Chad Smith (politician): Difference between revisions
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[[Category:Cherokee leaders]] |
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[[Category:University of Georgia alumni]] |
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Revision as of 16:21, 1 December 2010
Chadwick Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation | |
| In office 1999–present | |
| Preceded by | Joe Byrd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | thumb Chad Smith, 2007 |
| Died | thumb Chad Smith, 2007 |
| Resting place | thumb Chad Smith, 2007 |
| Spouses | Bobbie Gail Scott Smith |
| Parent |
|
| Residences | Tahlequah, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Georgia University of Wisconsin University of Tulsa |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Website | Re-elect Chad Smith |
Chadwick "Corntassel" Smith (Cherokee name Ugista:ᎤᎩᏍᏔ derived from Cherokee word for "Corntassel," Utsitsata:ᎤᏥᏣᏔ) was elected as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1999. Smith was re-elected to a second term as Chief in 2003 and a third term in June 2007 with 59% of the vote.[1] Prior to being elected Principal Chief, he worked as a lawyer for the tribe and privately.
Education
Chad Smith earned a Bachelors of Arts in Education from the University of Georgia in 1973, a Masters of Business Administration degree in Public Administration from the University of Wisconsin in 1975, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa in 1980. As a boy, Smith served as an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America in Nashville, Tennessee.
Professional life
Prior to his service as Principal Chief, Smith taught Indian law at Northeastern State University, Rogers State University, and for a semester at Dartmouth College while he was a visiting fellow.
From 1979 to 1980, Smith served a consultant in Indian Law and Tribal Management to the Cherokee Nation's Tribal Operations. He then served as Assistant District Attorney in Creek County, Oklahoma. On two separate occasions, Smith served as the Estate Tax Attorney of the United States Department of Treasury, from 1980 to 1982 and from 1987 to 1989. From 1989 to 1995 and from 1997 to 1999, he operated a private law practice out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, representing clients in civil rights litigation and appeals, criminal defense, and general civil litigation, with a focus on Indian law. Smith served as an Assistant Public Defender and served as counsel to economically deprived defendants in the District Court of Tulsa County.
Political career
Smith is serving his third term as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. The Principal Chief is the head of the executive branch of the tribal government. The position is responsible for the execution of the laws of the Cherokee Nation, establishment of tribal policy, and delegation of authority for the day-to-day operations of the tribe.[2] Before his election, Smith served under two Cherokee Nation chiefs as Director of Tribal Planning, Legal Historian, Attorney, Cherokee Nation Prosecutor, Director of Justice and adviser to the tribal tax commission.
Smith was elected Principal Chief on July 24, 1999 by defeating the incumbent Principal Chief Joe Byrd in the runoff election. Byrd's first term was marked with tension and constitutional crisis issues. Smith received 7,204 votes (56.48%) to Byrd's 5,552 votes (43.52%). During his first term, Hastings Shade, a Cherokee traditionalist, language teacher, artist, and author, served as Deputy Chief.
Smith was re-elected to subsequent terms in 2003 and 2007, with Joe Grayson, a bilingual, full-blood community organizer and veteran, serving as Deputy Chief.
During his tenure as Principal Chief, Smith has focused on three initiatives: economic self-reliance for the tribe, Cherokee language and cultural revitalization, and community development in Northeastern Oklahoma. He has also popularized the term gadugi, which in Cherokee refers to the spontaneous work crews communities formed as needs arose but has evolved to mean coming together to work for the good of all Cherokees.
The modern Cherokee Nation has experienced steady economic growth. During Smith's tenure, agricultural growth, and business, corporate, real estate expansion occurred, including numerous casino operations. The Cherokee Nation controls Cherokee Nation Entertainment, a gaming and hospitality company with several thousand employees in Eastern Oklahoma, as well as Cherokee Nation Industries, a defense contractor. In addition, language immersion programs for Cherokee children and youth have been established.
Since 1992 the Cherokee Nation has served as the lead tribe for the Inter-Tribal Environmental Council (ITEC).[3] The mission of ITEC is to protect the health of Native Americans, their natural resources, and their environment as it relates to air, land, and water. To accomplish this mission, ITEC provides technical support, training and environmental services in a variety of environmental disciplines. There are thirty-nine (39) ITEC member tribes in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.
