the mar. 15, 2018 | “tasahcuce” little spring · has 32 exam rooms and four pro-cedure rooms....

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New HOPe at MCNMCUnit has been caring for area PoPUlation since 1989

by JaSON SaLSMaNMULTIMEDIA PRODUCER

the United indian nations of oklahoma, Kansas and texas met feb. 26 at the osage casino in skiatook, oklahoma. leaders discussed federal budget cuts, the cobell settlement and potential changes for oklahoma gaming. (UinoKt twitter)

the Muscogee (creek) nation has released portions of the master plan, which outlines potential plans for the tribal complex and properties in okmulgee, oklahoma. the image above is a possible map of the finished tribal complex. (MCN Master Plan)

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W I N N ER O F T H E O K SP J , C A RT ER B R A D LE Y F I R S T A M EN D M EN T & T H E N A J A , EL I A S B O U D I N OT F R EE P R E S S A W A R DS

MAR. 15, 2018 | “ TA SAHCUCE” LIT TLE SPRING | V O L . 4 8 , I S S U E 6THE

THE OFFICIAL TRIBAL NEWSPAPER OF THE MUSCOGEE (CREEK) NATION • PRODUCED BY

oKMUlgee, oklahoma — there is renewed hoPe at the Muscogee (creek) nation Medical center in okmulgee.

on March 1, the doors were opened to the public for the first time on the newly remodeled hoPe behavioral health Unit.

hoPe is an inpatient behavioral crisis hospital designed specifically for senior citizens trying to cope with depression, suicidal thoughts or actions, medication manage-ment issues or an exacerbation of a previously diagnosed mental ill-ness.

“it’s a great addition to our hos-pital,” McnMc coo tim hicks said. “it’s going to create additional revenue for the hospital to be able to update our facilities and be able to invest money back in.”

hicks also mentioned the high demand for the emergency room

and the newly remodeled unit and its 16 beds being able to alleviate some of the pressure on the er.

“any hospital you go to, your er is obviously your front door and we work very hard here to keep our wait times low and to get patients in and out,” hicks said. “We see over 1,300 patients a month in our er here. a lot of these patients come in with behavior issues or suicide ideation. this facility helps to get them the care that they need, while helping our er.”

the hoPe Unit accepts Medic-aid, Medicare, most private insur-ances and native american cit-izens. there are 16 crisis beds available and placement inquiries are taken 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

the number to call for ques-tions or to inquire about placing a patient is: 918-758-5515. if you are having suicidal thoughts, go to McnMc or the nearest emergency room to you for immediate assis-tance.

sKiatooK, oklahoma — it has been 13 months into the donald trump administration and the members of the United indian nations of oklahoma, Kansas and texas are still wres-tling with its impact on indian country.

“this administration and where it is with indian coun-try…it’s just nuts,” Pawnee nation President bruce Pratt said. “You start wondering which fight you’re going to

have to fight with them…but no matter what, at the end of the year, with the cuts they’re pro-posing, we’re going to be deep in the hole. it is just awful.”

Pratt was among more than a dozen tribal leaders who con-verged on osage casino-skia-took feb. 26 for UinoKt’s quar-terly meeting.

the trump administration’s budget proposal calls for cuts or outright elimination of mul-tiple programs serving indian country, including a $453 mil-lion cut to the bureau of indian Affairs and the end of the Low

income home energy assistance Program, the department of labor’s indian and native amer-ican Program, the tribal energy loan guarantee Program, the Johnson o’Malley Program and the department of housing and Urban development’s indian community development block grant Program.

in addition to being lieu-tenant governor of the chick-asaw Nation, Jefferson Keel is the current president of the national congress of ameri-can indians. the White house released its 2019 budget pro-posal during ncai’s mid-year meeting, prompting additional

oKeMah, oklahoma — the Muscogee (creek) nation hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony March 2 for the Mcn community hospi-tal in okemah.

“it is a very exciting day,” Mcn secretary of health shawn terry said. “this hospital has been a long time coming for this community.”

he said the new facility would replace the old building, which is over 40 years old.

Mcnch provides family medi-cine, pharmacy, lab and x-ray.

the clinic located in the facility has 32 exam rooms and four pro-cedure rooms.

the hospital will also provide inpatient and emergency room services to the public.

There are five fast track rooms in the emergency portion to pro-vide quick treatment to patients.

“this multi-million, state of the art facility is going to be something that is badly needed for this area,” terry said.

according to a press release issued by Mcn Public relations, the 118,075 square-foot facility is only one of two native-owned hos-pitals in oklahoma that serves the general public with the other being the Mcn Medical center in okmul-gee.

during the ceremony, the importance of Mcnch for the area

was the main focus for many tribal administrators.

“i think the most important thing is that this investment is in an area of the most under-served healthcare area that you would probably find in the state of Okla-homa,” Mcn Principal chief James floyd said.

Mcnch is located at 1800 e. coplin road in okemah.

on March 8, Mcn Public rela-tions posted on their facebook page that the emergency room and hospital portion of the facility was not yet open and an official open-ing date would be announced at a later time.

‘in regards to the Muscogee (creek) nation community hos-pital in okemah, the emergency room and hospital services are still currently at the original facility located at 309 n. 14th st. okemah, okla. 74859,’ the statement said.

oKMUlgee, oklahoma — the Muscogee (creek) nation released portions of the master plan created for the nation and its properties.

the report outlines potential plans for existing buildings, replac-ing aging buildings and preparing for future development.

“We have assets and resources, natural resources in this area that are existing with no concept of what we’re going to use that resource for or any strategy that brings every-

thing together,” Mcn Principal chief James floyd said.

he said the plan analyzed Mcn properties and how to best utilize them in the years to come.

in March 2017, the Mcn national council approved nca 17-031, appropriating $516,526 from the capital improvement account for the development of a master site plan for the complex and surrounding properties.

council speaker lucian tiger said the council supported the plan because they would like to see it come to fruition.

“these are 40-plus-year-old buildings… We have to start reinvest-ing our money into our tribal com-plex because our citizenship contin-ues to grow,” he said.

fsb architectural engineers com-pleted the plan, interviewing individ-uals from tribal departments, council and community members to analyze operations and create a report to fit current and future needs.

Mvskoke Media requested a copy of the full report and received the plans for the tribal complex and

the Muscogee (creek) nation held a ribbon cutting ceremony March 2 for the Mcn community hospital in okemah, oklahoma.(deviney luchsinger/Multimedia specialist)

the newly remodeled Muscogee (creek) nation Medical center hoPe Unit will feature 16 crisis beds and take placement inquiries 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (Jason salsman/Multimedia Producer)

uiNOKt diSCuSSeS PrOPOSed federaL budget at quarterLY MeetiNgbUdget cUts inclUde $453 Million to biaby LeNZY KreHbieL-burtONMvskOkE MEDIA CORREsPONDENT

Master Plan – 2

UinoKt – 2


hokkôlenThe Mvskoke News

The Mvskoke News

Sterling Cosper, Manager | [email protected]

Jessica Mcbride, Managing editor | [email protected]

darren deLaune, reporter | [email protected]

Liz gray, reporter | [email protected]

Kevin barnett, reporter | [email protected]

Jason Salsman, contributor | [email protected]

deviney Luchsinger, contributor | [email protected]

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breanna Viles, advertising & sales | [email protected]

Mark Hill, layout & design | [email protected]

The ‘Mvskoke News’ is the official publication of the Muscogee (creek) nation. its purpose is to meet the needs of the tribe and its citizens through the dissemination of information. reprint permission is granted with credit to the ‘Mvskoke news’ unless other copyrights are shown.

editorial statements appearing in the ‘Mvskoke news,’ guest columns and readers’ letters reflect the opinion of the individual writer and not those of the ‘Mvskoke news,’ its advisors or the tribal administration and are subject to editorial discretion. editorials and letters must be signed by the individual writer and include a traceable address or phone number to be considered for publication. Please contact our office for deadline of submissions to be considered for inclusion. the ‘Mvskoke news’ reserves the right to edit all submissions for space, style and grammar. receipt of submissions does not obligate the ‘Mvskoke news’ in any regard.

the ‘Mvskoke news’ is mailed from stigler, oklahoma, to all enrolled Muscogee (creek) citizens’ households upon request. inquiries should be directed to Mvskoke Media. Please include your tribal enrollment number or last four digits of your social security number accompanied by your date of birth with all correspondence.

to submit a change of address or a letter to the editor, call: 918-732-7720 or email: [email protected].

