By BETTY RIDGE
The 76 acres his listeners were sitting on soon will become tribal trust land for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Chief George Wickliffe promised Saturday.
This summer the UKB declared victory after a court decision in a long-standing battle over whether the Keetoowahs could hold land in trust. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, which does have numerous parcels of land in tribal trust, has opposed the UKB’s effort to achieve trust land status.
Wickliffe discussed the issue, and plans for future UKB expansion, during his annual state of the nation address, delivered during the 59th annual UKB Celebration. Activities also included a parade, stomp dance, powwow, traditional meal, and a variety of exhibits and cultural displays. This year’s theme was “Still the sacred fire burns.”
In his decision, issued June 24, Larry Echo Hawk, assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, reversed a ruling by the Muskogee area BIA superintendent, denying trust rights to the UKB. Echo Hawk declared the original Cherokee Nation, as it existed in 1934, is no longer a distinct political entity and the UKB, formed in 1950, and Cherokee Nation, formed in 1935, are successors in interest to the old Cherokee Nation.
“It’s been three months and 10 days since the decision was made. There have been a lot of lies,” Wickliffe said. “We didn’t believe that there would be anything out there that would reverse the decision for hte Keetoowah people.”
And nothing has, the chief said.
“This land here – he [Echo Hawk] makes provisions for it to be put in trust. I understand that it will happen any day now. This land that we’re out here sitting on now will be trust land,” Wickliffe said.
The effort to place land in tribal trust won’t stop there, he said.
“We have the same equal rights to the old land in the Cherokee Nation to use,” he said. “People, we have the right, we do not mean to turn back.”
The tribe could open convenience stores or other revenue-producing enterprises on land in tribal trust, he said.
“Our elders said one of those days it’s going to come. There will be a day we regain what was lost, and that day has come,” Wickliffe said.
The chief, assisted by Miss Keetoowah Victoria Proctor and Junior Miss Keetoowah Alyssia Jones, presented blankets to four attorneys who have been instrumental in the UKB’s efforts, including Dianne Barker Harrold of Cherokee County.
Then, it was time for Wickliffe to turn to other tribal accomplishments recorded in recent years, and to his aspirations for the UKB.
“Let’s go into some progress we have made. You can look all around,” he said.
He pointed to the elder care and child care centers, and the civil defense building to be completed soon.
“We have plans for a museum also, and we’ve got some plans in mind for an administration building for the UKB. We’re working on that right now,” he said. “We have 40 acres we purchased about six months ago. We’re getting ready to build an education center and a training facility.”
Wickliffe then smiled, and said, “We may also have room for a softball field.”
He said 170 UKB citizens are enrolled at Northeastern State University, assisted by tribal scholarships, and other students are attending a variety of educational institutions with tribal help. One of his goals is to provide additional money for education and job training. The UKB will build training centers in several communities around the counties which have a high enrollment.
“This is really an opportunity for people to take advantage of,” he said.
Tribal enrollment has grown from between 7,500 and 8,000 just a few years ago.
“We have topped 14,000 now,” Wickliffe said. “Of course, we have not changed the qualifications to become a member and we have no plans to change that.”
Unlike the Cherokee Nation, UKB requires its citizens to have at least one-quarter Cherokee blood.
The chief said last year the UKB had a $96 million economic impact on this area.
“We have not gathered all the numbers yet, but we know we are going to improve next year,” he said.
The tribe also plans to develop housing, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“Our main aim is still the same – elderly, children, jobs, education,” Wickliffe said.
The next issue facing UKB members is an election to determine whether the tribe can bypass the Muskogee area BIA office in making decisions on tribal trust land. Wickliffe told his listeners it will be important to read the mail they receive from the BIA and to cast ballots approving that change.
“Let’s get it done,” he said.
No other by-laws changes could be made without a vote of tribal members, he said.
Continuing the long-term jousting with the Cherokee Nation, Wickliffe noted that the Cherokee Nation has many members who are fullblood or nearly so, who are friends and neighbors of UKB citizens. They live next to each other, go fishing together.
“We get along with their members. We have a problem with their leaders,” he said.
Wickliffe said the UKB has plenty to look forward to in the future.
“There are going to be many things happen. You will see buildings going up.There will be jobs associated with them,” he said. “Let’s all work togethere and let’s believe. Let’s believe in the great creator.
“We said a long time ago we will prevail, and we have.”
