What A Day - The Future Of Tribes with Cherokee Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's Wednesday, August 16th. I'm Juanita Tolliver. And I am Priyanka Arabindi, and this is What A Day, where we are flying to Belgium for a college course on the literary merits of Taylor Swift. We're going to Ghent University, and the tuition's only $1,200 USD. Like, that's feasible. If we learned anything from the Eros tour, it doesn't matter if you get into the class. The flights and the hotels, cancelable. So do that first. This sounds like some personal experience, Priyanka. That's a good thing to know. On today's show, we talk with Chief Chuck Hoskin of the Cherokee Nation about what he hopes for his new term.

Starting point is 00:00:36 The Cherokee Nation not only is alive and well, but we are, I think, one of the greatest forces for good in the part of the world that we occupy. Plus, Keke Palmer and Usher released a new song seemingly aimed at her ex. Sorry to this man, but actually not really. He did it to himself. Yeah, hate to say it. Hope I don't sound ridiculous. I don't know who that man is. But first, let's recap the big news of the week. Donald Trump, another man who I wish I didn't know, was indicted for a fourth time. The criminal charges were issued on Monday in Fulton County, Georgia, where Atlanta is. He is accused of racketeering and other felonies, all with the intent to overturn the state's 2020 election results where he lost. A couple details to add on to what we told you yesterday.

Starting point is 00:01:27 Trump now faces a total of 91 criminal counts across four separate cases. That is a lot if you were keeping track at home. A lot to count. Like, I'm like, come on. And isn't it also in four different states? Because he's got a lot of road to cover. He's got a lot going on. This case in Georgia might have the most serious punishment, actually, because it's in a state

Starting point is 00:01:51 court, not federal court. That is because if he becomes president again, he cannot pardon himself if he is convicted. Presidents can only pardon federal crimes. A Republican governor in Georgia can't pardon Trump either. A five-person board does it in that state, and they can only do that five years after the convicted has served their sentence. So really no worming your way out of this one. The maximum sentence for racketeering, 20 years, which Juanita, you pointed out, we shouldn't be rooting for people to go to prison. I don't often do it, but in this case, I'm like, do it. Do not pass go.

Starting point is 00:02:27 Yeah, it's a rare exception. However, one of Trump's 18 co-defendants, Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, filed to try and get the case moved to federal court. That and the trial date are still being worked out. So as we wait to bring you updates, you can get more takes and analysis from Pod Save America on a bonus episode that dropped Monday night. Get it wherever you get your podcasts. Now let's take a little

Starting point is 00:02:50 trip on over to Texas, where even after the state banned abortion and cut off health care funding, state leaders continue their anti-abortion crusade against Planned Parenthood. There was a hearing yesterday in the state's federal lawsuit against the organization seeking more than $1.8 billion in reimbursement, penalties, and fees. It's pretty sickening, but in spite of all of this, the clinic's doors are still open. Considering that Planned Parenthood provides birth control, mammograms, cancer screenings, and other forms of preventative care,

Starting point is 00:03:25 I'm just grateful that they're still there. And if Texas does have its way, how are folks going to get this access to care? It's almost like doing the most harm possible has always been the goal. Yeah, absolutely. So what exactly is the basis of the state's claim here? Well, recently impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit last year claiming that Planned Parenthood lost the right to receive Medicaid reimbursement in February 2017. That's when the state filed to remove Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider, even though a federal district court blocked the state's notice of termination. As the state and Planned Parenthood fought this out in court for three years, Planned Parenthood continued to see patients and bill Medicaid for reimbursements, and the billings totaled to about $10 million. But in 2021, Texas ultimately won its push to get Planned Parenthood kicked out of the Medicaid program.

