What Does Success for The Chickamauga Nation Look Like in 10 years?
A person on the inside and a person on the outside will measure success differently. Will some in each group measure it incrementally and others by leaps and bounds? Sure, but what does success look like for the Citizens of The Chickamauga Nation?
Historically, a Native American Tribe calls success being on the List of Serviced Tribes. Being on the List does very little for a Tribe's individuals other than giving them access to basic, primary healthcare (sometimes good, sometimes bad) and the ability to apply for grants that the Tribe may or may not get, which leaves them at the mercy and whims of the "Great White Father."
What if we flip the script and redefine success? What if there is a better way to provide for the overall development of our Tribe? What if there were a way to tell the Federal government and the Great White Father to butt out of our business and we will take care of ourselves, much like our Grandfathers and Grandmothers? What if we measure success by how much we do not need the Great White Father?
That type of success would be measured differently! It puts the importance of the Tribe back on the Tribe, where we determine our own destiny. Can we flip the script of success? YES!
First, we must measure success by returning to our Culture. Our culture is a dynamic one of family, relationships with each other, and the earth, which provides for each of us. Our culture promotes communal relationships and individual accomplishments. Our culture honors the elders and children. Our culture takes pride in its past but is firmly preparing for seven generations into the future.
Second, we must measure success by securing the necessities of life for each of our Citizens. It is not just about the basics but about ensuring our citizens thrive in their families and their communities thrive as well. We must measure housing, food security, and healthcare for all our people and the communities in which they live. We must measure for success, but that success means we provide our elders and children with access to a safe and secure place to live, plenty of heirloom, organic food to eat, and healthcare and medicine. This is not an inexpensive endeavor, but we must commit to accomplishing it.
Third, we must measure success by creating a K–12 education system for our children and access to higher education for adults. We already have access to full use rights for CastMaster Education, a digital, online educational curriculum designed to create exceptional students with exceptional thinking skills that prepares them for the future as leaders in their lives, Tribe, and communities. This is not an inexpensive endeavor, but we must commit to accomplishing it.
Fourth, we must measure success by creating economic development opportunities for each of our Citizens. We have set a goal of establishing 250 brand-new businesses for the Tribe and Tribal Citizens over the next ten years, but that is not enough. We must also create business opportunities where our people can own businesses, work for the Tribe, work for companies owned by the Tribe, or work in jobs created by Tribal Citizens who own businesses. This is a measure of success of which few Tribes can boast. This is not an inexpensive endeavor, but we must commit to accomplishing it.
Fifth, we must measure success by creating a worldwide network of business opportunities and economic development where our Tribe and our Citizens find economic success and make the previous measures of success attainable. Our Nation has begun this process in the last few weeks and will continue to expand the economic development of our Nation and our Citizens. This is a learning curve for all of us. Our National Chiefs are committed to accomplishing the above goals and measurements for the Tribe and our people.
For many of our Citizens, this is the measurement they may fear. It requires changing how we did things in the past and reaching out to those we may disagree with. The Chickamauga Nation has a long history of forming alliances and partnerships in government-to-government, government-to-business, and business-to-Citizen relationships with entities that share its commitment to the security and economic well-being of The Chickamauga Nation and its Citizens.
Historically, we partnered with England when they were at war with the Colonies. We partnered with Spain when it offered us protection and land when they were undermining the United States. We partnered with Mexico when it offered us protection and land. We partnered with the Republic of Texas when it provided protection and land. We joined the Iroquois, Western, and United Indian Nations Confederacies to battle the United States to have land and protection.
We will measure success differently because we are Chickamauga, we lead, we do not follow.
To STAND, we must Flip the Script. We must create a worldwide network of economic development opportunities for our Tribe. We cannot cower in trepidation; we must STAND, and when we have done everything to STAND, we must STAND firm in securing our culture, our basics for life, the education of our people, and economic development.
(C) This document was produced at the request of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on July 18, 2019, to document the History, Anthropology, Culture, Religion, and Archaeology of The Chickamauga Nation.