RT 2 Box 403
Westville, OK 74965
(918) 723-3600
E-Mail: hphillips@cherokee.org
Headline from Cherokee Nation News November 11, 2002 concerning the death of Harold "Jiggs" Phillips
1. Personal Background
Residence: Lifelong resident of Adair County. Degree of Cherokee: 13/64, grandson of Jim Shell, early day Cherokee minister and original enrollee. Family: Married 49 years to former Virginia Henderson, Cherokee member. Three children, Clark, Stan and Deanna Cooper and 8 grandchildren. Education/Experience: Masters Degree in Education Administration from University of Arkansas, football scholarship University of Arkansas, retired teacher, coach and administrator 32 years.
2. What are your qualifications for this position?
13 years on tribal council, chairman tribal services/community development, member of Arkansas Riverbed Board, member of all standing council committees, member fuel tax , and higher education sub-committees.
3. What is the role of the tribal council, in general, and in relation to the other branches of government?
1. The role of the tribal government is to uphold the tribal constitution and code of laws. 2. Keep informed on issues, voice opinion, be sensitive of Cherokee people's concerns and vote accordingly, not being dominated by political factions or other branches of government. Strive to work co-operatively with other council members and with the other two branches, keeping in mind the separation of power principle, as provided in the Constitution.
4. Why do you believe you can make a difference and what are the top priorities of your campaign platform?
I believe I can make a difference because the newly-elected council must rise about political priorities, restore a working relationship among its members and get back to serving our Cherokee people and restore confidence and pride in our government. Since I have not aligned myself to either political faction but have tried to work with both factions in the role of mediator, I feel that I can be positive force in this restoration process. My top priorities are 1. restore harmony to tribal council 2. restore the people's confidence in tribal government. 3. restore trust and harmony among the 3 branches of government. These three goals must be accomplished to put our government back on a sound foundation. We can then get back to meeting the needs of our people: health care, education, housing, job security, elder's needs and law enforcement.
5. What are the biggest problems facing the Cherokee people today and what solution(s) do you propose?
The biggest problems facing the Cherokee people today. (1) inefficient tribal government because of the unresolved dispute within the council and among the 3 branches of government. (2) Failure of elected officials to abide by the Constitution and rule of law.
The solutions that I propose are: (1) The newly-elected government officials must be willing to rise about selfish political motives, put aside personal differences and work cooperatively for the good of the Cherokee people and to strengthen our government. (2) I believe that I can be a positive influence to restoring harmony to the council, integrity to tribal government, and pride to our people.
During the 1999 Elections, a candidate questionnaire was given to the
candidates addressing the following questions:
- What are your qualifications for this position
- What is the role of tribal council, in general and in relation to other
tribal branches of government
- Why do you believe you can make a difference and what are the top
priorities of your campaign platform
- What are the biggest problems facing the Cherokee people today and what
solution(s) do you propose
To see the responses to those questions, please follow this link:
http://www.cherokee.org/TribalGovernment/Elections99Page.asp?ID=e99election