(Note: The Cherokee One Feather sought candidate bios and posed several questions to candidates in the upcoming Special Election in the Wolftown Community. Bios are published exactly as they were sent to us with no editing.)
Question 1: What qualities, education, and experience do you have that make you the best candidate to serve as a Tribal Council Representative seat?
Frank Walkingstick Dunn humbly states that he has invested in his education of a Master’s in Business Administration, A graduate student from Western Washington University. Frank has a wide range of experience in successful business ventures, supporting the arts, culture, Cherokee language revitalization, and implementing change for all of our people. Frank worked for a national foundation the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation where he has experience in revitalization of the arts, language, and Native American Culture. Frank serves as a board of directors for the Manna Food Bank, who serves 16 counties in Western North Carolina and was a key player in bringing the food to Cherokee. Frank serves on the police commission for the Wolftown/Big Y Community. Frank has served our entire tribe through working jobs in Project Management and Tribal Food Distribution Program. More recently you may have seen a new building being built across from the Bingo Hall. Frank was instrumental in securing over 5 million dollars in grants for the construction of our new tribal foods building. Frank Dunn listened to our people and their needs while working for tribal foods and then when the Covid pandemic happened, he took it as an opportunity to find a way to better serve everyone in our communities. I will take these traits of mine, of looking for opportunities along with education and experience to the Council.
Question 2: If elected, what will be your top priorities to accomplish as a Tribal Council member?
This is a great question because I have heard many of the big Y/Wolftown people ask me this, “Frank Dunn when you get in what do you think you can do in a couple months because of this special election?” My response, it only takes a couple hours to spend millions of dollars. I demand fiscal responsibility. The lens in which I will look through these first accomplishments are my “Git-r-Dunn” which stands for God, integrity, transparency, reliable, diversify, understanding, native, and needs. Foremost, I will look at fiscal responsibility and be a good steward of our monies. I will fight for housing that is for our people and that is affordable. Something that I am also very passionate about is we cannot give up on our people! This means, our tribally enrolled members who are recovering from drug and alcohol addictions; the drug epidemic that is throughout our whole tribe effects all of us. I was told that if a person relapses twice at Mother-town program they are disqualified. Especially, we can’t give up on our people and this means not giving up on our tribally enrolled members working for our tribe. We need stronger Indian preference when it comes to employing our people, and if we can’t hire our people, then we need to help guide, educate, train and not give up on our people. Then when our people fall, we need to have a backup system, a safety net to catch them. Our tribally enrolled employees are our greatest resource that we have invested in.
Frank states that if he is elected to this position he will continue to stay in contact with the people, listen and communicate their needs, wants and will move Cherokee forward for all seven generations.
Frank will serve from the top of Rough Branch to the top of Dobson Ridge and all the creeks, branches, and hollers in between. Frank Dunn states “that every voice is important.” Frank includes, “God gave us two ears and one mouth and he is here to listen to your needs and bring it back to the horseshoe to serve you.”
Frank is proud and thanks the community for entrusting him to serve our communities thus far in the capacity of helping in the construction of buildings, getting more food on the tables for our families, and partnering to make our communities a safer place to live and raise our children for the next 7 generations. “I have seen changes and great things being done, but this is not enough. With passion and a servant’s heart, he states that “our ancestors sacrificed a lot for me and our people, in return I have a desire to serve and pay it forward for all our people.
Frank recently heard from an elder that we as a tribe are like a person in a desert who is being sold a glass of water, when there is a waterfall directly behind us. It is time to draw on all of our gifts and talents and Frank believes that his education, experience, and leadership can be paramount in leveraging our assets so we are harvesting the benefits daily “Let’s make the waterfall a reality and hang up on the salesman selling us a cup of water. It is time to draw from the everlasting well of water and celebrate our people strengths of what has made Cherokee strong historically and into the future.” A Vote for Frank Dunn is a vote for change, because your vote matters and yes Frank will “Git-r-Dunn.” Learn more at: Git-r-Dunn.com
Question 3: Why do you want to be a Tribal Council Representative?
You can take the boy out of the mountains, but you can’t take the mountains out of the boy. While I have gone and got experience outside of the Qualla boundary, working for a national foundation, to support the arts and cultures of our people, worked 10 years for another tribe, the coast Salish Swinomish tribe in the northwest, gone and got my master’s in business and administration; I am the prime candidate for this position. Being a leader is a part of who I am. I have envisioned seven generations out. I am passionate, I listen to our people, I care, and I want to be the voice at the horseshoe for each individual citizen, and will serve big Y and Wolftown. I have put the hard work in. I feel I bring a unique perspective that can and will move Cherokee forward. Many elders have warned me and asked me why would you want to be a councilmember? I’ve also heard many people say they don’t trust and believe that their vote counts. Our election process is our tribal democracy. It is a cherished sacred process that empowers each individual Cherokee person, and if I am elected into that position, I will uphold that trust, integrity, honor and listen and serve, but furthermore communicate your concerns, reach across the table, collaborate, and get things “DUNN.” That is why I am asking for your vote March 2nd Frank Walkingstick Dunn.
