Frybread Queen - Native American Times

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NATIVE
OKLAHOMA
• MAY |2014
Art
| Culture
| FOOD
Entertainment | Events | Gaming | Powwows | Shopping
MAY 2014
Frybread
Queen
Monie HorseChief
talks about love,
cooking, family,
God and frybread
Tone-Kei White:
The Voice of Powwow
Muscogee Bowmaker
Revives Ancient Craft
Indian Women’s
Pocahontas Club
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Contents:
ON OUR COVER | MONIE HORSECHIEF | FRYBREAD CHAMPION | PAWNEE/CHEROKEE
5
THE VOICE OF POWWOW
Sammy Tone-Kei White
8
INAUGURAL ART FEST Chickasaw Nation hosting event at Artesian Hotel
9
FOUNDER’S DAY ART
Locust Grove including art show at annual event
11
NATIVE COOKING
Frybread champ channels talent into catering business
14
OKLA’S OLDEST CLUB
Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club going
strong since 1879
18
22
24 26 CREEK BOWMAKER
Mike Berryhill revives a nearly lost tradition
EVENTS CALENDAR
GAMING CENTERS
ATTRACTIONS
28
30
LODGING
TRIBAL DIRECTORY
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Tone-Kei, Kiowa, is a well-known and honored personality at powwows
throughout Indian Country. His voice, insight and quick wit has been a
staple at powwows big and small since his first emcee gig in 1968.
Photo Courtesy Holly Davis
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
The Voice of Powwow:
Sammy Tone-Kei White has
been an emcee for 46 years
By DANA ATTOCKNIE
Comanche
Two eagles are perched on the end
table beside the couch in Sammy ToneKei White’s living room.
The eagle statues are gifts recognizing
Tone-Kei‘s lifetime achievement to the
powwow world as a master of ceremonies.
On the opposite side of the living room is
a wall of accomplishments where plaques,
medals and awards decorate the space.
Tone-Kei walked from the right to
the left side of the wall glancing at each
honor; then he stopped to read a framed
certificate. “National honor society,” He
laughs, “Aye. No, that’s my grandchildren.”
He continued to skim the awards then
plucked a dark brown wooden plaque off
the wall; it has a picture of his face faded
into an American Flag on the top of it.
It’s an award from the American War
Mothers, Kiowa Chapter 18. “I was the
honored marine veteran,” he said, then
added, “I’m in the Kiowa Hall of Fame.”
Tone-Kei, Kiowa, is a well-known
and honored personality at powwows
throughout Indian Country. His voice,
insight and quick wit has been a staple
at powwows big and small since his first
emcee gig in 1968. His debut came when
he worked for the Native American
Center in Oklahoma City and the emcee
for their powwow didn’t show up.
“My fellow employees about pulled me
up to the speaker stand. They just said
all you have to do is tell us what’s next
on the program or something like that.
(It was) very dull and I thought I better
just be myself,” he said. “After that people
would call me and say, ‘Sammy could you
emcee our dance.’ Gosh, I’ve been all over
Indian Country.”
Tone-Kei, 82, has emceed in 31 states
including Alaska and Hawaii. He’s
also traveled to Canada, Mexico, New
Zealand and Tahiti to emcee for Native
audiences.
“I learned not to embarrass people
when I have the attention of a crowd
or emceeing a powwow because in the
Indian World it’s just not done to belittle
another Indian when there are other
Indians present. I certainly learned
humility,” Tone-Kei said.
He has been an emcee at the Gathering
of Nations powwow in Albuquerque,
N.M. since it began with the exception
of one year due to illness. The year he
was not able to make it, there was an
outpouring of concern and well-wishes.
The Gathering of Nations staff compiled
119 get well messages into a book for
Tone-Kei. He keeps the book in his living
room with the rest of the career treasures
he holds dear.
“People would send me get well
everything from Australia, from Hawaii,
from all over, everywhere; ‘We pray that
you get well Tone-Kei,’ lots of good stuff.
I swear when I got that, I was still very
sick; it did perk me up, you know to
hear from all these people. Just like good
medicine,” Tone-Kei said, as he flipped
through the pages of the book. “This is
really something and all of these people
wished me well.”
Although he wasn’t physically at the
Gathering that year, the professional
sound crew called him and piped in his
voice through the sound system so he
could send a message to the crowd.
“Sammy Ton-Kei White has been an
icon in the powwow world for years and
years; his contributions are the knowledge
of heritage and tradition in the arena,
a great sense of humor while on the
microphone, humbleness and a loving
kindness that is felt by all. When you
attend an event that White is emceeing
you know it’s going to be a spectacular
event with several great laughs,” Amber
“I knew that I was my own
person. I didn’t want to
be like anyone else. Today
all the young people want
to be like somebody else …
but I was happy with who I
was,” Tone-Kei said.
C. Toppah, Kiowa citizen, said. “The
contribution he has given to his own
tribe, the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, is
that of a mentor, a teacher, (and) a true
elder that the younger generation looks to
in a positive manner. Just observing you
receive guidance from his experience,
caring words and teaching nature. He is
truly a gem to the powwow world and
the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.”
