TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner joined tribal leaders recently to honor four Cherokee citizens who helped with the initial archival research leading to a historic $80 million trust settlement with the U.S. government.
“It is fitting that we honor the four people who worked in anonymity, doing hard work that many people didn’t understand at the time. Their work built the foundation upon which we built this powerful case,” Chief Hoskin said. “Their work has helped knock down the injustices of the United States that had been visited upon the Cherokee Nation for far too long.”
Chief Hoskin, Deputy Chief Warner and tribal leaders honored Kirsti Holland, Joe Price, Dustin Geasland and Logan Lewis during a February 13 luncheon and presented them with awards commemorating their efforts on the case.
The settlement resolves a 2016 lawsuit alleging that the United States mismanaged the tribe’s trust resources dating back to the 19th century when federal policy suppressed Cherokee Nation’s ability to self-govern.
Using the settlement funds, Cherokee Nation plans to build a justice center in Tahlequah that will house the tribe’s Supreme Court, district court, and attorney general’s office, as well as a future district courthouse elsewhere within the tribe’s 7,000 square-mile reservation.
The Council unanimously approved the proposal on February 10 and Chief Hoskin signed the measure into law as part of the February 13 event honoring the four archival researchers.
“Our legal action against the United States called upon the brilliant minds of our legal team and the leadership across former Principal Chief Bill John Baker’s administration, the Hoskin-Warner administration, and the Council of the Cherokee Nation. Attorneys General Todd Hembree, Sara Hill and Chad Harsha carefully built a case of historic proportions, supported by a team of lawyers, staff and researchers,” Deputy Chief Warner said. “Kirsti Holland, Joe Price, Logan Lewis and Dustin Geasland were integral to the work and success of this effort, and we appreciate them.”
The settlement is the largest single one-time settlement in the tribe’s history. Cherokee Nation maintains the federal government failed to provide a proper accounting of the Cherokee Trust Fund, which included land sale proceeds, coal leases, oil and gas development, property owned by the tribe, and many of its other assets.
Geasland, Price, Lewis and Holland performed the archival research during the period of 2016 to 2018, combing through and digitally scanning volumes of records held by various governments and institutions, including the National Archives and Records Administration.
In addition to conducting research in support of the historic settlement, records reviewed by the four researchers will be maintained digitally by Cherokee Nation. The tribe is developing plans to make those records accessible for future research.