Starting point is 00:04:17 Since Paxton has promised to effectively end Planned Parenthood's operations in Texas since 2015, this is his attempt to follow through on a campaign promise, of course, to the detriment of the patients who receive care through the Texas Planned Parenthood. Honestly, it's all very nasty work. Yeah, what a hateful man and hateful party. So what is the outlook for this lawsuit? It's pretty bleak,

Starting point is 00:04:42 especially since known anti-abortion advocate Judge Matthew Kazmarek is overseeing this lawsuit. It's pretty bleak, especially since known anti-abortion advocate Judge Matthew Kazmarek is overseeing this case. Yep, that's the same dude who halted federal approval of Mifepristone back in April. Yeah, his name is familiar for all of the wrong reasons. Right, and it's giving big yikes. And while the hearing happened yesterday, no witnesses were called and the proceedings were not broadcast. There's no telling how or when Judge Kaczmarek will rule, but I've got a hunch. Throughout this legal process, Planned Parenthood has maintained that this lawsuit is meritless. And in a statement, they noted that they are preparing for a variety of scenarios, but it's not looking good. Tough news. Thank you for that update, Juanita. Moving on now, this week, the Cherokee Nation swore in its leader, Chief Chuck Hoskin. Monday was the first

Starting point is 00:05:33 day of his second term leading the most populous tribe in the country. He was first elected to the role back in 2019. And just this June, he was reelected for another four-year term. I mean, that's really exciting. And he clearly must be doing some great things he was reelected for another four-year term. I mean, that's really exciting. And he clearly must be doing some great things to be reelected for another four-year term. So what did he accomplish in those first four years? Yeah, so during his tenure, the tribal budget more than tripled with the help of federal funding. And the Cherokee Nation also reached its own $75 million settlement with opioid distributors. Also during his time in office,

Starting point is 00:06:05 the Supreme Court ruled that a large part of Oklahoma remained under tribal jurisdiction, not the states, when it came to pursuing certain crimes. The Cherokee Nation also saw progress in the effort to seat a tribal delegate in Congress, a promise that was made nearly two centuries ago. We will get more into that later. A lot of exciting things to look

Starting point is 00:06:26 forward to. Yeah. So progress with funding, progress with retaining land in Oklahoma and progress with representation. That is huge. Right. I'm also thinking about how just this year we saw the high court uphold key parts of the Indian Child Welfare Act or ICWA, a major win for the rights of Native Americans. But do you know what Chief Hoskin has in store for his next term? Yeah, I was actually able to chat with him earlier about his priorities and plans for the Cherokee Nation going into his second term. There are some really exciting things in the works. I started by asking him about that nearly 200-year-old promise that I mentioned earlier to seat a tribal delegate in

Starting point is 00:07:05 Congress, specifically where it stands and who he nominated to the position back in 2019. Well, our nominee to that seat is Kim Teehee, somebody who's really perfect for the position, just in terms of giving the legal context, going back to that period of our forced removal in the 1830s when Andrew Jackson is trying to solve this Cherokee problem by pushing us across the map as brutally as he could. That was Indian removal, what many Americans know today as the Trail of Tears. That was based upon a treaty, which itself is infamous, which is the Treaty of Nuachota. That treaty contains a very powerful sentence, and it says that the Cherokee Nation shall be entitled to a delegate in the United States House of Representatives when Congress shall make provision for the same.

Starting point is 00:07:51 And we recognize it certainly as a law that is still in effect. We hadn't actually asserted that right until 2019 when I appointed Kim Teehee, and we've gone to Congress ever since then asking them to make good on the promise. Where we are is the Congress for the first time in the House of Representatives in November of 2022 held a hearing. Now, there's a lot of hearings that happen in Congress every day. Here's why this is significant. We made the Congress re-examine our removal treaty for the first time really since Congress and through the Senate ratified the treaty. In other words, the United States was fine to use this treaty to move us across the map and to dispossess our people of their possessions and of their rights just about any cost. More difficult has been getting the Congress to re-examine the legal obligations that still remain. And so that,

Starting point is 00:08:41 in and of itself, I think was a victory. But we've got to build on that, getting the House of Representatives to take the action of seating Kim Teehee. That's something we've not achieved yet, but we're still working on. Right. So moving forward, what are your main priorities for this next term in office? Well, we've got to finish some of the efforts that we've undertaken. So in the Cherokee Nation, what I love about being chief of the Cherokee Nation is that we can undertake some public policy priorities that I think most Americans, frankly, favor. Let's take health care, for example. No cost health care for our citizens is a priority. And so we put resources into that. We're in the midst of building a $400 million hospital. We're in the

