Leadership Lessons from the Cherokee Nation: Learn from All I Observe

APPLICATION OF LESSONS LEARNED

THE SPEECHES THAT make up the second part of this book reflect the progression of my learning during my tenure as principal chief, and they record some of the progress we made at the Cherokee Nation from 1999 to 2011. Most were state of the nation speeches required by the Cherokee Nation Constitution in which I report on the status of the Cherokee Nation for that year. I saw these speeches as an opportunity to share inspirational stories, to outline a course of action for the Cherokee Nation, and to remind people of the “designed purpose” that Redbird Smith spoke of 100 years ago. Change is not linear, and the velocity of change is not constant. During the first year of my administration, as we were trying to clean ...