Steve Russell, an enrolled member of the
Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...
, was a poet, journalist and academic, as well as a former
trial court judge and
Associate Professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...
Emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
In some c ...
of
Criminal Justice
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
,
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...
.
Early life and education
Despite being Cherokee, Russell was raised in the Muscogee Creek Nation in Oklahoma.
Cherokee politics
Russell was frequently critical of "wannabe" Indians - that is to say, people who claim falsely and without tribal recognition to have a
Native American identity. He was one of the earliest critics of
Andrea Smith, calling her out in a 2008 editorial in the major American Indian new outlet,
Indian Country Media Network. He has also long documented corruption and bullying within Cherokee tribal politics.
The
Native American Journalists Association twice recognized Russell's work, honoring his
op-ed
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
columns "Full-Blooded Indians—Face the Most Anti-Indian Racism" in 2013 and "Blacks and Indians Should Stand Together Against a Common Oppressor" in 2014 as the best Native op-eds in those years.
Academic writing
Russell's ''Sequoyah Rising: Problems in Post-Colonial Tribal Governance'' is probably his best-known work. Described by the
American Indian Quarterly as being concerned "with the bases of tribal citizenship," the book discusses the problems of Indian identity in the context of continuing US occupation and encroachment. Tom Holm wrote in
Wíčazo Ša Review that "Russell's concise and insightful presentation of the course of American Indian policy is exceptional and should immediately be adopted by all who teach courses on Native American history and law," while the
European Journal of American Studies noted that "Although clear that much of the blame for this must lie with a combination of federal government attempts to destroy Native control over Native affairs and a colonial culture of welfare dependency, nonetheless Russell argues that the power to self-organize means that many of the solutions lie in Indian hands."
Books
* ''World War ISIS: How to Kill a Death Cult and Avoid the End of Days'' (Dog Iron Press 2016).
* ''Ray Sixkiller’s Cherokee Nation: U.S. Election 2012'' (Dog Iron Press 2014).
* ''American Indians Dream: A Movement of Our Own'' (Dog Iron Press 2014).
* ''Wicked Dew'' (Dog Iron Press 2012).
* ''Ceremonies of Innocence: Essays from the Indian Wars'' (Dog Iron Press 2012).
* ''Sequoyah Rising: Problems in Post-Colonial Tribal Governance'' (Carolina Academic Press 2010).
See also
*
List of Native American jurists
References
External links
Author profile at Indian Country Today
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Steve
Date of birth missing (living people)
1947 births
Living people
20th-century Native American writers
21st-century Native American writers
Cherokee Nation academics
Cherokee Nation writers