Dr. Matthew B. Scraper

Cherokee Nation Tribal Council
Candidate for the At-Large District

Let’s Forge a Strong Link Together

I was born and raised in the At-Large district. I’m guessing that you were too…

According to the homepage of the Cherokee Nation’s website, approximately 239,000 of our 380,000 registered citizens live outside of the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. Many of us, like me, were neither born within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation nor have we ever lived within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. In fact, I’ve spent much of my life living outside of Oklahoma. I was raised in Kansas, and have lived or been stationed in Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, New York and New Jersey. I’ve also been deployed overseas.

My predecessors and my opponent have done a fantastic job of representing our interests. I applaud both of our At-Large representatives, Dr. Julia Coates and Mary Baker Shaw, for the good work that they have done just as I applaud the Cherokee Nation for its collective wisdom in creating two seats on the Tribal Council to represent the very large population of At-Large Citizens.

I’m ready to continue this great legacy of service to our Citizens by taking some additional steps to provide important and meaningful services to At-Large Cherokee Citizens. If you’re of a like mind…if you’re like me and you would like to be represented by someone who has been born and raised within the At-Large District…then I would love to have your vote.

Browse through my website and learn more about my story and my platform. Email or message me with your questions and thoughts, and let’s take the next step together!

A Little More About Me

I’m a 6th generation Cherokee Combat Veteran. Like so many of us, I’ve spent my entire life in the At-Large district, and much of it outside of Oklahoma. That experience means that like all of us, I am sensitive to what it means to be a Cherokee Citizen who has always lived outside of the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. If you want to learn a little more about my story, you can do that here.

The Issues

You can learn more about my platform and my campaign pledge here. As I’ve said, it is my goal to take ANOTHER step on a good road forged by other good leaders. We are all just one link in a chain that was forged long before we arrived and will continue long after we’re gone. Let’s forge our link in the chain as well as those who came before us forged theirs, so that those who come after us will have a strong foundation from which to continue.

Matthew’s Cherokee Heritage

I have a wonderfully diverse family made up of ancestors from around the world. The vast majority of the Citizens who live within our District share that distinction. My primary ethnic identifications are Cherokee, Scottish, Irish, and Norse. Amateur genealogy being a hobby of mine, I would LOVE to tell you their stories. However, for my purposes here, I’ll focus on my Cherokee heritage. You can learn more about that, and about me, here.

“The happiest people I’ve ever met, regardless of their profession, their social standing, or their economic status, are people that are fully engaged in the world around them. The most fulfilled people are the ones who get up every morning and stand for something larger than themselves. They are the people who care about others, who will extend a helping hand to someone in need or will speak up about an injustice when they see it.”
— Wilma Mankiller