Judy Goforth Parker, PhD, RN

Aren’t kids fun at Christmas. This photo was taken years ago when my children were young. The look in their eyes says what Christmas is all about. Their love and trust was so expressed as we snapped this picture. I am wishing you a very very Merry Christmas. May God bless you this season as you prepare to share with your family and friends. Remember this.  Jesus is the reason for the season. The little blond nephew is now working in Texas. The little girl in the picture is in medical school, and the baby in the middle is a Sophomore in college here in Oklahoma. They do grow up don’t they?

I recently attended the National Gathering on Indigenous Peacemaking hosted by the University of North Dakota, Fox Valley Technical College, NARF and the Chickasaw Nation.  The gathering provided information for peacemakers  as well as information for those interested in peacemaking. Indigenous peacemakers and attendees from across the United States learned what peacemaking is through a variety of seminars and panel presentations.  Upon arriving at the conference, I slipped into a room where a session was being conducted by a group of peacemakers from the Navajo Nation. They discussed what peacemaking is, and how they use this tool to reach the citizens of their Nation. They shared with us what being a peacemaker can be like. Peacemakers find themselves in the battles of a divorce, spousal abuse, and child custody disputes to name a few examples. One Navajo peacemaker reported that it was not unusual for her to stay with a peacemaking session for hours and late into the night in attempts at resolving a dispute peacefully.

Justice Barbara Smith of the Chickasaw Nation and Jason Burwell presented information about how the Chickasaw Nation Peacemaking program is run. Several of our Chickasaw Peacemakers were present for the seminar as well as Chief Justice Sherry Bellefeuille-Gordan and Justice Mark Colbert.

One of the peacemakers from the Mississippi Choctaw tribe discussed a problem that had risen between two young Choctaw girls who were best friends. The misunderstanding they had grew to the point that there were threats of violence. After completing the peacemaking sessions, the friendship of the girls was restored. The presenter said that he was later invited to the graduation of the two young Choctaw women.

Story after story was shared with the attendees at this conference. I came away with a sense of pride in what we are doing here in the Chickasaw Nation. I can remember attending weekly meetings several years ago as we worked on our own court system.  We  painstakingly read, studied, and discussed tribal court models as we put together documents that would later be used to establish our court system. I think that perhaps in my naivety, I did not realize the significance of this historic project that I was having the priveledge to participate in. The Legislature had hired Chickasaw attorney Charles Tate to help us with legal terms and issues as we discussed what we would want our court system to look like.  

Little did we know that what we were doing would lead to the development of the current Chickasaw Nation court system. We now have a court system that includes the historic Peacemaking Court of the Chickasaw Nation. This court is being used to change the lives of our citizens. The Peacemaker’s Court is a proud part of the Chickasaw Nation. Please visit the web site at http://www.chickasaw.net/site06/government/256_1989.htm          . I think that you are going to enjoy the additional information. You will meet the Peacemakers that work with the Chickasaw Nation. I have met most of them, and I assure you that they are a very dedicated group. Please communicate with them and let them know that they are appreciated.

The Groundbreaking for the Chickasaw Nation Health System was held Friday, November9,2007. With a record breaking crowd present to watch the event, I would say that it was a day full of smiles. In Ada,Friday started with a cloudy, misty fall morning that would leave many wondering what mother nature had up her sleeve. At times, the mist was so heavy that it fell in a fine dampening drizzle.

By 2 o’clock, there was not one person who really cared what happened with the weather. We were all smiles as Bill Lance, Administrator of the CNHS  greeted the crowd with a welcome and Mr. Jay Keel offered an opening prayer as we thanked God for the blessings on the Chickasaw. 

Bill continued by thanking the many participants who were involved in making the day a reality. Work on the project began more than 2 years ago. Many people can be attributed to the fulfillment of this dream. I have heard Governor Anoatubby being called a visionary more than once in the past few weeks. This is really a big project, and has the full support of the Legislature, Administration of the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Health Service, and the Chickasaw Nation.

I believe the health care we provide will be second to none. Right now, we provide the best care for our diabetic patients, and I think that you will continue to see improvements in every area. In dental alone, we will be increasing to 31 dental chairs compared to the 10 that we have now. That will cut waiting time down and help provide faster services for our patients.

At the end of the ceremony, we turned the historic first shovel of dirt from a count down of five. A camera person was lifted high above the crowd for an aerial photo, the sun broke through, and lady bugs graced the tent as leaves gently fell. Truely, it was a blessed day. Please go to www.chickasaw.net for more details.