Nation.

The Principal Chief was the only authority for the Tribe, as we didn't have a constitution or constitutional government.

That was why part of my platform was to run to bring a constitution forward.

After I was elected, I set down with some attorneys and some Tribal members and some of the Tribal employees, and we put together kind of a committee.

And I presented a draft of a constitution.

My idea was you would have a Tribal Council that would act in essence as a board of directors that would oversee government operations, and be the check on the Chief.

You would have a court, a supreme court, that would hear the differences and make a decision.

Then with those things in place, you'd have a Deputy Chief so you'd have a line of succession, because if anything had happened to Keeler, the Bureau of Indian Affairs would have taken over the Tribe.

So, you have the Chief, the Deputy, a line of succession, Tribal Council, and a court.

And those are the, the basic instruments of the constitution.

I took the constitution up and presented it to the Secretary, and explained what we were doing.

And he took his pen and signed off on it and said, That's fine.

That was the turning point.

That's when we could have sovereignty again.

That's when we could start acting as a sovereign Tribe.

Having the constitution tells people on the outside that, that we're really legitimate, and that we're an organization they have to deal with.

I ran the second time.

And, and then we had a lot of trouble in the third election.

My Deputy Chief, Perry Wheeler, had decided to run against me.

And I, I wasn't even sure I was going to run.

I had just had a bout of cancer then.

And the politics were pretty brutal.

I had asked for Wilma Mankiller to run with me as a Deputy Chief.

And it was surprised really because I got a lot of push back on a woman being in a political office for an Indian Tribe.

And I have never given it any thought.

I, Wilma had done a good job for several years working in the community.

So, I did ask her to run.

She agreed, and we, we got elected.

And I then got a call in 1985, from the Secretary of the Interior, Don Hodel; said what I really need is a Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

And I want you to come to Washington to do that.

Still had two terms, two years left on my term, and I wasn't sure that Wilma would assume that particular position as Principal Chief if I left.

The ultimate decision was that I would take the job.

And from that point on, I think Wilma did a great job during her tenure of moving us forward.

So, my feeling was, my, my ten years was we got it started.

That was my contribution and it has grown and current administration is doing some fantastic things.

I like what I see today as far as how we've grown.

The Cherokee Nation's in pretty good shape today, so... I'm excited that I got to be part of the start of it.

(Music ends) (Theme music) JENNIFER A lot of Cherokees rodeo but six-time NFR qualifier, Coleman Proctor, has his eyes on the top prize.

Coleman is a skilled team roper, and we caught up with him on his way to another shot at the National Finals Rodeo World title.

(Upbeat music plays) COLEMAN PROCTOR Rodeoing has brought me so many friends and contacts and people down the road that it's gonna serve a bigger purpose in my life than just competing at it and being known as a guy that went to the National Finals or that headed good steers.

Rodeoing has taught me some of the greatest lessons in the world and has brought the greatest people in my life.

And it's somethin' I'll always be grateful for.

I'm Coleman Proctor, six-time NFR team roping header.

Today you're on the beautiful Diamond Bar Ranch here in Pryor, Oklahoma.

I got married to the love of my life here in 2016.

We've been together since 2008.

And I had our first little girl in 2017.

That's Stella.

She is very much my girl.

Like she is daddy's girl all the way.

We had our second little girl in 2019, Cambrie Kate, and she's a fire pistol.

She's a, she loves everything horses.

She loves runnin' barrels.

She loves doin' everything her mom does.

She's very much her mom's daughter.

So, it's just us four.

And I don't know, we have a good time.

We're sure enough, I would call us a ranching family.

It gets wild out there.

But it's a lot of fun.

I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Yeah, so the Diamond Bar here, it's been since 1894.

And a lot of it's history comes from it started with Steph's great-great-grandfather, Elmer Hatton.

And he actually started this ranch off of his Indian allotment land.

So, ten acres at a time he put it together.

And we have the opportunity to build into it.

So, I grew up in Miami, Oklahoma.

My dad and my mom both roped and rodeoed.

And so we grew up in a little rodeoin' family.

I mean growin' up, I tried all the sports.

And I just wasn't very good at most of 'em.

(Chuckling) But I honestly just didn't have a passion for anything else other than ropin'.

And I was blessed with two parents that really 100% behind me.

Anything we ever needed, they supported my dreams.

When I came home in the afternoon from school, I'd rope the dummy all afternoon.

And I'd, you know, at night, my mom would have to call me in at night to go to bed.

I'd be up ropin' the dummy.

