Smith ‘grandstanding’Editor, Daily Press:
I read with humorous, yet serious, interest the articles in the Tulsa World on April 3 and May 29 regarding Cherokee Chief Chad Smith’s reaction and comments as to state Rep. Randy Terrill’s efforts to enact a law making “English-only” the official language in Oklahoma. He alleges forced assimilation and punishment in Indian boarding schools for speaking their native language as his reasons against the bill, and says he will fight any attempt to make “English-only” a law. (It is my understanding that Smith himself cannot speak Cherokee fluently.)
I am not surprised by Smith’s actions. He is an expert at grandstanding to be noticed. As a former tribal councilor with the Cherokee Nation, I remember his antics at various times before he became chief. One instance in particular was during a council session where he began yelling and making such a nuisance of himself that the chair had to have security remove him from the council chambers to conduct business. Instead of leaving the chambers when asked by security, like a distinguished gentleman would do, he lay down in the aisle, and security had to bodily carry him out while screaming and waving his arms and legs. Another instance was his shameful actions at the Cherokee courthouse “take-over” attempt, where he was accused of assaulting a police officer.
Previously, Smith alleged forced assimilation by stating that, as a child, his father had his mouth washed out with soap for speaking Cherokee while at an Indian boarding school.
Well, I don’t know where Smith’s father went to boarding school, but I don’t believe it happened. I went to an Indian boarding school one of the biggest and I never saw any punishment for speaking the native language.
In fact, the Navajos nearly always spoke their language, and many subjects were taught to them in Navajo. Regardless, in most classes except for the Navajo classes, there were members of several different tribes, and it would have been impossible for students to communicate in their own languages because all tribes spoke different languages. When the students were out of class and in their rooms, or at leisure times, they could speak any language they wanted to, if their friends could also speak the same native language. Occasionally, students of the same tribe did speak to each other in their native language. But all of them could speak English, so that is the way most students communicated. In fact, I never knew any student who could not speak English, except some of the Navajo.
Rep. Terrill’s proposal to make English the official language in Oklahoma only makes good sense and has nothing to do with assimilation and, as Terrill emphasized, would not affect the use of American Indian languages. Nowhere do you see instructions written in any Indian language as you now see in Spanish i.e., telephone instructions, ATM machines, medications, assembly directions and many other instances. Now, they even give driver’s license exams in Spanish.
If the driver applicants can’t read a driving manual in English, how do they read road signs in English, or are we now going to have to replace all road signs with both English and Spanish? That would be absurd, and what if they carried it further to include other languages such as many different Indian tribal languages, German, Japanese, Chinese, etc.? That would be ludicrous. This is America, where English is the common language.
If a person wants to speak and read other languages, that is their right. But to demand that other languages be included in all instructions and common usage is ridiculous.
Finally, if Chief Smith wanted to do something productive and worthwhile for the good of his country and his tribe, he would support Terrill’s proposed law to make English the state’s official language. That would also help keep illegal Mexicans from being provided with services and accommodations by eliminating information in languages other than English. Perhaps Smith isn’t aware of all the illegal Mexicans who have saturated the U.S., causing serious social and economic problems and who, I understand, have caused several Cherokee contractors and sub-contractors to go out of business because they could not compete with the “cheap Mexican labor.”
Any observant person cannot help but see the problems caused by the influx of illegals and should be deeply concerned. Besides the illegals being in violation of the law for sneaking across the border, they could also be murderers, drug dealers, rapists or terrorists.
I, for one, strongly support Terrill’s efforts to deal with illegal immigrants and pray that Chief Smith would quit grandstanding and support him also.
Harley Terrell, Cherokee citizen
Tahlequah
