1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Gillete GOWNIHISTI di ga del quant. I'm learning how to 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:12,959 Speaker 1: speak Cherokee. Learning Cherokee is humbling. Recently, one of our 3 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: Cherokee speakers told me that I speak as well as 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: her granddaughter speaks English. Her granddaughter is five years old. 5 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: That might sound like an insult, but I totally took 6 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 1: it as a compliment. What she means she gets suggested 7 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: what I'm saying, even if it's not correct. But today 8 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: I'm not in Oklahoma learning Cherokee. I'm in the studio 9 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: in La working on this podcast. If I was back home, 10 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: I would be spending most of my time talking with 11 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 1: fluent speakers and other second language learners like me. We'd 12 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: be conjugating verbs, cooking wish making up stories. We tease 13 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:50,160 Speaker 1: each other and try and get in a jattie, which 14 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: is basically the Cherokee equivalent of That's what she said. 15 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: The time I get to spend learning my language is irreplaceable. 16 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: But after just a couple weeks away, it's scary how 17 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:09,400 Speaker 1: rusty I feel already. There are a few Cherokee phrases 18 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: that I want to use in this podcast. So I 19 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: called John Ross, who you might remember from the last episode. 20 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: John is a citizen of Cherokee Nation and works in 21 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: Our Tribes Translation Department. I often visit with him in Cherokee. 22 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: On this call, John patiently listens and corrects me like 23 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: he always does. Oklaholm a og jelk ogaja cla c 24 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: yoga jail, And that one in English means Oklahoma says 25 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: that our, our Cherokee land is no longer ours. Ski 26 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: souls horse do ski gey SKay. My editor was on 27 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: the phone with us, and she asked us what we 28 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 1: were saying. Oh, I say, uh ski all, which means. 29 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 2: Like is that good? That's good. 30 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: I was surprised I got it right. But the next 31 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 1: phrase I kind of bombed. Squeeze ju lenard gohoo's anioea 32 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: amayi ni uni too stuna and uh English, that's supposed 33 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: to mean like the US has promised any and people 34 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: a lot of different things. Uh squeeze ju leanard uni daoga, 35 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: So like they broke a lot of the promises. And 36 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: I don't know if that's the right word to use 37 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: their like uni daoga. 38 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:49,399 Speaker 2: Dioga, that's a wrong, wrong word to use their It's 39 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 2: like they broke all the treaties. 40 00:02:52,040 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: Do doniyos all right, all right, squeeze j go hoo'st 41 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: anyoiya ama yid uni to uni to east tuna. Squeeze 42 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: ja donios tana. 43 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 2: Yes, that's that's right. 44 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: I got his corrections, and then I tried the whole 45 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,679 Speaker 1: thing and stumbled through saying. The US has promised Indians 46 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: a lot of different things. A lot of those promises 47 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,959 Speaker 1: have been broken. Speakers like John are really patient with 48 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,119 Speaker 1: me when I just can't get a word right. I'm 49 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: grateful because there's no way I would be able to 50 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: learn my language without speakers who are willing to teach me. 51 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: Kay skizda Lis, I'm here to help you. I'm learning 52 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: Cherokee because it's endangered, and that's no coincidence. It's the 53 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: result of more than a century of US policy. Earlier 54 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: in this series, we told you this story of allotment, 55 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: how the US divided up Native territory in Oklahoma and 56 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: then opened it up to white settlers. The whole process 57 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: was meant to take our land, but through it we 58 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: lost so much more, and over one hundred years later, 59 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: we are still living with the consequences. Today, Cherokee Nation 60 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: is struggling to save our language from going extinct, and 61 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: we're fighting to save our water and air from toxic 62 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 1: Ruin this episode, I'm going to tell you these stories. 