I knew from a little kid that I wanted to be a professional team roper.

I knew I wanted to make the National Finals.

Team ropin' might be considered the most frustrating sport in all of rodeo.

(Chuckling) So, it's a sport where I rope the head of the steer, and I turn him off.

And then my partner will come in here, ropes the back feet of the steer.

So, the header is generally the more sophisticated of the two partners.

Honestly, he, he's the one that they would call the quarterback.

And the heeler is kinda like the wide receiver.

He gets a lot of glory for catchin' the touchdown pass, but you know, the quarterback can do much to set him up for it.

It's like any team sport.

Anything you achieve as a team is so much better than you can do as an individual.

And it is exactly right when it comes to team roping; it's so much chemistry, timing, trust in somebody else.

Tonight we're at the Rodeo of the Ozarks in Springdale, Arkansas.

Kind of a special rodeo for me.

It's one I've been to since I was a little kid.

You know, it's only an hour from the house, so it's kind of a pseudo hometown.

I get to bring my rowdy kids with me and, and they get to cheer me on from the front row.

So, it's a lot of fun.

It's really special, and it's always fun to win in front of your hometown crowds.

ANNOUNCER [INAUDIBLE] is a legendary man in the sport of team roping, Coleman Proctor.

(Sound of crowd cheering) Nicely done, man, Coleman Proctor.

(Crowd cheering) Great job, Cowboy.

COLEMAN Now we got us an all-night drive to the middle of nowhere, South Dakota.

On to the next one.

A dear friend of mine, Justin Turner, started haulin' me around when I was 14.

Then I was heelin' for Justin.

And it was the first time that you actually see like you have a goal.

You work towards it, and you can accomplish it.

And the first year that I bought my permit, we won our circuit, which there's, you know, twelve, I think, twelve circuit systems in the PRCA.

So, that's the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

And you know, in this part of the world, we have many different associations you can go to.

But the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, that is the top echelon.

And the next year we competed the Dodge National Finals because we won the circuit.

The first rodeo I ever entered on a professional level, we won first and won a buckle.

And I thought that was the coolest thing ever, you know.

I started headin' in 2007.

I wanted to rope with my best friend, Jake Long.

We grew up together.

There's videos of us ropin' when we're three and four years old.

In 2010, we won the George Strait Ropin'.

That was probably the biggest life-changing moment we've had.

We win $80,000.

We win a truck, a trailer.

Steph and I were talkin' about a life together and we wanted to start buildin' this place we're on now.

I asked her right then, I said, Do you want a ring or do you want a barn?

And she said she wanted a barn.

That's when I knew she was the one.

2012, I started, I was frustrated.

I hadn't made the finals.

Just didn't really know where I was in life.

But I kinda went and sought the help of a, the greatest header that's ever lived, Speed Williams, and had the opportunity to actually heel for him.

And that changed my life and it changed a lot of things in my personal life, and just kinda how I attacked every day.

You know, I got a little more goal driven and saw the results happen from what's, the work that's put in every day.

It taught me that if you're wantin' to be successful, you don't skip days in the practice pen.

I mean, you're out there every day.

And then I went back to headin', and then that's when we started havin' success.

2014, I broke through.

Had the opportunity to rope with Jake Long again.

And we made a lifelong dream come true and made the National Finals together.

(Sounds od crowd cheering) Top 15 in the PRCA at the end of the season.

Get to go to the National Finals.

We call it the Super Bowl of our sport.

I mean, it was just an amazing year.

It was just, all but a world title, which is what we're all goin' for.

And then 2021, I made it again back to Vegas.

Kinda, kinda validated my stature again that, Hey, I'm still good enough to make it.

(Sounds of crowd cheering) Because you get to that point, you know, I'm 36, and I'm think', Ooh, man, I don't know.

Maybe I'm a little bit past my prime.

And last year it really validated that I actually I'm still right in the middle of it.

So, it helped me come home and set some different goals.

And I know now, I wanna rodeo till I'm 40.

And then my girls'll be old enough to be doin' fun stuff.

And I'm gonna wanna be home.

So, now it's like here's the, here's the home stretch.

This is the fourth quarter.

What do we really want out of it.

And I'm gonna pursue it for the next four or five years, just really tryin' to win a gold buckle and be known as the best team roper for that year.

You know, that's, I think I'm gonna lay all my eggs into that basket.

(Upbeat music ends) (Theme music) JENNIFER On November 16, 1907, many people celebrated as Oklahoma joined the United States of America.

However, it was a much different story for the Tribal Nations of Indian Territory.

