"We believe in negotiations, " says Malik Waris Khan Afridi, a tribal chief from the Khyber Agency.

NPR: Taliban Tightens Grip Near Northern Pakistan Border

They were hoping that Nyameron, a wild-coffee connoisseur they had met through a Murle tribal chief, could help.

WSJ: The Indiana Jones of Coffee

The powerful tribal chief Hamid al-Ahmar, who heads the Sunni Islamist Islah (Reform) party, is also reportedly boycotting the dialogue personally in protest at the decision to give Zaidi Shia rebels in northern Yemen, known as Houthis, most seats representing the province of Saada.

BBC: Yemen national dialogue conference begins

Tribal leader Malik Samad and district chief Muhammad Haqbeen told CNN that Joseph and an Afghan doctor were abducted near the village of Jegdalek in the Sarobi district, just outside Kabul.

CNN: American doctor rescued in Afghanistan: Thank you

Any Cherokee chief has a powerful lever over tribal members who live in Oklahoma, since many of them receive salaries from either the tribal government or Cherokee-owned businesses.

ECONOMIST: The Cherokee nation

Congressional leaders like Senator Dorgan, Representative Herseth Sandlin, and others who are here today, and tribal leaders like Chairman Marcus Levings, President Theresa Two Bulls, President Diane Enos, Chief Chad Smith, Vice Chairman Jonathan Windy Boy -- we are grateful to all of them for their extraordinary support.

WHITEHOUSE: Signing the Tribal Law and Order Act