63 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,040 Speaker 1: These aren't stories that you'll recognize from the Murphy case. 64 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: They weren't part of any of the briefs or the 65 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: oral arguments. But there are some of the reasons why 66 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: this case matters. Right now. We're asking the Supreme Court 67 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,920 Speaker 1: to affirm our treaty rights and to uphold the promises 68 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 1: that were made to us, because we know what happens 69 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: when those promises are broken. You're listening to This Land, 70 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: a podcast about broken promises, tribal land, and murder. This year, 71 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: the Supreme Court was supposed to decide whether half the 72 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 1: land in Oklahoma is Indian Country, but in a shocking twist, 73 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: they postponed their decision until next year. The fate of 74 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 1: this land still hangs in the balance. From Cricket Media, 75 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: I'm your host Rebecca N. Eagle, citizen of Cherokee Nation. 76 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 1: Before allotment, Cherokee Nation ran its own schools. Our public 77 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,799 Speaker 1: school system was bilingual and classes were taught in both 78 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: Cherokee and English. 79 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 2: Lena Scanaga Lena soon Desk blasted down North Laska. When 80 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 2: they got here after the trail, the tears Cherokees built 81 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 2: over one hundred schools in Churkey Nation. They became the 82 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 2: finest schools with the west of Mississippi River. 83 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: Cherokee students had a higher literacy rate than their white neighbors. 84 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: But in eighteen ninety eight, in the lead up to 85 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: Oklahoma statehood, Congress passed the Curtis Act and abolished tribal schools. 86 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 2: I need you electric goh's uh skanana doing death squashta. 87 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 2: They closed all our schools. And when those were closed, 88 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 2: which we just lost. 89 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:34,560 Speaker 1: That on at your own neck, the government came in 90 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: and took control overnight. The very schools our tribe had 91 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: built went from teaching the Cherokee language to punishing the 92 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: students who dared to speak it. Cherokee was John's first 93 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:50,919 Speaker 1: language when he started school. He didn't speak English. 94 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,960 Speaker 2: Gone, I'll say your own nags to one Instagram. What 95 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,520 Speaker 2: I remember is you had to be able to speak 96 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:05,160 Speaker 2: to English. When I first started, the teachers would tell 97 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 2: you something and you know you didn't know. And there 98 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 2: were several us in that classroom that were the same way. 99 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 2: We didn't speak English. 100 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: Oklahoma's public schools started pushing English only education in the 101 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: early nineteen hundreds, but well into the nineteen seventies, public 102 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: school teachers punished Native kids for speaking their language. 103 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 2: No uh, spelling dick pahonyak jed and if you didn't 104 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 2: know how to spell, they give you a paddling. If 105 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 2: you didn't know how to spell uh, depending on how 106 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 2: many you missed, that's how many licks you got. That's 107 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 2: how we were treated. You know, we didn't know how 108 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 2: to speak English, so everyone who was cold just be 109 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 2: you know, we were silent, didn't say nothing. 110 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: Parents who were punish for speaking Cherokee didn't want their 111 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: kids to go through the same thing, so they spoke 112 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: English at home. Today, the youngest fluent Cherokee speaker is thirty. 113 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 2: Eight, skinning sin. Who got a new one is John 114 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 2: then Hanai Salui would want to skinder Gostanisa. A lot 115 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 2: of Churkey speakers still left. But I never realized that 116 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 2: it will be like this. You know, there's uh. We've 117 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 2: lost a lot of them. 118 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,680 Speaker 1: Today, they are an estimated two thousand Cherokee speakers in Oklahoma. 119 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 1: Most are John's age over sixty. 120 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:46,040 Speaker 2: I want no Kisla got forty five speakers that we 121 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 2: lose in a month. You know. That's that's the ones 122 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,959 Speaker 2: I know, just you know the ones I know from 123 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 2: being a young man and some kin folks, So four 124 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,280 Speaker 2: or five a month that we. 125 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: Lose unless we do something about it. And soon Cherokee 126 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 1: will no longer be spoken after the year twenty fifty 127 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 1: by anyone. 128 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 2: Hush the one he's gun Guys, you still geheg know 129 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:20,400 Speaker 2: it's good, dog Yo said. We're gonna lose everything if 130 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 2: we don't have our Cherokee. We'll lose everything. 131 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: If we lose our language, we lose our culture, our identity, 132 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: we lose what it means to be Cherokee. 