Letter From Pat Ragsdale
"To Dana and the Tiger Clan"

Dear Dana and the Tiger Clan:

I want you to know what your painting, "On Their Honor They Kept Watch" means to me.

On the afternoon of March 4, 1997, I learned that plans were underway to forcefully displace the marshals from their office. Their objective was to stop the investigation and seize the evidence which had been taken on February 25, in the court-ordered search for records in the investigation of possible crimes being committed against the Cherokee Nation.

That evening the world of the Cherokee Nation was turned up-side down particularly, for the marshals, the prosecutor and Court personnel who were immediately affected. I drove to Pryor, Oklahoma to try and meet Justice Birdwell for guidance. Justice Birdwell was gone he had already left from a meeting with the Cherokee Elders. Paul Thomas very kindly let me use his office to make calls and I decided with the Court's permission to evacuate my office and move from the complex area to the Court House in Tahlequah for safety reasons and to protect the evidence recovered in the investigation. Chief Byrd was addressing an audience speaking in Vinita, Oklahoma. His theme was there were plots against him.

It was late when I returned to the Marshal Service office in Tahlequah. As we loaded cars with the evidence along with our essential equipment, I admit, at the time I was afraid. But, my marshals were strong and determined that the Cherokee Nation's law enforcement agency was not going to be snuffed out unlawfully in the dark of night. It seemed that night we were very alone and everything we had worked for was in jeopardy. It was about midnight as the marshals got settled in at the Courthouse and I made my notifications to the Justice and other law enforcement agencies.

Words cannot adequately convey how I felt after we arrived at the Courthouse in the middle of the night. We parked our police vehicles surrounding the old capital building and I felt calm almost at peace. I had a feeling of a sense of our Cherokee history; moreover, I instinctively believed we were in a safe place of our ancestors. I knew we were doing what was right. As all the marshals were reporting in to meet, be briefed about our situation and occupy our new quarters, I felt calm in camaraderie with my fellow marshals, present day Cherokee warriors, as they settled down, secured their firearms to sleep on the floors, couches and makeshift beds. I knew we were secure in the home of Cherokees who have endured all hardships over the ages and remained strong in freedom of spirit. The morning of March 5, came with TV and a flock of news media. The sun came up, the dark and fog of the previous night was gone.

Thus, I believe the old Capital building which is now the Courthouse symbolically holds our Cherokee traditions and values. The historic building honors the Cherokee ancestors' restoration and reunification of Cherokee government in Indian Territory on September 6, 1839 in the aftermath of the trail of tears. The building represents the center where our former leaders dealt with the tragedies of civil strife and the American Civil War when it was burned to the ground by men in gray. Afterwards, the building survived the oppressive attempted dissolution of our government at the turn of the century. It endured the forced and arbitrary occupation of the State for most of this century. The building's return to the Cherokees marks the rebirth of our government and the Constitution of 1975. Finally, in 1991 the building was rededicated being put in service once again to serve and house the justice system for Cherokees during our generation and beyond.

This is what your painting means to me. The journey for justice and testing of the Cherokee spirit in crisis continues. No one at this writing can honestly say how this crisis will finally be resolved. However, I know our history and I trust in my heart that the ancestors' spirit will prevail. This much is sure, I know our ancestors and the creator will continue to watch over us all.

On behalf of the Cherokee Nation Marshals and all people who have made their stand for justice for the Cherokee people... Wado.

Pat Ragsdale