In his second year as a starter,
Sam Bradford has emerged as the face of the top-ranked Sooners (5-0,
1-0 Big 12) and a strong Heisman Trophy contender.
TAHLEQUAH,
Okla. The meeting between the two North American Indian leaders
had been called to discuss international issues, but Phil Fontaine,
the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, couldnt
help deviating from the agenda.
Fontaine, whose organization represents more than 800,000 Indians
in Canada, wanted to know what the Cherokee Nation principal chief,
Chad Smith, thought of Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford. "I
heard hes Cherokee," Fontaine told Smith. "Hes
having a great year.
Smith
confirmed that Bradford was indeed a citizen of the Cherokee Nation,
and they continued talking about him. "It was a great conversation,"
Smith said. "There we were talking Sam Bradford and O.U. football."
Entering
Saturdays Red River Shootout between No. 1 Oklahoma and No.
5 Texas, Bradford is at the forefront of Heisman Trophy conversations,
and at the center of attention in the Cherokee Nation, the second
largest tribe in the United States. Bradford is believed to be the
first Indian to start at quarterback for a Division I school since
Sonny Sixkiller, a full-blooded Cherokee, who was born here in Tahlequah
and starred at Washington in the early 1970s.
But
Bradford is just one-sixteenth Cherokee and until Oklahoma publicized
that heritage last season, his father Kent said he had probably
only talked to his son about it two or three times as he grew up
in Oklahoma City. Kent Bradford said his great grandmother, Susie
Walkingstick, was a full-blooded Cherokee.
The
elder Bradford, who was an offensive lineman at Oklahoma in the
1970s, said: "Theres a lot of people in Oklahoma
that have Indian blood. I wasnt brought up to really know
much about it. I cant really give him a lot of information
either."
At
times, its somewhat awkward in that he and I are indeed portrayed
as Indians," he said. "We do have some Indian blood, but
that isnt us out there counting that.
That
hasnt tempered interest within Cherokee Nation, which counts
280,000 citizens and consists of a jurisdiction that includes all
or parts of 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma.
Bradford
is followed fervently at Sequoyah Schools, an Indian boarding school
for grades 7-12 that is financed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and operated by the Cherokee Nation.
Tucked
away on a sprawling campus near the Cherokee Nations headquarters,
Sequoyah Schools resembles a junior college and has 380 students,
of which 261 are Cherokee Nation citizens.
There,
students wear Oklahoma football T-shirts, football players talk
about which of them could be the next Bradford, and female students
swoon at the mention of his name.
"Hes
cute," said Shelby Botone, 16, a 10th-grader who is primarily
Creek and Cherokee. "Hes like perfect."
Smith,
the Cherokee Nation chief, said Bradfords success has provided
much-needed inspiration for Cherokee youth. Bradfords demeanor
is similar to that of Cherokee elders, he said. Hes
a great example of simple, quiet, humble leadership," Smith
said.
Ross
Reeder, a tight end and defensive end at Sequoyah Schools, said
he felt an immediate connection when he learned that Bradford was
also Cherokee.
"Its
pretty cool to see an Indian in such a high limelight," said
Reeder, 17, who is three-thirty-seconds Cherokee. "Its
a very rare thing."
Reeder
would like to meet Bradford and hopes he will someday visit Sequoyah
Schools. Reeder even said Bradfords play is helping Native
Americans shed stereotypes that have haunted them.
"Sam
Bradford is kind of like hes the best of Indians," Reeder
said. "He shows that were not lazy and that we dont
give up. Hes what we really represent."
He
added: "Its a good feeling to finally be able to say,
Look at what we can do. Look at what we can do.
Bradford
is a frequent subject of conversation for Smith, whether at the
Cherokee Nation headquarters just outside Tahlequah or anywhere
else he goes. Earlier this year, Howard Dean, the Democratic Party
chairman, raved to Smith about him.
"It
is kind of neat in Oklahoma with how prominent that is in our state
heritage," the Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson
said. California is the only U.S. state with more Indian residents,
according to the United States Census, and Oklahoma was the birthplace
of the legendary Indian athlete Jim Thorpe.
Bradford,
a redshirt sophomore in his second season as the starter, has emerged
as the face of the top-ranked Sooners (5-0, 1-0 Big 12). Entering
Saturdays bitter match-up against Texas (5-0, 1-0 Big 12),
he has thrown for 1,665 yards and 18 touchdowns with just 3 interceptions.
In his victorious debut against Texas last season, he threw for
244 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Bradford
remains reserved about his links to that ancestry. After Oklahomas
victory at Baylor last Saturday, he said little in front of a throng
of media when asked how proud he was of his Cherokee heritage.
"Uh,"
Bradford said, "very."
Kent
Bradford said his son understands the significance of his Cherokee
heritage.
Sam
Bradford said: "I just kind of look it as another opportunity
that football has blessed me with. So I just try to make the most
of it and be as positive as I can for those kids."
The
first time Sixkiller learned of Bradford was while browsing an Oklahoma
media guide in 2006 when the Huskies played a road game against
the Sooners.
"To
me, he looked like he was Cherokee," Sixkiller said in a telephone
interview. "That was my first thought."
Sixkiller,
who works for a company that owns the media rights to the University
of Washingtons athletics, has never spoken with Bradford,
although Oklahoma played at Washington last month. He said he understands
that Bradford is in an awkward position.
Sixkiller
recalled feeling off-field pressure from Indians while playing at
Washington.
"You
get tugged in this way and tugged that way while still trying to
do what you can do as a college kid," Sixkiller said.
But
Sixkiller said Bradford should relish and embrace the attention.
"Youre
not a messiah," he said. "Youre just well thought
of and respected being who you are. Be yourself."
Bradford
has a standing invitation to visit the Cherokee Nation, Smith said,
adding: "Were not looking to capitalize on his fame.
We would just prefer to treat him as a member of the community."
Someday,
Smith believes Bradford will want to know more about his Indian
heritage and become involved with the Cherokee Nation.
"Its
inevitable," Smith said. "What ultimately drives people
is their sense of identity. When were younger we dont
think about it as much. As we grow older, the cosmos in the universe
becomes a little bit clear."
If
that day ever comes, the Cherokee Nation will be ready for Bradford,
Smith said.
"The
community will accept him with the widest arms you can have,"
he said.
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