Janice Boswell: Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes face a brighter future

Monday, January 3, 2011  

Janice Prairie Chief Boswell is the governor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.

A number of developments over the past few months will bolster opportunity and quality of life for tribal members as we look ahead to 2011 and beyond.

Most recently, I had the honor of representing the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 16 at the second White House Tribal Nations Conference. Along with more than 560 leaders of other tribes across the country, I heard President Obama address vital issues and visit with key officials from the Department of the Interior regarding tribal sovereignty and other issues of paramount importance to our people. At the conference, I was able to hand deliver a letter to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Larry Echo Hawk, asking the United States government to help our Tribes get Fort Reno returned to us.

Communication is vital in every aspect of our lives, and it is certainly critical to ensure the cultural vibrancy of our people. That, in large part, is why I am so excited that the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes are proceeding with efforts to establish what will be the first tribal educational television station in Oklahoma.

Thanks to a grant administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the TV station will help provide education and training, preserve the history of our people and strengthen job creation.

But the ramifications of a tribal TV station, which is expected to be operational by late 2011 or early 2012, go further. In a modern-day environment dominated by mass media, it is essential that tribal members move with the times. And that means having the tools of mass media at their disposal.

We are also working to keep tribal members on the move – literally. Thanks to federal stimulus dollars, tribal members and nontribal citizens of Western Oklahoma will now benefit from the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribal Transit. Better known as CATT, this system of four buses is helping our elders and others get where they need to go for a small fee.

There are four dedicated routes: the Red Route (Geary, Coleman, Clinton and El Reno), Yellow Route (El Reno, Concho and Oklahoma City), Green Route (Watonga, Canton and Seiling) and Blue Route (Weatherford, Clinton, Hammon and Elk City). For more information on CATT, call (405) 262-0345, ext. 27468.

On the heels of celebrating the special season of peace and joy, I offer you my sincerest hope for a wonderful and prosperous 2011. God bless us all.