Chad "Corntassel" Smith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chadwick Smith | |
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Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
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| In office 1999 – present |
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| Preceded by | Joe Byrd |
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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 holds a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Georgia, a master's degree in public administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa. 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.
Chad Smith is a descendant of Redbird Smith, Cherokee Statesman and spiritual leader of the Keetoowah Nighthawk Society. [2]
[edit] Principal Chief
Chief Smith is currently serving in 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 as necessary for the day-to-day operations.[3] Before his election to this position, 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.[2] Chad Smith is married to Bobbie Scott Smith and has 4 children. Even though claiming his grandmother gave him his nickname "Corntassel" he is not directly related to the Corntassel family.
Principal Chief Chad Smith has a rich family history of service to the Cherokee people. He is a descendant of the leaders of the original Keetoowah Society who fought to keep tribal traditions and culture alive. Chad's great-grandfather was Redbird Smith, a Senator of the Cherokee Nation in 1896. He was a famous Cherokee traditionalist who fought the government allotment policy under which the U.S. took more than 7,000,000 acres (28,000 km²) of land from the Cherokees.
His grandmother, Rachael Quinton (1901-1990), was secretary of the United Keetoowah Band (UKB) and fought tirelessly to revive the Cherokee Nation. Chad's Cherokee name, given to him by his grandmother Rachel Quinton, is Ugista (Cherokee:ᎤᎩᏍᏔ), which means "Corntassel." Chad's relative William Smith, was the Chief of the Keetoowah Society. He was the spiritual leader of the Stokes Stomp Grounds. The actual Cherokee spelling of the name Corntassel differs greatly from Ugista.
His father, the late Nelson Smith, was a respected industrial manager and his mother, Pauline Smith, still lives in Colcord. Smith's late uncle, William Lee Smith, led the Keetoowah Society at the Stokes Stomp Grounds since the 50s.
Smith's wife, Bobbie Gail, is a full-blood, bi-lingual Cherokee from the Rocky Mountain community in Adair County. Bobbie Gail was 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 modern Cherokee Nation has experienced steady economic growth. During Chad Smith's tenure, agricultural growth, and business, corporate, real estate expansion occurred, including numerous casino operations. The Cherokee Nation now controls Cherokee Nation Enterprises, 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 Nation has served as the lead for the Inter-Tribal Environmental Council.[4] 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. Currently, there are thirty-nine (39) ITEC member tribes in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.
[edit] References
- ^ Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Election Commission. Cherokee Nation General Election Results, June 23, 2007.
- ^ a b Chad 'Corntassel' Smith - Principal Chief. Cherokee Nation official site. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ "Executive Branch", Cherokee Nation official site. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
- ^ ITEC History. Inter-Tribal Environmental Council. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Joe Byrd (Cherokee Chief) |
Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation 1999 – present |
Incumbent |
