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Harrassment Allegations Hound Clinton
Woman: 'He Wanted to Touch My Otisquaw' 
Former President Bill Clinton (l) shown here in this November 23, 1999, photo with Mary Cheetham (m) and unidentified Puerto Rican dressed up as an Indian.(NSM)
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By Jodi Raves All Night
Of The Linkin Journal Star
Special to Indian Country Tomorrow
Monday, April 1, 2002 VICKSBURG, Va. - For Mary Cheetham, it was the honor of a lifetime. A descendant of Pocahontas, she was delighted when the White House asked her to participate in a November 1999 ceremony commemorating the Powhatan woman who made peace between her savage tribe and their superior White conquerors. "I was flabbergasted and totally floored when I was called," she said. "I was so excited about the event that I stayed up all night and sewed a new buckskin outfit using patterns I found in a hobby magazine." But for then-President Bill Clinton, the occasion was just another chance to prey on the weaker sex and lure them into his fancy world of tobacco products, failed land deals and broken promises. That tight dress proved too hard for the Chief of the Union to resist and he, according to Cheetham, made sexual advances to her that she has never been able to forget. "I can't tell you how I felt when he said he wanted to touch my otisquaw," Cheetham recalled, referring to an Alongkian word for a woman's private parts. "I was like 'Hell Yeah,'" she continued. "I thought, you know, he only went after big girls, like Monica [Lewinsky], or white trash like Paula [Jones]." "But for him to go after a Native woman whose tribe doesn't even exist, I thought, 'Wow, this is progress," she said. "We've come a long way." 'I Never Had Relations With That Squaw'
Clinton, however, denies anything ever happened that fateful day during Native American Heritage Month. "I don't recall ever meeting this woman," he said in an interview in his Harlem, New York, office. When shown pictures of the event, though, Clinton was forced to admit he was mistaken. "When you said, woman I was thinking one. This picture clearly shows I met two women." "It just depends your definition of 'woman,'" he quickly added. Still reeling from the Lewinsky-Jones-Whitewater-Vince Foster-Travelgate-Hudson Dog Track-Marc Rich Pardon scandals, Clinton was nevertheless calm and collected as he described what he said occurred. He only wanted to share his own Native heritage with Cheetham, he said. "I just asked if she had some Cherokee in her," he said. "I thought she might." Unequal Treatment
Cheetham, as she describes it, has never been the same. Her life has changed since her encounter with Clinton, whom she still calls "my half-breed sweetheart." "It turns out I did have some Cherokee in me," she said, chuckling. But despite her attempts to publicize her experience and help show "what a great guy Clinton is," she was ignored by government prosecutors investigating the Clintons, Congressional committees investigating the Clintons, mainstream media publications investigating the Clintons, conservative columnists investigating the Clintons and tabloid journalists investigating the Clintons. "It was horrible," Cheetham recalled of the ordeal. "I could have gotten better coverage if I claimed I had something to do with [former Assistant Secretary] Kevin Gover and federal recognition." Upon news of that false allegation, members of Congress, The Boston Globe and the Department of Interior assigned teams to probe Cheetham's baseless claims. A report is expected next week. |
© 2001-2002 Indian Country Tomorrow
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