Cherokee Chief Works To Rebuild Nation
By Andrea Cornelius
The UNITY News
He was named “Ugista,” which means “Corntassel,” by his grandma. He comes from a strong family line that fought to hold onto tribal traditions and land.
Since 1999, Chad Smith has served as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, the second-largest Native American tribe in the country. Now in his third term, Chief Smith has come to Chicago to discuss race issues from a Native perspective.
The soft-spoken, silver-haired Smith spoke on Friday at UNITY about what it means to be a Cherokee citizen.
From the start of his leadership, Smith has focused on preserving a free press. A year after he was elected, Chief Smith helped pass the Independent Press Act of 2000, which prevents the tribal government from interfering in the tribal press.
The law was spurred by Joe Byrd, Chief Smith’s predecessor, who fired the editor of the tribal newspaper for reporting on an investigation into Byrd’s activities.
“I believe in a strong, healthy tribal government and the press is necessary to that,” said Chief Smith. “People have to know what’s going on and have the chance to respond.”
Born in 1950, Chief Smith was said he grew up in Denver, Nashville, Tenn., and Oklahoma.
His great-grandfather, Redbird Smith, was a Cherokee traditionalist and a senator for the Cherokee Nation in 1896. He fought a federal government allotment policy which took 7 million acres of Cherokee land according to a biography of Smith posted on the Cherokee Nation Web site.
Chief Smith’s grandmother, Rachel Quinton, also worked for the United Keetoowah Band, a separate federally-recognized Cherokee tribe, to strengthen the Cherokee Nation.
As principal chief, Smith has made jobs, language and community his priorities. His goals include creating more jobs within the Cherokee Nation and preserving their languages.
“I like to build things,” Chief Smith said, “and I thought I’d rebuild an entire nation.”
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July 28th, 2008 at 10:42 am
John Cornsilk comes off as an evil person with an unhappy disposition.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:51 am
No doubt Cindy! I couldn’t have summed it up better in one sentence. Luckily, his evil ways turn most sane and rational people off.
July 28th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Chief Smith’s actions could possibly tear our nation to the ground. Mr. Smith racist political meneuvers to expell the freedmen Cherokee put our tirbe, and jobs at risk, and at the same time place Indian Treaty’s up for executive termination.
Mr. Smith rules the Cherokee nation with an iron fist, and fires his opponents, or otherwise slanders them in his “free Press” newsletter. He pays for his cronies to be on council and calls them “team cherokee”, then he stacks the judicial branch with his past business partners, and cronies as well, on of which has NO legal experience whatsoever, and just graduated lawschool!
I would hope UNITY would do another article on someone more suited to bringing unity to indian country. Mr. SMith has been nothing but polarizing, divisive, and racist to the Cherokee People. He has done this by terminating the Shawnee, the Delaware tribe, his attempted termination of the United Keetoowah Band of CHerokee Indians (who his “beloved” grandma worked for), and his attempted disenrollment of the Freedmen Cherokee.
Again, I hope UNITY considers who they write articles about and dont give in to Chad Smith’s well funded PR machine.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Actually, Chad claims his Cherokee name is “u-ji-ja-t” which means Corntassel.
And while Rachel Quinton was involved in the UKB in the 1960s, she was not involved in its formation in the 1940s.
Chad Smith’s father, Nelson “Quinton” Smith, and a slate of candidates backed by Wilma Mankiller, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, ran for elected offices in the United Keetoowah Band. Their platform was TERMINATION of the Band.
Because their agenda was to terminate the UKB, leaders of the Band refused to acknowledge their candidacy. The BIA stepped in and saved the Band from annhilation. Nelson soon keeled over from a heart attack and Chad Smith has never forgiven the Band.
Following in Mankiller’s footsteps with efforts to terminate the band or at least prevent them from obtaining land in trust or federal funding, Chad Smith, at that time a member of the UKB, was brought up on charges of treason against the UKB.
The UKB Council met and formally banished Chad Smith from Band membership. Smith, with great disrespect for the Band and its soveregn authority to determine its own membership, refused to attend the hearing.
Chad Smith is the only UKB member in the history of the Band to be banished.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Ms. Cornelius:
I would like to ask you to do your reserch prior to publishing any articles regarding Chad Smith. The Unity News has the capabilities of publishing facts not fantasy.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Again as I said, UNITY should do better research, and do a lot better job than writing about Chad Smith. He is an admitted adulterer, and he constantly tries to undermine the Fullblood UKB.
Chad only cares about his casino money, and kicked out the Freedmen for their votes.
chad cant speak the language and doesnt know the culture he was not born here not grew up here, nor has he even bothered to try, being with a fullblood woman all this time.
its a scam for the cash, he is another corrupt politician hiring his brothers, and family memebrs with the Cherokee People’s money. Now if UNITY did an article on THAT, it would be worth reading!
July 28th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I aint no public official..! ;-)…
also chad is SELF admitted
July 29th, 2008 at 4:47 am
I dont know what your talking about. Here the article:
By Donna Hales Phoenix staff writer.
Smith also may face an uphill hurtle in the court of public opinion. In addition to his wife and
three Children, ages 5, 11, and 18, Smith confirmed Wednesday he has a second family of three
children, ages 6, 10 and 11. He said he loves all his children and financially supports all of them.
‘I’ve made every body aware and visited with a number of Cherokee elders,’ Smith said.
He said most of the elders told him they are interested in what he could do for the tribe rather than
in “this personal situation.’ Smith said he would not give any more details because he doesn’t want
to bring embarrassment to any of his children. He added if the tribe wasn’t in such disarray, he
wouldn’t be opening himself up to criticism over his personal life by becoming a candidate. He
said, he had hoped the subject wouldn’t come up until later in his campaign.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
JC: you list www’s or google info…you get deleted.