Critical
Events, 2001–2008, causing the present crisis
- 2001 (1st
half)
Organizational/information meetings are held at various locations in OK, AR
and MO. Headmen Dub Maxwell, Cliff Bishop and Curtis Smith are stressing
that the No. 1 goal is Federal recognition, with particular emphasis on building
a Cultural Heritage Center and securing benefits for tribal members, especially
older folks needing health care. People are encouraged to complete and submit
membership application forms. People are encouraged to donate money for the
Cultural Center, getting bricks with names as mementoes.
- 2001(2nd
half)
Several thousand applications are gathered together and brought to Patsy Stockton
for genealogical review. Patsy, Leon and Susan Stockton take several months
to carefully review each application, check for historical accuracy and for
ancestral roots in the Cherokee homelands area of AR and MO. All those applications
meeting BIA criteria for membership, some 3,125, are submitted to the Headmen
with the understanding that this list will be taken to the attorney, Jeffrey
Standing Bear, in Pawhuska, OK for his review. According to the Headmen,
this is the most complete and thorough list of members that he (Standing Bear)
has ever seen. There should be no problem with BIA.
- 2002
During this year, the Headmen and Council continue to receive membership
applications with fees. Fundraising events are held throughout a wide area,
including pow-wows and potlucks. Very little information is published about
the membership list of 3,125 names–only that the attorney is reviewing the
list. During this time, also, arrangements are made to purchase “tribal land”
near Clinton, AR. The arrangements are handled in secret by the Headmen,
with titles or deeds to the land never being made public to the membership.
Repeated requests for financial reports by some Council members are stonewalled
and rejected out of hand by the Headmen. Likewise, no purchase contracts,
deeds or titles to the land are made available.
- 2003
Sometime during the period 2002–2003, the attorney arranges a contact for
the Headmen and Council to meet a representative of Bestco, Inc., an investment
company that specializes in helping potential tribal groups gain Federal recognition
and then establish a gambling casino. Plans for a Cultural Heritage Center
are quietly dropped. Membership applications with fees continue to be accepted
but without genealogical review.
- 2004
In April/May Lost Cherokee newsletter it is reported that the Headmen passed
a resolution giving the Headmen and Council the right to determine whose names
will be on the list to be submitted to the BIA for recognition. REMEMBER–prior
to this time, membership qualifications were to be determined solely by genealogical
review of ancestral roots in AR and MO.
In early June,
2004, it was learned from one of the Council members that less than 800 names
had been prepared to be submitted to the BIA for recognition. Within a
few days it was learned that on June 14, 2004, this reduced list was delivered
to Allison Pierce in the BIA’s Office of Acknowledgment by Cliff Bishop, Mrs.
Bishop and Jim Davis, Councilman.
In response
to the anxiety and concerns of many people, several members of the Lost Cherokee
came together to discuss and evaluate developments. Out of these discussions
the Oversight Committee was formed to protect the rights of all 3,125 people
who had met the membership criteria earlier.
A phone call
to Allison Pierce confirmed that only 731 names were on the list submitted.
Subsequently, the O.C. began informing people by e-mail and a general mail-out
that they should contact the BIA directly to determine if their names were
on the list of 731. Click here to
find out if your name is on the list.
In early August,
2004, it was learned that a packet had been submitted to the BIA, with a cover
letter stating that the list of 731 names was “The Complete Current Roll of
the Lost Cherokee of AR and MO”. The intent of this letter is plain–the
Headmen intended this to be the final roll for Federal recognition.
Within a few
weeks, many people received responses to their inquiries to the BIA, and discovered
that their names were not on the list of 731, even though they had been assured
by the Headmen that they were on the list. It then became apparent that statements
like “...your name will be added later”, or “...your name was put on the wrong
computer file by the Stocktons”, or “...we had to hurry and get these names
in–more will be added later”.......... these were all false and misleading.
The BIA has stated that there is no time limit for the Lost Cherokee to submit
the list of qualified names.
You can do
the math, friends........731 names mean more benefits for each person than
3,125. And should recognition be granted, casino dollars??????
The O.C. has
also obtained copies of documents forming The Missionary Church of the Lost
Cherokee. This name is registered to the three Headmen. A provision in the
Articles of Incorporation of the Lost Cherokee of AR/MO states that upon dissolution
of the non-profit 501c-3, which would happen when Federal recognition is granted,
all assets, including money, land, etc. must be transferred to another non-profit
group.
Can you see
the connection? The three Headmen would then have control and ownership of
the land that the entire membership of 3,125 or more donated money to buy.
And incidentally, if you looked at the list of donors for that land, you will
find that none of the Headmen’s names appear there.