Tone-Kei has informed and entertained
crowds since the 1960s through almost
all forms of media. While working for the
United States Postal Service in Oklahoma
City, he penned a weekly column titled
“Tone-Kei Speaks” for the Oklahoma
(City) Journal during the 70s. The column
began as a travel log for Native American
events then evolved into discussions
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Tone-Kei’s autobiography was published in 2011, by author Holly Davis,
Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The book titled “Tone-Kei” includes excerpts
from Tone-Kei’s personal journal and his newspaper columns.
about Native American issues. He was
also an editor for “Camp Crier,” a Native
American newspaper. Soon he hosted
three radio shows: “Indians for Indians,”
“Tone-Kei’s Experience and Reflections”
and “The Indian’s Point of View.” In 1984,
Tone-Kei won the Native American
Public Broadcasting Consortium’s Radio
Indian Media Award.
The other medium Tone-Kei succeeded
in was TV. He hosted a TV show titled
“Tribes: Voices from the Land.” The show
aired on Channel 5 out of Oklahoma City
and lasted 14 years. Tone-Kei said he still
watches Channel 5.
“I would interview people like artists,
doctors, outstanding Indians, movie
stars that would come through town like
Chief Dan George. It was a good show,”
Tone-Kei said. “I just got into the media
because there was no other Indian doing
that. I thought Indians like to know
what’s happening as well as anybody else.
So I would write strictly about Indians or
talk about Indians, or do whatever I did
for the Indians.”
Tone-Kei also used the telephone to
keep people informed. He and his late
wife Vinita set up the Dial-A-Powwow
phone number, where people would
submit their powwow information
to them and they would cram all the
information onto an answering machine
recording.
“I didn’t even have to answer the
phone,” Tone-Kei said. “Even today some
people call me … ‘Tone-Kei what’s going
on down there this weekend.’”
His work for Indians went beyond
social media when he served two terms
as the area vice-president for the National
Congress of American Indians, the
Human Rights Commission of Oklahoma
City, the Arizona Commission of the
Arts, the alternate representative for the
National Indian Council on Aging, the
American Indian Heritage Foundation
of D.C., and he was the first president for
the United National Indian Tribal Youth
(UNITY) Board of Directors.
He participated in two presidential
inauguration parades and emceed
each corresponding American Indian
Inauguration Ball. He was also the master
of ceremonies for the world premier of
Brent Michael Davids symphony titled
“Pau Wau: A Gathering of Nations.”
He took center stage along with the
New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in
Albuquerque, N.M. for that event.
Tone-Kei holds a treasured
award from the
American War Mothers,
Kiowa Chapter 18.
He was honored as a
Marine veteran.
Tone-Kei was born on April 5, 1930
in a tipi about a quarter of a mile east of
the Washita River near Anadarko, Okla.
His father is Void White and mother is
Em-Koy-e-tie. He said his mother was a
full-blood Kiowa. He had seven siblings,
whom have all passed away, and of
his five children, two have also passed
away. He has six grandchildren and his
granddaughter is expecting a baby boy.
Tone-Kei was given that Indian name
by the late Oscar Tsoodle, one of the
official name givers of the Kiowa tribe.
He said it means, “Coming from the
water,” although he’s heard a couple of
other interpretations. There is also a
song composed by the late Jack Anquoe,
Sr. called “Tone-Kei’s war dance song,” he
said.
Tone-Kei is a product of Riverside
Indian School, Fort Sill Indian School,
Haskell, Chilocco Indian School and Saint
Patrick’s Catholic School in Anadarko,
Okla. He also attended Central State
in Edmond, Okla., now known as the
University of Central Oklahoma. He
joined the Marines when he was 18 or 19
years old.
“Man, what a big awakening when I
got in the Marines. You know, the Indian
school toughened me up, they were
pretty hard on me, so it wasn’t that bad,
but some new Marines couldn’t handle
it,” He said. “I thank a lot of our service
men and service women across the big
water. I wish more people would pray for
them,”
He spent 28 months in the Philippines
then worked as a guard for the Naval
Supply Center in Oakland Bay (San
Francisco Bay). He is now a member
of the Native American Marine Corps
Veterans, Kiowa Black Leggings Society,
the Kiowa Tia Pah Society, and the Kiowa
Gourd Clan. He married his late wife
Vinita when he went home on leave from
boot camp. They met in Oklahoma City
and she was studying to be a nurse.
“Plus she owned a car. Back then it
was a miracle if an Indian person owned
a car,” he laughed. “Oh, we got along
immediately … She was so smart.” Vinita
passed away seven years ago.
Tone-Kei has lived in Oklahoma,
Kansas, California and Arizona. He
was a tour guide in Arizona and said,
“I feel that the Indians in Arizona are as
beautiful as the countryside there.” He
continues to emcee at the Arizona State
University annual powwow in April,
and has seen how powwows around the
world have changed.
“Most people came long ago just to
be near the drum, to feel good and the
dancers didn’t think so much of being
shiny and sparkly as they did just dancing
NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
with other Indians around the drum. Then as the years
went by with this fast cement world, lot of Indians began
to compete in various contests at powwows,” Tone-Kei
said. “But it’s still a good feeling to go and have fellowship
with other Indians and be able to see old friends. There
have been a lot of people that have gone on, but children
and grandchildren are in the powwow world now and
whatever they come for; they’re happy ... it’s a happy,
happy feeing when I see powwow people because they’re
full of good intensions.”
