Our Cherokee Legacy

By Chad Smith
Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation

Chad Smith

Last month my column focused on outlining the basics principles we operate on here at the Cherokee Nation. Some organizations try to create rules for every situation, but since you can't possibly know ahead of time what every situation is going to be, the Cherokee Nation is based on principles, not rules.

The most basic principle explains the most basic question: "Why have the Cherokee Nation? Why does the Cherokee Nation exist?"

Some days we hear from people saying "How come you Indians are getting this; how come you are getting away with that? Why do you have a Cherokee Nation? Why do you want to be different?"

The Cherokee Nation is the embodiment of government for Cherokee Nation citizens of the past, the present and the future. Sometimes we get confused, and we think of the Cherokee Nation as only those of us living today. But the Cherokee Nation is actually the government that predated us, taking our constitution from 1839 and bringing it forward today.

We have to know that our government will outlast and outlive us personally, so we’re the Cherokee Nation today that represents the past, present and the future, our ancestors and our descendants.

Another fundamental thing we must remember is our legacy. We understand from our history that we have this great gift from ancestors, and that legacy is demonstrated in episode after episode in which we face adversity, survive, adapt, prosper and excel. That’s the gift we’ve been gifted with and inherited from our ancestors.

So with those fundamental issues, we have a decision now to pass on that legacy to our descendants or to allow it to lapse. We can take at great lengths to pass it on and make wise decisions and plans to pass it on for the next hundred years or allow it to lapse by default or by choice. If we allow it to lapse, 10 or 15 years from now, you can go down to the Tahlequah Public Library and pick up a book in Oklahoma History, turn to page 34, find footnote number three that will say "there once was a great Cherokee Nation, but it is no more."

We cannot allow that to happen. We must pass on our legacy so we can allow our future generations to grow in strong communities, with good jobs and a nourishing enriching culture.

To answer the fundamental question, the Cherokee Nation exists today because of our great legacy, and one of the reasons we exist is to pass it on. Next month, we’ll talk about our plan to pass on the Cherokee legacy.