133 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 2: Jeege Hanta diego west go hoost jos John no wood 134 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:42,480 Speaker 2: je leg he's a West Slot chant. Like the medicine man. 135 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 2: When he goes out to gather medicines, he'll pray in Cherokee. 136 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 2: And when he ministers the medicine, he's got a song 137 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 2: in Cherokee that he sings. 138 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: If you can't speak Cherokee, you can't practice Cherokee medicine. 139 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 2: And as you said, there contina to go well, to 140 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:17,200 Speaker 2: go well, tell skin no anywhere tell skin no wood. 141 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:19,319 Speaker 2: That's what they used to say. If you don't know 142 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:24,319 Speaker 2: the language, you know, the medicines will not work. My 143 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 2: great grandpa also was a medicine man on my mom's side, 144 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:32,599 Speaker 2: and he knew a lot of uh you know, his 145 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 2: his writings in Cherokee, and uh you know, that's that's 146 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 2: what he used. You gotta have Turkey to do the 147 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 2: medicine work. And if we don't have that, we're going 148 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,599 Speaker 2: to lose our culture and medicine and and everything that 149 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,840 Speaker 2: we know because everything comes from our language. 150 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 1: It's hard to describe how different Cherokee is from English. 151 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,439 Speaker 1: I took Spanish when I was in school, and learning 152 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: Spanish was mostly learning the Spanish word for the English 153 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,080 Speaker 1: thing I wanted to say. I could take the map 154 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: of English that I had in my brain and replace 155 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: pieces of it with Spanish. Cherokee doesn't work that way. 156 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: To learn Cherokee, I'm building a completely new map. Most 157 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: Cherokee words you just can't say in English. I asked 158 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: John to give me an example of a word that 159 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 1: doesn't translate, but instead of giving me just a word, 160 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:33,959 Speaker 1: John told me the difference between Cherokee and English is 161 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: his entire worldview. 162 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 2: Look how I feel. I really can't express in English 163 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 2: how I want to say things like I can in Cherokee. That's, 164 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 2: you know, just the way I feel. I don't know how. 165 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 2: Sometimes it's you just you know, you just you just 166 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:03,400 Speaker 2: don't say anything you can express yourself. And that's that's 167 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,199 Speaker 2: the hardest part for me, because sometimes I'll I'll be 168 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 2: thinking in churchy, how do I say that? How do 169 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 2: I say that? And plant plunge you jegotto jela gheind 170 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:20,000 Speaker 2: you go, waste go? Who's your own? Neg skuku tell 171 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:20,920 Speaker 2: you own. 172 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 1: I can't imagine what it feels like for speakers like 173 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,400 Speaker 1: John to be born into a Cherokee world, and then 174 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,559 Speaker 1: as you grow old, fewer and fewer people understand you. 175 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: It must be so lonely. Our elders hold our knowledge, 176 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: they hold our culture, and they hold it in a 177 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: language that young people don't understand, so we can't pass 178 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: it on. No one wants to believe that one day 179 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: we're going to lose our language. I can't believe it, 180 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: but undeniably that's the direction it's going. We have one 181 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:07,199 Speaker 1: generation to reverse a century of US policy. 182 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:13,839 Speaker 2: Skin it's the nurse destination to Nica Yoga dos rule 183 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:17,959 Speaker 2: in Turkeys lost a lot of things, not only the 184 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,319 Speaker 2: land allotted, but they all sort of lost some of 185 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,439 Speaker 2: the things that they used to do. 186 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,160 Speaker 1: Usually when people think of what Native Americans lost, they 187 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: think of land, but that's just what white people gained. 188 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: What we lost is so much more. And now we're 189 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 1: in danger of losing something else crucial to our survival. 190 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 3: And so for me, this is home and I don't 191 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 3: want to leave it. But I also want to be 192 00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 3: able to breathe, and I also want to be able 193 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 3: to drink clean water. 194 00:13:52,360 --> 00:14:01,680 Speaker 1: I'll tell you that story next. Like any small Cherokee communities, 195 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,199 Speaker 1: the one where Pam Kingfisher lives is built around a creek. 