Buel Anglen: Setting the Bar for Service to Our People

A Tribute by Cara Cowan Watts

Cherokee411.com

There are builders.

And then there are Creators.

Buel Anglen was both.

Buel didn’t just join organizations — he created them. He helped found the Washington County Cherokee Association and the Victory Cherokee Organization. He strengthened and supported the Tulsa Cherokee Community Organization long before he took office and long after he left. He co-founded and shaped the Rogers County Cherokee Association. When he saw a need, he didn’t wait. He built something.

And when he built, it lasted.

He spent more than a decade fighting to get the Collinsville Food Distribution building constructed so Elders and families would not have to receive food out of the back of a truck in a parking lot. That wasn’t about bricks and mortar. That was about dignity.

He preserved Deputy Chief Victory’s gravesite and the surrounding cemetery — building a structure to protect it, creating the Victory Cherokee Organization to care for the facilities, and placing the Collinsville Food Distribution right next door so history and service stood side by side. That was Buel: honoring the past while feeding the future.

He helped repair roads and bridges critical to working families’ commutes and to children’s bus routes. He understood that infrastructure is love in action.

His first elected roles were service at its most local and personal — Tribal Council for the Loyal Shawnee and the Sperry School Board. He served when leaders did not benefit financially and often donated their own time and resources. He took pride in serving both the Loyal Shawnee and the Cherokee Nation when it was about responsibility, not reward.

He also served his country. He was an honored and respected military veteran, carrying that same quiet discipline and commitment into every part of his life. He was proud of his service, but he never led with it. He simply lived it through duty, steadiness, and loyalty. Above all, he was a devoted family man.

He was a poor kid on Cherry Street in Sperry. Downtown was “Uptown,” which is how his salon got its name — Uptown Hair. That was his lens: not what you lacked, but what you could build.

When he was young, a local Elder gifted him rabbits, which he turned into a thriving business — breeding rabbits, building cages, selling fertilizer, and fishing worms. He created something from nothing for his mother and siblings. He built a life and a family without ever being handed a silver spoon.

He lost his father at a young age and stepped into responsibility early. Yet he never lost a single family member from his heart. He loved every Juby and every Anglen, no matter how many generations or miles separated them.

And Clara.

He loved Clara with his whole heart. He knew exactly where his bread was buttered. He knew his teammate made many small, local businesses and his life's work. He never pretended otherwise.

Buel never met a stranger. And somehow, he always remembered your name. His smile, his laugh, his humor — they filled rooms. His love-filled lives.

He invested in leaders, too. He supported Wilma Mankiller and her campaigns. He invested in Chad Smith and his leadership. And he invested in every one of my campaigns. Not just with votes — but with time, belief, strategy, phone calls, miles driven, and steady encouragement. When Buel believed in you, he showed it with action.

To me, he was more than a colleague.

He invested in me as a best friend, mentor, and extra dad. He built our farmhouse. He built our business office. He built our shop. He helped build my work in the Cherokee Nation and across Indian Country. He and Clara traveled with Doug and me for the Tribe and for all of Indian Country. He supported me when it was easy — and when it was very hard.

He was there for us on the little stuff and the big stuff. The late-night calls. The early morning drives. The hard votes. The quiet encouragement. The laughter when it was needed most.

That kind of support is unconditional love.

He showed up for all of us. He set the bar for Tribal Council service and for service to our Indian People. He attended meeting after meeting, not for applause, but because showing up is what leaders do.

He built foundations in concrete.

But more importantly, he built foundations in people.

He gave everything to Sperry. To North Tulsa. To Cherokee and Loyal Shawnee people. To family. To friends. To community.

Buel was unconditional love in motion.

The organizations he created are still here. The roads he fought for are still traveled. The food building stands with dignity. The gravesite is protected. The family he adored is thriving. The leaders he mentored are still working.

That is legacy.

Wado, Buel.

For creating something from nothing. For building without a silver spoon. For serving your country and your people. For loving without condition.

You served all of us — and you will always be with us.