Tone-Kei’s autobiography was published in 2011, by
author Holly Davis, Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The
book titled “Tone-Kei” includes excerpts from Tone-Kei’s
personal journal and his newspaper columns. The book
is described as, “A Storehouse of Memories, Historic
Speeches, Indian Folk Tales and Empowerments from
a Celebrated Kiowa Elder.” Tone-Kei shares his life in
the book and discusses growing up in Anadarko; even
when he roamed the streets carrying a little wooden
shoe shine box. His book can be purchased at www.
goodmedicineranch.com.
“It’s taken me a long time, but I’ve come to the
conclusion that you must have a good education and
whether the books speak of Europe and Hitler and Russia
and China, just learn what you have to learn because
most instructors, teachers, know what they’re talking
about, and whether you make use of your education or
not you’ll really know what’s going on around you,” ToneKei said.
The gifts that Tone-Kei received in appreciation of
his work, including paintings, ledger art and someone’s
peace medal drape his living room walls; and right in
the middle by the TV sits, “a little loving cup from my
grandkids. It’s got good grandpa or something (on it).”
He also has a painting of his mother, and one of himself
made by a friend K.M. Freeman. The painting by Freeman
shows Tone-Kei with “a lot of wrinkles,” moving his open
hands back and forth in front of him. “What that says is
let’s dance,” he said.
There are many more accolades Tone-Kei has received,
yet the notoriety isn’t something he necessarily envisioned
during his youth.
“I knew that I was my own person. I didn’t want to be
like anyone else. Today all the young people want to be
like somebody else … but I was happy with who I was,”
Tone-Kei said. “I know I liked attention all of my life and
you could hardly get it when you’re an adolescent person,
but as time went on I came to the conclusion; just be who
you are and you’ll be OK.”
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Artesian Arts Festival set May 24 in Sulphur
The Chickasaw Nation is hosting the
inaugural Artesian Arts Festival, 9 a.m. to
7 p.m. Saturday, May 24, at the Artesian
Plaza in Sulphur.
Planned as an interactive community
celebration of all forms of art, the
Artesian Arts Festival will highlight
artists and art from Southeastern tribes,
such as Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee,
Creek and Seminole.
The Artesian Arts Festival is free and
open to the public.
Activities for all ages are
planned, including a special area
for children’s activities and a senior
citizens’ arts and crafts booth. All
types of visual art will be on display
at the 35 festival booths such
as paintings, basketry, jewelry,
sculpture, bead work, textiles and
pottery.
A variety of entertainment and
food vendors is also planned.
PEARY L.
ROBERTSON
ATTORNEY AT LAW
(405) 382-7300
PROBATE
INDIAN LAW
OIL & GAS LAW
RESTRICTED PROPERTY
1700 N. Milt Phillips Avenue,
Seminole, Oklahoma
Email: Robertson@
RobertsonLawOffice.Org
Performing Arts
Several entertainers who run the
gamut of traditional native flute
performance to red dirt country music
are scheduled to perform during the oneday festival including: Zachary Garcia,
the Davis High School Executives, Katie
Barrick, “Overdrive,” Clancy Davis,
“Neighborhood Outlaws,” Nathan Burris,
“Injunuity,” Daryyl Tonemah, “High
Water Gamble” and “Zoom City.”
Culinary Arts
Several food vendors offering an
array of tasty treats from festival fare to
traditional native cuisine are participating
in the Arts Festival including: Seven
Sister’s Bakery, Kona Ice, Mr. Tater Cater,
Aw Shucks, Impaachi by Brubt Co.,
Carousel Shaved Ice, Krazee J’s Kettle
Corn and many others.
For more information about the
Artesian Arts Festival, contact the
Chickasaw Nation Division of Arts
& Humanities at (580) 272-5520,
by email at artistinfo@chickasaw.
net, or fax (580) 272-5525. The
Division of Arts & Humanities is
located at 201 North Broadway,
Ada, Okla.
The Artesian Plaza is located
adjacent to the Artesian Hotel
and Spa, 1001 W. First Street,
Sulphur, Okla. Photo courtesy
www.chickasawcountry.com
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Locust Grove event to feature Native artists
The Locust Grove Arts Alliance is
having a Founder’s Day Art Show on
May 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,
in the VFW Building on Broadway St.
The show will include the work of artists
from the Stone family--Willard Stone,
Jason Stone, and Mitzi Stone--among
others from Locust Grove.
Founder’s Day is an annual celebration
in Locust Grove that marks its
incorporation as a town in 1912. A parade,
entertainment, children’s activities,
animal rides, historical reenactments,
and food and art vendors are a part of
the Founder’s Day celebration.
The LGAA was formed in March
2014 to provide opportunities for and
awareness of the arts in Locust Grove.
Locust Grove may be a small rural town,
but it has a long tradition of turning
out well-known and accomplished
artists, including sculptors and artists
Willard Stone’s
‘Something to Believe In’
like Willard Stone, Jason Stone, Ben
Shoemaker, Joan Shoemaker, Demos
Glass, and Bill Glass, writers like Ally
Carter (Amy Fogleman), musicians such
as Mica Roberts and many more.