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Members of the native american Journalists association

Native American Journalist Association

cultural center. the reports for the omniplex/agriplex/hotel and casino, 40-acre industrial site and commu-nity center site were withheld citing ongoing negotiations for commercial aspects of the plans.

“because we haven’t decided on a brand or concept or the suppliers and things like that yet, because of the agreements that we have with the individuals that we’re talking to, until we get it signed and it’s approved by the council, we don’t want to jeopardize the work,” floyd said.

he said the plans would be released and promoted once they are finalized and approved by Coun-cil. he hopes the plans would be finalized by the end of this year.

tribal Complex

the report states several master plans were completed over the years, but appear to not have been followed.

‘…resulting in a less than desir-able layout that is fragmented and non-contiguous and that does not provide a walkable campus or lend itself to operational efficiency,’ it states.

the report proposes relocating some departments such as main-tenance, fleet and tribal construc-tion from the southern portion of the complex to an industrial functions/services site in order to free up space near the complex. it also suggests relocating one fire casino to provide better visibility and expansion space for a potential hotel.

the report recommends new buildings to replace the aging solo-mon Mccombs and education and training buildings and constructing a courthouse and lighthorse tribal Police department facility and jail.

this would allow the courts to vacate the Mound building in order for it to be used for permanent offices for each National Council rep-resentative.

a tribal services building would be constructed to house internal functions of the tribe, including a shared studio space for Mcn Public relations and Mvskoke Media and a café for employees and visitors.

Mvskoke Media asked floyd if this was an indication of an intention to repeal the independent Press act and merge the departments.

Floyd said efficiency drives the thinking behind the plan.

“When we had the firm look at that, they presented the plan that you can save costs instead of having two studios and two separate ones to maybe co-locating them in the same building and just block out the time,” he said.

a potential separate building with a shelter is proposed for the family Violence Prevention Program.

‘a belief was expressed that people are hesitant to utilize their services because they are concerned that their children will be taken away, a perception based on this program being located in the same building with children and family services,’ the document states.

the report states the overall plan would be a significant investment and would likely require the pro-posal to be divided into stages as revenues allow.

floyd said he did not have a timeline for completion of the com-plex plan.

“the value of the strategic plan is that it gives us data that we can use for grants. We can approach federal officials and private groups that pro-vide grants for governmental use,” he said. “and we hope to leverage our information as much as possible so that we can do as much as we can without having appropriations from the national council.”

floyd did not have an estimated the cost for the tribal complex site to be completed.

“We know it’s millions of dollars and we know we can’t get millions of dollars in one year,” he said. “so this is going to have to be spread out over a period of time.”

floyd said there are a few obsta-cles to getting started with construct-ing new buildings such as part of the land lying in a flood plain and little previous planning for utility lines and the layout of the complex.

Cultural Center

another portion of the report details an option to convert the former okmulgee country club into a cultural center.

‘the setting of the landscape, tree lined views and sculpted ground plane provides a feel of connection with nature,’ the report states.

the goal would be to create a place that educates, preserves and honors Mvskoke culture.

the plan would use the current structure and add additional build-ings for a theater, collections and exhibits as well as a walking path.

“to date, we have not had a good solid plan of the country club property. We haven’t acted on many offers to use it as a golf course because we know that there’s a decline in golf courses throughout the United states and to activate one here may not be viable financially,” floyd said.

he said the building has been placed on the oklahoma historic register and was deemed structur-ally sound by an engineer.

“So that would be our first step is to get the resources to begin to restore that building back to its orig-inal design and we can do that,” floyd said. “the idea is that instead of having an addition to it which we had considered, was instead to have separate buildings that would house our inventories of things.”

he said Mcn would look to get funding through a cultural non-profit from foundations and federal grants, and then approach council for addi-tional funding.

floyd said the location would house departments that are cul-tural or historical in nature. he said the cultural center and archives’ vis-itor’s center in downtown okmul-gee would become a starting point to direct people out to the cultural center.

Mvskoke Media asked floyd if he would be seeking re-election in order to push the master plan for-ward. he said the plan is not a politi-cal document and should be utilized by any leader in the future.

Mcn code annotated title 28, chapter 6 explains the purpose of the tribal master site plan and requires the tribal planner to review the plan annually, ensure conformity to the plan, recommend changes and submit an annual report to the principal chief on the capital improvement Program.

the tribal complex and cultural center master plans can be viewed at: www.mvskokemedia.com.

MaSter PLaNcontinued from Page 1

uiNOKtcontinued from Page 1

meetings with members of con-gress in an effort to prevent the suggested indian country cuts from gaining traction on capi-tol hill.

“indian country is usually not consulted on the budget process,” Keel said to UinoKt attendees. “it’s more ‘this is what you get.’

“My feeling is that you can’t balance a budget on the backs of the poor and most vulner-able. i think when everything is said and done, we’ll see a budget that won’t necessar-ily provide what all we need, as we’re always underfunded. however, i think it will more closely resemble what we’ve seen in recent years.”

the administration has also previously announced plans to curtail the land buy-back pro-gram created under the cobell settlement, dropping more than 50 tribes from the participation waitlist, including the stroud-based sac and fox nation.

Citing appraisal difficulties, none of the 20 tribes on the revised implementation list are from oklahoma.

“for us to be looked at and told it was too hard to appraise our land…that was not accept-able,” sac and fox chairwoman Kay rhoades said. “We’re asking that everyone please contact their representatives. We need the economic devel-opment opportunities just as much as those other tribes. are our people’s lands not as valu-able?”

Meanwhile, with most of the attending officials repre-senting oklahoma tribes, one of the candidates in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial race made an appearance at the quarterly meeting.

the outgoing mayor of okla-homa city, Mick cornett is one of six republicans seek-ing to advance to the novem-ber general election to replace term-limited Mary fallin.

acknowledging his limited experience in tribal affairs, Cor-nett only addressed one indian Country-specific topic in his prepared remarks, as he threw his support behind the possi-ble expansion of tribal gaming to allow craps, roulette and pooled sports betting at casinos in exchange for the state getting 10 percent of the proceeds.

With the state of oklahoma facing a multi-million dollar budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year, similar measures allowing for gaming expansion passed out of the committee level in both the state house of representatives and senate. should either measure be passed, officials with the House of representatives are project-ing the change would generate $28 million annually for state coffers, with 88 percent of the money going to the state’s edu-cation reform revolving fund.

“i don’t know what your expectations are yet, but i want to meet them once i fully under-stand them,” cornett said when publicly pressed by attendees for a promise for more frequent consultations.

MNYC MarCH uPdateby darreLL PrOCtOr iiMNYC sPEAkER

oKMUlgee, oklahoma — hensci! it has been a great month for the Mvskoke nation Youth coun-cil (MnYc).

on feb. 16, MnYc volunteered and participated in the third annual native love dance. everyone had a good time dancing and learning how to engage in a healthy relationship. thank you to the family Violence Protection Program and Mvskoke nation Youth services for putting on this event every year!

As part of the monthly field trips for the culture and language com-mittee, members of the MnYc took a trip to faith indian baptist church to attend their fourth sunday ser-vice on March 4. MnYc enjoys learn-ing about Mvskoke culture and looks forward to continuing taking cultural trips.

We would like to congratulate MnYc members iesha Phillips and arianna Maelyn osborne for being selected as the high school and Middle school students of the Year

for the Mvskoke Women’s leader-ship awards! congratulations to all of the award winners!

everyone mark your calendars for creekchella on May 5 at the Mvskoke dome. creekchella is a wellness music festival with the goal of raising awareness for mental health.

also, we would like to invite any Mvskoke youth ages 12-24 to join the Mvskoke Youth choir. if inter-ested, please contact Phillip (bugsy) barnoski at: 918-758-8388. the choir meets every Wednesday evening for practice at 6 p.m. at the MNYS Office, which is located at: 112 e. 6th st. in okmulgee.

Mvtekusen makit! Mvto! MnYc meets on the second sat-

urday of each month at 10 a.m. at the Mvskoke nation Youth services Office, which is located at: 112 E. 6th st. in okmulgee. if you or anyone you know is interested in join-ing Mvskoke nation Youth council, please contact Youth services at: 918-549-2557 or [email protected]. connect with us on facebook, twitter and instagram: @mvskokeyc2015.

The ‘Mvskoke News’ will feature 2018 Muscogee (Creek) Nation high school, military, technical school and college graduates in the upcoming June 1 edition of the ‘MN.’

