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Indians embrace new star
Fellow Cherokees take pride in OU's Sam Bradford.

Heisman Trophy candidate Sam Bradford addresses a media throng in a suite at the New York Hilton on Friday on the eve of the presentation of the trophy. CRAIG RUTTLE/for the Tulsa World

 
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 12/13/2008  2:23 AM
Last Modified: 12/13/2008  2:32 AM

 NEW YORK — Some day, the chief of the Cherokee Nation would like to meet its most famous citizen.

"Everybody knows who Sam Bradford is," said Cherokee Chief Chad Smith. "They may not know who the president is, but they know who Sam Bradford is."

Bradford is comfortable on the football field, but less so riding in the lead car of an express train to sporting fame. Everybody knows who he is? That goes against his nature.

Still, here Bradford sits, in a hotel room overlooking Madison Avenue and Times Square, where, it seems, fame and celebrity are synonymous with air and water. On Saturday night, with America's eyes fixed on him, he'll learn if he's won the greatest individual award in American sport the Heisman Trophy.

Yet this college football centurion, one-sixteenth Cherokee, avoids the limelight whenever he can. A New York Times article recently proclaimed him a "reluctant hero" among American Indians, but this is a 21-year-old who wears a tattered ballcap and flip-flops to class and just wants to fit in.

"It's not that he's a reluctant hero," said Smith, "it's that the Cherokee people are reluctant to force him to be a hero.

"I think one of the nice things about our sense of community, we'd be equally pleased if he won the Heisman or if he went on to be a pro football player as we would if he'd just sit down and have a bowl of beans and share some stories."

Last season, Bradford told the Tulsa World he didn't know much about his American Indian heritage and declined to engage in a conversation about it. Growing up in suburban Oklahoma City, Bradford simply wasn't exposed to the Cherokee culture. Bradford's great-great-grandmother, Susie Walkingstick, was full-blooded Cherokee. Bradford's father, former OU lineman Kent Bradford, never learned the Cherokee ways himself, so he never passed them down to his only child.

In October, Bradford was asked how proud he was of his American Indian heritage. The question, posed during a postgame interview in Waco, Texas, seemed to catch him off guard.

"Uh, very," he answered.

Bradford acknowledges he's not as involved with the Cherokees "as I probably should be. I'm aware of my heritage and my culture, but I'm really not involved."

And, he says, he'd like to change that. When told that Smith has a standing invitation for Bradford to come to Tahlequah and speak to students at Sequoyah Schools, Bradford nodded.

"Yes, I have his phone number, and I think I am gonna call him," Bradford said. "It's something that I hope to become more involved with."

With sports figures so prominent in contemporary society, American Indian youth have few role models.

Jim Thorpe is widely regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time. But Thorpe, an American Indian born in Oklahoma, was an Olympian and pro football icon a century ago.

The last American Indian to quarterback a major college football team? Sonny Sixkiller, a Tahlequah native who grew up in rural Oregon and was a three-year starter at Washington from 1970-72. Over the years, others have played college football, even quarterback, but none under a spotlight this bright since Sixkiller. As a sophomore, Sixkiller led the nation in pass attempts and became something of an Indian celebrity in a pre-pro sports Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

Like Bradford, his fame was instantaneous, and intense.

"Oh, are you kidding me? All the time. It was out of this world. It was unbelievable. It was hard to comprehend to be honest with you," Sixkiller said. "You're a 17-year-old from Ashland, Ore., playing college football, and a year and a half later, after the spring game, you're at the front of everybody's mind. It was mind-boggling. It was crazy."

Sixkiller, 57, is a senior associate general manager at ISP, the University of Washington's sports licensing properties division. OU played at Washington in September, and Sixkiller said he regrets not getting a chance to meet Bradford. If he had, Sixkiller might have imparted some advice to his younger counterpart: embrace the culture.

"I think they can look with pride on one with heritage and one that kids can relate to," Sixkiller said. "It's just huge. Every little bit that's positive helps, and that's what he's doing."

When Sixkiller played, the world was a different place.

"Every time you opened the paper, it would say, 'Cherokee Chucker,' or 'Sonny Slays Stanford' or whatever," he said. "That got kind of old."

Smith points to recent Sequoyah graduates, like quarterback Nathan Stanley (a freshman at Mississippi) or point guard Angel Goodrich (a freshman at Kansas), as other role models for younger Cherokees.

"People like Sam and some of our other young kids, they encourage and inspire kids to think, 'If they can do it, we can do it,' " Smith said. "That's the valuable purpose of a role model."

Bradford leads college football in passing for the second year in a row. Now he also tops everyone with 48 touchdown passes. He's a picture of poise for any young athlete to study, on and off the field. But imagine what winning the Heisman Trophy or winning the national championship, or being the No. 1 draft pick would mean to American Indians.

"I just think it would be tremendous inspiration for young people of native ancestry across the country," Sixkiller said.

Bradford now sounds older and wiser than he was just a year ago.

"Obviously, God's blessed me with a great platform," Bradford said, "and if I can use that platform to be a role model to young kids, then it's something I do look forward to."

