Like many hyphenated Americans, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a Native American, is used to having a foot in two worlds. But as both a member of Congress and the Chickasaw Nation, he is personally and professionally charged with upholding U.S. and tribal laws.
“As I have explained to my colleagues in Congress, if they swore to uphold the Constitution, then they have to accept Indian sovereignty under Article 1, Section 8,” said Rep. Cole, who recently delivered the keynote address for the Library’s month-long celebration of Native American Heritage Month.
“The American system, with all its flaws, is more sophisticated than other countries’ as far as recognizing pre-existing rights of Native Americans,” said Cole, who noted that tribal sovereignty pre-dates the U.S. government.
But, according to Cole, that is not necessarily a good thing if acceptance of tribal sovereignty is used to keep Native Americans outside the mainstream and deny them citizenship, as has been done in the past.
“Of course, in fairness, I must say that Native Americans do want to maintain their separate identity,” observed Cole.
Cole, whose congressional district includes approximately 28,000 of the 42,000 members of the Chickasaw Nation, as well as members of other tribes, is keenly aware of the needs of his constituency. His friends and colleagues chide him good-naturedly about his election to Congress not being due to his being a Republican.
For his part, Cole is extremely proud of his Chickasaw heritage. “You either are or you aren’t [Chickasaw],” he said, referring to questions about how much or little Indian blood there is in his bloodline.
Cole gave the audience a brief history lesson that attests to the Chickasaw reputation as “ferocious warriors.”
“We beat the Spanish conqueror de Soto in 1540 in Tupelo, Miss. We defeated two French armies in 1736 and 1737, and we fought with the English during the American Revolution.”
Things did not go quite as well for the Chickasaw when they were “left alone with the Americans.” Under a policy of “forced removal,” the Chickasaw were relocated from Mississippi to Oklahoma.
“Historian Robert Remini, who has written about Andrew Jackson’s Indian wars, told me that I wouldn’t like his theory that the forced push further West may have saved the Chickasaw by giving them time to adapt,” said Cole, who admitted that there might be some truth to that.
“There was genius in their ability to adapt,” said Cole.
Cole enumerated several tribal members who have adapted by taking part in politics both inside and outside the tribal community.
“There’s so much at stake. If you’re a tribal member, your most important relationship is with the government.”
Cole’s great-aunt—a legend in the tribal community—was a guest of Theodore Roosevelt at the White House and slept in the Lincoln bedroom. His mother was the first Native-American woman in the Oklahoma state senate. He recently learned that Robert Tuttle, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, is a native Chickasaw.
“I shouldn’t be surprised since we were negotiating with England before there was an America,” Cole said.
On the subject of adapting to what he called “the collision between their world and European civilization,” Cole related a story told to him by his great-aunt. She spoke of a member of the Southern Cheyenne tribe who observed that, just as many colors are found in nature, so should the red man co-exist with the white, black and yellow man. In his mind, “the Great Spirit must have wanted it that way.”
“We must live together as Americans,” added Cole, who also believes strongly in “the preservation of a unique political identity that pre-exists the government.”