Profiles will be edited for Associated Press style, structure, grammar, spelling, length and punctuation. LATE PROFILES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Please submit this completed form accompanied with a digital photo file via email to [email protected] no later than Friday, May 11 by 5 p.m. in order to be published in the 2018 ‘MN’ graduate edition. If you do not receive an emailed confirmation of receipt, please call the office to verify the profile has been received.

2018 Graduate Profile FormName:High School/College/Technical Institute/Military Program:Bio (150-word limit):

CALLING FORGRADUATEPROFILES

For more information, please call: 918-732-7720.


Tuccênen The Mvskoke News

#RealTalkwith JASONSALSMAN

“‘This thing has more cuts than the meat-processing department at Wal-Mart.’”

oKMUlgee, oklahoma — are you a native ameri-can that was offended by President Donald Trump’s use of the term “Pocahontas” when referring to U.s. sen. elizabeth Warren’s continued claims of native ancestry?

Perhaps you are a descendant of one of the tribes forcibly removed from the southeast on the trail of tears and the president’s admitted admiration for andrew Jackson, who ordered said removal, sticks in your craw just a bit.

Well… does 45 have a “hold my beer” moment for you folks.

on feb. 12, the trump administration released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2019 and if you don’t like cuts to indian country then avert your eyes.

this thing has more cuts than the meat-processing department at Wal-Mart.

the list of programs that are slated in the proposed plan for outright elimination have served as the back-bone of tribal governments’ services to their respective citizenry for years and years.

the indian community development block grant under hUd? gone. the department of labor’s indian and native american Program? it’s history. the tribal energy loan guarantee Program? toast.

i wonder how most oklahoma lawmakers, teach-

#reaLtaLKPrez With faMoUs hair ProPosing sUPer cUts to indian coUntrYby JaSON SaLSMaNMULTIMEDIA PRODUCER

ers and parents that understand the education-funding crisis that is facing our state will react to the elimination of the Johnson o’ Malley Program? not only has it been a staple program of indian education for over 80 years, but it’s also been a funding gap for several public school dis-tricts with large numbers of native students. in this plan, JoM goes bYe. i mean, try and picture a world with no JoM program. at the very least, i can’t imagine anyone who would want to see the challenge bowl vanish.

in addition, it calls for a $61 million reduction in con-struction costs for bureau of indian education schools, from $133 million in 2017 to a proposed $72 mil-lion. the administration proposed an alternative fund-ing mechanism for school construction, but it does not include a plan for bie schools.

have you been outside lately? ice one day, 70 degrees the next. Weather is pretty unpredictable these days. We’ve talked with our Mcn environmental ser-vices department about climate change and seeing its effects. We have elders and families with small children in our boundaries with limited means, where stretch-ing those means and obtaining assistance is vital for even basic home necessities like heat and air. the low income home energy assistance Program (liheaP) has been a valuable tool for these families and elders, and under this proposed plan liheaP goes to the trash heap.

now this isn’t a political takedown piece or a com-mentary meant to bash the president or dissuade you from holding him and his plans in high regard. i know there are a lot of tribal members that voted for trump and are behind him 100 percent. it’s not my place as a journalist to have an opinion one way or the other on who you did or didn’t vote for. You’ll never mistake my columns for a pulpit.

this is simply a look at some pretty serious and

impactful proposed moves on indian country. but surely, we can all agree that we want what’s best for our nations and want to see treaties honored and upheld.

don’t even take my word for it, research it for your-self. if you want to have a look at the proposed fY 2019 budget go ahead and dive in right here: www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/bud-get-fy2019.pdf. to me, this is not a partisan issue. it’s not a republican thing or a democrat thing; it’s an indian thing.

it’s also important to note that this is just a proposal. that whole checks and balances thing that we all love so well puts final say and approval on what this will actu-ally look like on the shoulders of the U.s. congress. but this no doubt sends a signal as to what this administra-tion’s plans may be going forward as it pertains to native americans.

if you feel strongly about the cuts that are proposed in this plan, my suggestion is to get on the phone with tribal council, chiefs, inter-tribal organizations and your state congress. implore these individuals to lobby on your behalf. tribes can combat this by having a strong presence in Washington, d.c. and at the state govern-ment level.

We’ve seen tribal interests gain momentum and have a larger seat at the table here in oklahoma and that’s a welcome sign. it’s time to use that power. it can be done. the educational cuts mentioned are similar to cuts proposed in the 2018 version and the bureau of indian education defeated them.

the president using generalizing insensitive language and speaking admirably of history’s ultimate “indian Killer” are just words, they can never hurt you. slashing essential funding and killing tribal programs at the fed-eral level, that’s sticks and stones.

(MvskokeVision)

the american indian cultural center and Museum in oklahoma city is estimated to open in spring 2021. (aiccM Website)

oKlahoMa citY — the american indian cultural center and Museum is esti-mated to open its doors in spring of 2021.

shoshanna Wasserman, associate director for the aiccM said the museum

hopes to share the collective story and the impact native americans had on american history and how native amer-icans contribute to modern society in oklahoma.

“this is a place to share those complex stories in the state, the region and quite frankly the international com-munity, to understand that

this is a microcosm of amer-ica’s story,” she said during an interview with Mvskoke radio.

the project started in 2006 and originally was supposed to be funded equally by fed-eral bonds, the state and donations from the private sector.

she said the federal gov-ernment was unable to fulfill its side of the agreement, and in 2012, state funding ran out, causing the project to cease.

recently, the state of okla-homa sold the land back to oklahoma city, who sold a large portion of the land base to aiccM land development llc, a subsidiary of the chick-asaw nation land develop-ment department of com-merce.

according to www.okga-zette.com, in 2015 the chick-asaw nation approached the city to cover construction costs that exceed $65 million and provide $2 million in oper-ational costs for seven years in exchange for the chance to develop the land near the

museum.the website states this

agreement would fulfill the requirements of the state, proposed by oklahoma house speaker Jeff hickman and signed by the governor.

“the chickasaw nation has long been a strong support in the american indian cul-tural center and Museum,” bill lance, tribal commerce secretary said in an email to ‘oklahoma gazette’ in 2015. “as an investor, operator and owner in a variety of diverse businesses we are pleased to offer to invest in the aiccM for the benefit of the city, the state and chickasaw nation.”

Wasserman said it is not a chickasaw nation project and the museum will still be for all 39 tribal nations in okla-homa.

she said the museum does not attempt to tell each of the tribe’s individual stories, but instead highlight the collec-tive story of all the nations, from pre-european con-tact, removal and the board-ing school era, all the way to

modern times. Wasserman said one of the

galleries will tell the story of how all 39 tribes got to okla-homa, in both a historical context and a contemporary context.

another exhibit will include cultural materials on long-term loan from the smithso-nian Museum of the american indian.

other exhibits will include a changing exhibitions gal-lery, a children’s discovery center, and a community gal-lery that will showcase fluid and topical collections.

and finally, the museum will also host a gallery for per-manent collections.

Wasserman called okla-homa city a “gateway” and hopes the museum will inspire visitors to explore local cultural centers and museums.

“it’s really a compliment to what’s going on in indian country,” she said.

construction for aiccM is scheduled to begin late this summer.

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ôstenThe Mvskoke News

deCLaratiON iN PrOCeSS tO be traNSLated iNtO MVSKOKe leaders discUss cUltUral concernsby darreN deLauNeREPORTER

tHe NatiVe VOteorganization discUsses difficUlties for natiVe Votersby KeViN barNettREPORTER

ePideMiC iN JuriSdiCtiON, tHrOugHOut u.S.dePartMent Wants aWareness on oPioidsby darreN deLauNeREPORTER

oKMUlgee, oklahoma — Mus-cogee (creek) nation district court Judge greg bigler has been meeting with the nation’s ceremonial ground leaders to help with the Un’s declara-tion on the rights of indigenous Peo-ples.

What they have agreed on is having the declaration translated into Mvskoke.

“that is in order to develop and preserve the languages that the nation has had,” bigler said. “also, to make it our own.”

bigler feels with these translations into Mvskoke, it will help with the pres-ervation of ceremonial ways.

“also, our rights for elderly, health, nutrition lands and territories,” he said.

tUlsa, oklahoma— native americans have one of the lowest voter participation rates in the country. there is, however, a grow-ing effort to remedy this disparity

the native american Voting Rights Coalition held a field hear-ing feb 23, which was open to the public, at the University of tulsa’s college of law.

the tU hearing was the sixth of nine hearings planned in different regions across the country, regions with large populations of natives.

the purpose of these hearings is to educate people on the many barriers that prevent native ameri-cans from being able to participate fully and effectively in the political process.

