Who Was That Masked Man? Lone Ranger Edition

There is a Facebook page out there that we hesitate to bring attention to because it is so pathetic-- and telling our thousands of readers about it is about the best favor we could ever do for it.  But sometimes telling the Truth means you have to shine the light on some ugly things.  That’s what we’re doing today.

First, a little about this Facebook page.  One of the first things this page did, after it was started in December, was mimic Cherokee Truth.  And that’s about the best thing it has ever done.  Since then, the page has been blocked from posting here because it refused to follow our rules.  But that shouldn’t surprise anyone once they read a little further.  In three months or so of existence, it has 102 likes.  We got that many in our first week.  So this really is a small fish, but it’s also a bitter, professional fish.

Who is that masked man/recall advocate?

The page is called Recall Cara Cowan Watts.  It mainly spouts hate against her as a council person and tries to convince everyone that she is terrible.  That’s free speech and that’s fine.  But there is something a little more sinister here.  So who is the man behind the mask?  Well, he’s nowhere near as honorable as the Lone Ranger, but he’s just as condescending to Indians.

Remember the DC guy who talked all about how he hoodwinked the Cherokees into voting for Baker after Baker did exactly what the guy told him to do during the Chief election?

That guy was Dane Strother, of Strother Strategies, Bill John Baker’s highly paid Washington DC campaign strategist.  And he is also the guy masquerading online as Recall Cara Cowan Watts.  

How do we know this?  He sent us an email and signed it.  

He wants us to try to spread dirt about Cara Cowan Watts and her husband, but he didn’t provide any documentation.  That fits Strother’s Baker strategy, which was about smokescreens, Cherforce One and other distractions because Smith had done a “good job.” He already bragged about that online, as you recall.

Does anyone else find it creepy that Bill John Baker’s campaign guy months after the election is harassing a council member when she’s not even eligible to run for re-election?  Who is paying this guy (remember, Baker gave him a ton of money)? Is Baker still paying his strategy guy to take down a council member he doesn’t like? Or does Baker’s guy have some kind of weird obsession with Cowan-Watts and he's stalking her as a hobby?  Or worst of all, is this guy on the Cherokee Nation payroll?  Right now, nobody knows-- but regardless, it’s pretty dirty pool and conduct not becoming of a Chief to have employees he pays out of his own pocket, or his campaign funds, to run a hate campaign against a sitting council member.  Especially since Baker is still raising money for the very activities he may be paying Strother to do.  Not cool, Kemo Sabe.  

School House Rock Edition

In a lost edition of "School House Rock," 
n animated piece of paper explains Cherokee Blood Law

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At the last council meeting, they went all School House Rock and showed us how a bill becomes a law.  Importantly, the council decided that, since APCSJC went to federal court and made a deal that was against Cherokee Nation law, the council needed be a little more involved in these sorts of decisions from now on.

So they passed a law that puts the council in the middle of any decision in which the Cherokee Nation lets another tribe put land into trust within our jurisdiction-- which, as we pointed out, is a big deal right now because the UKB is trying to put their illegal casino into trust status and the tribal council wasn’t informed.

Attorney General Diane Hammons told the Cherokee Phoenix that she was planning on filing a protest to the application.

As speaker of the council Meredith Frailey pointed out, “This is pretty serious stuff when another tribe comes within our jurisdiction and tries to put land in trust.”

Deputy Speaker Cara Cowan-Watts took it upon herself to send the BIA a letter herself, just to make sure they knew that we are “adamantly opposed to any other tribe putting land into trust within the legal and sovereign boundaries of the Cherokee Nation.”

While Baker hasn’t commented on how tough he will be on his buddy George Wickliffe who is trying to carve out a piece of Cherokee Nation for himself and the UKB, Baker's Choctaw aide Kayln Free told the Cherokee Phoenix, “Chief Baker will always protect and defend the sovereignty of the Cherokee Nation and will aggressively defend the Nation’s boundaries and any encroachment within those boundaries.”

If so, the council’s vote might be unnecessary.  But it’s not guaranteed, and it’s not a bad idea to make sure that all branches of the Cherokee Nation government involved and someone can’t singlehandedly decide to give our land away.

As some council members pointed out in committee meetings, that kind of thing used to get people killed.  In this day and age, the least our elected officials should do is to follow the lead of Cowan-Watts  and send an angry letter.

Remembering John Ketcher

John Ketcher---Photo Courtesy Tulsa World

Today is a good day to pause and reflect.  The Cherokee Nation buried John Ketcher today, our former Deputy Chief.  After all the turmoil, it’s probably a good time to remember Chief Ketcher and what he stood for.  The Cherokee Phoenix had a story about Ketcher and quoted Cara Cowan Watts as saying: “John was a patriot of the Cherokee Nation and truly gave his heart and soul to the Tribe and our communities throughout his lifetime… I am honored to have worked with him on community issues and shared issues to advance the Tribe as a Nation. John Ketcher will be greatly missed.”

Baker also had nice things to say: “John Ketcher gave tirelessly to the Cherokee Nation and our people.  He is a role model for all those that followed him in this life.  His kindness and unselfishness will be dearly missed by all that knew him.”

The Tulsa World also had a really good story on Ketcher. 

If you don’t have a subscription, here’s a quote that gives you a sense of the man we lost:  “When I was growing up, certain people didn’t feel good about themselves; some of them wouldn’t even talk Cherokee in mixed groups, as if they were ashamed of being Indian,” Ketcher said, before saying that his goal was “Putting pride back into being Cherokee.”  Consider that a mission accomplished, Chief Ketcher.