Buel Anglen - District 8

Tribal Council District 8

Buel Anglen

1831 S. Broadway St.
Skiatook, OK 74070
Home: (918) 396-4017
Cell: 918-752-4339
Email: Buel-Anglen@cherokee.org

Residence and family information: “My wife Clara and I have been married for 32 years, and I have been a resident of the Sperry area for 53 years. We have two daughters, Peggy Girdner of Sperry and Christy Stephens of Skiatook. We also have three grandchildren, Trenton, Blake and Clara Ann. Another grandchild was due on March 7. I am one of seven children born to Annabelle Juby-Anglen and the late Leon Anglen. Numerous family members still live on my grandmother’s allotted land in Sperry.”

Education: “I’m a graduate of Sperry High School, and Carpenter’s Local Union No. 943 Trade School. I am also certified through Tulsa Junior College in commercial blueprint reading and estimating. Much of my education was gained on the job. I served in the Oklahoma Army National Guard 145th Medical Company for seven years. I have 20 years of business experience derived from owning and operating my general contracting company and owning a successful retail hardware and lumber company in District 8. I presently own storage units within the Sperry area.”

“Leaders don’t talk about leadership; they demonstrate it. Individuals don’t change dramatically because they are elected to the council. Therefore, it’s easy to determine effectiveness of leadership by looking at what a candidate did before he or she ran for council. In my case, I worked cooperatively in the Indian community, organized and brought in services, helped individuals in need and ran profitable businesses while hiring 100 percent Indian. Those actions are proof of leadership. I believe that voters want to know how committed a candidate was before he or she ran for or was elected to the council. What did they accomplish without being paid for it? I organized a committee of Indian people in Sperry and negotiated with the city to get the old city hall for one dollar a year for an Indian community building. We used the building to schedule field days for tribal services like LIHEAP and tribal registration. I served on the Sperry Board of Education and worked to get Cherokee Nation Head Start services for the community. I advocated for individual citizens who were having a hard time getting services, arranged for wheel chairs, housing remodels for handicapped and many other individual services.”

“In the narrowest definition, the council legislates and advocates for their constituents; the chief and deputy administer laws and programs, and the judiciary interprets the law. All officials are sworn to protect the Cherokee Nation and to promote the language and culture. It sounds simple. The complexity lies in knowing the constituency well enough to ensure that laws and budgets meet constituents’ unique needs. A good councilman knows how to work effectively with his colleagues on the council as well as with the administration to get a final outcome that benefits his constituents. We must allow the courts to interpret when there is disagreement rather than spending valuable time bickering and second-guessing. Getting along is very important to getting things done. All three branches must work cooperatively to protect the tribe and meet the needs of citizens. At the same time, there can be no maneuvering where the Constitution is concerned. The Cherokee Nation Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It may only be changed by a vote of the people.”

“We must expand the tribe’s economy to earn larger amounts of income through our tribal businesses as the federal government shrinks. We need funds to expand our health care services and ensure that every Cherokee has decent, affordable housing. It is important that we extend cultural opportunities for our citizenry. Every Cherokee should have the opportunity to learn the Cherokee language, participate in the culture, and stand proud and tall through knowledge of our history. Cherokee citizens will work to protect and advance a nation whose values and culture they share. It is our job to see that they have the opportunity to share it. No one understands the importance of expanding and improving health care more than I do. In 2000, I almost lost my life to a benign brain tumor that left me blind in one eye. Although I recovered, except for the sight loss in one eye, the worry about the costs of extras in health care will stay with me forever. We must never stop our quest to bring new services, new medicines and new equipment to our health facilities. Expanding services to those who can’t reach the existing facilities – particularly elderly – is a top priority.”

“Undoubtedly, it is the Cherokee Nation’s economy. If we don’t have rapidly growing revenues and aggressive expansion of businesses, we won’t have the money to protect the sovereignty of the tribe, to preserve the culture or to meet health, social service and other needs of Cherokee citizens. I will use my strong background as a businessman to insure that we invest in the economic infrastructure of the tribe. Development of our economy is dependent upon a two-part strategy: 1) bringing in new business and industry that provides jobs to our citizens; and 2) opening new tribal businesses that will make money for us to operate social programs. As your council representative, I will work within the budget process to insure that the funds needed to develop new businesses and hire talented and aggressive managers are appropriated. At the same time, I will vigorously promote Indian hiring practices within both the tribe and tribal businesses. As a contractor, I received an award from the Cherokee Nation for hiring 100 percent Indian when I constructed two Cherokee bingo halls. No one knows better than I do that it is possible to hire Indian and still make money on contracts.”