Tribal Council District 7
Cara Cowan Watts
P.O. Box 2922
Claremore, OK 74018
Cell: 918-752-4342
Fax:
918-341-3753
Email: cara@caracowan.com
Residence and family information: Claremore, Oklahoma. Cara Cowan is a sixth generation Rogers County resident. Cara’s parents are Beverly (Leerskov) and Clarence “Curly” Cowan who met while her father was teaching at Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore. They are both retired Oklahoma teachers. Her mother has taught K-12 Learning Disabilities and Special Education for more than 30 years. Her father taught college math for more than 30 years and retired from Seminole State College. Her brother, Brett Cowan, is a Civil Engineer at the Army Corp of Engineers in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cowan’s maternal grandparents are the late Luella and Bob Leerskov of Claremore. Cara is a direct descendent of Tiawah resident Dempsey Fields Coker, councilor and solicitor for Cooweescoowee District in the late 1870s. On her grandfather’s side, Cara is of the Tiawah Leerskov and Cluck Cherokee families. Cowan’s paternal grandparents are Clara and Walter Cowan of Sallisaw. They are undocumented Cherokee and Choctaw from the Sallisaw and Fort Coffee areas of Oklahoma.
Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Oklahoma State University (OSU)-Stillwater, Okla., and M.S. Telecommunications Management, OSU-Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Describe the leadership experience you would bring to the Tribal Council.
Cara Cowan's qualifications include work in public and non-profit corporations with proven results in oversight, management, policy and budgeting for organizations. As an engineer at WilTel Communications, Cara had sole responsibility for a multi-million dollar operations budget. As a board member for American Indian Science and Engineering Society, Cara has fiscal responsibility for a $3 million annual operating budget. With her academic credentials and technology experience in industry, Cara will provide the knowledge needed to drive the use of new technology for the tribe, work with all tribal members and employees in a professional manner and make sure that Rogers County gets its fair share of the Cherokee Nation’s $300 million budget. Cowan also is active in the Cherokee Indian Women's Pocahontas Club of Claremore, serving as secretary and co-chairing its annual fine arts event this past year. Professionally, Cowan is active in AISES, which helps prepare Indian students for careers in challenging, high-tech jobs. She is a founding member of the Oklahoma Chapter and has served as president and vice president, locally. Nationally, she serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors for AISES.
Describe the role of the office for which you are a candidate in relation to the other branches of the Cherokee Nation government.
“Cherokee Nation’s three branches of government are similar to the federal government. The legislative branch is responsible for forming policies and rules, enacting legislation consistent with the constitution and the needs of their constituents and the executive branch. As the legislative body, the council is responsible for passing the Cherokee Nation budget each year. As a Tribal Council member, Cara Cowan will make sure that Rogers County residents get their fair share of Cherokee Nation services during the budget process. The executive branch is responsible for executing programs and policy. The judicial branch settles Constitutional questions and disputes between the executive and legislative branches. The Tribal Council makes the laws, the principal chief makes sure those laws are executed, and the judicial branch interprets the laws when there is a question concerning what a law means. The judicial branch can also offer legal advice to the legislative branch.”
What are your priorities for the Cherokee Nation?
Cara Cowan’s priorities for Rogers County are bringing our fair share of resources home to Rogers County Cherokees. “We need equal housing opportunities, higher health care standards, preventative health care and regular community meetings,” she says. Cara Cowan will work for stronger employment regulations and requirements for Cherokee preference for individuals and vendors to increase the number of Cherokees involved in our tribal businesses. Cowan already works to support Cherokees in the business community by contributing time to mentoring students, parents and professionals about educational opportunities, careers, job opportunities and interviewing skills. Cara is also actively involved with the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma for the Tulsa area, the Native American Employment Training Center and the Department of Labor Women’s Bureau projects in Oklahoma. Cara Cowan will fight for more scholarship money for graduate and undergraduate students in Rogers County. By strengthening our individual tribal members with resources and knowledge of available resources, we become a stronger Nation. Cara is committed to building a stronger Cherokee community in Rogers County by making sure that we get our fair share of the Cherokee Nation’s resources. For additional details on Cara Cowan’s plan for Rogers County, visit her website at www.caracowan.com.
What is the biggest challenge facing the Cherokee Nation today and how do you plan on solving it?
“We are facing federal budget cuts that will impact services to Cherokee citizens. We will need to work with our communities to find and develop outside grant opportunities that meet their individual needs. As our gaming operation grows, we need to spend the money wisely by investing in individual tribal members through employment, training and programs that directly benefit Cherokees like you. We should not spend all our money on buildings in Tahlequah when Cherokees in Rogers County do not get their fair share. The Cherokee Nation also faces a challenge from within. We can work together to accomplish common goals or we can tear each other apart. The Cherokee citizens of Rogers County have not been the recipients of the tribe’s progress because our council member would rather fight internal political battles rather than fight for the real needs of our tribal members. Cara Cowan is committed to bringing to Rogers County better employment opportunities, economic development, improving health care and develop better educational opportunities for our students. As a council member, Cara Cowan will find solutions that benefit the Cherokee citizens of Rogers County.”