196 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 4: Spring Creek is just beloved by everyone. It still has 197 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:11,320 Speaker 4: deep blue holes and it's just as cold as. 198 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 2: It can be. 199 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 4: It is spring fed. I live just over the hill, 200 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 4: but we all swim in it. You know. People have 201 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 4: raised their families and all of our kids on Spring Creek, 202 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 4: so it really means a lot to everyone. 203 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 1: Last summer, Pam, a citizen of Cherokee Nation, got some 204 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:32,240 Speaker 1: alarming news. Simmons Foods, a poultry farming business, was threatening 205 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 1: Spring Creek and. 206 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 4: They had put out a notice that they had heard 207 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 4: there were going to be six houses built right on 208 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 4: Spring Creek, right on the creek, on the flatland, in 209 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 4: the farm just below the Oaks missions. 210 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 1: She's talking about chicken houses, six industrial chicken houses. 211 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 4: You know, we've all lived with chicken farmers, so that's 212 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,120 Speaker 4: been a part of our scenery for a long time. 213 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 4: And now their house are sixty by six hundred, and 214 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 4: they'll hold fifty thousand chickens, and it's just a whole 215 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:06,080 Speaker 4: new world. 216 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 1: Fifty thousand chickens per house, meaning three hundred thousand chickens 217 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: right on the creek. Pam and other residents started organizing 218 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: to stop the chicken houses from being. 219 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 4: Built, and so I started a Facebook page that night 220 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 4: and started populating it and telling people what was going on. 221 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,280 Speaker 1: Pam lives in a small community called Terracita, but she 222 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 1: soon found out that Spring Creek wasn't the only place 223 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 1: facing an influx of chicken houses. Simmons Foods is headquartered 224 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 1: in northwestern Arkansas, a forty five minute drive from where 225 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: Pam lives. Simmons just put a big new processing plant 226 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: near Gentry, right over the state line. The birds can 227 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,440 Speaker 1: only travel about an hour by truck from where they're 228 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: raised to the slaughterhouses. So now Simmons is putting as 229 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: many chicken houses as a can along a highway that 230 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: leads to Gentry Highway for twelve. It's smack dab in 231 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:09,080 Speaker 1: the middle of Cherokee Nation. We reached out to Simmons 232 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: to see if they had a response to the complaints 233 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: we heard from residents that the chicken houses were harming 234 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: their quality of life and the environment. Simmons PR director 235 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: sent us back a three page pdf published by the 236 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,480 Speaker 1: University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Program titled Nuisance Myths and 237 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:31,840 Speaker 1: Poultry Farming. Interestingly, the pdf did incide any research or 238 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 1: sources for its information. Under myth number two, poultry farms smell, 239 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: the report claims that modern houses don't. I'm no scientists, 240 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: but I've been around modern chicken houses in northeast Oklahoma 241 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:50,840 Speaker 1: and the stench is horrid. Brandy Wheeler lives near Highway 242 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:52,920 Speaker 1: for twelve in Leech, Oklahoma. 243 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:56,080 Speaker 3: We didn't grow up like this. I didn't grow up 244 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 3: like this, and it's it's devastating. 245 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:04,320 Speaker 1: Today when you drive around Leech, chicken housers are growing 246 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: up on every free piece of land. Brandy, a citizen 247 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:11,400 Speaker 1: of Cherokee, Nician, has lived here all her life. One 248 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: of her favorite memories from childhood is the smell of 249 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:15,879 Speaker 1: honeysuckle in the spring. 250 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, I always love that smell. It smells 251 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:25,600 Speaker 3: like life and beauty and new you know, you know, 252 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:27,120 Speaker 3: everything's blooming. 253 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: But now when she drives around her hometown, all she 254 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: smells is chicken manure. 255 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 3: And now you've got to close your vance and roll 256 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:45,480 Speaker 3: up your windows and hold your breath. So it's it's sad. 257 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: My producer, Gabrielle, and I met Brandy in front of 258 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 1: the local elementary school. We hopped in her suv to 259 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: get the lay of the land. 260 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 3: We can count right here what's in this square mile, 261 00:17:58,119 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 3: so you can get your calculator out and you can 262 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:00,400 Speaker 3: just ad. 263 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 1: We pass a cluster of houses, so there's six right there. 