Starting point is 00:09:20 midst of taking money we exacted from the drug industry, from the opioid industry, and putting that into new drug treatment centers. We're building wellness centers. We're doing all of this to create the infrastructure for wellness in the Cherokee Nation. We've got to continue some of those projects and finish those. We also are in the midst of revitalizing Cherokee language and culture. We're down to about 2,000 fluent speakers, but we've got a generation of young people coming up that are learning the language because we're putting dollars into investing in programs to serve them and help them become teachers, translators, fluent speakers, make a living using our language, and then fighting to protect sovereignty every single day. I mean,

Starting point is 00:10:03 in the state of Oklahoma, we're up against some leadership in this state through the governor's office that attacks tribal sovereignty, but we've also got a great many friends. And so trying to navigate all of that in a way that preserves sovereignty is something that's going to take a lot of time in this term. Definitely. Some very exciting things on the horizon, it seems. In your inauguration speech, you discussed building towards a, quote, Great Cherokee Century. So I'm curious, what does that look like to you? What is your vision for the future of the Cherokee Nation? Well, a Great Cherokee Century is one in which we are achieving a lot of these goals that

Starting point is 00:10:38 we share as Cherokee people, protecting sovereignty, making sure the United States lives up to not only the promise with respect to the delegate to Congress, but every promise that the United States has made in these treaties, making sure that we're respected by the state of Oklahoma, making sure that we're investing in our people in a way that lifts everybody up. So that means making sure we're investing in the baseline of things so people can succeed. And that surely means health care, making sure people don't have to worry about health care and that we build towards this model of wellness for the Cherokee people. Earlier this month, President Biden designated a new national monument near the Grand Canyon, a move that conserves lands that are sacred to indigenous peoples and was also

Starting point is 00:11:20 part of a larger effort to combat climate change. I know this wasn't on Cherokee land, but I'd love to know what you think about efforts like these from the federal government and what you'd like to see moving forward. Well, I absolutely applaud it. I mean, it shows respect for Indian country when you have an administration not only led by the president, but led by Dev Holland, the Secretary of the Interior, that is sensitive to the tribe's priorities. And certainly this particular designation was important to multiple tribes in terms of their ancestral lands. I think it's wonderful. I think we need more of it. I think we saw during the previous administration actually the contraction of public lands. And I think we saw some sacrifices in terms of not protecting

Starting point is 00:12:03 lands that were important to Native peoples. I mean, thinking of the Bears Ears Monument, for example, that was restored under the Biden administration. We've got to be moving towards the expansion of protecting tribal lands, not moving the opposite direction. So I think this is a positive, and it doesn't matter where in the country it happens. I think the Cherokee Nation ought to be behind it, and we are behind it. That was my conversation with the Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chuck Hoskin. And that is the latest for now. Let's get to some headlines.

Starting point is 00:12:42 President Biden said on Tuesday that he plans to visit Mauui to survey the damage caused by the deadly wildfires that have claimed 99 lives as of our recording time at 9 30 p.m eastern take a listen my wife jill and i are going to travel to hawaii as soon as we can that's what i've been talking to the governor about i don't want to get in the way i've been to too many disaster areas but i want to go make sure we got everything they need. This is the first time the president has publicly addressed the tragedy since declaring a federal emergency last week. And the response to his travel announcement was mixed, to say the

Starting point is 00:13:16 least. Many Republicans have used Biden's silence on the matter over the past few days to paint him as incompetent, accusing him of not doing enough to support those in need. Very rich coming from that group of people. But White House officials have pushed back, pointing to the FEMA workers on the ground providing aid to survivors right now as a testament to Biden's commitment. Meanwhile, locals seem more concerned

Starting point is 00:13:41 with their communities and their land as they rebuild. Many residents say that they've been contacted by people taking advantage of the disaster and posing as real estate agents, asking if they are interested in selling their damaged property for development, which is disgusting. Governor Josh Green told reporters on Monday that he and the state's attorney general were looking into how they can institute a moratorium on any sales of damaged land in Maui during this time. It has barely been a week and the vultures have already swooped in. It is disgusting, really disgusting. Read the room first and foremost, but also why are you trying to scam victims? Like these are

