By Cara Cowan Watts | Cherokee 411
Reverend Danny Stanley, retired
Member, Music Ministry, Oologah Assembly of God | Retired Ward 3 City Commissioner, City of Collinsville | Vice Chair, Victory Cherokee Organization
Tribal Citizenship: Cherokee Nation
Family Line: Springwater family, originally from Marble City, Oklahoma
Reverend Danny Stanley, retired, is a lifelong resident of Collinsville, Oklahoma, and a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation who has spent more than 50 years serving Cherokees and his community. He is a retired Ward 3 City Commissioner for the City of Collinsville and a Reverend who, though he has retired from leading his own congregation, remains active at Oologah Assembly of God as a member of the Music Ministry, where he’s often heard playing drums during services.
Danny has also devoted decades to the Victory Cherokee Organization, helping found and build the popular Cherokee community group. He is a former Chair and current Vice Chair of VCO, which does frequent outreach to youth and Elders across the community — covering culture, language, arts, crafts, and more — to strengthen the local Cherokee community by building strong Cherokee families and critical social networks.
Born in 1949 in Collinsville, Oklahoma, Danny joined the U.S. Army as a teenager, entering the volunteer draft at 17 in 1967. He served in the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea during the Vietnam Era, stationed there in 1968 when the USS Pueblo was attacked and captured by North Korean forces. He returned home after two years of service to a homecoming he’s described as difficult, recalling that he and fellow veterans were often treated with hostility rather than honor. He has said the Cherokee Nation’s welcome for its veterans stands in stark contrast to that homecoming, and he hopes that kind of honor for veterans becomes something practiced everywhere.
In recognition of his service and lifelong dedication to his people, Danny has been honored with the Cherokee Nation’s Medal of Patriotism (2020) and the Cherokee Warriors Award, and he was a participant in the Cherokee Nation Honor Flight’s 13th Warrior Flight.
Beyond his ministry and public service, Danny is a talented Native American flute maker whose work has reached people around the world. He is a proud father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
Church Affiliation
Oologah Assembly of God
13462 South Highway 169, Oologah, OK
(918) 443-2434
https://oagok.org/
The Vision of Oologah Assembly of God is Discipleship, Worship & Fellowship — a place where faith and family find God’s purpose.
Words of Comfort from Reverend Danny Stanley, retired
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
— Revelation 21:4
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