At the Art Show, chainsaw artist Mike
1710
Wheeler will have his works on display,
and he will also be conducting an all-day
demonstration on Broadway outside the
VFW Building, where he will, as he says,
“Cut out everything from a tree that isn’t
a bear.”
Other art on display will include
photography from Marea Breedlove,
Sarah Coday and Betty Perkins, textile
arts from Fern McFarland, artworks from
LGHS art teacher Georgia Rainbolt and
some of her students, and deconstruction
art from Kelly Palmer and poetry from
the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry.
For more information about the LGAA
Founder’s Day Art Show or about LGAA,
visit the LG Chamber of Commerce
website at locustgroveoklahoma.com and
click on the LGAA page.
C H E R O K E E
V I L L A G E
21192 S KEELER DR, PARK HILL , OK 74451 • (888) 999-60 07 • CHEROKEEHERITAGE.ORG
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Ramona “Monie” HorseChief serves up her championship-winning Indian Tacos
Wednesday, April 23 in Tulsa. Photos by LISA SNELL
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Monie Monie…
Frybread champion channels
talent into catering business
As she’s forming rough ovals of dough
for her frybread, I ask what advice she’d
give a first-time frybread cook.
“A lot of practice. You have to keep
trying and stay at it,” she says, as she flips
the roughly shaped rounds of dough in a
pan of flour before dropping them into
a vat of simmering oil. It takes patience,
she says. “Learning to do anything well
takes patience.”
“Ellis (her husband) is always lecturing
Potatoes keep the grease from burning,
she explains. “I don’t know how that
works, but it does. It was something my
There’s always teasing and laughter in
grandma did.”
a Native kitchen. Especially when the
Monie learned to cook frybread from
chef is “World Frybread Champion”
her grandma Effie.
and “Frybread Queen” Ramona “Monie”
“Au-Kit (Pawnee for “grandma”) would
HorseChief.
always talk about how important food is
On this Wednesday, she’s working in
and how frybread was good because it
the kitchen in the break room of Tiger
was filling and stayed in your belly a long
Natural Gas, a Native American-owned
time,” Monie says.
company located in
Au-Kit’s given name
south Tulsa. It hired
was Effie Annie Little
Monie, who is Pawnee
Eagle Osborne. She was
and
Cherokee,
to
full-blood Pawnee and
cater a special lunch
she and her husband,
of her locally wellalso full-blood Pawnee,
known, championshipwere both missionaries.
winning Indian tacos.
“She
would
Her homemade chili
sometimes cook outside
simmers on the stove.
over an open fire and
One batch is vegetarian
I would sit and watch
– made with vegetable
her. She would share
stock, fresh bell peppers
old stories with me
and onions. A larger
about her childhood.
batch is beef and bean.
She would sing and talk
A cracked door creates
about the Lord and how
a breeze that carries
important it was to be
the delicious aromas
close to God,” Monie
into the offices beyond.
says. “She was always
People wander in and
praying for us.”
Monie HorseChief prepares a pot of
out every few minutes,
Monie admits she
vegetarian chili using vegetable stock,
asking when it’s going to
and her sister Lisa were
be time to eat.
a handful growing up.
red, orange, yellow and green bell peppers
Monie is all gussied
“Whew, we were wild,”
and onion.
up in her new lime green
she says with a laugh.
chef ’s coat and sporting a white apron
me on patience,” she growls, rolling her
“Now we’re adults and we are coming to
with “Frybread Champion” embroidered
eyes. Then she grins. We laugh. She
do God’s work. Her prayers for us had
across the front. Her starched white chef ’s
doesn’t like to be told to be patient.
already gone up, and although we strayed
hat bears the title “Frybread Queen” in
Yet, she is patient each step of the way.
when we were young, we came back to
matching script. She laughs, points to her
Methodically dicing bell peppers and
the Lord.”
new duds and strikes her best runway
onions, sautéing them on the stove, then
She sees her talent for cooking as “Godposes for the camera. When Monie’s
adding them to the chili.
given” and her goal is to prepare the best
cooking she’s having a good time and
She turns back to check her bread. It’s
food for people that she possibly can. She
you can’t help but have a good time, too.
turning golden and brown on the bottom
spent 18 years training and working in
In between the slicing and dicing, there’s
and I notice slices of potatoes floating in
the culinary arts. She went to culinary
cutting up, jokes, and telling tales.
the oil as Monie turns over the bread.
school in Tulsa and worked for many
By LISA SNELL
Cherokee
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Monie adds slices of raw potato to her frybread oil. She says it’s a trick she
learned from her grandma. The potato slices keep the oil from burning.
years as kitchen prep help and assisting
local chefs in cooking classes.
It was her sister Lisa who encouraged
Monie to start cooking competively.
Lisa talked her into setting up a booth
at the annual World Championship
Indian Taco Competition in Pawhuska
in 1992. Lisa was selling tacos and tried
to convince Monie to do the same.
“I went down and it was horrible. I
didn’t do tacos. Lisa told me to do tacos.
I did corn soup and frybread instead. I
bet I sold, literally, four bowls. People
just felt sorry for me,” she says.
Monie hates it when her sister is right.
“She said, ‘I told you so!’”
