Tribal Council District 4
Don Garvin
1112 Sky View Dr.
Muskogee, OK 74403
Home: 918-683-1118
Cell: 918-616-3961
Email: don-garvin@cherokee.org
Don lives in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He is a descendant of George and Nancy Blair; both came to Indian Territory on the Trail of Tears, and Obediah and Margaret Benge. He is the son of Ben “Tuff” and Elsie Garvin. He married Jo Elaine Williamson in 1959. They have one daughter, Jill, who is married to John Tipton. They have two granddaughters, Jennifer and Jessica.
He grew up on a farm/ranch and graduated from Central High School. He attended Connors and then graduated from Oklahoma State University. He has a master’s degree from Southeastern State University. Also, he completed the U.S. Infantry Officers Training School at Ft. Benning, Ga. He first served in the U.S. Infantry with the rank of first Lt., and then later in the U.S. Air Force Reserves with the rank of Captain. Don was a mathematics teacher and basketball coach at Alice Robertson and a math teacher at Sequoyah High School for seven and a half years. He has been a real estate broker and a home building contractor for many years. He is an ordained Deacon at Central Baptist Church in Muskogee.
Don is currently serving his third term on the Council and also serves as the Secretary of the Council.
The Cherokee Phoenix asked Tribal Council candidates to respond to seven questions of concern to Cherokee citizens. Read the questions and responses below.
- Why do you want to serve on the Tribal Council?
It has been a great honor for me to serve as a Cherokee Councilman for the last seven and a half years. The Cherokee Nation was in severe constitutional crisis when I took office; there were financial problems throughout. Many employees had lost their jobs and practically every phase of the nation was declining. It has been a difficult job, but the hard work has paid off with financial success and a plethora of new jobs.
It will be vital to continue the nation’s success at the same rate we have enjoyed during my time in office, and though it will be a great challenge for anyone, I am up to playing the instrumental role in taking on such a task.
- What is the greatest priority in your district and how will you address it as a legislator?
Currently, the greatest priority in the Three Rivers District is the “on time” completion and the “on budget” of the $26,000,000 Joint-Venture Health Center in Muskogee. It is of the utmost importance our elderly citizens have adequate food, housing, and health care.
As a former educator, I believe another important challenge we have, and must do, is to educate our young people. I took the oath of office to preserve our native language and culture and I resolve to continue this progress.
I believe the Cherokee’s are number one, and they deserve the very best. We must do better, and we can.
- Cherokee Nation-owned businesses return 25 percent of profits to the Cherokee Nation as a dividend. Is that an appropriate amount or should it be changed and why?
First, I would point out that Cherokee Nation owned businesses return 30 percent of their profits to Cherokee Nation as a dividend, not 25 percent. That was part of the landmark Jobs Growth Act that I was proud to support in 2005. The Jobs Growth Act guarantees that 100 percent of the money from our businesses benefits the Cherokee people by either going to the government to provide services or staying with the business to allow it to grow, create jobs, and generate more money down the road. For instance, if we hadn’t reinvested some of our casino money to build the expansion in Catoosa a few years ago, we would still be making the same amount of money we were then. Instead, because we put the money back into the business, we make 10 times as much money as we did just seven years ago, and we have created more than 2,500 jobs, all while having record budgets for services at the Cherokee Nation.
For example, our gaming revenue funded the first phase of construction on the new Muskogee Clinic that is being built right now right next to the Turnpike. It is more than 100,000 square feet and will be the Cherokee Nation’s biggest clinic. I worked to get the clinic built for years, but we did not have the money to do it until our businesses really started growing. If we had taken a larger dividend in the short term, I do not think we would have been able to build the clinic because our revenues would not be more than 10 times what they used to be, they might be about the same and we would not have the money to do anything new.
I think it is a system with proven success. Look at the results. I don’t think it is broken, so I don’t think we need to fix it.
- Should the Cherokee Nation make campaign contributions to local, state and federal candidates and why?
The Cherokee Nation is a government, but our territory is entirely within the State of Oklahoma and within the United States of America. We can serve our people better if we maintain a good relationship with the state, with the federal government, and with local county and city governments. One way we work with those other governments is through partnerships, like our roads program and scholarships.
But another way is to develop partnerships and personal relationships with other government leaders. In fact, one of our Tribal Council members right now is a member of the state house of representatives, and I think that is a good thing. Cherokees need to participate in the overall political system, by voting and supporting candidates that support Indian issues. If we do not participate in government and we do not have good relationships with state and federal government officials it could come back to haunt our citizens and our Nation.
- If a constituent asked about the recent amendment to remove non-Indians from Cherokee citizenship rolls and the public backlash, how would you explain the issue to them?
I would tell them that Cherokees voted to be like just about every other Indian tribe I can think of; you have to be Indian to be a citizen. It’s really just that simple. I think the