“We’ve really come across a wide range of issues and we’re here to record these voices,” native american rights fund lawyer Jac-queline de leon said.

some common issues dis-cussed were voter registration, lan-guage barriers, voter ids, redis-tricting issues and accessibility to polling locations.

along with these conditional

oKMUlgee, oklahoma — What are opioids? on the web-site for the national institute on drug abuse, opioids are a class of drugs that include the ille-gal drug heroin, synthetic opi-oids such as fentanyl and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxyco-done, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine and many others.

Muscogee (creek) nation department of health Medical director for behavioral health services dr. gary Puls has a simpler answer for what opi-oids are.

“there’s naturally occurring opiates and there is synthetic ones, which is created by us, well not us, but by people,” he said. “they are pain relievers.”

opioids have been making headlines across the U.s. as an epidemic and are also affecting the Mcn jurisdiction.

bhs treatment coordinator laura savage said there were 3,553 unintentional overdosed deaths in oklahoma in 2011-2015.

“sixty percent of an unin-

according to the Un human rights office of the high commissioner’s website, UndriP is a declaration that establishes framework for minimum standards of survival, dignity, well-be-ing and rights of the world’s indigenous peoples.

this declaration was adopted in 2007.

bigler brought up that the Murphy v. royal case can come down to whether the nation gets the control of their territory.

“the declaration says we get to,” he said.

bigler said in current federal indian law, which controls what Mcn can do within the nation, there are no ultimate rights for Mcn to continue as a people.

“if that is true where can we find that inherent right to exist and a way to protect ourselves, and the declaration

barriers there was another intan-gible obstacle that was mentioned more than once: a lack of belief in the system.

“We can make it [voting] as easy as we want, but if somebody doesn’t feel like it matters then they’re not going to vote,” chero-kee nation secretary of state chuck hoskin Jr. said.

the day was not only to identify the obstacles, but also to share suc-cesses that can be replicated across indian country.

de leon emphasized the need to ‘start somewhere,’ pointing out the lack of native representation at all levels of government.

“You can have a voice on things like school boards or county com-missions that can make noticeable changes in your everyday life,” she said.

at the center of the day’s discus-sions was identifying the need for natives to collectively take a more proactive role at every stage of the political process.

“if you come together you can present native candidates, get elected to things and make native agendas,” de leon said.

NAvRC’s field hearings are scheduled to conclude in april of this year in calif.

for more information on naVrc visit narf.org.

tentional overdosed deaths involved an opioid,” she said.

she also said men were slightly more than likely to die by overdose than women.

“the highest age population to overdose was from 35-64,” savage said.

savage said the statistics she spoke of are primarily in the Mcn jurisdiction and the south-ern part of oklahoma.

Puls said a reason has not been found for why this area has been hit hard with the opioid epidemic.

savage said Mcndh has an opioid task force and they want to meet with the Mcn light-horse tribal Police department to train them with kits to help if someone has overdosed on opi-oids.

“our (oklahoma) state troopers do that,” she said. “We want to make sure that is avail-able for our lighthorse.”

Savage said BHS has five sites located at the health clin-ics throughout Mcn that people can contact for assistance with opioid addiction.

she said any site can be reached by calling the okmul-gee site at: 918-758-1910.

says we have those rights,” he said.he said the translation process has

been going on for over two years. “the translators do a marvelous

job,” bigler said.bigler said the 1867 Mcn constitu-

tion is written in Mvskoke. “our current constitution is not,” he

said.University of colorado professor

and Un expert Mechanism on the rights of indigenous People commit-tee Member Kristen carpenter was invited to attend the meeting to speak with the ceremonial and tribal govern-ment leaders about UndriP.

“i’m also here to listen to the con-cerns of the Muscogee (creek) people around human rights and federal indian law and day-to-day cultural con-cerns,” she said.

concerns that have been brought up are the survival of the culture, lan-guage and ceremonial grounds.

“the ability to keep all these going as society changes and laws in okla-homa are sometimes restrictive of some of those practices,” carpenter said.

she said although each tribe is dif-ferent, they all have struggles keeping their religions and cultural practices.

“especially the ones that have to deal with specific lands,” carpenter said.

carpenter said Mcn is a leader in using the language of human rights and advocating for cultural freedoms.

“from what i understand i think some of your tribal leaders been going to the Un for decades,” she said.

bigler said they are making great progress on the translation of UndriP. they are hoping to have it finished by this summer.

Muscogee (creek) nation district court Judge greg bigler discusses translating an indige-nous rights document into the Mvskoke language. (shutterstock) the University of tulsa hosted a discussion feb. 23 about low voter involvement among native ameri-

cans. (Kevin barnett/reporter)

a lock box is installed to prevent misuse of prescription medication. (Mn file Photo)

Join host, Gary Fife, on ‘Mvskoke Radio’ every Wednesday at 10:00 AM on ‘1240 AM

KOKL The Brew’ or 1240thebrew.com!


cahKêPen The Mvskoke News

MCN aNNOuNCeS New rOYaLtY COOrdiNatOr MuSCOgEE (CREEK) CiTizEN BRiNgS ExPERiENCE to Positionby LiZ graYREPORTER

a baNNer triO three indigenoUs WoMen MaKe national neWs Protesting oK goVernorby JaSON SaLSMaNMULTIMEDIA PRODUCER

CONgreSSMaN iNtrOduCeS LegiSLatiON fOr direCt aCCeSS tO OPiOid graNtSlegislation to alloW tribes access to grants to treat disordersby darreN deLauNeREPORTER

oKMUlgee, oklahoma — Muscogee (creek) citizen faith lea Weeks harjo was hired as the new royalty coordinator for Miss and Jr. Miss Muscogee (creek) nation.

the Mcn scholarship Pageant committee requested the cre-ation of full-time position through council in september 2017.

the need for the position, according to legislation, came from the increase in requests for appearances by the Mcn royalty. committee members had earned over 280 hours of comp time while volunteering during fiscal year 2017.

according to a press release issued by Mcn Public relations, harjo is a former Miss indian oklahoma and Jr. Miss okla-homa. she has volunteered for

oKlahoMa citY — on feb. 5, oklahoma gov. Mary fallin gave her eighth and final State of the state address.

three indigenous women made sure it was one nobody will soon forget.

near the end of her speech, a banner was dropped from the balcony that featured a likeness of the governor with the words “okla-homa state of despair” painted over the face.

according to the women responsible for the action, ashley Mccray (oglala lakota/absentee shawnee), sydne gray (Mvskoke) and Madison lovell (Kiowa), the motivation came from not wanting this swan song address to turn into a ticker tape parade.

“We knew she was going to try and leave on a good note trying to make it sound like she had done all these amazing things,” Mccray said. “We definitely wanted to make sure that we sent some sort of message to her that we don’t agree with her policies, we don’t like the things that she’s done for the people of the state of okla-homa and to the people of the state of oklahoma and what she’s done to the environment.”

The three women definitely achieved their goal of getting the departing governor’s attention, as Fallin actually was the first to boo them from the podium before being joined by some in the gal-lery.

they got the attention of the media too. several outlets called right away. they have done inter-views for newspapers, magazines

Washington — in a recent press release, h.r. 5140, which is the tribal addiction and recovery act was introduced by U.s. rep. Markwayne Mullin (oK-2).

if passed, tara will allow tribes direct access to federal opioid grants to treat all substance abuse disorders.

currently, tribes are forced to petition to the state for access to grants dealing with opioids that are created by the comprehensive addiction and recovery act.

“american indians and alaska natives (ai/an) have the high-est opioid overdose rate in the country—higher than any other minority,” Mullin said in the release.

according to Mullin, tara would create a specific funding stream for tribes to fight addiction in their communities by streamlining gov-ernment resources and grants for the ai/an community.

additionally, these grants could be used for more than just pre-scription drug addiction. the grants can be used to address historical

several pageant and princess committees for various native organizations.

“i look forward to continu-ing the work that the pageant committee has done and cre-ating exciting opportunities to showcase our young Mvskoke women,” harjo said.

the Mcn pageant committee will still play an important role for the pageant.

“they are the support for me and they pretty much do the exact same thing they have been doing,” harjo said during an interview with ‘Mvskoke radio.’

she said one of the most important parts of her job right now is recruiting, which includes attending different community meetings.

the new position is not the only change for the Mcn pag-eant, which is held during the spring every year.

the deadline for applications has been extended to March 16.

and television. and although they were booed inside the capitol, outside is where they have made waves and the response has been overwhelmingly supportive.

