The “Monument to Forgiveness” statue at Northeastern State University was placed on the campus in 2016. The 4Next7 group created an infographic detailing the different student organizations that have advocated for the statue’s removal.

The “Monument to Forgiveness” statue at Northeastern State University was placed on the campus in 2016. The 4Next7 group created an infographic detailing the different student organizations that have advocated for the statue’s removal.

TAHLEQUAH – After seeing a need for more community engagement, Tahlequah youth came together and created the non-partisan political youth discussion group 4Next7. 

The group officially formed in February and holds meetings every Thursday.

“The person that got this group together was Lily Drywater,” Cherokee Nation citizen and group member Gabrielle Budder said. “Mainly, it started with just me and a couple other of her friends just talking. We did a lot of different volunteer stuff throughout the past, but we never really felt like there was a group here that was really active in the community.”

Initially, Budder said the group was more of a talking circle, but is continually evolving.

“Every person really brought to the table what they really wanted to see changed in this community or what was going well,” she said. “Now, it’s grown into more of an organization and we have thoughts of maybe being a non-profit in the future.”

Everything from political issues to crosswalks in Tahlequah are discussed during meetings, Budder said.

“We find local issues that we’re really passionate about and we bring them on the table,” she said. “So, it can be anything really.”

Budder said the first thing the group did was create an infographic about the “Monument to Forgiveness” statue on Northeastern State University’s Tahlequah campus.

“This is also a primarily Native group,” she said. “Most Native students on campus don’t enjoy that statue. It doesn’t have the right message and so we made an infographic about all the different student organizations that had been advocating against the statue since 2016.”

According to a previous Cherokee Phoenix article, the statue was created by Dutch-born sculptor Francis Jansen and first placed on the campus in 2001, where it stayed for approximately a year. In 2016, the artist donated a 15-foot tall bronze replica of the original marble statue to NSU, which depicts an Eagle Man standing atop a turtle base at the end of the Trail of Tears.

Budder said the organization has also done a community day, as well as took part in pro-choice marches after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe. V. Wade.

While described as a youth organization, Budder said those interested do not need to be a certain age to join. She added that all are welcome regardless of tribal affiliation.

“We tend to say youth, but I think that’s also because we don’t see ourselves as elders in the community. But we have active members anywhere from, I believe it was, 19 to 34,” she said. “It’s not only for Indigenous people; everybody’s able to join. But it is grounded in Indigenous values.”

The name, 4Next7, she said, also ties into those Indigenous values.

“Essentially, it’s just ensuring that we remind ourselves of our past seven generations, be mindful of our present situation and then looking forward to the next seven generations and how we impact them,” she said.

Originally from Claremore, Budder moved to Tahlequah to attend Northeastern State University. She said she has felt “embraced” by her peers and hopes through 4Next7 others can come together “as a community.”

“We’re really fostering that community that we’re all of the same space here. We all drink from the same water so we should all care for each other as the community we are,” she said. “We want to encourage discussion as much as possible about all the different topics. I don’t think we really have solutions for anything; we just know that some things need to be changed. So, any kind of discussion is really needed to be able to do anything.”

For more information or to join 4Next7, visit facebook.com/groups/2981931802117389/.