Brett Chapman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brett Chapman
Born	July 1983 (age 42) Oklahoma
Nationality	American and Pawnee Nation
Education	University of Oklahoma (BS) University of Tulsa (JD)
Occupation	Attorney
Years active	2010–present
Known for	Native American advocacy

Brett Chapman was born in Oklahoma in 1983. He is an American lawyer who works to protect the rights of Native American people. He is a direct descendant of Chief White Eagle, an important leader of the Ponca tribe. Brett Chapman often speaks out and is interviewed about Native American civil rights and their right to make their own decisions.

Family History and Early Life

Brett Chapman grew up in Oklahoma. He has heritage from the Ponca, Pawnee, and Kiowa tribes. His ancestor, Chief White Eagle, was a famous leader of the Ponca people. Chief White Eagle was known for speaking against his people being forced to live on reservations. He played a big part in a court decision in the 1870s that gave Native Americans more equal rights.

The Ponca Trail of Tears

Chief White Eagle was the leader during a sad event called the Ponca Trail of Tears in 1877. This was a forced journey where the Ponca people were made to leave their homes. More than 300 people died during this difficult trip, including Chief White Eagle's wife and four of his children. His father, Chief Iron Whip, also died. Chief Iron Whip had signed a treaty with President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

Fighting for Rights

Chief White Eagle and another leader named Standing Bear fought against the United States government. They wanted the freedom to leave their reservation and go back to their traditional lands in Nebraska. In a very important court case in 1879, called Standing Bear v. Crook, the Ponca people made history. They were the first Native Americans legally recognized as "persons" under the law. This meant they were given civil rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Because of the problems caused by the Ponca Trail of Tears, President Rutherford B. Hayes ended a policy that had been in place for 50 years. This policy, started by President Andrew Jackson in 1830, was called the Indian Removal Act. Chief White Eagle was given credit for helping to change this government policy.

Brett Chapman went to public school in Oklahoma. He earned his first college degree from the University of Oklahoma in 2007. He then earned his law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 2010.

Career as a Lawyer

Brett Chapman started his career as a lawyer for the government in Oklahoma. He worked on cases to protect people and fight serious crimes. In 2012, an organization called Help in Crisis gave him an award. They recognized him as an outstanding advocate for stopping violence in homes.

Later, Chapman moved to a different type of law. He now works in Tulsa, focusing on defending people in criminal cases and protecting civil rights.

Native American Advocacy

Brett Chapman is also a public speaker and advocate for Native Americans. He speaks about important issues like tribal sovereignty, which means tribes have the right to govern themselves. He also talks about the Native American mascot controversy and how Native Americans are shown in history and today.

He was interviewed about a statue of Chief Standing Bear placed in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. This statue is important because Chief Standing Bear was central to the 1879 court case that recognized Native Americans as people with equal rights.

Native American Mascot Controversy

In 2018, Brett Chapman helped lead an effort to remove a Native American mascot at Maine West High School in Illinois. He saw a student wearing a Chief Illiniwek costume at a school event. Chapman found out that the school had been falsely claiming the Cherokee Nation supported their use of Native American images.

He contacted a journalist, and the story quickly spread. The Chicago Tribune newspaper wrote about it, with Chapman saying the mascot used "stereotypical images to serve as entertainment." He felt it was especially wrong because the school claimed to have permission from a tribe, which he called "complete malarkey." Native American students at the school supported Chapman's efforts. They shared other examples of offensive images at the school.

The controversy lasted for three weeks. On May 1, 2018, Maine West High School announced they would stop using the Native American mascot and imagery. Chapman praised the school for acting quickly. In June 2019, a local newspaper reported that all signs of Native American imagery at the school were being removed.

In 2019, Chapman also spoke against a mural called Life of Washington in San Francisco. He was happy when the decision was made to paint over parts of the mural that showed George Washington and American settlers stepping over a dead Native American.

Self-Determination

In 2019, Brett Chapman met with Quim Torra, who was the President of Catalonia, a region in Spain. They met in Washington, D.C., and talked about issues important to both Native Americans and Catalonia. These included bringing back languages, cultural identity, human rights, and Catalonia's peaceful movement to decide its own future.

Chapman also asked the Catalan government to speak out against people from Catalonia who were involved in Spanish abuses during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Afterward, President Torra tweeted that Catalans support the rights of Native American Nations. On April 29, 2019, the Government of Catalonia officially condemned the "abuses committed against the populations and original peoples of the Americas" during European colonization.

In November 2018, Chapman criticized Josep Borrell, a Spanish foreign minister. Borrell had made a comment suggesting the United States "only had to kill four Indians" to gain independence. Chapman called this comment "shocking idiocy." The former President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, agreed with Chapman. In an interview, Chapman said Borrell's comments showed "pure ignorance" and reminded him that Spain had killed many more Native Americans. The next day, Borrell apologized to Native Americans.

Representing Native Americans Today

Brett Chapman often points out when Native Americans are shown unfairly or inaccurately in books and popular culture. In 2019, he criticized historian David McCullough's book The Pioneers. Chapman said the book repeated old stereotypes that were used to justify taking Native American land.

Chapman also supports changing Columbus Day to Native American Day or Indigenous Peoples' Day. In 2018, the Oklahoma Legislature passed a law to change the name of Columbus Day to Native American Day. However, the governor at the time, Mary Fallin, vetoed the law. She said combining the holidays might seem like an attempt to lessen the importance of Native American Heritage Month. Chapman said her decision "defied logic" and was disrespectful to Native Americans in Oklahoma.

In 2019, the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper interviewed Chapman for a Memorial Day article. The article was about a soldier who died with George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. Chapman was asked if Americans should honor soldiers who fought to take land from Native peoples. He replied, "I don't think American soldiers who oppressed Native Americans should be honored, any more than Confederate soldiers should be honored for defending slavery." He suggested that any memorials to such soldiers should include an explanation from a Native American point of view. He said this would help Americans understand Native American history better.

See also

• Native American mascot controversy
• Standing Bear
• Catalan independence movement