Controversy
Smith's administration is not without controversy. The Cherokee Nation admitted to hiring lobbyist Jack Abramoff after the Smith administration vehemently denied it.[4] Records show that CNE paid Abramoff a total of $120,000.
In 2006, Smith was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI due to his dealings with GEG through Cherokee Nation Enterprises. Allegations included the misuse of federal loan monies, and backdating of loan documents.[5]
Smith has also been involved in the Cherokee Freedmen controversy. In 2006, the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled that Freedmen, as well as the Intermarried Whites, should be allowed to join the Cherokee Nation. Jody Fishinghawk and former Deputy Chief John Ketcher petitioned the government for a special election to determine whether or not to include the Freedman.[6] The federal government intervened and the Freedman are currently part of the tribe. Smith appealed this injunction, citing sovereign immunity, and the Appeals Court ruled that the Cherokee Nation could not be sued, but that officers of the Cherokee Nation, including Smith, could be sued for working outside the boundaries of their office by violating the treaty of 1866, and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The case was in Federal District Court as of July 2008.[7] Smith filed a similar case in federal court in Denver against individual Freedmen descendants in March 2009. The Freedmen's attorney accused Smith of "venue shopping" while the Vann court case is still ongoing, as another similar case was filed in Cherokee Nation court.[8]
Family
Chad Smith is the great-grandson of Redbird Smith, a Cherokee Nation Senator and a traditionalist who founded the Nighthawk Keetoowah Society, a religious, cultural, and political organization dedicated to reviving the Cherokee way of life. He fought the allotment policy under which the United States government took more than 7,000,000 acres (28,000 km²) of land from the Cherokees. Rachel Quinton, Chad Smith’s grandmother, was a life-long advocate for the Cherokee people and the treasurer for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians.
Smith is married to Bobbie Gail Scott Smith, a full-blooded Cherokee from the Rocky Mountain community of Adair County, Oklahoma. Bobbie Gail, chosen as Miss Cherokee in 1975, is the daughter of the late Lincoln and Martha Scott. She has taken a leadership role in culture and language preservation. The Smiths have three children: Kiah, Chris, and Anaweg. Smith also has three children from another relationship.[9]
Published works
- Smith, Chadwick Corntassel and Rennard Strickland with Benny Smith. ᎥᎪᏢᏍᎬ ᏌᏊ ᎠᏥᎸ: Building One Fire, Art and World View in Cherokee Life. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-61658-960-8.[10]
- McClinton, Rowena and Chad Smith. The Moravian Springplace Mission to the Cherokees. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0803232662.[11]
- Robert J. Conley, author, David Fitzgerald, photography, and Chadwick Smith, introduction. Cherokee. Portland, OR: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co., 2002. ISBN 987-1558686038.[12]
References
- ^ Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Election Commission. Cherokee Nation General Election Results, June 23, 2007.
- ^ "Executive Branch". Cherokee Nation official site. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "ITEC History". Inter-Tribal Environmental Council. Retrieved 2006-09-08.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Lewin, Sam. "Cherokee Nation denies working with Abramoff" Native American Times. (Jan 4th, 2006). http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/011857.asp
- ^ Hales, Donna. "Tribal Business CFO Resigns" Muskogee Phoenix. (Aug 15, 2006): http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_228002309.html
- ^ Snell, Travis JAT rule 2003 Constitution Law. Cherokee Phoenix. July 2006. (retrieved 26 May 2009)
- ^ Sadler, Aron. "Cherokee Freedmen claim legal victory" The Morning News. (July 2008):http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/07/30/news/073008dcfreedmanruling.txt
- ^ Chavez, Will. "CN Files Freedmen Lawsuit in U.S. District Court" Cherokee Phoenix. (March 2009):http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Docs/PDF/2009/2009-03-01.pdf
- ^ Hales, Donna. "Cherokee Attorney will Run for Chief Again." Muskogee Phoenix. Nov. 1998. (retrieved 10 April 2009)
- ^ Building One Fire, Art and World View in Cherokee Life. University of Oklahoma Press. 2010 (retrieved 24 Aug 2010)
- ^ The Moravian Springplace Mission to the Cherokees. Amazon.com 2010 (retrieved 24 Aug 2010)
- ^ Cherokee. Amazon.com 2010 (retrieved 24 Aug 2010)
External links
Media related to Chad "Corntassel" Smith at Wikimedia Commons