Contractor Responds to Complaint with Flawed Logic

While Cherokee Nation citizens wait with bated breath to see if the Cherokee Nation Attorney General makes a prompt decision in the matter concerning the complaint about the breach of confidential information, the alleged perpetrator is trying to "win" his case in the court of public opinion.

He claims he did not obtain the CDIB information from registration records, but instead figured it out due to his vast knowledge of Cherokee families. To an inexperienced Cherokee researcher, that might sound logical. To anyone who understands the complexity of Cherokee genealogy, the uncertainty of many variables and the fact one must have a starting point, the claim is ludicrous. 

In order to try to guess a blood quantum recorded on a CDIB, 

• one would have to know the Dawes ancestor/s a person descends through. If you don't know the Cherokee family a person descends from, it is impossible to correctly state, beyond a doubt, the number recorded on a person's CDIB, no matter how much knowledge you have on Cherokee families. Period.
• if one knows the Dawes ancestor/s a person descends through, they would also have to know the number of generations between the living person and the Dawes ancestor. Without knowing that, it is impossible to correctly state, beyond a doubt, the blood quantum listed on the living person's CDIB.

The candidate did not share the names of his ancestors for a reason. He descends from a well known, respected and beloved Cherokee family. When the candidate decided to run for office, his father insisted that if he were going to run for office, he, the candidate, should do it on his own merit and not try to ride the coattails of his ancestors. The candidate also felt that was important, so he never shared the names of his ancestors. 

The contractor correctly and confidently stated the number recorded on the candidate's CDIB. The contractor appeared to have no doubt in what he was sharing. How was he so sure when the candidate had never shared the names of his ancestors? 

There is one other variable that is specific to this situation that should be considered.

The candidate's blood quantum amount listed on his CDIB is not correct, based on the siblings of his Dawes ancestor. The full siblings (same parents) living at that time are all listed as 1/2 Indian blood, while the candidate's ancestor is listed as 1/8. If one would have guessed at a BQ based on knowledge of old Cherokee families, they would have likely guessed a higher blood quantum, not the lower and exact amount listed on the CDIB.

Once again, the contractor seemed to have no doubt in his purported calculation of the candidate's blood quantum. Why was he certain he knew what that CDIB card said? There is only one way he could have known for certain.

Does any of this matter? Maybe not. It's likely the contract signed has specific provisions that state the contractor would not disclose to any third party any confidential information, no matter where the information was obtained, as well as defining what information is considered confidential. If that is the case, the court of public opinion doesn't matter therefore explaining the flaws in the contractor's argument are unnecessary. Violating the conditions of a contract should have consequences and violating a person's right to privacy should have consequences. The big question is, will the Cherokee Nation Attorney General's office do anything about it?

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.

copyright 2015, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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Our Right to Privacy

Many of my readers are probably already aware that I, along with another Cherokee Nation citizen, Cheryl Brown, have filed a complaint with the Cherokee Nation Attorney General's office concerning a breach of confidential information and violation of the federal Privacy Act protecting that information. 

While Chief Baker's supporters are trying to spin the complaint into a political issue, it isn't. This complaint is about protecting the privacy of ALL Cherokee citizens. If an unauthorized release of information happens to one of us, it could happen to ANY of us. No matter where you fall in the political spectrum during this election cycle, I think we would all agree that our people are justified in expecting that our right to privacy is protected.

Ms. Brown and I have a history of speaking out when we see wrong doing. 

Cheryl Brown, left; me, in the center; speaking at the Oklahoma City press conference about Chief Baker's participation in the Inhofe pigeon shoot.

The complaint we filed is not about a candidate for council, but instead about a person in a position of trust violating that trust. 

Currently, this complaint only focuses on the contractor who is in question of violating the trust of the Cherokee people. Should this complaint, which has five strong pieces of documentation supporting it, be swept under the rug, it will then not only reflect on the current chief, Chief Baker, who gave this person access to confidential records by giving him a job, but it will also be a reflection on our Cherokee Nation Attorney General, bringing into question whether Cherokee citizens are able to get justice through that office.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.





Note - This is a suspected violation of the federal privacy act, therefore anyone can report it. Because this is a suspected violation of the privacy act, the agency involved, the Cherokee Nation Registration Department and/or Cherokee Nation, must follow certain procedures in reporting the suspected violation.

copyright 2015, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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