Weekly Update from Chief Flanagan 3/22/2026

Update:

Good afternoon,

Besides the usual phone call and zoom meetings, Chief Kersh and myself were able to meet with Tonya Fletcher state representative candidate for district 46. Several of the tribal citizens that I represent on Millcreek Mountain expressed to me concerns that they were not being heard or acknowledged. Mrs. Fletcher also heard this from these citizens and asked if we needed to meet.

I set up a meeting and after a brief tribal history lesson, we spoke about current events. Especially our disdain for the prison project. I conveyed the concerns that our Millcreek Mountain tribal citizens felt as though they were not being heard or communicated with.

Mrs. Fletcher indicated that she had every intention to communicate openly with all citizens within her district. I suggested that I organize a town hall at Mt. Hope Church on Anice Road so that the people on the mountain can speak with Mrs. Fletcher.

She agreed, and that town hall will be held Saturday the 28th at 5pm at Mt. Hope church 5815 Anice Rd, Charleston, AR 72933

Later that Day We visited the property of James Tedder accompanied by our tribal archeologist Dr. David Jurney. Mr. Tedder and Brenda Ruttle led us to three structures in the woods that they believed to be potential graves. Dr. Jurney opined that two were indeed graves and one was the chimney base of an indigenous shelter. The Tedder property is 7/10ths of a mile from the intended prison site. Pictures below.

My family and I just returned from a camping trip at Shores Lake where we encountered a very old cemetery with many uninscribed stone markers. We found the cemetery to be grown up and poorly maintained so we took it upon ourselves to clear some of the brush. This will likely be a spot of study as most of these graves were likely near or over 190 years old. Pictures below.

All in all, a great week.

Thank you!

Justin Flanagan
Western Region Medal Chief
The Chickamauga Nation