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Cheriena Ben, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Tribal Council, Pearl River Representative speaks during the 2012 Native American Heritage Month luncheon at the Columbus Club on Nov. 29. Cheriena offered her perspective of this year’s Native American Heritage Month theme “Serving Our People, Serving Our Nations: Native Visions for Future Generations.”
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Local Native American concludes heritage month
Posted 12/7/2012 Updated 12/7/2012
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by Senior Airman Chase Hedrick
14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
12/7/2012 - COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Columbus Air Force Base concluded its 2012 Native American Heritage Month with a luncheon featuring a guest speaker from a Mississippi Native American tribe at the Columbus Club on Nov. 29.
Cheriena Ben, Pearl River Representative from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Tribal Indians Council, offered her perspective of this year's Native American Heritage Month theme "Serving Our People, Serving Our Nations: Native Visions for Future Generations."
"We were third class citizens; we didn't receive citizenship until after African Americans received citizenship..." she said. "But we had great leaders. We had leaders like Pushmataha."
Cheriena said that Pushmataha's efforts and work with the U.S. Government was a milestone that helped to bring about many of the opportunities Indian tribes have today. She said another major figure in her tribe's history was Phillip Martin, Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians who began his career in tribal leadership in 1957 after 10 years in the U.S. Air Force. Martin was first elected tribal chief in 1979.
"The 70's came around and still our people were picking cotton...." she said. "But then Chief said 'well our people need high-tech jobs.' He didn't have a computer then, he did a lot of writing on his own and he sent letters to some of the biggest companies in the U.S."
Cheriena said that Martin's letters brought jobs in manufacturing across Mississippi, bringing the tribe to become the 10th largest employer in the state.
"It was never about us looking out just for the Choctaw people, we were looking out for the state of Mississippi," said Cheriena.
"I believe in the U.S. government. I believe we have a president who cares and I can say about my community that we are starting to see familiar faces in the bureaus," she said. "I can sit with somebody who is Native American, who grew up on a Indian reservation, who knows how bad it can be but how much good can come out of it." |
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