“We actually received a lot of support across all age demo-graphics and party lines and through different races and tribal nations as well,” gray said. “i think what we did spoke for not just us as indigenous women from dif-ferent nations, but also for all people across oklahoma. it’s not just indigenous people or people of color that have been disenfran-chised.”

lovell was encouraged by the response they have received and the attention it had commanded, but the real hope is this action is a springboard for even more efforts in the future.

“We’re hoping that this action will inspire people to come and get out to future actions,” she said. “now we have to do something about it and be proactive.”

the three women certainly have no plans of wasting the momentum. they are serious about environmental issues that have been a hot topic in indian country.

they are all members of a mobile resistance group called stop Plains all american Pipeline that targets dialogue on the con-struction of the Paa Pipeline in oklahoma, and general environ-mental concerns brought about by the oil and gas industry.

according to lovell, the organi-zation’s recent focus has been on a company called arrowhead energy that is trying to get an injection well near lake thunderbird just out-side of norman.

lovell said that while working with the city of norman’s board of adjustments, they have encoun-tered several oil companies requesting variances on insurance policies. these policies they are asking to not insure would cover everything from workers compen-sation to oil spills.

“We’re making sure that we keep them in check, and that they don’t do anything that harms our people or our environment,” lovell said.

gray acknowledged that her own tribe, the Muscogee (creek) nation, has had years of low voter turnout and is looking for a spark when it comes to youth and invest-ment in the nation and its gover-nance. she hopes actions like this protest making the news can be an impetus of greater involvement in the democratic process.

“What’s so difficult, especially for youth, is that we as a political category have to engage with not only the federal government but the state government, local govern-ment and our tribal governments. so there’s so many levels of just bureaucratic institutions and these things we have to jump over,” gray said. “so i think it’s especially important to let creek youth know that we can’t inspire change unless we work with some of these insti-tutions to some extent.”

Mccray believes the protest was made even more meaningful coming from the indigenous per-spective of three individuals who each have different tribal histories and stories of how they came to be in what is now oklahoma.

“for us to come back and reclaim who we are and stand up on behalf of our ancestors and future generations, i think that sent a really strong message to Mary fallin and the state of okla-homa,” Mccray said.

fallin booed. translation: mes-sage received.

and intergenerational trauma by giving tribes authority to allocate the funds how they see fit when it comes to addiction treatment.

Mullin said he is proud to intro-duce tara.

“i believe it is a violation of the treaty-trust responsibility of the fed-eral government to force sovereign tribes to ask the state for access to these grants,” he said. “i’m proud to introduce the tribal addiction and recovery act so that tribes gain the same ability as states to claim and utilize this funding to fight the opioid epidemic in indian country. these grants will also be available to the states and tribes to treat all types of substance abuse disorders, including addiction to heroin, meth, and alcohol.”

the press release stated the 21st century cures act, which included cara, was enacted in 2016. cara authorized almost $1 billion in new funding to fight the epidemic.

last month, congress autho-rized an additional $6 billion in funding to fight the opioid epi-demic for fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2019 in the bipartisan budget agreement.

Muscogee (creek) citizen faith lea Weeks harjo was hired for the new royalty coordinator position. (Mcn Public relations)

Ashley McCray (left) and Sydne gray (right) drop a banner in protest of Oklahoma gov. Mary Fallin’s final State of the State address. (Madison Lovell)

U.s. rep. Markwayne Mullin introduced h.r. 5140, which is the tribal addiction and recovery act. (shutterstock)


ePâKenThe Mvskoke News

big brOtHer SearCHeS iNdiaN COuNtrY oKlahoMa becoMes a roUtine stoP for teleVision shoWsby KeViN barNettREPORTER

CitiZeN MaKeS StrideS tO defeat SiZabLe, rare diSOrder PoWell Wants facilities, PeoPle to Understand gbsby darreN deLauNeREPORTER

CitiZeN turNS daNCiNg iNtO PaSSiON gUillen PerforMed lead role in PrestigioUs balletby darreN deLauNeREPORTER

tUlsa, oklahoma— for their upcoming 20th season, the cbs pro-gram ‘big brother’ held an open cast-ing call feb. 19 at the river spirit casino resort in tulsa.

oklahoma has become a favor-ite stop for production companies in search of participants for reality and game shows in the past few years.

“they really like tulsa for some reason, we’ve done [auditions for] the ‘amazing race,’ ‘survivor,’ ‘let’s Make a deal’ and ‘the Price is right’ just last year,” said channel 6’s Kim Petersen.

this latest casting call gave each of the houseguest hopefuls just two minutes to convince producers they would make good additions to the lengthy ‘big brother’ sequestered

seMinole, oklahoma — do people ever feel blessed for being able to walk? Picking up things with ease? being able to stand up?

What we take for granted, one Muscogee (creek) citizen is learn-ing how to do again.

sandra Powell went to the Muscogee (creek) nation com-munity hospital in okemah in october 2017. she said she came down with a stomach flu.

“i had that for about nine days,” she said. “they ran blood tests.”

during that time she began to have what felt like pins and nee-dles at the bottom of her feet and her calves were cramping.

“they (hospital) sent me home and told me the virus had to run its course,” Powell said.

not much longer she made a

sleepover. for the unfamiliar, ‘big brother’

has contestants live together in a custom built, camera ridden home for three months, provided they last the entirety of the competition, for a chance at winning $500,000.

the participants are under con-stant surveillance and routinely com-pete in various contests and chal-lenges that can save them from being “evicted” from the house.

This is not the show’s first pass through the sooner state and this latest round of auditions welcomed some returning hopefuls like local artist and actress natasha reid.

“i tried out years ago and didn’t get my chance... i’ve been a ‘big brother’ fan for years and i just want a chance to be on the show,” said reid.

With only around 130 people auditioning during the four-hour casting call, many of the attendees recognized the favorable odds.

return to the emergency room.“they thought i had blood

clots in my legs,” Powell said.she was given a prescription

for the pain and returned the next day for an ultrasound on her leg.

“there were no blood clots,” Powell said.

Powell said she was get-ting worse. she made a trip to a chickasaw nation clinic where the doctor said there was nothing they could do for her. she was told it was neurological.

by then she said she could hardly walk.

“i couldn’t move my legs, i couldn’t move my arms,” Powell said. “i had to have assistance with getting up and walking.”

Powell then asked her daugh-ter to take her to the University of oklahoma Medical center in norman. they ran some more blood tests, which came back good.

“the last test they gave me was a spinal tap,” she said.

“When that came back i was told there was too much protein in the fluid. i was diagnosed with gBS.”

gbs is guillain-barre syn-drome.

according to the Mayo clinic website, gbs is a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks your nerves.

“it paralyzes you,” Powell said. she began treatment for gbs

and was then released from the hospital.

in a written statement to Mvskoke Media, Mcn depart-ment of health chief Medi-cal Officer Billy Beets said a gBS diagnosis requires specialized diagnostic testing.

“the physicians that treat guil-lian barre are routinely infection disease, neurology, neurosur-gery, Pulmonology etcetera which are only found at larger tertiary facilities… there are few primary care physicians who have ever seen a case,” the statement said.

he said other more common conditions have similar symp-toms to gbs.

beets said Mcndh hospi-tal facilities are able to treat and diagnose acute life threatening events.

“…it would be extremely rare for an individual with guil-lain-barre to present to one of our facilities until the signs and symptoms had progressed to a debilitating state. however, these patients would be appropriately transferred to a tertiary care facil-ity if the physician feels it is war-ranted,” the statement said.

Mcndh is unable to comment on specific cases due to HiPPA (health insurance Portability and accountability act of 1996) regu-lations.

Powell said she could not walk or do anything. oUMc recom-mended a place for her to go for rehabilitation but her insurance would not pay for the facility.

“by that time i was frustrated

so i came home,” Powell said. Powell said she began her

therapy in november 2017 and goes three times a week.

“i have occupational and physical therapy,” she said. “i have been going for a little over two months now and have improved quite a bit.”

during this time, Powell could not work.

“i received a letter from my employer stating that they had let me go because my fMla (family Medical leave act) had ran out,” she said.

Powell said she is staying pos-itive and believes everything hap-pens for a reason.

“Maybe something good will come out of it,” she said.

She said her first time at therapy was very stressful and remembers how bad the pain was in her legs.

“it was hard,” Powell said.she remembers how bad the

pain was in her legs. “i tried so hard because i have

been very active,” Powell said. “i was trying to rush it.”

Powell said she can walk with assistance and is able to use her legs and move her hands.

