Posted on 09/17/2004 9:58:48 AM PDT by eveningrain
Who is Coburn to say who is a "real" Cherokee and who isn't? As a Cherokee woman I take great umbrage to the statements he made againt our nations' people. The Cherokee people have always had the "one drop" rule, but then again, as indigenous nations throughout this land we call home, we are the only people to be described in fractions or who have to prove "who we are" with a us governmental card - it's easier to be a terrorist and be more welcomed into this country, than to be an Indian, who were here long before the Europeans set sail.
He has no right to determine who is or who isn't Cherokee, no more than he has a right to determine who is or who isn't black, Asian, etc. If he is elected to represent all the people of Oklahoma, his statements certainly prove that this is not true at all. Seems to me, he's probably more involved with One Nation - which has proven to be a racist organization with one motivation only - to destroy native nations and soverign rights. If anything, perhaps Mr. Coburn is somewhat envious of the Great Cherokee Nation and our people.
Like it or not - get use to it. We are here, we have always been here and we are not going anywhere in spite of all the attempts made in the past and in the present, to wipe us from our own native land.
http://www.cherokee.org/NewsArchives/announcements/2004-Coburn-Altus.asp
Remarks at Altus Town Hall (August 21, 2004)
*****
http://64.62.196.98/News/2004/004263.asp
GOP candidate says Cherokees aren't real Indians Friday, September 17, 2004
A conservative Republican in a highly competitive race with a Cherokee Nation tribal member is coming under fire for claiming that Cherokees "aren't Indians" and for suggesting that tribal sovereignty is a "joke."
Tom Coburn, a former Congressman who won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate over rivals who had the backing of party leaders, told a town hall meeting in Altus, Oklahoma, recently that the Cherokee Nation wants to enroll more members in order to receive more federal funds. He questioned the legitimacy of the tribe's heritage and said "the average Cherokee [blood] quantum is 1/512."
"Alright, listen, I know the tribal issues," he said on August 21. "I was a congressman where most of the Indians are in this state. The problem is, most of them aren't Indians."
Coburn went on to criticize attempts by several Oklahoma tribes to assert environmental authority over their lands. He then blasted opponent Rep. Brad Carson (D), a Cherokee member, for sponsoring a bill that would prevent land owned by Cherokee and other citizens of the Five Civilized Nations from falling out of trust.
"I mean this is a joke," Coburn told the audience. "It is one thing for us to keep our obligations to recognize Native Americans, but it's a totally different thing for us to allow a primitive agreement with the Native Americans to undermine Oklahoma's future and that's what they're talking about doing and it's big money."
The remarks largely went unnoticed until the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is making a big push on behalf of Carson, began circulating them. Previously, only Coburn's characterization of the race against Carson as "the battle of good versus evil," also made at the Altus meeting, ended up in the mainstream press.
But now, tribal leaders who are firing back at Coburn for his "divisive" comments. Even though some are registered Republicans, they say they aren't going to support him.
"I'm a Republican and it is hard to understand why Tom Coburn takes pride in dividing Oklahoma and ridiculing people," said Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. "If you disagree with him, you are evil. There's no discussion, no room for understanding."
"I've been a Republican all my life and Tom Coburn is an embarrassment to the Republican party," added Bill Johnson, a tribal council member.
The battle between Coburn and Carson is a significant one for several reasons. Carson would be the only Native American in the Senate since Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, is retiring.
The outcome of the race also will help determine which party controls the Senate. Democrats and Republicans are hoping to pick up seats in order to shift the balance of power in what is now a one-member Republican majority.
Polls currently show the two candidates neck-and-neck. A television poll released this week put Carson in the lead but only by two points. Nearly one in five voters was undecided. The Senate seat up for grabs is being vacated by Republican Don Nickels, who is retiring.
Smith has said in the past that the Cherokee Nation does not endorse candidates for public office. But he has actively encouraged tribal members to vote. The tribe counts more than 200,000 members.
Former principal chief Wilma Mankiller is supporting Democratic candidates, including the presidential ticket of Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards. She characterized Coburn as a radical who is out of touch with America.
"Tom Coburn's extremist views on the basic rights of women and outrageous views of tribal citizens and their governments are shocking and simply too far out of the mainstream for him to serve as our United States Senator," she said.
Carson won his party's nomination in July with 80 percent of the vote. He was elected twice to the U.S. House, serving the 2nd Congressional district, which has the highest percentage of Native Americans anywhere in the country.
You admitted you didn't understand...I agreed.
I can't really say, other than possibly trying to keep the tribe alive... a continuation of tradition, language, culture etc...
Brad Carson is native American? That never occured to me. He's never advertised it before.
That said, Coburn committed a gaffe. Multiple gaffes if you include the "good versus evil" remark. Neither of these if fatal by themselves, and he has time to recover. But I now have reservations about his campaign skills.
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks for that!
Its about time we got some freepers defending Dr. Coburn!
Ugh.
Coburn's campaign is becoming unfocused. He's off message, and starting to look like a loose cannon. And I was so optimistic that Coburn would be a conservative stalwart in the Senate.
Ugh. :(
Q: What do you call a bus full of Cherokees?
A: A full blood.
Yeah, yeah, there's nothing more racist than an Indian. If a definiative book outlining political dirty tricks was ever written, it'd be done by an Indian. But there are some things that someone who's running for the senate should keep their butts out of, and tribal membership is one of them.
It's hard enough to be a Republican in Indian country, and cracks like this one make it that much harder. I hope Chad Smith still keeps speaking well of Bush, and that Mankiller goes back to campaigning for ineffective third parties.
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