264 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:09,920 Speaker 1: Then we turn left off the main highway and we're 265 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 1: gonna go on this road. 266 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 3: This is five sixty road. This right here is a 267 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:21,879 Speaker 3: predominantly Native American. So there's another six right here. Then 268 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 3: there's these are the some more of the newer houses. 269 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:29,280 Speaker 3: There's six more right here, and this is all within 270 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:34,920 Speaker 3: a mile. There's another six down there, the red ones. 271 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 3: Those set a little bit farther off, but you can 272 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:38,639 Speaker 3: see it's king. 273 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: We come to an overpass over Highway four twelve. We're 274 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: high enough we can see for miles, and in every 275 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:51,359 Speaker 1: direction are brand new chicken houses. The smell is overwhelming, 276 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:55,520 Speaker 1: the stench is harsh, chemicals mixed with foul at the 277 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,920 Speaker 1: same time. By this point in the tour, I've lost 278 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: count of how many we had passed, but Brandy knows forty. 279 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 3: Two houses within less than a mile. Those are industrial 280 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:11,120 Speaker 3: sized houses. 281 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,199 Speaker 1: How much litter is that? And what are they going 282 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 1: to do with it? 283 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:16,680 Speaker 3: And where's it gonna go? 284 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: When Brandy says litter, what she means is chicken and 285 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:24,560 Speaker 1: calculating the amount of chicken poop being dumped in Cherokee 286 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:28,680 Speaker 1: Nation is where this math gets even more alarming. Over 287 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: two hundred new chicken houses have gone up in northeastern 288 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:35,080 Speaker 1: Oklahoma in the past two years. The chicken houses and 289 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 1: Cherokee Nation now produce over one hundred and forty thousand 290 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: tons of chicken poop a year. And that's just the 291 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: amount farmers are reporting to the state. And it's not 292 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 1: entirely clear yet what impact all that litter has on 293 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: the health of residents. 294 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:52,640 Speaker 3: Whenever they're cleaning those houses out, you can literally see 295 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,040 Speaker 3: it looks like smoke coming out, but it's the dust, 296 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 3: and it'll take your breath away. 297 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,400 Speaker 1: The chicken poop doesn't stay in the houses to get 298 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,120 Speaker 1: rid of it, The farmers spread it out over fields 299 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 1: as fertilizer, putting even more of it into the air. 300 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 1: Some days, the smell is so bad the local elementary 301 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: school has to cancel recess, so. 302 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,679 Speaker 4: The little kids at Leech can't go out on certain days. 303 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,119 Speaker 4: But that's because all their neighbors are spreading litter. 304 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:28,639 Speaker 1: The stink is unforgettable. 305 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:32,160 Speaker 4: I don't know how to describe the that smell factor 306 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:34,200 Speaker 4: and perfume and all that, but it's a real high 307 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 4: ammonia smell and harsh on the nose. 308 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:43,920 Speaker 1: According to the EPA, ammonia from animal waste can cause 309 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 1: respiratory problems and even lung disease, so residents are worried 310 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 1: about health problems, including Brandy's family. My husband calls like crazy. 311 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,680 Speaker 3: My grandma is eighty five years old and because of it, 312 00:20:57,800 --> 00:20:59,879 Speaker 3: it's really caused a lot of problems for her. 313 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,360 Speaker 1: But the EPA hasn't figured out how to regulate air 314 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:08,480 Speaker 1: pollution from chicken farms. Basically, scientists no chicken poop is 315 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: toxic to breathe, but they haven't even figured out how 316 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:16,080 Speaker 1: much litter industrial farms are putting into the air, let alone, 317 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: what amount is harmful to residents. In one rural county 318 00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:25,360 Speaker 1: in Maryland, chickens outnumber people one hundred to one. One 319 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: study showed that rates of asthma there are nearly twice 320 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: the state average. Another study showed elevated rates of lung cancer. 321 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 1: The chicken poop is getting into the water too, so we. 322 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:41,800 Speaker 4: Really are concerned about runoff. 