{"id":18626,"date":"2021-11-30T10:58:17","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T15:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=18626"},"modified":"2021-11-30T10:58:17","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T15:58:17","slug":"chuck-hoskin-giving-thanks-for-the-cherokee-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/11\/30\/chuck-hoskin-giving-thanks-for-the-cherokee-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Chuck Hoskin: Giving thanks for the Cherokee Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fb-video\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\/videos\/289143633223376\/\" data-width=\"auto\" data-show-text=\"false\"><blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\/videos\/289143633223376\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\/videos\/289143633223376\/\">Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.&#039;s holiday message<\/a><p>Giving thanks is a longstanding tradition for Cherokees, dating back to time immemorial. And this year, we have much to be thankful for. \ud83c\udf42\r\n\r\nWatch Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.&#039;s holiday message.<\/p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\">Cherokee Nation<\/a> on Tuesday, November 23, 2021<\/blockquote><\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Cherokee Nation: <a href=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\/videos\/289143633223376>Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.&#8217;s holiday message<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n <div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Thanksgiving<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Tuesday, November 30, 2021<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. <A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChuckHoskin_Jr\"><I aria-hidden=true class=\"fab fa-twitter\"><\/I><\/A><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Cherokee Nation<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source-links\"><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/www.cherokee.org\/\">cherokee.org<\/A><\/div>\r\n <p><\/p>\r\nForty-one years ago last week I was a kindergartener at Riverside School in Vinita, Oklahoma, celebrating Thanksgiving. \r\n <p><\/p>\r\nI could choose to make a \u201cpilgrim\u201d or an \u201cIndian\u201d costume, per my well-meaning teacher. I chose the Indian costume, which I made out of a paper sack. Then we ate and recited why we were thankful. My parents assured me later that day that I didn\u2019t need a costume to be Cherokee because I was a Cherokee every day. That was important for me to hear. All of it was my first real and enduring Thanksgiving memory.\r\n <p><\/p>\r\nI am thankful we are moving away from \u201cIndian costumes\u201d to celebrate aspects of American culture. I am also thankful that the joy I felt as a 5-year-old Cherokee giving \u201cthanks\u201d along with others in my community has only grown deeper and more meaningful over time.\r\n <p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"fb-video\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\/videos\/4987637281268691\/\" data-width=\"auto\" data-show-text=\"false\"><blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\/videos\/4987637281268691\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\/videos\/4987637281268691\/\">Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner&#039;s holiday message<\/a><p>Let\u2019s take some time this week to slow down and count our blessings. \ud83c\udf42\r\n\r\nWatch Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner&#039;s holiday message.<\/p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\">Cherokee Nation<\/a> on Tuesday, November 23, 2021<\/blockquote><\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Cherokee Nation: <a href=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheCherokeeNation\/videos\/4987637281268691>Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner&#8217;s holiday message<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe popular American Thanksgiving story is rife with inaccuracies and robs the participants of the depth of real, historical events. The story serves at times to glorify the so-called \u201cage of discovery\u201d and its consequences and undermines efforts at a deeper understanding of Indian Country.\r\n <p><\/p>\r\nI could devote an entire column and then some on the topic of the American Thanksgiving story and why well-meaning teachers giving a Cherokee child the option of dressing up like an \u201cIndian\u201d was maybe part of the problem. Those are important topics but not my topic for today.\r\n <p><\/p>\r\nMore impactful than that crude \u201cIndian costume\u201d I made was the act of me and my fellow classmates telling each other what we were thankful for and sharing a meal together as an act of solidarity. On my best Thanksgiving, I hope I am as joyful as I was then to discover that we have common blessings to count and the collective optimism that comes with it.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\" content_cards_card content_cards_domain_www-facebook-com\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"content_cards_image\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chiefhoskin\/photos\/1045439719331975\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/plugins\/content-cards\/skins\/default\/content-cards-placeholder.png\" alt=\"Facebook\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_title\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_title_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chiefhoskin\/photos\/1045439719331975\">\n\t\t\tFacebook\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_description\">\n\t\t<a class=\"content_cards_description_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chiefhoskin\/photos\/1045439719331975\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"content_cards_site_name\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.xx.fbcdn.net\/rsrc.php\/y1\/r\/ay1hV6OlegS.ico\" alt=\"www.facebook.com\" class=\"content_cards_favicon\"\/>\t\twww.facebook.com\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe country needs a dose of that kind of Thanksgiving right now. Thanksgiving can be a wonderful reminder that we have much more in common than we have division. It suggests to us that we are \u201cin this together\u201d to such a degree that we find collective reason to pause, count our blessings and break bread. \r\n <p><\/p>\r\nTaking that pause does not mean we should lose sight of what divides us, where we fall short, who our society injures or who it forgets. Rather, we can use Thanksgiving to renew our sense that we have a collective interest in addressing these issues. We can leave Thanksgiving Day thankful that, as free people, we at least have an opportunity to do so in the days ahead.\r\n <p><\/p>\r\nThere is also a great deal else for which I am thankful. My family is at the top of the list for more reasons than I can recite here. A life in politics and public service comes always at a personal toll on family. Yet, I could not be in a position to lead without them. This is particularly true of my wife January, our First Lady, who more than anyone has made me a far better Chief than I would otherwise have been.\r\n <p><\/p><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\n I thank my ancestors, whose collective decisions are the reason we still have a Cherokee Nation and why I have the good fortune to be its elected chief centuries later. Friends, family and colleagues \u2013 so many of whom work every day to make the world a better place for others first, themselves a distant second \u2013 make me a better leader and person each day.\r\n <p><\/p>\r\nI am thankful for the Cherokee people. They have given me an opportunity to serve as Chief for this brief period of time in our long existence. In return, each day I give them my level best. More importantly, each day they show me that their unending collective \u201cgoodness\u201d is what truly makes Cherokee Nation \u201cgreat.\u201d In the years ahead, we will need to tap into every ounce of this goodness if we are to survive, thrive and achieve our true greatness.\r\n <p><\/p>\r\nAnd, I am still thankful for that Thanksgiving celebration in kindergarten 41 years ago last week.\r\n<p><\/p><HR><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-md-3\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/23\/chuckhoskinavatar.jpg\" alt=\"Chuck Hoskin Jr\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" class=\"rounded-circle\" \/><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-md-9\"><EM><A href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChuckHoskin_Jr\">Chuck Hoskin Jr.<\/A> \r\nis the 18th elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, the largest Indian \r\ntribe in the United States. He is only the second elected Principal Chief of the \r\nCherokee Nation from Vinita, the first being Thomas Buffington, who served from \r\n1899-1903. Prior to being elected Principal Chief, Hoskin served as the tribe\u2019s \r\nSecretary of State. He also formerly served as a member of the Council of the \r\nCherokee Nation, representing District 11 for six years.<\/EM><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I thank my ancestors, whose collective decisions are the reason we still have a Cherokee Nation and why I have the good fortune to be its elected chief centuries later.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[77,76,127],"class_list":["post-18626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-cherokee","tag-chuck-hoskin","tag-oklahoma","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/30\/cherokeenation.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-4Qq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}