She was game to try again. The next
year she made Indian tacos and Lisa
served dessert tacos. Monie won second
place in the competition. She went back
again, and again, placing third, then
finally first.
“I didn’t win one year. So I had to build
back up and start over.”
However, she and her sister made a
winning team. In 2009, they both took
home first place honors – Monie for her
Indian taco and Lisa for her dessert taco.
“Lisa worked on that dessert recipe for
two years,” Monie says. “It’s a delicious
combination of frybread, vanilla cream,
and peaches topped with caramelized
pecans and whipped cream.”
The sisters pooled their resources and
bought what they needed. They worked
side-by-side and traveled the state selling
tacos for lunches, in grocery store parking
lots, school events, tribal functions and
powwows.
At last year’s National Indian Taco
Championship, Monie took home the
big check once more, winning first place.
She followed up that win a couple of
weeks later, taking home the inaugural
Muscogee Creek Nation Frybread
Championship during the Indian Fall
Festival in Jenks.
Although Monie loves working
alongside her sister, she often found
herself doing her own projects, like
making and selling hand-dipped
chocolate strawberries for Valentine’s Day
and canning and selling her homemade
salsa. She cooked for the Pawnee elders
and started catering events.
“Last year I hand dipped over 2,000
strawberries,” she says, somewhat
incredulously. “That was a lot of
strawberries.”
She started catering full-time in
August 2013 and launched her business,
HorseChief Catering. She landed her
first big job earlier this year and learned
“I don’t do only Native food. I do my strawberries, I do BBQ and I do kebabs. I
bake breads and make sliders. I also prepare game,” Monie says.
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
When Monie’s cooking she’s having a good time and you can’t
help but have a good time, too. In between the slicing and dicing,
there’s cutting up, jokes, and telling tales.
a hard lesson about her client base.
She was asked by the event coordinator
if she could offer vegetarian tacos – that
many guests would want a meatless,
healthier option. Monie agreed and made
a black bean chili topping to go over a flat
bread.
“It don’t sell. People don’t want a
healthier Indian taco!” She laughs now,
but admits that was a hard lesson.
“I sold 12 all weekend long. I sold more
than 620 Indian frybread tacos!”
She was stuck with a lot of vegetarian
chili.
“I had 25 pounds of black beans left
over! Black. Beans. It was black beans!
What was I going to do with 25 pounds
of black bean chili?”
“I tried mixing it in with my regular
chili… and people were all, ‘What’s
THAT?’… OK, never mind!”
Now that she’s cooking full-time,
Monie wants people to know that she
does more than make award-winning
Indian tacos.
“I don’t do only Native food. I do
my strawberries, I do BBQ and I do
kebabs. I bake breads and make sliders.
I also prepare game - I cook buffalo and
venison. I don’t care for venison, but I
cook it and people love it.”
It doesn’t matter what she’s cooking,
just that she gets to cook, which is what
she loves. Everybody loves food, she says.
It opens up that door to conversation.
“My goal is to, everywhere I go, to
say Jesus’ name at least one time with
somebody. And that’s it. And I do it. Not
pushing. Just saying… Like I said, food
opens up the door to conversation. That’s
what I do. I cook and we sit down and eat
together. And we talk. God gave this to
me and people need help.”
She’s bought a concession trailer and
has been restoring and outfitting it to
serve her needs. She’ll make her trailer
debut at the Red Earth Festival to be
held at Remington Park June 5-7 in
Oklahoma City.
We all have God-given talents,
according to Monie.
“Mine is cooking,” she says.
And the secret to fluffy, championshipwinning frybread?
“Don’t beat it up!”
----------------------------------------For more information about Monie,
or if you are interested in hiring her to
cater an event, call 405-880-0653, email
[email protected] or look
her up on Facebook/Horsechiefcatering
For information about this year’s Red
Earth Festival, visit www.redearth.org
The 2014 National Indian Taco
Championship will take place from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 4 in downtown
Pawhuska. For more information, call the
Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce at 918287-1208 or visit www.pawhuskachamber.
com
Monie HorseChief ’s ‘Pawnee Foots’ (meat pies)
11 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 cups shortening
3 lbs. ground beef
Mix all the dry ingredients
together. Cut in the shortening
with the pastry cutter or fork
to the consistency of the peas.
Add water and mix together
to a sticky consistency but not
wet to the touch. Continue to
knead together and add flour
as needed.
Pinch off a small ball of dough
and roll into desired size circle
on a floured surface.
Put raw seasoned hamburger
meat on half of the circle and
fold over and lightly wet the
other half of the dough and
crimp the edges. Try not to
get any holes or tears in the
dough.
Variations and suggestions:
Suggestion would be to use
80% or higher lean ground
beef.
Variations: Season your meat
with salt and pepper, chopped
onions, bell pepper, jalapenos,
potatoes, or cheese. Whatever
appeals to your pallet.
Bake at 425 for approximately
25-30 mins.
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club:
Cherokee women keep club going since 1899
By LISA SNELL
Cherokee
Oklahoma’s oldest chartered club was
established June 29, 1899, at Oowala,
in the Cooweescoowee District of the
Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory.
Today, the club calls Claremore home
and counts Oklahoma’s favorite son, Will
Rogers, among its past members.