323 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: It comes from the chicken farms, and it's causing algae 324 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,680 Speaker 1: blooms in local streams and rivers. If you've lived in 325 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: this part of Oklahoma for a while, you've seen the 326 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: rivers and creeks get greener every year. I've heard people 327 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 1: call it mountain dew. Water. Animal poop is used as 328 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: fertilized because it's high in nitrates and phosphates, but when 329 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,920 Speaker 1: those same nutrients end up in waterways and high amounts, 330 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,399 Speaker 1: it causes the algae to grow out of control. This 331 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:11,720 Speaker 1: sets off a chain of events that includes fish and 332 00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 1: other marine life dying and produces that green, murky water. 333 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 1: It doesn't just mean we can't use the water for 334 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,200 Speaker 1: fishing or swimming. It also means we can't use the 335 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,120 Speaker 1: water for religious ceremonies either. 336 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 4: That is how we pray. They don't understand we're not 337 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 4: just going down to picnic. 338 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 1: We're going to water. We're going to prey. 339 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 4: That is a ceremony, an ancient ceremony, going to water, 340 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 4: and that water must be clean. 341 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: But it's not not anymore. And that's a problem because 342 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,400 Speaker 1: creeks are a central part of Cherokee communities. 343 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 3: There's nobody that does not go to a creek. We 344 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 3: don't use rivers or lakes, so we're creek people. We 345 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,399 Speaker 3: like to be able to fish. We like crowteds, we 346 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:05,560 Speaker 3: like watercress, wild onions. These are native for us. And 347 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:09,440 Speaker 3: nobody wants to swim in a creek that has chicken 348 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 3: litter running off in it. 349 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 1: Chicken houses are threatening our way of life. So Cherokee 350 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:18,119 Speaker 1: residents around Leech and other towns are organizing in an 351 00:23:18,119 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: attempt to defend their water and air. 352 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 3: I showed it up to one of the first meetings, 353 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 3: and it was in pigs and there were probably only 354 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:30,639 Speaker 3: a handful of people. The next meeting we had, I 355 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 3: packed it. I drove down every dirt road from here 356 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 3: all the way in Callcord up towards Locusts, and that 357 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 3: church did not have a place to sit. 358 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: Residents went the state to tell farmers how to safely 359 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: dispose of all that chicken poop. They also went the 360 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,760 Speaker 1: state to set a minimum distance that has to be 361 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,000 Speaker 1: between a chicken house and a home, church or school, 362 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,359 Speaker 1: because right now houses are going up across the street 363 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 1: from people's homes. Imagine putting your kit to bed or 364 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:11,800 Speaker 1: eating dinner and smelling that unavoidable stench. Things are so grim. 365 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:13,639 Speaker 1: Some people are moving away. 366 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 4: Probably ten people that I met in July at our 367 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 4: first meetings have their land up for sale or it 368 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 4: already sold. So people are leaving if they can. 369 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: But Pam Kingfisher is standing her ground. 370 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 4: The agencies need to understand in Simmons, and these farmers 371 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:39,480 Speaker 4: need to understand that most of us aren't going anywhere. 372 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 4: I'm going to die and be buried right there on 373 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,840 Speaker 4: that land, and I'm not gonna stop. Do I like 374 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:49,159 Speaker 4: to lobby, No, But I've been asked and I'm going 375 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,080 Speaker 4: to take that podium and make sure that the kids 376 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:54,600 Speaker 4: that come to our meetings, the kids at Leach School 377 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,160 Speaker 4: and at Oak School, have someone speaking up. 378 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,160 Speaker 1: For Pam and Brandy. Their connection to the land runs 379 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 1: deeper than real estate. It's more than just an investment. 380 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: It's more than even just a home. It's part of 381 00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:13,399 Speaker 1: their identity. The land holds the history of their tribe 382 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:14,880 Speaker 1: and the history. 