Smith will welcome the day. He says Bradford's persona reminds him of some of the Cherokee Nation's most distinguished elders.

"There's a huge difference between old folks and elders," Smith said. "A true Cherokee elder is someone who looks a lot like Sam Bradford."



John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com

HEISMAN TROPHY CEREMONY

WHEN: 7 P.M. SATURDAY | WHERE: NEW YORK CITY | TV: ESPN (COX CABLE 25)

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

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COMMENTS 
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18 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
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If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you.  -- Web Editor Jason Collington
 

 
Report Comment
Tell Sackett, (12/13/2008 4:11:56 AM)
"What a great photo-op for me" is all that ole' Corntassel is thinking.
Report Comment
lil sparrow, Midwest Flyway (12/13/2008 6:04:27 AM)
nice guy. hope he wins
Report Comment
seymore1965, Tulsa (12/13/2008 6:27:16 AM)
I'm full blood Cherokee. I saw Chad Smith at the OU Caravan in Tulsa last June. He was decked out in crimson and cream. I didn't recognize him at first wearing OU colors walking in from the distance. It's something I didn't expect. You just see whoever wants to attend, you know?

And, I had a conversation with a friend last summer, and we thought it would be a good idea for Sam Bradford to speak at Sequoyah.

I'll be watching the Heisman announcement tonight.

Report Comment
GrannyTazzy, Tulsa (12/13/2008 8:05:15 AM)
Almost all Okies have some Native American blood in them. If ya dont ur family probably isn't originally from Oklahoma.
but congrats to brad, hope he wins. If not, Hope Sam and the Sooners beat florida by 90 lolol
Report Comment
ndnjoe, (12/13/2008 8:50:14 AM)
Congratulations to Sam Bradford. Ignore the negative comments about our Chief. He's the Chief, so, of course, he would be interviewed. People are just jealous. And what difference does it make what someone wears to the OU Caravan? Just be proud for Sam and move on. You Go, Sam...hope you win!
Report Comment
WJ0341, (12/13/2008 9:16:21 AM)
This article was a huge waste of space. Why is the writer trying to make Bradford out to be some kind of ethnic hero when he clearly doesn't give a hoot. He is 1/16th Cherokee. That makes him about 94 percent non-Cherokee.

No offense intended to the proud Cherokee nation.
Report Comment
Observer3, Tulsa (12/13/2008 9:28:10 AM)
Leave the poor kid alone. Don't try to make him something he's not. Hope he wins tonight...and January 8th.
Report Comment
ndnjoe, (12/13/2008 9:55:47 AM)
WJ0341: Do the math again.
Report Comment
Milo, PoDunk (12/13/2008 10:32:58 AM)
I agree with Carm and we are all proud of Sam, very proud..and it is okay if the chief has a desire to meet him..his heritage is no secret~
We hope he wins tonight and Granny is surely right about Oklahomas..most are some Indian and no, Sam does not try to trade off of it..he does not have to do that..
Report Comment
Tulsa World Staff Writer Althea Peterson, Tulsa (12/13/2008 11:01:09 AM)
"I saw Chad Smith at the OU Caravan in Tulsa last June. He was decked out in crimson and cream. I didn't recognize him at first wearing OU colors walking in from the distance. It's something I didn't expect. You just see whoever wants to attend, you know?"

I was at the same caravan and also saw Chief Smith. Other than just being able to recognize him, the OU hat written in Cherokee alphabet letters was a dead giveaway.
Report Comment
kyote, (12/13/2008 12:29:35 PM)
Not all Indians embrace Sam and he is only a star in some eyes.
Report Comment
love 918, (12/13/2008 3:13:49 PM)
ndnJoe, what's wrong with WJ's math? That's what I come up with.
Report Comment
Bullhead, Nicut (12/13/2008 5:06:37 PM)
wj, you just don't understand the Cherokee. We tend to be stoic, and don't like a big deal made of what we do. We do what we feel is best at the time and tend to wonder why everyone else thinks its a big deal. My prayer is that Bradford will continue to do what is right for the rest of his life.
Report Comment
Tell Sackett, (12/13/2008 6:55:09 PM)
ndnjoe is right. 93.75% not 94%.
Report Comment
Milo, PoDunk (12/13/2008 8:26:16 PM)
Why cry about drops of blood...??
Sam never played this card...
Report Comment
thinkink, (12/13/2008 10:33:12 PM)
fellow Cherokees take pride in this guy?? Why? He has no association with the tribe...he's a 16th with no clue about his heritage....the whole Cherokee thing is misleading -- Chad Smith needs a kick in the teeth --
Report Comment
seymore1965, Tulsa (12/13/2008 10:44:43 PM)
Kick in the teeth for what? Convince me he needs a kick in the teeth.
Report Comment
Mike2, (12/14/2008 10:06:11 AM)
This is nice story, but a little desperate.......I can see all the special interest surrounding him now. Sam, how do you feel about world peace? Sam, any thoughts on global warming? What about gay rights, Sam? Sam, will being 1/2 of one percent Cherokee persuade you to do guest appearances at all of our casino's?
 

 
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