Tribal Council At Large
Julia Coates, PHD
P.O. Box 1202
Woodland, CA 96776
Cell: 530-383-9396 or 918-772-0288
Email: julia-coates@cherokee.org
Julia Coates was born in Pryor, Oklahoma, and raised in California’s Redwood country. She is the daughter of Glen Coates and the late Janis Coates Rea.
Julia has a PhD from the University of New Mexico, and for over six years was the Project Director and lead instructor for the award-winning Cherokee Nation History Course, which brought her into personal contact with most of the employees of the Cherokees Nation, along with thousands of Cherokees in Northeastern Oklahoma communities and throughout the country.
Julia has fifteen years of experience in Indian Affairs. Her years of work on treaty rights issues, and extensive research and policy analysis will be invaluable to the daily process of decision making on the Tribal Council. As a delegate to the 1999 Cherokee Nation Constitutional Convention Julia was instrumental in organizing a coalition to gain Tribal Council representation for At Large Cherokees. As a professor of Native American Studies at the University of California at Davis, she has been conducting interviews and research with At Large Cherokee citizens for over eight years.
Julia has assisted in establishing ten organizations of Cherokees in California and New Mexico. She presently divides her residence between Tahlequah, Oklahoma and Woodland, California.
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 is very exciting to be a part of this historic moment. For the first time in 2007, At Large Cherokees, who comprise the majority of the Cherokee Nation’s citizens, will actually elect their own representatives to the Tribal Council! As a delegate to the 1999 Constitutional Convention, I organized a coalition of At Large delegates and introduced the resolution that gained this representation. It is incredibly gratifying to see it finally becoming a reality.
The At Large councilpersons should not approach their jobs in the same way that other members of the Tribal Council would. They represent a citizenry that is far flung and incredibly diverse, ranging from those who live just off boundary and have deep familiarity with the Cherokee Nation, to those in California, Oregon, or Washington who have less opportunity to interact with the homeland. The pivotal role for these new representatives is to build and strengthen the bridges of civic and cultural participation between the At Large citizens and their compatriots at home in Oklahoma. I want to establish a standard of representation that is innovative and exceptional.
In my years as the project director of the Cherokee Nation History Course, I have had the opportunity to spend many hours with thousands of Cherokees across the United States. I have also spent many hours with almost every employee of the Cherokee Nation, as well as many Cherokees in the communities of northeastern Oklahoma. I know and am known to many Cherokees both within and outside the boundary. I am uniquely positioned to help develop the opportunities for mutual exchanges of culture and expertise, and to help bring At Large Cherokees into their fullest role as part of the great Cherokee family.
- What is the greatest priority in your district and how will you address it as a legislator?
For almost a decade, I have conducted academic research on the At Large population. Although there are many common beliefs about the At Large people are and what they desire, I believe I am the only person to have ever investigated these questions in a systematic fashion. Through my many years of interviewing, observing and participating in regional Cherokee organizations, I have compiled real information about the interests of our citizens outside the boundary. Contrary to the typical beliefs about this citizenry, their primary desires are not about benefits and services.
Like all citizens, At Large Cherokees are interested in the well-being of their Nation and the Cherokee communities in Oklahoma. They are willing to contribute in any way they can. But relatively few have the expectation to permanently return to Oklahoma themselves, and so they are not directly impacted by initiatives concerning economic development, health care, or jobs that are of greater concern to those within the boundaries.
The greatest desire on the part of At Large citizens is for acknowledgment and re-incorporation into the Cherokee Nation -- culturally, spiritually, and politically. With hard work and institutional support from the Nation, this is very do-able. For several generations, At Large Cherokee families have made extraordinary efforts to retain their connections. The most recent administration, under Chad Smith’s leadership, has begun to assist these efforts. As part of that, I have helped to establish ten Cherokee community organizations throughout California and in New Mexico. These groups will act as “embassies” offering support for language and cultural retention and the sharing of information with At Large citizens. I am committed to the building of extensive networks of Cherokees throughout the country.
- Cherokee Nation-owned businesses return 25 percent of profits to the Cherokee Nation as a dividend. Is that amount appropriate or should it be changed and why?
At this time, I believe the 25 percent return is appropriate. The majority of the profits are directed to the expansion of business enterprises, and that leads to increasing numbers of jobs for Cherokee citizens, an increase of revenue to the entire region, which leads to better social and educational institutions, better infrastructure, and a better quality of life for everyone. We should continue to make the long-term solutions our priority, rather than reacting to the quick (but temporary) fixes.
While there are certainly immediate needs that our citizens have -- and those that cannot help themselves should certainly be able to turn to the Cherokee Nation for help -- the ultimate goal and cultural heritage for our people and Nation has always been for self-reliance and mutual community assistance. When the Cherokee Nation first began issuing membership cards in the late 1960s and 1970s, many Cherokee elders refused to apply because their perception was that having a blue card meant that one was “needy.” These were some of the economically poorest people, but they were still very rich in pride and self-reliant spirit. A young man I interviewed in Pomona, CA stated that his Chero