383 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:18,639 Speaker 3: Of their families. The land I grew up on is 384 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 3: the land my kids are growing up on. And it's 385 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,320 Speaker 3: the land my dad grew up on. It's the land 386 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 3: my grandpa and grandmother worked so hard for. My great 387 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:33,920 Speaker 3: grandmother used to live right down there by Leech School, 388 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 3: so one hundred years and that. 389 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: Amazing, and I just it's it makes me sad because 390 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,840 Speaker 1: I would never want to leave that. Sovereignty is the 391 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: foundation for Native rights. It's a basic concept, the right 392 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: to govern ourselves on our land. Without it, we don't 393 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:03,480 Speaker 1: have the power to protect our water, our air, our language, 394 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,160 Speaker 1: and ultimately our way of life. 395 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 2: Ni yo hiya un go, who's eliasti skina? You know, 396 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:19,080 Speaker 2: every tribe has sovereignty, and we have sovereignty, and this 397 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 2: is not given to us. It's within us. 398 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 1: We're used to thinking about the history of the United 399 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:38,680 Speaker 1: States as a story of progress, that our country has 400 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,919 Speaker 1: continued to strive closer and closer to its founding promise 401 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:47,359 Speaker 1: justice and liberty for all. But that narrative is hard 402 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: to square with Native history. My tribe had more land, 403 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,720 Speaker 1: more rights, and more autonomy in eighteen ninety than it 404 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:56,520 Speaker 1: does today. 405 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:02,240 Speaker 2: Skanona to do Nuketon, Darlin, Eagan, you get done, they 406 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,880 Speaker 2: leaves the Egan In the treaties, we've lost a lot 407 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:10,960 Speaker 2: because once you agree on a treaty, that's not given 408 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 2: you rights. You've already had those rights. It's taken away rights. 409 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 2: So we've lost a lot of rights that we had before. 410 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:24,200 Speaker 1: And now in twenty nineteen, all the tribes are asking 411 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 1: the Supreme Court to do is respect our rights. 412 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 2: What's in the uh Egen skin on and you get done. 413 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 2: They leaved as skinning in got do toy no Oklahoma. 414 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 2: In the treaties, those territories are still ours. And you 415 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:51,000 Speaker 2: know that's that's basically what we're you know, asking the 416 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 2: federal the Supreme Court to honor their treaties and they're 417 00:27:56,320 --> 00:28:01,560 Speaker 2: our rights. You don't huh he didst look a loonat 418 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:08,119 Speaker 2: so you got in gusting home. Sometimes when we go 419 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:14,359 Speaker 2: to Supreme Court, we don't get what we expect, and 420 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 2: you know they they don't rule for us. But there's 421 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 2: the other choice that we have. We have to go 422 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,880 Speaker 2: there and just we hope for the best. 423 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: We won't know the outcome of Carpenter versus Murphy until 424 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 1: next term, possibly a whole year from now. But while 425 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: we're waiting to hear what happens in this case, there 426 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,880 Speaker 1: is another one working its way through the federal court system, 427 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 1: one with even bigger sticks. It's part of an orchestrated 428 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:50,840 Speaker 1: effort to dismantle a law called the Indian Child Welfare Act. 429 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:54,479 Speaker 1: They're going after our children, you know. And if they 430 00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:57,600 Speaker 1: can take our children, what can't they take? The people 431 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:01,640 Speaker 1: leading this attack want nothing less than to dismantle all 432 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:05,719 Speaker 1: a federal Indian law. You might be asking who are 433 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:09,760 Speaker 1: they and why are they coming for tribes? Next time 434 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: on this land this episode, I want to give us 435 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 1: special thanks for our Cherokee listeners. Gajilek ahunig A chug 436 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: luust joannagod Aiwonisaguay Doyu Jeni c Delex dead Quin Tlasi 437 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 1: kot g giwoni Ski do Lize Geheski Novski Olsnigwis Sargano. 438 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,680 Speaker 1: This Land is written and hosted by me Rebecca Nagel, 439 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:43,920 Speaker 1: citizen of Cherokee Nation, from Cricket Media. Mukta Mohan and 440 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: Tanya Soominator are the executive producers from neon Hummedia. Gabriel 441 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: Lewis is our producer, Catherine Saint Louis is our editor, 442 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: and Jonathan Hirsch and Victrm Patel are the executive producers. 443 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: Sound design and mixing by Vanessa Lowe. Natalie Wren is 444 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 1: our researcher. Laura Bullard is our fact checker. Our theme 445 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 1: song is composed by Jared Tate, citizen of Chickasaw Nation. 446 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:12,480 Speaker 1: Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions podcast art by Kelly Gonzalez, 447 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:17,240 Speaker 1: citizen of Cherokee Nation. Additional production support from fire Thief 448 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: Productions including Nathan Young, citizen of Delaware Tribe of Indians 449 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:25,600 Speaker 1: and Cherokee Nation, Jeremy Charles, citizen of Cherokee Nation, Shane Brown, 450 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 1: citizen of Cherokee Nation, and Melissa Lukenbo Special thanks to 451 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,400 Speaker 1: Graham Lee Brewer, citizen of Cherokee Nation and Kara Hart 452 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: and thanks to John Ross, citizen of Cherokee Nation, for translation.