Roger Barnett
Second Speaker of the National Council
Creek District - Seat C
Business and Governmental - Chairperson
Fact Finding and Investigations Committee - Chairperson
Constitutional Convention Commission member
Internal Affairs Committee - Alternate

Roger Barnett was born into the Wind Clan and Kvncate (Concharty) Tribal Town to Joseph (deceased) and Rachel (Wilson) Barnett of Bristow. His grandparents are the late Nicey(Tecumseh)Wilson and Solomon Wilson of the Kvncate area and the late Jim and Lizzie (Starr)Barnett, of Bristow. He is a member of the Concharty United Methodist Church and the father of one son, Eco age seven and Chenoa age seventeen months.

Roger is 4/4 Muscogee (Creek) and was raised in Bristow for most of his 44 years. He has served his military services at Ft. Benning, Georgia.

Second Speaker Barnett is serving his 4th term in office and has served on Business and Governmental all four terms as chairperson of the Business and Governmental for all three terms.

When asked about his goals for this government, he stated, “ to see this tribe become more self-sufficient in areas other than gaming as the primary source of revenue. The biggest challenge we have faced is our gaming and tobacco compact because of lack of meaningful consultation with tribes and governments. And the reason for this is, the uneducated legislature at all levels of government about Indians in general and tribal government. I believe right now we are getting into areas that the federal government aren’t really sure how to handle with the existence of past treaties. Sometimes I feel they don’t acknowledge the treaties, all tribes have to come together and force these issues at the federal level.”

The role of a District Representative is not always an easy task. The Tribal government is growing and the needs of our client services grows with it. Second Speaker Barnett related to this issue. “ We have shown signs of improvement, even though the process is still lengthy, by contributing tribal revenue to contract health and social services, we still need a lot more effort put into these areas.”

“ The job of a legislature certainly doesn’t call for a pat on the back, but you get satisfaction whether its an individual, church organization, ceremonial ground, or family, when you can help in some way and see that appreciation in their eyes or some form of thankfulness, it makes it all worthwhile. You receive your rewards in ways you would never imagine, one of the most humbling times I experienced was the fire that broke out around the Yeager and Holdenville area and we lost one of our most revered pastors, pastor Kelly Tiger. I had received word that wildland fires had just covered this area and was concerned about our citizens in this area. I did not know the outcome of the devastation until I arrived at Holdenville Center Just being there and in the position to assist these families who had lost so much plus seeing the branches of this government come together so quickly to help with clothing, finances, and rebuilding was very rewarding. These families were so thankful, they couldn’t say enough about the response of Muscogee (Creek) Nation coming to their time of need.”

Second Speaker Barnett contributes his position to his children, “ I hope I can in some way contribute to the future of my children and grandchildren. As tribal representatives we need to set some solid groundwork for stability and prosperity but this will not come soon because of the lack of government to government relationship with the state and federal governments. We have got to educate them on our sovereignty.’’

“I also believe that its important for tribal members to vote at the state/national level because of the goals we need to accomplish in the future.” “One example is our Sovereignty, maybe its overused but without this we would be just another minority organization and its in our best interest to keep the identity as a federally recognized tribal government.”