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Howard Chandler Walkingstick addresses the audience after receiving the Ga Du Gi Award at the Oct. 15 Cherokee Nation Tribal Council meeting.

TAHLEQUAH, OK - The Cherokee Nation honored Howard Chandler Walkingstick with the Ga Du Gi Award during the Tribal Council meeting Monday night.

The Ga Du Gi award recognizes Cherokee citizens who put the Cherokee people first by engaging in an act or actions, which protect, preserve, and promote the well-being and legacy of the Cherokee people.

The 87-year-old Walkingstick is a World War II veteran, a retired social worker and a community leader. He worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in South Dakota, New Mexico, Colorado and Oklahoma.

After World War II, Walkingstick worked with the BIA in South Dakota.

"He immediately encountered racism towards Indians", said James McCullagh, a professor at Northern Iowa who nominated Walkingstick for the award. "An exclusive restaurant in Chamberlain prominently displayed a sign that said ‘No Indians Allowed.’ He soon had that sign removed and other similar signs in stores."

"That story shows how Howard has lived to embody the Cherokee spirit", said Principal Chief Chad Smith.

"I have worked with tribes all over the country", Walkingstick told the audience, "but I have always been a Cherokee. I love the Cherokee people."

"The results of Howard’s work on behalf of Indian communities have had a tremendous positive impact", Smith said. "Howard believes that his purpose in life has been to serve the Creator. He has given time and money to promote Indian causes and help Native Americans."

Walkingstick and his sister Galela live in Holdenville, Oklahoma. Their father, Simon Walkingstick, served the Cherokee Nation as a Senator and Auditor in the 1890s.