“it felt good to stand up,” she said.

gBS affected her right side.“My left side is stronger than

my right side,” Powell said.she said she feels everyday

she is improving and her thera-pist says she is coming along very quickly. she creates mini-goals for what she wants to accom-plish.

one goal she had was to be walking by January.

“i was walking before Janu-ary,” Powell said.

currently, she cannot write her name, but she can brush her own teeth and is able to feed herself without assistance.

she accomplished another goal, which is driving. a feat that

worried her daughter, stefanie starr-Maples.

“i was terrified,” Starr-Ma-ples said. “she has been asking before she stood up on her own.”

starr-Maples was told by her mother’s therapist that if she felt that she could drive, let her try.

“she said she will never know unless she tries,” she said.

starr-Maples has been with her mother since the gbs started.

“it was a matter of days, she went from being able to do everything to doing nothing,” she said.

she is also very amazed at what her mom has been able to do in such a short amount of time.

“since therapy started, every-thing that they have her do she does it,” starr-Maples said. “she will start one day and in a week she will do it on her own.”

one of Powell’s goals is to be wheelchair free.

“When i walk with assistance, my legs get tired,” she said.

Powell said she feels lucky in her diagnosis with gbs because in some occurrences it can affect the breathing.

“some people have to be on a respirator,” she said.

no exact cause is known for gbs. it is a temporary paral-ysis but can leave permanent damage.

“it depends on the person,” Powell said.

Powell said gbs is rare. she said she was told that immuniza-tions or being exposed to a virus could increase the risk of getting this disorder.

she said she wants the tribal health clinics to have a better understanding of what gbs is and how it can be diagnosed in their facilities.

Powell said she is going to stay positive, keep working hard at getting better and setting goals for herself.

a popular television show held an open casting call in tulsa, oklahoma. (Kevin barnett/reporter)

Muscogee (creek) citizen sandra Powell shown sitting in her wheelchair and standing unas-sisted in her home in seminole, oklahoma. (darren delaune/reporter)

Muscogee (creek) citizen liliana guillen poses at the studio where she practices, dance Mak-ers academy. (darren delaune/reporter)

PaWhUsKa, oklahoma — osage nation citizen Maria tallch-ief was considered the u.S.’s first major prima ballerina. she was also the first Native American to ever hold that rank.

now 11-year-old, sixth grader and Muscogee (creek) citizen lili-ana guillen wants to follow in the footsteps of tallchief and make a name for herself as a dancer.

“i have been inspired by Maria tallchief,” she said.

she said the way tallchief would move and dance is what drew her to want to try.

“i told my mom i want to dance,” guillen said. “i want to do ballet.”

her mother, lavendar hudgins was all for it and just as excited.

“We are very blessed and for-tunate that ballet came into our lives,” she said.

hudgins said when she grew

up they did not have anything like a dance studio in Pawhuska.

“it was either you played sports, or cheered and that was it,” she said. “to have an outlet was great.”

that outlet she referred to is dance Makers academy. dMa has been opened nearly four years and it was somewhere for guillen to try something new.

“they have helped me with dis-cipline,” she said. “We cannot talk, we have to listen. My coordination has improved.”

one move that a lot of people see during ballet performances is called a pirouette, which is an act of spinning on one foot, typically with the raised foot touching the knee of the supporting leg.

guillen said the move is not easy to do at all. she said it has taken her three years and she still works on it.

“i am learning how to do it on both legs,” she said. “My left leg is not as strong as my right leg. it is getting better.”

guillen premiered in dMa’s first production of ‘The Nutcracker’ in december 2017. she played the lead role of the performance.

“i was clara,” she said. guillen said she did not know

about ‘the nutcracker’ but was very excited when she found out that they were having auditions for the dance.

“i have never seen it, but it was exciting when i tried out and found out i was getting the role of clara,” she said.

guillen’s mother said her train-ing for the performance began in the summertime.

“We knew they (dMa) wanted to do this performance so we started getting ready in the summer months,” hudgins said. “it was those months we had the auditions and the fundraising for ‘the nutcracker’.”

guillen said getting ready for her performance was very tiring, but also very fun.

“We would practice and rehearse for four nights a week, for three hours,” she said.

her mom added that in the last two weeks it was five nights a week for three hours.

guillen said she was nervous

the night of the performance, but was ready when it was her time to take the stage.

“i was nervous but i knew i could do this,” she said.

guillen said at the end of her performance she was sad that it was ending.

“i was ready to be done but i was sad that it was over,” she said.

guillen said at school they do workouts in the morning and after school she goes to dMa, so she knows she is getting her workouts to stay in shape for ballet.

“the two workouts help me stay in shape,” she said.

she also said she has a lot of friends that go to school with her and go to dMa.

“it makes us closer,” guillen said.

dMa director of dance Jenna smith said that her and her mom helped create the osage ballet and wanted to keep it going with the local talent in their town.

“all the parents were begging us to open a studio here,” smith said.

smith is excited about the dancer guillen has become and what she can be.

“she has grown so much as a dancer,” smith said. “i could tell right away she had a lot of natural potential.”

smith said her student contin-ues to be dedicated to becoming a better dancer and knows the sky is the limit for her.

“if she keeps working she can go all the way,” she said.

dMa has a lot of their dancers on scholarship, which comes from organizations and donors who are helping out the studio.

“because of them, these kids get the opportunity to do ballet,” smith said.

guillen said her next recital is going to be in May.

“it is ‘sleeping beauty’,” she said. “We are getting ready for that.”

she will also be performing with the osage ballet again and dMa will be performing ‘the nut-cracker’ this december.

guillen’s parents are stepfa-ther harrison hudgins and laven-dar hudgins.


KôlVPâKen The Mvskoke News

fiNiSHiNg tHe raCe coon coMMits to dodge citY coMMUnitY college

by LiZ graYREPORTER

saPUlPa, oklahoma — “Just finishing the race,” Muscogee (creek) citizen Jerika coon said as she explained what is on her mind as she runs the 5K for sapulpa high school.

the shs senior signed her letter of intent to compete in both cross country and track at dodge city community college in Kansas.

“i’m signing with them because their school fit me,” Coon said. “instead of like two places i can run at, they had a variety of like five or six.”

coon started running in her junior year at SHS after coming off an acl injury.

“it was pretty rough,” she said.

she completed 250 miles for the varsity cross country team during her junior year and doubled that number her senior year with 500 miles.

coon was named the Muscogee (creek) nation athlete of the Month in 2016 and shs female winner of the Wendy’s high school heisman in 2017.

she served as senior co-captain for the shs cross country team and has been a 4-year varsity letterman in track.

coon has also served as the girls’ captain for the tennis team and a member of varsity girls’ basketball.

during the signing ceremony, shs school administrator said coon is the first student athlete to par-ticipate in varsity in four different sports during her years of working with the school.

Muscogee (creek) citizen Jerika coon signed to run for dodge city community college. (deviney luchsinger/Multimedia specialist)

In Memoriam

Priscilla KahbeahPriscilla Madonna Kahbeah, 80,

resident of okmulgee, oklahoma passed away on Jan. 28 in tulsa, sur-rounded by her loved ones. Pris-cilla was born to the late samuel and sarah (Miller) simmers on april 27, 1937 in okmulgee. Priscilla worked for the Muscogee (creek) nation housing prior to attending connors state col-lege where she attained her associates degree in science.

she then worked for the okmul-gee head start, where she retired after 24 years. Priscilla married lawrence oliver Kahbeah on oct. 19, 1955. Pris-cilla’s favorite things in life included spending time with her family. she loved hosting family dinners and throwing birthday parties for her chil-dren and grandchildren. she enjoyed playing bingo and going to the casino. she was an avid oKc thunder fan. Priscilla was an active member of the okmulgee indian community center.

she had a lot of friends that she enjoyed visiting with, including her two best friends, ester grona and her sister rebecca autaubo.

Priscilla was preceded in death by her parents; samuel and sarah sim-mers, her first-born son, arthur; three brothers; three sisters and two grand-daughters, renee carney and Misty Kahbeah.

left to cherish all the great mem-ories of Priscilla is her husband of 62 years, lawrence Kahbeah; sons, Ken-neth Kahbeah, robert Kahbeah, law-rence Jr. Kahbeah, steve; his wife, christie Kahbeah; daughter, Kim-berly Qualls; sister, rebecca autaubo; 10 grandchildren, eugene Kahbeah, hondo Kahbeah, Jessica ingram, her fiancé andre Poole, Megan Kahbeah, stormy Kahbeah, shyanne Kahbeah, sami-Jo Kahbeah, Justin Kahbeah, rebekah Kahbeah and Preston Kah-beah, 10 great-grandchildren and a host of nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers were eugene Kah-beah, dakota Kahbeah, Jr. Kahbeah, Joseph Kahbeah, sonny Kahbeah and hondo Kahbeah. honorary pallbear-ers included andre Poole, bob smith, ricky Powell, greg berryhill, devin lewis, tim autaubo and charlie sim-mers.