The club is the Indian Women’s
Pocahontas Club and it currently counts
just more than 160 members – all
Cherokees.
“We started out in the female seminary.
Our girls spent the winter and spring at
seminary school,” said member Ollie
Starr.
At the time of inception, not all the
girls were Cherokee. They came from
all over and attended Indian boarding
schools across the state.
“From the seminaries, they came
home in the summer and they decided
they needed a social event every week,”
Starr said.
“So they all got together and
determined that Pocahontas was the
most well-known Native American
and she had a very romantic story. So
they chose the name ‘Indian Women’s
Pocahontas Club’ and decreed it to never
be changed.”
And that is article No. 1 in the club’s
bylaws.
“I know the name is off-putting and
some people make fun of us,” Starr said.
“I don’t care.”
“If you think about 1899, how
many Native women were mentioned
anywhere?” club president Debra West
asked. “Pocahontas was the hero of the
day. That’s the only Native American
woman that they could all relate to.”
West said the girls wanted to be like
the hero they were taught Pocahontas
was.
“That’s what they named the club back
in 1899, so who are we to change it? We
don’t want to change that name,” she
said. “It would take away from what the
original club members started.”
And what the original members
started was an organization that
focused on serving the Native American
community.
Article No. 2 sets out the club’s objective
what happened. Those records have
been published in a series of books and
Starr has three volumes full of the club’s
history.
“Their first event was a barn dance in
The Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club has
lain a wreath at Will Roger’s tomb in Claremore
every year for the last 75 years.
in four sections: educational pursuits;
preservation of the history, customs and
traditions of their forefathers; sustaining
the traditions and sacredness of their
heritage; and to “forever champion the
cause of the Indian race.”
It concludes that the club is for social
and educational pursuits – no politics
allowed – and that policy stands strong
today.
“No politics are allowed at any of our
events. No campaign T-shirts, buttons,
fliers or bumper stickers. Political
agendas don’t have a place at our
gatherings,” Starr said.
In the early years, some men were
allowed into the club. Will Rogers, the
Cherokee performer, humorist, social
commentator and actor is the most well
known. He was a member before he
became famous.
The women of the club kept a register
of events they held, who was there and
Talala,” she said.
Rogers was there. He was 20-years-old
at the time.
“Afterwards, whenever Rogers was in
Tulsa, he’d come to Claremore to have
lunch with the women of the Pocahontas
Club,” Starr said.
Today, club membership is exclusively
Cherokee women who can trace their
ancestry back to the Dawes Roll, a
federal census of those living in the
Cherokee Nation that was used to allot
Cherokee land to individual citizens in
preparation for Oklahoma statehood.
Congress closed the rolls March 5, 1907.
Although membership may have
changed, one thing has not. The club still
holds social events. Only now, members
hold them to further their financial goals
for higher education and community
donations.
They hold several events each year to
raise money for scholarships. They give
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
“We are Indian Women of the Pocahontas Club. We love our Nation’s stories and the histories of our clans.
Whether they be sung or spoken, we treasure our tribal legends, the meeting of our group and all our Indian tokens.
The pride of our race we will forever cherish, that it’s history and legends will not perish.
For ancient pride of race, this torch we pass to those who come our place to take.”
away 10 awards of $600 each year on a
first-come, first-serve basis to qualified
applicants.
“We are the caretakers of our culture
and community,” West said. “Education
is the cornerstone of growth.”
The club also funds community
enrichment projects such as sponsoring
an art program with the Chelsea Boys &
Girls Club.
Cherokee/Shawnee artist Gary Marc
Henson, who is perhaps best known for
his work on The Five Moons – a set of
bronze statues honoring five American
Indian ballerinas from Oklahoma, lives
in Chelsea and West knows him.
“He wanted to teach children his craft,
sculpture, pottery and art,” West said.
“But he didn’t know where to start. He
lives and works in Chelsea, so matching
him with the Boys & Girls Club there
was perfect.”
The Pocahontas Club buys all the
supplies he needs to teach and he donates
his time.
“It started out as just a summer
program, but it went over so well, and
the kids loved it so much, that it is now
an after school program,” West said.
However, the club’s involvement didn’t
stop there.
“We noticed their building needed
some TLC. We jumped in again. We got
a contractor over there and got some
things fixed up and done. That got the
ball rolling in the community for other
groups to step up and do things for those
kids,” West said.
West and Starr said the women of the
club work to help not only individuals,
but organizations that need assistance,
too. They recently bought and donated
many items needed by a local women’s
shelter.
“We’re all strong women who are
involved in our community, volunteering
and doing good work,” West said. “We
encourage people by helping them help
themselves. We help them find their
strengths and nurture those strengths.”
“We have been the most-active and
least-recognized organization in the
Cherokee Nation since before statehood,”
she said. “How crazy is that?”
------------------------------------------The Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club
is hosting their annual “Old Fashioned
Picnic” May 17 at the Will Rogers
Birthplace Ranch, 9501 E 380 Rd,
Oologah. The event is open to the public
and features a hog fry, live music and
dancing, traditional Cherokee games and
children’s activities. For more information,
visit www.iwpclub.org or contact Debra
West by phone 918-760-0813 or email
[email protected].