Starting point is 00:14:22 people who lost everything and people who they love. Like, come on. Yeah, stick to the robocalls. Stick to the Nigerian Prince emails. Like, why are you doing this? Starting this week, student loans for over 800,000 people will be canceled. These are people who have made the required 20 to 25 years of payments on income-driven repayment plans. Education Undersecretary James Quall called it unacceptable that there were people who qualified for loan forgiveness who had yet to

Starting point is 00:14:50 receive it. The debt cancellation plan could only begin because on Monday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by two conservative groups trying to block it. The Cato Institute and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy argued earlier this month that the federal government acted outside of its powers when it announced the $39 billion forgiveness plan. But District Judge Thomas Ludington ruled that the groups locked standing and dismissed the case, allowing the loan forgiveness to begin. To be one of those 800,000 people to wake up to a zero balance must be glorious. Shout out to the Biden administration for making that happen. 100%. Hearings over Alabama's new congressional map kicked off in federal court on Monday, where Republican state officials defended their decision to not create a second majority black voting district, even after the Supreme Court explicitly

Starting point is 00:15:41 ordered them to. To refresh your memory, Alabama voters took the state to federal court back in 2022, arguing that its congressional map diluted the power of Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The issue went all the way up to the Supreme Court, where justices sided with the voters in July. Alabama officials were ordered to redo their maps to ensure that Black voters were fairly represented, but they didn't listen. Instead, they created two new districts, one of which was fewer than 40% black. State Republicans have shown no willingness to comply and have even floated the possibility of appealing the case up to the Supreme Court again

Starting point is 00:16:20 in hopes of flipping a justice in their favor. Just bizarre behavior. This week's hearings will tell us whether this legal battle will wrap up quickly or drag on for the years to come. And whatever happens to Alabama's map could help determine which party wins the U.S. House next year.

Starting point is 00:16:38 I mean, very real consequences. They are suppressing the votes of people in their state. And if they're like expecting a different outcome in the Supreme Court, I really have to guess and assume that Alabama has a billionaire in their back pocket who can whisk away one of these justices to get them to change their mind. Like, that's my hypothesis. Dangling the private chat. Activists campaigning against the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, otherwise known as Cop City, say they have the signatures needed to get the issue on the November ballot. Cop City is the controversial $90 million training center for law enforcement and fire department service workers that the city plans to build in

Starting point is 00:17:15 a lower income, predominantly black neighborhood. Protesters of the project are concerned that the construction of Cop City will contribute to the existing system of harmful policing and oppression in addition to the destruction of green space for local residents organizers have until next monday to submit the signatures they've collected and hope to gather thousands more before then in case any are challenged that's a very smart move and it just feels really counterintuitive for them to welcome Cop City in a predominantly black neighborhood where cops will be trained and ultimately probably harm that same community. So I'm with the protesters on this. Absolutely. Michael Ower, the real life subject of the book and movie The Blind Side, claimed that much of the film adaptation was based on a lie created by his

Starting point is 00:18:06 supposed adoptive parents. For those who might not remember, the film follows Ower as he is adopted out of poverty by the Toohey's, a wealthy white family, and takes his football career to the NFL. But earlier this week, Ower filed a 14-page petition that says that the Toohey's never actually adopted him, and the couple tricked him into making them his conservators when he was 18 years old. Ower said that he didn't make any money from the movie based on his life, which earned more than $300 million. But he alleges that the Toohey's and their two children were paid $225,000 plus 2.5% of the film's defined net proceeds. Ower's petition asked the court to end the Toohey's conservatorship, force them to pay him his fair share of the profits, and prevent them from using his name and likeness.

Starting point is 00:18:58 All of that seems fair. It seems like he should get even more than that. They've held him in a conservatorship for how long? In response to the petition, the Toohey's claim that they made less than $15,000 from the movie and that they were, quote, insulted by the allegations, which is so far beside the point that like, I, what?