Visitation was held on Jan. 31, at schaudt’s funeral service okmulgee. funeral services were held on feb. 1 at the Jubilee christian center. inter-ment followed at the Kahbeah family cemetery.

to send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Priscilla Madonna Kahbeah, visit: www.schaudtfunerals-ervice.com.

MCN Behavioral Health1.888.756.4333

COMMuNitYCaLeNdar

MCN New MexiCO gatHeriNg

the Muscogee (creek) nation will host a new Mexico community meeting from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. May 5 at the insti-tute of american indian arts auditorium in santa fe, n.M. the address is: 83 a Van nu Po, santa fe, nM 87508.

for more information, con-tact Wanda Morrison at: 505-795-2070 or [email protected], or Kenneth Johnson at: 505-473-5365 or [email protected].

NatiVe bibLe StudY

Offered bY MaiL

discovery bible school is offering a free Bible study by and for natives called native new day. they are sent by mail and those who are inter-ested may contact us at P.o. box 14208, tulsa, oK 74159.

HCuMC wiLd ONiON diNNer

a wild onion dinner will be

held from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. March 17 at haikey chapel United Methodist church located at: 8815 e. 101st st., tulsa. the price is $10 for adults and $5 for children. the dinner includes wild onions, salt meat, frybread and a drink.

wiLd ONiON diNNer

event: little cussetah United Methodist church all You can eat Wild onion dinner

date and time: March 24 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

location: little cussetah United Methodist- 24205 s 220 rd. henryetta, oK 74437

Prices: adults- $10, Kids ages 3-10- $7, children 2 and under- free, all carry outs- $10

contact info: Karen King: 918-777-8242, tina burgess: 918-230-5106. Please call for directions.

reViVaL

okmulgee indian bap-tist church will host a revival March 29 – april 1. services March 29-30 will be at 7 p.m. and services March 31 and april 1 will be at 2 p.m. the revival will be held at 1700 W. eufaula st., okmulgee, oK.

faStPitCH tOurNaMeNt

the native elite fastpitch tournament will be held May 4-6 at the claude cox omniplex in okmulgee, oklahoma. the entry fee is $200 and must be paid in full by april 13 or it is $250 by april 27. the age divi-sions are 14U, 12U and 10U and includes 1st-3rd place awards, t-shirts and MVP awards. for more information, call roland roberts at: 918-752-8125.

SOftbaLL CLiNiC

a native elite softball clinic for 6U-14U girls will be held from 2-6 p.m., March 25 at the claude cox omniplex in okmulgee, oklahoma. the cost is $30 and includes the clinic, meal and t-shirt. for more information visit: http://bit.ly/nativeeliteclinic or call roland roberts at: 918-752-8125.

SPriNg fLiNg

the tulsa creek indian com-munity will host a spring fling May 5 from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. at: 8611 s. Union ave., tulsa, oK. Vendors will sell art and craft items and a concession stand will be available. for more information about being a vendor, call tcic at: 918-298-2464.

CALL: 918.732.7960 or 918.732.7768 EMAIL: [email protected]

or [email protected]


cenVPâKenThe Mvskoke News

SubMiSSiONSLetter tO tHe editOr

by MARK MAxEYMuscogee (creek) citizen

Paden, oklahoma — dear fellow citizens, feb. 6 marked the end of 42 years of impris-onment. now, leonard Peltier starts his 43rd year. his web-site: www.whoisleonardpeltier.info, has many resources point-ing towards his innocence. such as, first, the contrived affidavit of Myrtle Poor bear was fabricated by the fbi and crowne investiga-tor of canada to extradite leon-ard illegally back to the U.s. in 1976. secondly, the fbi commit-ted perjury when they said on the court stand, that a lab tech-nician matched ballistic tests to Peltier’s gun.

in an appeal, the actual memo from the fbi showed that the lab technician said there was no match at all. thirdly, in Pelti-er’s 1982 appeal in the 8th cir-cuit court in Minneapolis, some interesting facts arose. Judge heaney asked the former U.s. prosecutor lynn crooks, “Just what was Mr. Peltier convicted of, as we cannot find any evi-dence of first degree murder in the records.” crooks told the judge, “Your honor, the govern-ment doesn’t know who killed our agents nor do we know what participation, if any, leonard Peltier may have had in it.” that completely exonerated Peltier.

Yet leonard Peltier is begin-ning his 43rd year of being incar-cerated as a political prisoner. he is now an elder at 73 years of age and he is asking for our help. leonard has asked the fol-lowing, “how hard is it to have a monthly potluck, show a video, talk and get people to write let-ters to the warden about my medical conditions.” his words, can you do this for him? ask the warden leonard have his pros-tate surgery.

Warden charles l. lockett UsP

coleman 1P.o. box 1023coleman, fl 33521his website has movies and

documentaries you can watch online:

www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/home/resources/multime-dia/.

as well, there is an online petition where you can sign for his release

and freedom: https://t.co/0i6lsgfbkn.

lastly, we are re-building the oklahoma leonard Peltier sup-port group.

More information and the event can be found here:

www.facebook.com/oKleonardPeltiersupport/

leonard desires to live out his last days with his children, grandchildren and great-grand-children. let’s help him realize this dream. let’s not forget our elder!

May our creator bless leon-ard, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and all his relations, all his relations, all his relations, all his rela-tions.

Mvto

OKeMaH HOSPitaL

by MarK randolPhMcn national council

representative

coWeta, oklahoma — as i looked around this new hospi-tal i was reminded of my birth-place in what was referred to as “the old indian hospital” in cla-remore, oklahoma.

i remember this historic structure and the silence of our people waiting to be seen... only to be interrupted hearing cough-ing and the cries of children. the spirituality of our people was evident by their reverence and respect for each other and the sickness that called us into battle... and brought us to this

place. the old indian hospi-tal became sacred standing as a witness to numerous miracles of birth and departures of our loved ones transitioning into the next world. the footsteps of our people covered that ground.

in those days, if you’ve seen one “indian hospital,” you’ve seen them all. i thought of the lonely halls, primitive furniture and the cold decor of heavy grey and beige file cabinets, charts, water fountains, cantinas ran by the blind and uniformed ser-vice workers. images of bar-racks, ration lines and epidem-ics come to mind. the feeling of being just a number or part of a herd; a ward of the government. the institutionalized oppression of native people has came in many forms.

today is a new day. as tribal nations take back the responsi-bility of providing health care to our people we celebrate great victories. our people deserve the very best of genuine quality health care and quality service in a setting designed to the unique beauty, resilience, strength and culture of native people. the environment must be conducive to the healing.

i would like to extend my appreciation to the great people who comprise the medical pro-fession... it takes a very special kind of person to provide care and service to those afflicted in mind, body and spirit. Prayers were made to cover the ground, the air and all those who enter this beautiful new hospital.

May our prayers extend uni-versally to all hospitals and all nationalities. i say all this to glo-rify god in the precious name of the greatest and ultimate ser-vant leader, provider, and heal-er-Jesus christ.

driNK MOre water, LeSS SugarY driNKS iS tHe MeSSage at Nb3

fOuNdatiON’S HeaLtHY beVerage SuMMit

nb3 foUndation Media release

albUQUerQUe, new Mexico — on feb. 21, nearly 150 community members, educa-tors, nutritionists, elders and youth gathered for the notah begay iii (nb3) foundation’s second annual healthy bever-age summit. dialogue centered on making healthier choices by drinking more water and less sugary-sweetened beverages specifically for Native youth and tribal communities across the country.

“the healthy bever-age summit is an empower-ing and inspiring event. it’s a place where health and well-ness advocates come together to share ideas, stories and tips on how to promote healthy drinking alternatives for native youth,” said nb3 foundation President and ceo Justin Kii huenemann. “We are also honored and for-tunate to have dr. Marion nestle as this year’s keynote speaker. her advocacy against soda giants and healthier foods and drinks in schools is certainly an inspira-tion for tribal communities.”

author of several books that explore issues like the effects of food production on dietary intake, food safety and access to food and nutrition, dr. nestle’s keynote speech addressed the health problems of native amer-icans related to diet and why advocacy to prevent them can be so effective.