2013al
Tribation
tin
Desof the
r*
Yea
Say Osiyo to Cherokee Nation Museums
Plan your visit to the Cherokee Nation with the Cherokee Compass museum package.
Get discounted admission to the Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum,
Cherokee National Prison Museum, Cherokee Heritage Center and
John Ross Museum, a list of 107 FREE adventures, and a FREE T-shirt with a
$15 purchase of the Compass museum package. Children 18 & under are FREE.
Available at all Cherokee Nation Gift Shops and Museums.
Osiyo is the traditional Cherokee greeting. Come say “hello” and plan your visit today:
CherokeeTourismOK.com • (877) 779-6977
*Named 2013 Tribal Destination of the Year by the American Indian and Alaska Native Tourism Association
1679_TOUR_GT_7.25X4.8_NOKM.indd 1
2/19/14 8:58 AM
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Oklahoma’s Tribal Jurisdict
Points of Interest | Entertainment | Shopping
1. Osage Casino Hotels
Ponca City & Skiatook
2. Artesian Hotel
1001 W 1st ST, Sulphur
Cheyenne
& Arapaho
3. First Council Hotel
12875 HWY 77 North, Newkirk
4. Creek Casino Checotah
830 North Broadway, Checotah
5. Duck Creek Casino
10085 Ferguson Rd., Beggs
Ki
6. Cherokee Nation Gift Shop
17725 S. Muskogee Ave., Tahlequah
Comm
7. Nevaquaya Fine Arts
500 Riverwalk Dr., Jenks
8. Cherokee Heritage Center
21192 S Keeler Dr., Park Hill
9. Golden Pony Casino
109095 Okemah St., Okemah
10. Wewoka Street Pawn
5th & Wewoka Street, Wewoka
Ap
Fort sill Apache
Headquarters
Delaware
Headquarters
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Shawnee
tions
Delaware
(Lenape)
Kaw
Tonkawa
3
u
1
u
Ponca
Otoe
Missouria
1
u
7
u
Kickapoo
Iowa
J
Wichita
caddo
delaware
iowa
manche
Miami
Peoria
Modoc
Ottawa
Wyandotte
Seneca-Cayuga
Osage
Pawnee
Quapaw
Cherokee
Nation
8
u
6
u
5
u
Sac
&
Fox
Absentee
Shawnee
Eastern
Shawnee
Muscogee
4
9 Creek u
u
10
u
Citizen
Potawatomi
Seminole
Choctaw
2 Chickasaw
u
pache
Thlopthlocco
Alabama
Quassarte
Kialegee
United Keetoowah
Band of Cherokee
headquarters
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Days of yellow wood:
Reviving the bowmaking craft
By KAREN SHADE
Cherokee / Diné
A Bodark stands in a field just below
Mike Berryhill’s Oklmulgee County
home. One wonders how this tree
revered for its strength and beauty might
have escaped Berryhill’s ax. The master
Muscogee bowmaker is always in search
of good material.
This Bodark, also known as Osage
orange, horse apple and number of other
names, isn’t, however, an ideal candidate.
The trunk curves too much and the tree
isn’t all that tall, either.
“You have to go to the river bottoms.
They grow tall and straight where it’s low,”
Berryhill said.
Standing beneath this tree, you can tell
that he still has tremendous respect for its
character and tenacity nonetheless.
The yellow wood of the
Bodark tree
“It’s Bodark. Nothing’s going to get it.”
Berryhill is an unassuming man.
Reserved and welcoming, he isn’t known
to be a “big talker.” Those people have
never asked him about his tribe or
carving wood bows or making arrows
from cane. They certainly never asked
him about his grandfather, the late Joseph
Hill Berryhill.
“I was raised in both a Christian and
traditional upbringing. My grandpa was
the biggest influence in my life. I still
think of him,” Berryhill said in his Okie
drawl.” He was the center of my life.”
His grandpa told him old stories, about
the old people and their ways, about his
heritage. Berryhill is a member of the
Muscogee tribe, but he’s more specific
than that. He is of the Alligator Clan and
the Cussetah Tribal Town. Knowing such
things is important to him.
While he has many memories of his
grandpa, some are more vivid.
“We had a big family, and we were poor
—no electric or running water. We raised
our own chickens and ate the eggs. We
raised hogs. Sometimes, this generation
doesn’t realize what it was like to be poor.
They say they were poor but didn’t know
it. Sometimes, you’re poor and you know
it,” he said.
At 70, he can say these things.
Berryhill was about 8-years-old when
his grandpa first took him to a creek on
the family property. He showed the boy
a tall Bodark tree. Grandpa climbed the
tree, and when he found two limbs ideal
for carving bows, he cut them – one for
Berryhill and one for his brother, the late
Tom Berryhill Jr.
Joseph Berryhill stripped away the
bark, its startling thorns and the first
layer of wood using old carving blades
to smooth the surface, taking care not
to aggressively scrape out the knots and
places where limbs had grown. Two
small bows emerged from the care and
attention.
The young Berryhill was grateful then
for the time he had with his grandpa, who
shared with him many other traditions
and stories passed down to him by
those who’d gone before. Those words
and actions would stay with him as he
finished school (not too far from where he
currently lives) and on to Haskell Indian
Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. He
also became paratrooper in the U.S. Army
before marrying.
