Earl Hatley tells of a Cherokee prophecy that one day the whites will come to the Cherokee for help because Cherokee have retain the wisdom of ages past. I don’t think the Oklahoma poultry lawsuit is the fulfilment of that prophecy, but it may be time for the whites, or at least the State of Oklahoma, to go to the Cherokee for help.

On July 22, 2009, Judge Frizzell ruled that the Cherokee Nation has an interest in the natural resources allegedly damaged by the companies that use lakes and rivers located in eastern Oklahoma as an industrial sewer for poultry waste.  Because the Cherokee Nation has this interest, a lawsuit for monetary damage to this property cannot proceed unless the Cherokee Nation is part of the lawsuit. The Judge’s ruling means the State of Oklahoma cannot protect certain valuable state interests unless a Tribal Nation agrees.  This will have impacts far beyond the poultry lawsuit.

Will the Cherokee Nation join in the lawsuit? Should it? For some of us the answer may seem to be obviously “yes.” For leaders of the Cherokee Nation, may be not.

The lawsuit by the Attorney General against the poultry companies is important to agriculture, food and citizens throughout the U.S. It will set a precedent regarding whether or not industrialized agriculture can push its waste, and therefore its costs, onto landowners, including the State of Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation. Judge Frizzell’s ruling now gives the Cherokee Nation the power to stop this lawsuit or cause it to go forward. I am not a student of Native American law or history, but I cannot think of an prior instance in which a decision by the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation had this much impact on our state or country.   

It is not clear at all to me how it will respond.  The Cherokee Nation is a tribal government, but it is also a big business. Its economic, political and social interests are diverse and widespread. Most big businesses would be expected to diplomatically shy away from the feisty Attorney General Edmondson and tacitly support the powerful multinational corporate interests. But most big businesses do not have the social and cultural values of the Cherokee -- values related to people, animals and land. The Cherokee Nation’s response is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility. 

It still seems unlikely that a lawsuit over chicken litter would be the fulfilment of prophecy, but it sure seems that we need some wisdom, and maybe the Cherokee have it.