In this Cherokee Almanac, we examine Oklahoma's path to statehood and it's complicated and even devastating effects on the Cherokee Nation.

(Slow music plays) In the 1890's, following the Oklahoma Land Run, thousands of non-Indian settlers began moving into Indian Territory and the bordering unassigned lands that formed Oklahoma Territory.

The United States government began to push for Oklahoma statehood and the incorporation of Indian Territory, and therefore, the Cherokee Nation into this new state.

JACK BAKER The Cherokee Nation was divided on the statehood issue.

Some people welcomed statehood.

But the majority of the Cherokee people saw it as the demise of the Cherokee Nation, and that their lives would never be the same.

And indeed, this was the case in many instances.

JENNIFER Despite protest from several Tribal Nations, including the Cherokee, U.S.

Congress passed the Curtis Act of 1898, asserting their authority over the Nations of Indian Territory.

DR.

JULIE REED I think we can safely say that through most United States history there is always an attempt to get rid of Indian people and Indian sovereignty.

And so, really by the, the 1890's, we're full on defending constantly against pressures to, to move toward statehood.

And there are constantly bills moving through congress that essentially pushed to that end.

JENNIFER In the looming inevitability of statehood, leaders from Indian Territory searched for a way to retain their sovereignty.

JACK There's a push for the Indian Territory to become its own separate state.

And in the convention, they stated that it would be named Sequoyah.

So, they actually set out the counties.

Everything was set up under this Constitutional Convention as to what the state would be like.

JENNIFER Unfortunately, the U.S.

Government disregarded this proposal entirely.

DR.

REED There was a push to join the territories for politics, for the political ramifications within the larger United States.

And had they split Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory into two separate states, it would have brought in two new states with the same governing party.

And President Roosevelt was never going to let that happen.

There was never any real serious consideration of, of bringing two states into the mix.

It was going to be one or none.

JENNIFER Oklahoma statehood day was set for November 16, 1907.

Celebrations were planned among the U.S.

settlers in Oklahoma Territory.

But it was a very different story in Indian Territory.

THOMAS BELT My dad said, when I was six years old, he said, I barely remember it, but I do remember.

We were at the Capitol Building.

He said, No one was talking.

No one was saying anything.

And a wagon had come onto the square pulled by a couple horses.

White men jumped out and began unloading books.

And he said, And my, my mother pointed to the back of the Capitol Building, and there was another wagon back there that apparently had come up at the same time almost.

And there were Cherokee men there, and they were loading stuff into the wagons.

People began to walk away.

And he said, I remember hearing women weeping very softly; men walking away with their heads down.

He said, Years after, I asked my mom what that was.

What was that that, you know, that we were at?

She said, That was statehood day, twelve noon when Oklahoma became a state.

And the men in front were unloading American law books and taking them in.

And the men at the back of the courthouse were loading up the Cherokee law books, taking them out of the Capitol Building.

We had just lost our country again.

And the people you saw had come to witness the taking of that once again.

After statehood, we had no control.

We had no say-so over things.

But we did have say-so over our own homes and our own communities.

And that lasted for a long time.

That's the society I come from.

That's the culture, that's the community I come from; vibrant, working communities where we all helped each other, we were all dependent upon each other for everything.

We controlled that.

We controlled our culture there.

And that's all we had left.

JENNIFER To this day, the Cherokee Nation continues to struggle with the ramifications of Oklahoma statehood.

But the strength of our cultural identity has persisted.

And today we stand strong as a sovereign nation.

(Slow music ends) (Language segment music begins) GASILA (Speaking Cherokee language) SINASD (Speaking Cherokee language) GASILA (Speaking Cherokee language) SINASD (Speaking Cherokee language) GASILA (Speaking Cherokee language) SINASD (Speaking Cherokee language) GASILA (Speaking Cherokee language) SINASD (Speaking Cherokee language) GASILA (Speaking Cherokee language) SINASD (Speaking Cherokee language) (Language segment music ends) (Theme music) JENNIFER In a time when identity issues are often complex and confusing, true Cherokee identity is alive and thriving.

But many misconceptions still exist.

In this story, we hear firsthand from some of our citizens.

And we hope you walk away with a deeper understanding and respect for our Nation.

(Slow music plays) KIMBERLY TEEHEE Bein' Cherokee is about, not about yourself, but about serving the people.

It's a term we often call Gadugi, which means we serve the greater good rather than the self.

And so, everything we do as a nation, everything the businesses does as well, serves the greater good of benefitting the Nation as a whole.

