‘Irreplaceable’ knowledge
Was a known resource for historical knowledge
Delaware Tribe Chief Chet Brooks dies.
“Chief Brooks was a gentleman, a statesman and the strongest of advocates for progress for the Delaware tribe and its citizens.” Chuck Hoskin Jr. Cherokee Nation principal chief
People turned to Delaware Tribe Chief Chet Brooks for his knowledge of the past. He could recite every treaty the United States ever made with the Delaware.
When his tribe’s federal recognition was imperiled in the 1970s, Brooks met the Secretary of the Interior on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. He brought with him a list of 26 treaties that proved the Delaware existed.
“He was really proud about knowing the history of the Delaware Tribe,” said his brother, Larry “Joe” Brooks. “He knew it like a book.”
Chester “Chet” Brooks was in his second term as chief when he died Sunday. He was 78. He had spent 35 years helping to lead the tribe in Bartlesville, in the same town he was born. He served on the Delaware Tribe’s council and trust boards before he was elected chief in November 2014.
He also was the tribe’s de-facto historian. His institutional and historical knowledge is irreplaceable, said Acting Chief Brad Kills Crow. Brooks had worked with younger leaders to pass on what he knew.
One lesson that resonated most with Kills Crow was Brooks’ ability to respect decisions made by the tribal council and move forward.
“Whether we agreed or disagreed, he ended our conversation with a smile,” said Kills Crow, who served alongside Brooks for three years as assistant chief. “It is up to us to continue moving along the path he has set for us.”
The Delaware Tribe, with about 11,000 citizens, is one of three related Delaware nations recognized today by the U.S. government. The others are the Delaware Nation in Anadarko and the Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Wisconsin. Their homelands in the Northeast meant they were among the first pushed out by European colonists, who referred to the people as Delaware. Their own language uses the term Lenape.
They were forced to cede lands and move west through a series of treaties beginning in the late 1600s. The Delaware Tribe in Bartlesville is descended from the remaining 985 Delaware people who were relocated from their reservation in southeast Kansas to Oklahoma in 1867, Chet Brooks wrote last year in the tribe’s newspaper.
His great-grandfather, John Sarcoxie, was among the leaders who oversaw the move. John Sarcoxie’s daughter, Mary Sarcoxie, instilled in Brooks Delaware history and traditions
Brooks was easy-going and caring, his brother said. He loved to read. He was an Eagle Scout and an Oklahoma State University graduate. He spent the first part of his career in forestry, working for the U.S. Forest Service in California. He also led a wood products industry group in D.C., according to his brother.
Chet Brooks was most proud of his decades of work with his tribe. He became especially passionate about economic development, which he believed was essential to provide for citizens, said Joe Brooks, who is also a tribal council member and former chief.
As part of its development strategy, the tribe is buying back land in southeast Kansas, within the boundaries of its former reservation. The council is still discussing long-term plans for those lands.
They are asking the federal government to take the land into trust, an arrangement where the U.S. holds title to the land for the benefit of a tribe. The process is supposed to help tribes rebuild their economies after federal policies decimated their land bases, then broke up what remained into individual allotments. Tribes, not states, generally have authority over those lands.
The Delaware Tribe is focusing on Kansas, where many citizens still reside, because it can’t acquire trust land in Oklahoma, Joe Brooks said. The Cherokee reservation already existed when the tribe was relocated within those boundaries to Bartlesville. The Cherokee Nation repeatedly challenged federal recognition of the Delaware, starting in the late 1970s and continuing through the early 2000s. The tribe finally received recognition in 2009.
In the 12 years since, including seven with Chet Brooks as Delaware chief, the two nations have returned to friendly terms. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. described Brooks as a mentor and friend. “Chief Brooks was a gentleman, a statesman and the strongest of advocates for progress for the Delaware tribe and its citizens,” Hoskin said in a statement.
The Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma also issued a message of condolence. “Our tribes have a very long and special relationship, and we have nothing but admiration and respect for Chief Brooks’ lifelong dedication and service to his people,” the tribe said.
When Brooks campaigned for his second term, he listed his accomplishments in the tribe’s newspaper. He considered the biggest to be repatriating the remains of 83 ancestors from eastern Ohio and Ellis Island in New York Harbor.
Tribal leaders planned to travel in October to Pennsylvania to reclaim more remains, but they put those plans on hold because of COVID-19.
“He was real proud of getting our ancestors back in Mother Earth where they belong,” Joe Brooks said.
Chet Brooks learned this spring that he had lung cancer, his brother said. He focused intently on economic development. He was also acutely concerned about protecting tribal members from the resurgent COVID-19.
His memorial service will be held outdoors at the Delaware Tribal Center with social distancing measures in place, according to his wishes.
In addition to his brother, he is survived by five children, Robert “Reb” Brooks and Chester “Lee” Brooks III of Bartlesville, and Travis Brooks, Ian Brooks and Chimalus Brooks of Tulsa, as well as their families.
His relatives asked people not to send flowers, but instead to donate to the tribe’s education fund.
“We’re going to continue to move forward in a good way and in a way that honors chief ’s legacy,” Kills Crow said.