Tribal Council District 8
Buel Anglen
1831 S. Broadway Street
Skiatook, OK 74070
Home: 918-396-4017
Cell: 918-752-4339
Fax: 918-396-7998
Email: Buel-Anglen@cherokee.org
Buel is one of seven children born to Leon and Annabelle Anglen. He is a life long resident of District 8, having lived in the Sperry and Skiatook area for 57 years. His family still owns his grandmother’s original allotted land located in Sperry. He and his wife Clara have been married for 36 years, and have two daughters, Christy and Peggy. They also have five wonderful grandchildren Trenton, Blake, Clara Ann, Chloe and Cali.
Buel graduated in 1969 from Sperry High School. He graduated from Local #943 Trade School and Completed Drafting and Blueprint Reading at TJC. In 2005, he received the Honored Alumnus Award from the Sperry Alumni Association, the highest award bestowed Sperry High School graduates. He is the owner of Anglen Construction Co. Inc., which built the two largest gaming facilities for CNE and received the Outstanding Employer of the Year Award in 1994. He also owns Sperry Boat Storage, Anglen Custom Homes LLC, and is the former owner of Hometown Building Supply.
Buel has served on the Sperry Board of Education for 5 years, trustee for Resthaven Cemetery, Sperry Merchants Association, received the Honorary Chapter Farmer Award from the Sperry FFA, Lifetime FFA Alumni Member, coached youth softball, member of the Tulsa Cherokee Community Organization, Collinsville Victory Cherokee Organization, Washington County Cherokee Association and as a Commissioner on the Greater Tulsa Indian Affairs Commission.
Buel serves on all eight Council Committees with a near perfect record and has a perfect 100% record attending monthly Council meetings. To keep his District 8 constituents informed, Buel attends and participates in 3 different community meetings each month, maintains a website, and hosts an annual hog fry in Sperry which draws 250-300 people.
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?
These are exciting times for the Cherokee Nation. The roles of Council representatives have been changing. An emphasis on community empowerment is moving us daily to new leadership opportunities for individuals and organizations in Cherokee communities. District 8 is my home. It is filled with friends, family, associates and with memories of obligations that I want to repay. It has provided me with a place to raise children and work productively. What more fulfilling job could I have than to help our communities forge new partnerships with the Cherokee Nation? If I do my job well in the next four years, there will be many leaders in district eight who are working in partnership with the tribe to strengthen our communities.
The farther constituents are from Tahlequah, the more important it is that they have a representative who works hard to see the connections to the tribe grow. My home is too important to me not to do everything I can to help it grow strong. I have grandchildren. Like you, I want them to be bound to the tribe by strong feelings of kinship, pride in our amazing history and opportunities to learn and grow as Cherokee leaders.
- What is the greatest priority in your district and how will you address it as a legislator?
Unlike many of the rural Cherokee communities closer to Tahlequah, our citizens are not often the majority within communities. We don't have the infrastructure of community buildings, activities and opportunities to insure that our children and grandchildren are enculturated strongly into the tribe. I will work hard to see that there are new monies available for community buildings. If Cherokee citizens do not have a place to go to get together, to plan and to work side by side, it will always be a struggle to maintain tribal identity. Side by side with other Cherokee leaders within the district, we will expand activities for all age groups. Cherokee language, history, culture camps, elderly nutrition programs and similar activities must grow and be integrated into our communities. Construction of community buildings within our district and development of organizations and boards to operate them is a very high priority.
Throughout the Cherokee Nation (and, indeed, the country) our elders are struggling. With prices rising faster than income, poor health coverage and the inability of many older people to travel long distances to receive medical care, it is also important to grow services and improved care for our elderly. Among emerging trends is the rapid growth in Alzheimer’s -- among other debilitating conditions. Adult day care opportunities are extremely limited. We must work to see that no Cherokee family should have to put a loved one in a nursing home because there is no support for caring for elders at home.
At the same time, it is also important to continue to expand our ability to support our children and grandchildren in obtaining the very best education available. The decline of real wages has resulted in a crunch for middle and lower middle class Cherokee families. Unlike many reservation based tribes, we don't have a tribally controlled college. We must find new ways to help provide higher education. Classes via satellite in community buildings, expansion of Cherokee cluster groups like the experimental group at Coffeyville Community College are possible responses.
The final priority is good jobs for Cherokee citizens. That need is addressed in the next question.
- Cherokee Nation-owned businesses return 25% of profits to the Cherokee Nation as a dividend. Is that amount appropriate or should it be changed and why?
As a Cherokee businessman with many years of experience operating successful businesses, this is a question I am not only prepared, but anxious to answer. First, there is no "magic number" that can simply be drawn out of a hat. How much of the profits can be paid out to the tribe for services is dependent on a number of factors that are constantly changing. It should be clear by now to every Cherokee who reads a newspaper that Indian gaming is under attack. Many Native leaders have believed from the beginning that gaming was a limited window of opportunity that would not remain open forever. How much time do we have? No one knows. Maybe only a year. Maybe several years.
The easy way to govern our tribe is to take as much profit as possible from our businesses to provide social services to our citizens. Because so much of our income is derived from gaming, we must diversify our businesses before the golden goose of Indian gami