Thanks for the paper

Tahlequah, OK

I would like to thank the Cherokee Phoenix staff. I have been deployed as a U.S. Army civilian to Baghdad, Iraq since March and I could not get my Cherokee Phoenix via e-mail or the Internet as many web sites and e-mails are blocked for security reasons. So I contacted the Cherokee Phoenix and have been enjoying my paper hardcopy every month.

I redeploy home in November, but I wanted to say thanks to everyone there. I have enjoyed receiving the paper and I have passed it on to many who seemed surprised that there really is a Cherokee Nation and people still in existence.

Also, the Cherokee flag presented to me by the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles flew over the “Victory Over America” Palace on July 5 and over the Al Faw Palace in Baghdad on Sept. 21. The palace is part of the Abu Ghurayb Presidential Grounds that were controlled by the Baath Party. It also housed the Republican Guard and the Iraqi Military Academy. Saddam Hussein commissioned its construction to commemorate the Iraqi forces’ retaking of the Al-Faw Peninsula during the Iran-Iraq conflict.

Because it was not a U.S. flag I had to get special permission. I had to report the flag’s historical significance and it was approved. It was the first unit flag approved to fly over the palace.

I read in the Cherokee Phoenix about who Cherokee are and who aren’t and whose children should receive education and who should not. I do not know the answer but I have friends who are Cherokee citizens while I am not. I could be a citizen if I applied as my grandfather was, but being Cherokee is more than a card. I put together the paperwork several times, but not submitting it does not make me any less proud in being Cherokee. I know who I am and I know my family.

If a person wants services that cost money they should be a citizen, but to accept something offered by the Cherokee Nation to all people is not wrong either. To those who say I do not understand because I’m not “a real Cherokee” I say OK if that is how you view me. I do not mind because I know that blood is there. Maybe when I get home from Iraq I’ll talk to someone about becoming a Cherokee citizen and then maybe not.

Jim L. Langley
Baghdad, Iraq

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11/4/2009	Thank you for serving the Cherokee Nation. Some may not agree with me but being Cherokee is an ethnicity. You are half who you say you are and half who those you claim say you are. If you are Cherokee then you are Cherokee. So you might not be politically involved in the Cherokee Nation, so you don't have a card, big deal. If Cherokee people say you are Cherokee, then you are. You are right that Cherokees are a lot more than just a card. Thanks
vicgirl

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