I am Kimberly Teehee, Cherokee Nation's Delegate to Congress.

Being Cherokee to me is really, it's not what I am, it's who I am.

You know, I'm blessed to have been raised in a Cherokee family filled with Cherokee traditions, knowing who I am as a Wolf Clan member, knowing that my, my genealogy, my ancestors were strong people.

It's embedded in me, you know, to, to do good.

That's why I became a public servant, because you know, to me, being Cherokee is about not about yourself but about serving the people and about something bigger than yourself.

DANNY MCCARTER I was talkin' to a woman the other day, I was in an interview with her, and I, I told her that I was really a traditional Cherokee.

And she says, Really, what's that mean?

And I said, Well, I've never identified myself as anything else.

You know, the first language I heard as a child was Cherokee.

I'm Danny McCarter.

I'm a Cherokee National Treasure for the blowguns and darts.

So, if you're ever around Cherokees and they're sittin' there talkin' Cherokee, they're always laughin'.

That's why I love the Cherokee language.

I associate it with good people and good times.

I'd, I'd say the Cherokees in general are, are a happy people.

SARAH HOLCOMB Siyo Nugadaya dawado'a.

Tsalagi Tsunadeloquasdi dagilvstaneho My name is Sarah Holcomb.

And I work at Cherokee Immersion Schools.

Us Cherokee people, we still have a lot of our traditions.

There are still families who are raising their children to be traditional, who are trying to teach them the language.

But there are still a lot of misconceptions to Native American people that can be harmful to them.

When you watch on TV or something about, you know, a Western, it's like they're, they're killing all the Indians, like they get rid of 'em all.

I think a lot of Native Americans are romanticized or even like their, their stores are romanticized.

I mean, people thinking like you can do some type of like put your ear to the road and know people, (Chuckling) are you know, someone's coming, or something.

It's more like I guess they think we're some type of magical beings.

I just want to be perceived as a human, not a thing.

I've never been crazy about the idea of people using Native Americans as mascots.

Mascots dehumanize Indigenous people.

I do not think that Native mascots accurately show who we are.

It's about respect.

Just listen to the people that it belongs to, and I mean, take that in consideration really.

I don't appreciate someone who don't understand where we came from, our traditions, to try to tell stories about us.

If you have questions, just come to those people.

KIMBERLY I think back at the fact that we're a matrilineal society.

We come from strong women.

You know, I often get told I'm a bossy person, you know, (Chuckling) and I'm a strong woman.

I know that.

know that because my mother raised me to be that, you know.

My grandmother raised me to be that.

And my mentor, Wilma Mankiller, raised me to be that, as well, as she mentored me through my path toward a professional career; but always with an eye toward the communities.

That's Gadugi.

That's community that trickles its way into how we interface with our community, how we protect our community, how we protect our language.

We have the, the Chief of the Cherokee Nation who has made preserving and protecting the Cherokee language a priority so that we have a facility now called the Durban Feeling Language Center, where all of our language programs can interplay, where our teachers can go, where our translators can go to continue that work.

We have a pretty massive health complex right here in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

I think that that is something that gets right back to the heart of who we are as a people and community, which is, you know, protecting the health and wellbeing of our citizens.

We have Morgan Rodman, he's from Locust Grove, Oklahoma.

He was currently the Executive Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

And then we have, you know, Brad Carson, who is the first Native American to be the President of the University of Tulsa.

He was also a former member of Congress, you know.

So, we have Cherokees who are doin' great things in this country.

We have the Cherokee Medicine Keepers who are typically our first language speakers who keep the culture and tradition, and know the connection that we feel toward the land and natural resources and the elements.

We also have National Treasures at Cherokee Nation who are known to have significantly contributed to the arts and to the culture, as well.

DANNY I feel like we've made a lot of progress.

Cherokee Nation is the largest Tribe in the United States.

Cherokees have always been able to move forward.

SARAH I am Cherokee first and foremost.

I've lived with that my whole life.

KIMBERLY At the end of the day, we always come back to who we are as a community, which is preserving and protecting our community, and looking after ourselves, Gadugi.

And so, instilling that through all these different layers, I think the future is bright, and I can't wait to see what all these investments and opportunity means ultimately for the Nation and the next generation.

(Music fades out) JENNIFER LOREN We hope you enjoyed our shoe.

And remember, you can always watch entire episodes and share your favorite stories online at Osiyo.tv.

There is no Cherokee word for goodbye because we know we'll see you again.

We say, Dodadagohv'i, Wado.

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