Newsworthy Advocacy
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CBS News: Controversial George Washington mural to be painted over at San Francisco high school
May 4 2019​
May 26, 2019​
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Associated Press: McCullough’s new book on pioneers’ history draws criticism
May 15, 2019
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“The only hope was that the savages would be so taken up with plunder of the camp as not to follow after,” McCullough writes. “No preparation could be made. Numbers of brave men must be left a sacrifice, there was no alternative.”
That passage offended Brett Chapman, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, attorney and descendant of White Eagle, a Ponca chief. “It’s just sickening. He hits every single stereotype. He hits the wilderness stereotype — that no one was there. He hits the drunkenness stereotype,” said Chapman, who read the book this week and live-tweeted criticisms. “He hits the vanishing race stereotype. That’s what the pioneers used to justify in stealing the land.”
NPR: How Racism Has Manifested Itself In Schools, As Recalled By Listeners
February 9, 2019
"My name is Brett Chapman. I'm a member of the Pawnee tribe and I also am Ponca and Kiowa. Growing up in Oklahoma what we would do is we would celebrate Land Run days. Basically, they take you out on the schoolyard and you got this little stick with a flag on it and you go stake your claim. The girls have little bonnets on. There's these little wagons, they look like covered wagons. It's just nonsense."
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"We would celebrate Thanksgiving and you either put the little black belt buckle on or the hat or you do a headdress. I can remember as a child picking — you had to pick one — and I'd be the pilgrim. You have to demean your own culture like that — a headdress has a meaning. In Ponca culture there's only a few people that can wear headdresses. The line of hereditary chiefs, they can wear headdresses. It's a symbol of authority and respect, but it's just been so stereotyped into a joke. You've got kids cutting out construction paper and putting it on their head and just kind of going around, making fools of Indians. The harmful aspect of that is no one ever takes us seriously because of that."
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January 18, 2019
"Torra chose very well who he saw on the visit to the U.S., which began on Sunday and ends on Thursday. On Monday he gave a lecture at the Martin Luther King Institute at the Stanford University in California. Yesterday he met at a Washington restaurant with attorney Brett A. Chapman, an advocate for Native American rights and a descendant of Standing Bear, a mythical Indian chief who fought for the freedom of his people. Then he met with, among others, the respected Senator Lewis, who marched with Martin Luther King in the 1960s."
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January 7, 2019
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KJRH: SCOTUS will hear Oklahoma case Tuesday
November 26, 2018
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"Brett Chapman, a criminal defense attorney and member of the Pawnee Nation argues this case affirms the tribe’s sovereignty."
“What I've got to say to is America has to honor our treaty promises I mean that's what this goes back to. It's unfortunate that this may create an inconvenience for oil and gas companies and local law enforcement, but at the end of the day, Andrew Jackson in 1832 when they come over here they signed a treaty to have this land as long as the grass grows and it's still growing," said Chapman.
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April 6, 2018
"Brett Chapman, an Oklahoma attorney and member of the Pawnee Nation, saw an image on Twitter of the mascot performing at an assembly and took offense, saying the Warrior trades on stereotypical images to serve as entertainment. Others chimed in with their own criticism."
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“The (gleeful) reaction of the crowd, to me, that’s the most egregious part,” Chapman told the Tribune. “They’re saying, ‘We have such respect for this tradition,’ and it’s clear they don’t.”
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Chicago Tribune: Maine West High School retires American Indian mascot following debate over use
April 30, 2018
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Brett Chapman, an Oklahoman who is a member of the Pawnee Nation, saw an image of the performance on Twitter and took offense, saying it used stereotypical images as entertainment. That set off a social media chain reaction that brought Maine West into the long-running debate over cultural appropriation. Chapman said Monday that he was satisfied with the outcome. “I commend the local administration for taking action very quickly,” he said.
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Tulsa World: Victim removes prosthetic leg during DUI amputation case sentencing
April 7, 2014
KJRH: Coweta man arrested for child porn released on bond after judge reduces holding amount
February 26, 2013
Muskogee Phoenix: Man gets 40 years in drug conviction
June 13, 2013
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KTUL: Dog Owner Charged with Animal Cruelty After Pet Alerts Authorities by Honking
November 6, 2014
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Muskogee Phoenix: Man pleads guilty to sex with girl, 12
March 23, 2013
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The Oklahoman: Manslaughter trial begins in Grand Lake boating death
March 18, 2013
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Tulsa World: Jay principal acquitted in friend's death
March 29, 2013
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Major Case Convictions
Tulsa County District Attorney's Office (2011)