“it’s totally inspiring to hear about all the ways native amer-ican groups are taking action to promote healthier diets for their communities,” said dr. nestle. “avoiding sugary drinks is the first line of defense against weight gain and type 2 diabetes. they contain sugars but noth-ing else of nutritional value. and everyone would be better off keeping added sugars to a min-imum.”

dr. nestle is a consumer advo-cate, nutritionist, award-winning

author and academic who spe-cializes in the politics of food and dietary choice. dr. nestle’s research examines scientific, economic, and social influences on food choice and obesity, with an emphasis on the influence of food industry marketing.

“i enjoyed hearing about the connection dr. nestle made between food, sugar-sweetened beverages and politics. Politics impact many issues within our reservations and effects com-munities and tribal people too,” said gloria begay, Program director for the dine food sov-ereignty alliance. “i’m glad the foundation brought in a high profile speaker who is knowl-edgeable. it helps with our out-reach to our tribal people.”

other summit speakers and sessions included takayla light-field from the American indian cancer foundation who pre-sented on their healthy bever-age toolkit and provided par-ticipants with examples on how policies can be initiated and implemented in tribal communi-ties. dr. christina hecht with the University of california’s nutri-tion Policy institute shared strat-egies and tactics to encourage and motivate native communi-ties to drink more water and less sugary beverages. Valerie seg-rest, a nutrition educator spe-cializing in local and traditional foods, talked about culturally relevant beverages and how to design an ancestral beverage campaign.

“this gathering of people doing similar work is a reminder that the solutions to helping our people make healthier choices rests in our hands. We have the background and knowledge,” said summit participant, duane Yazzie who is a physical educa-tion teacher with the Window rock school district in arizona. “exercising our true sovereignty in what we’re eating, drinking, ingesting and teaching our youth is necessary to our survival.”

the healthy beverage summit is part of nb3 foun-dation’s Water first! initiative which supports tribes and orga-nizations through modest grants to promote drinking clean water and reducing unnecessary sug-ary-sweetened beverages.

some Water first! grantees are making tremendous strides within their respective commu-nities. for example, the star school serving navajo nation has outfitted an old school bus with a water filtration system and now students are taking it to different communities across the reservation to test the water quality. another grantee, the zuni Youth enrichment Project in zuni Pueblo, created a sug-ar-free zone at their community concession stands. they now only serve water.

“all too often we hear in our tribal communities that soda and other sugary beverages is more accessible than clean drink-ing water,” added huenemann. “the individuals that attend this summit work in the those com-munities and are committed to the same mission of helping native youth live healthier lives.

aPPLiCatiONS aCCePted fOr LeaderSHiP

OKLaHOMa CLaSS 32

leadershiP oKlahoMa Media release

oKlahoMa citY — lead-ership oklahoma, a statewide leadership program in its thirti-eth year, is now accepting appli-cations for its 2018 - 2019 adult class.

the organization accepts a class of 52 members each year. the criterion for selection includes demonstrated leader-ship on the part of applicants in their communities and state. the program is designed to be a series of issue-oriented forums and experiences, which are based on the belief that knowl-edge is a key element and prime motivator of leadership. it con-

sists of an orientation session, a mandatory two-day retreat and eight two-day sessions. classes are held in locations that best relate to the issues of impor-tance to the state.

“leadership oklahoma and its graduates are working to create and implement the posi-tive changes necessary to make oklahoma a better state,” said brent Kisling, enid regional development alliance. “by learning about the issues that impact our state socially, eco-nomically and environmentally, class members are motivated to fulfill our mission of creating a dynamic network of leaders whose increased awareness and commitment to service will ener-gize oklahomans to shape their state’s future.”

approximately 1,500 people have completed the program and remain active in contribut-ing to oklahoma’s strength and vitality. “leadership oklahoma has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said rick grund-man, tulsa-based member of the current class and Vice Pres-ident, government Affairs and community relations for one gas. “seeing all that makes this state unique and learning first-hand its incredible strengths along with unique challenges, has been one of the most rewarding experiences i’ve had. the friendships and profes-sional network i developed with classmates is priceless. leader-ship oklahoma helped me grow as a person and i feel better equipped me to serve my com-munity and our great state! it was definitely a life-changing experience.”

applications may be down-loaded from the leadership oklahoma website at www.leadershipoklahoma.com. com-pleted applications must be received in the leadership okla-homa office no later than March 30, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.

CPN reLeaSeS eCONOMiC iMPaCt

StateMeNt fOr OKLaHOMa CitY MSa

cPn Media release

shaWnee, oklahoma — a report produced by economic impact group, llc, that stud-ied the economic impact of cit-izen Potawatomi nation (cPn) on Pottawatomie county and the oklahoma city Metropoli-tan statistical area (Msa), shows that cPn’s impact reached $467 million in the region.

the report analyzed cPn spending in three areas: gov-ernment, enterprise and capital expenditures from 2016 oper-ations. the analysis estimated cPn exerts a regional economic impact of $467 million that sup-ports 3,396 jobs and $128.1 mil-lion in payroll.

“We are very proud that the growth our tribe has experi-enced in the last two decades manifests itself in such a posi-tive impact on the overall com-munity,” cPn tribal chairman John “rocky” barrett said. “it is our goal for cPn to continue its growth and continue to contrib-ute to prosperity in the region.”

some of cPn’s economic contributions include: 2,804 scholarships worth almost $6 million, assistance for 182 down payments on homes and over 25,000 rides provided for the elderly. charitable contributions by cPn total $2.4 million and are accounted for in various subcat-egories throughout the report.

“as we look to the future, we hope to continue our growth tra-jectory, enhance the services we provide to the more than 33,000 tribal citizens and remain a part-ner in the shared economic suc-cess of the region,” barrett said.

cPn operates a diverse port-folio of business enterprises in and around Pottawatomie county. cPn enterprises include the firelake grand casino hotel & resort, firelake discount foods and the first national bank and

trust company, the largest trib-ally owned national bank in the United states. in 2016, cPn enterprises operations gener-ated more than $216.5 million in revenues from the sale of goods and services while supporting 1,668 jobs.

a full copy of the analysis is available at http://cpn.news/ecoimpact.

SHOreS NaMed aS CHair Of NatiVe aMeriCaN iSSueS SubCOMMittee

U.s. attorneY’s office for northern dis-trict of oKlahoMa

Media release

tUlsa, oklahoma — United States Attorney general Jeff Ses-sions announced the appoint-ment of United states attor-ney trent shores as chair of the native american issues subcom-mittee (nais) of the attorney general’s advisory committee (agac). United states attorney Kurt alme from the district of Montana will serve as Vice chair.

United states attorney shores stated, “the native american issues subcommittee plays a vital role in developing national policy for indian coun-try justice. U.s. attorney alme and i will be stalwart advocates for these important issues.”

United states attorney alme added, “the department of Jus-tice is fortunate to have U.s attor-ney shores as chair of the nais. not only is he an experienced prosecutor, but as a native american, he has a unique per-spective on law enforcement issues impacting tribal commu-nities. We look forward to work-ing together with tribal leaders to combat the opioid and meth-amphetamine epidemic and reduce violent crime in indian country.”

the agac was created in 1973 to serve as the voice of United states attorneys and to advise the attorney gen-eral on policy, management, and operational issues impact-ing the offices of the u.S. Attor-neys. the nais is made up of U.s. attorneys from across the United states whose districts contain indian country or one or more federally recognized tribes. the nais focuses exclu-sively on indian country issues, both criminal and civil and is responsible for making policy recommendations to the attor-ney general of the U.s. regard-ing public safety and legal issues that impact tribal communities.

MVtO

the family of cecil deere would like to say mvto to the Muscogee (creek) nation for the burial assistance and food voucher. We would also like to say mvto to rev. Paul fixico and nuyaka Mekko and his speaker. Mvto to all those who provided food and sent flowers and gave their support to the family. Mvto to the bristow community center and those who prepared the food. May god’s blessings be upon each of you.

the Johnson family

MVtO

the hicks/harjo family are so very grateful. We want to say mvto/thank you to everyone who helped in our time of sorrow. everything you did for us was greatly appreciated. We thank sand creek eufaula church for conducting the services and for brother John grayson ii for the beautiful eulogy over our loved one. if we didn’t get a chance to thank you person-ally, please forgive us, don’t think it went unnoticed. spe-cial thanks to Mvskoke nation, okfuskee community and the citizen Potawatomi nation and our family and friends.

-the hicks/harjo family

the mar. 15, 2018 | “tasahcuce” little spring · has 32 exam rooms and four pro-cedure rooms....

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