Starting point is 00:19:16 Yeah, I'm like somebody unearthed these contracts from all these years ago, but also growing up in Memphis, I remember when this movie came out and I immediately gave it a side i like uh no i'm weary of any white family picking up a black teenager in the dead of night like i don't want to see it i don't support it so i always had a feeling and this is kind of justifying that gut feeling big white savior film not good at the time not good now

Starting point is 00:19:42 and those are the headlines. We'll be back after some ads with a developing story about a couple fighting and the singer Usher has taken a side. It's Wednesday, WOD Squad. And for today's temp check, fighting it out in the comments is tired. Fighting it out by dropping tracks, though. Hmm. Somebody say that your boyfriend's

Starting point is 00:20:06 looking for me. It's a bop. Alrighty, just from the five seconds. That is a teaser from the new single called Boyfriend by actress,

Starting point is 00:20:19 singer, mother, Keke Palmer, and Usher. We're recording this at 9.30 Eastern Tuesday night, and it's going to be fully released at 10 a.m. Eastern Wednesday morning, so we haven't heard it in full yet. But

Starting point is 00:20:31 Priyanka, just that teaser is already breaking my brain. Yes, so there is a backstory to this track. It is not just catchy. We need to catch all of you up on it. So Juanita, please do the honors here. Fill everybody in on what exactly is going on. All right, here's the tea. Kiki had a baby earlier this year with her then boyfriend, Darius Jackson. But July 4th weekend, she went to Usher's Vegas residency and Usher serenaded her. A video of it posted online. Darius was not there at the time and he was not happy, to say the least. No, he was not. But let's spell it out.

Starting point is 00:21:07 Why was that? You know, just a little bit of misogyny. He didn't like what she was wearing. She was wearing a dope sheer black dress with a bodysuit underneath. Darius tweeted that he, quote, doesn't want the wife and mother to his kids to showcase booty cheeks to please others. Let's be real. She was showcasing her own cakes for herself.

Starting point is 00:21:27 But alas, Kiki's fans rushed to her defense, and the two stopped following each other online and have seemingly broken up. Which leads us to this new single by, you know, not only Kiki, but Usher, whose concert she was at. And that lyric, let's run that back for the people somebody say that your boyfriend's looking for me so Juanita what do you have to say about that okay first and foremost I love mess if you didn't know me I love mess not in my own life but I love other people's messes we should know by now. Oh, yeah.

Starting point is 00:22:05 And also, I just want to know who Kiki has working for her because they mobilized since July 4th. When all this went down, they mobilized, recorded with Usher, laid the tracks, have a full release coming out today. Like, I am sick about the business mind of this woman. She says, I don't care. I don't care if my ex tried to embarrass me. I'm taking the ultimate moment right now and i love her for it priyanka what do you think yeah she dropped her nameless faceless ex which is fine you can date like a man who is not known whatever he shouldn't

Starting point is 00:22:38 be like fucking embarrassing you on the internet that's absolutely not okay that part and like shaming you for what you're wearing. No, absolutely no. But she dropped him, not only dropped him, whatever, has a whole breakup, goes to the studio and does this with,

Starting point is 00:22:53 of all people, Usher, the man whose concert she was at. It is the clap back to end everything. It says everything you need to know.

Starting point is 00:23:00 It's amazing. I love it. I love it already and I've only heard five seconds. Hooks. Just like that that we have checked our temps they are as hot as this drama and we wish every fight from now on results in a new single by usher trump versus desantis single by usher yes me and you we don't have beef we don't have beef but you know who does el Elon Musk and Facebook Mark. You know, like those two, I would love another Usher track.

Starting point is 00:23:27 Facebook Mark. Yeah, yeah. Which one gets to be on the Usher track though? I feel like it's Mark. I feel like neither, but okay. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, let Usher fight all your exes, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just a zero on your student loan balance like me,

Starting point is 00:24:02 What A Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Cricut.com slash subscribe. I'm Juanita Tolliver. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. And get your degree in Taylor Swift. Priyanka, I feel like you could teach this class. I do have a beginner's mind. I believe I have something to learn from not everybody,

Starting point is 00:24:21 but most people. I would love to audit. I don't know if I'm flying all the way, but I'd love to audit one of these classes. Hopefully there's a remote learning option where it's available online. Yes, please. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance.

Starting point is 00:24:42 Our show's producer is Itzy Quintanilla. Raven Yamamoto and Natalie Bettendorf are our associate producers. Our intern is Ryan Cochran. And our senior producer is Lita Martinez. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.

What A Day - The Future Of Tribes with Cherokee Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr

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