Prior To My Election, Young Cherokee Girls

Individually And Collectively, Cherokee People Possess An Extraordinary Ability To Face Down Adversity And Continue Moving Forward.

We Celebrate Thanksgiving Along With The Rest Of America, Maybe In Different Ways And For Different Reasons. Despite Everything That's Happened To Us Since We Fed The Pilgrims, We Still Have Our Language, Our Culture, Our Distinct Social System. Even In A Nuclear Age, We Still Have A Tribal People.

Recognizing The Good, Not Just In One's Own Personal Circumstances, But In The World, Makes Anything Possible. When I Am Asked About The Important Characteristics Of Leadership, Being Of Good, Positive Mind Is At The Top Of My List. If A Leader Can Focus On The Meritorious Characteristics Of Other People And Try To Play To Their Strengths As Well As Find Value In Even The Most Difficult Situation, She Can Inspire Hope And Faith In Others And Motivate Them To Move Forward.

I Hope Many Of You Will Be People That Question Why Things Are And Why We Have To Do Them The Way We Have Always Done Them. I Hope You Will Take Some Risks, Exert Some Real Leadership On Issues, And If You Will, Dance Along The Edge Of The Roof As You Continue For Life.

It's Like Everybody's Sitting There And They Have Some Kind Of Veil Over Their Face, And They Look At Each Other Through This Veil That Makes Them See Each Other Through Some Stereotypical Kind Of Viewpoint. If We're Ever Gonna Collectively Begin To Grapple With The Problems That We Have Collectively, We're Gonna Have To Move Back The Veil And Deal With Each Other On A More Human Level.