“That’s what you’re supposed to do –
make a living and start a family,” he said.
He never forgot words spoken long ago
by his grandpa, but along the way a fulltime job, raising children and looking
after other everyday cares crowded his
mind for attention. Berryhill worked
for nearly 30 years in a machine shop
building an array of equipment, from
hydraulic motors to drilling equipment.
Eighteen years ago, he took a long look
at his family and community to see that
his culture was drifting away, possibly for
good. He decided to make a bow like his
grandpa showed him. He would make
them even if the world passed by without
noticing.
“I never really was concerned for the
culture when I was younger,” Berryhill
said. “A Cherokee told me this one time.
He said, ‘You got to find your way.’ That
comes to me a lot of time. It’s true.”
After retiring six years ago, he found
more time to put into the work. He began
to look for Bodark again, which brought
him to the Muscogee Creek Nation
Tribal Court. He had seen some Bodark
growing on the side of a road on tribal
land and was referred to Patrick Moore,
“We had a big family, and we were poor —no electric or running water.
We raised our own chickens and ate the eggs. We raised hogs. Sometimes, this
generation doesn’t realize what it was like to be poor. They say they were poor
but didn’t know it. Sometimes, you’re poor and you know it,” he said.
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
His grandpa told him old stories, about the old people and their ways,
about his heritage. Berryhill is a member of the Muscogee tribe, but he’s more
specific than that. He is of the Alligator Clan and the Cussetah Tribal Town.
Knowing such things is important to him.
Mike berryhill at his worktable / photos by karen shade
district judge of the Muscogee-Creek
Nation District Court, about acquiring
some material.
Moore discussed the legalities of taking
wood from tribal land for use benefiting
the tribe’s heritage. He also showed him the
tribe’s constitution, which gave Berryhill
the right as a citizen of the nation to use it.
It’s not a privilege Berryhill takes lightly.
From that meeting came a full-length
documentary on Muscogee bow making
featuring Berryhill going through
the stages of carving and its cultural
significance in defense and survival.
Moore carries a deep respect for
Berryhill and his mission to share the art
with others.
“He’s a very rare person. I have never
been associated with someone who has
his rare talent and ability to see things,”
Moore said. “He’d be surprised if he heard
me say it, but he’s one of those Ph.D.-types
teaching at universities.”
Moore now carves, too, and he shoots
with the Creek Bow Shooters Society.
Vern Courtwright, who serves on the
Muscogee Creek Nation Tribal Election
Board, has been friends with Berryhill for
27 years.
The society grew from Berryhill’s first
efforts to teach bow making in a workshop
several years ago - offering it to anyone
who wanted to learn. Thirty people, men
and women, began the class. After two
or three sessions, about 10 remained to
complete the bows they began. Those
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
of not only our lives, but a part of the lives
of future generations. It’s like continuing
and preserving the language.”
Moore agrees. Berryhill, in Moore’s
eyes, is a treasure to the tribe because he
actively passes the knowledge his grandpa
shared with him to others, sustaining a
way of life that could too easily be laid
down and forgotten.
“I just support it. I think it’s important
to preserve it. Too much has already been
lost,” Moore said.
How else would the skills, stories and
knowledge of his ancestors continue if
someone didn’t share them with others?
In the tradition of the Cussetah, an
independent tribe cast under the umbrella
of “Creek Nation” like other smaller tribes,
Berryhill is, in fact, the last of his tribal
town. Matrilineal lines determine that his
children, two daughters, fall under the
Hickory Tribal Town of their mother.
“It ends with me,” he said with some
resignation. By sharing the things passed
on to him by successive generations
before, in a way, it doesn’t have to be a
conclusion.
Others now know the assortment of
antique wood-carving tools he uses to
scrape away the cured outer layer. By the
time you’ve reached that first growth ring,
which is where you want it, the brilliant,
fine grain beneath reveals why his people
call Bodark, corrupted from the French
“Bois d’Arc,” by another name.
“It’s ‘etolani,’ ‘eto’ meaning wood or tree
and ‘lani’ meaning yellow. It’s the yellow
wood,” he said.
As for the Bodark growing by the drive
It also matters to those who follow through that they
to
his house, “it’s not going anywhere.”
are sustaining an old practice even if the bows and arrows
If
Berryhill and others keep it up, the
aren’t necessarily used for hunting or defense any more
same
someday may be said for the old
(although Berryhill said most assuredly that they can).
stories and for the Muscogee long bow
bow makers now spend a few hours a matters to those who follow through that
craft.
month together to shoot at targets made they are sustaining an old practice even
On the first Saturday of every month
of cornstalks.
if the bows and arrows aren’t necessarily the Muscogee Creek Bow Shooters meet
Bow making is time consuming, said used for hunting or defense any more at the Creek Nation Complex for a bow
Courtwright, but those who stay with (although Berryhill said most assuredly shoot. The public is always invited to
the process find it rewarding, a way to that they can).
watch or even shoot. The shoots usually
take time for yourself and later meet with
“It’s part of our culture, and we want to start at 10:00 AM and the bow shooters
people who share the same interest. It also continue it,” Courtwright said. “It’s a part shoot year round.
How else would the skills, stories and knowledge of his ancestors continue if
someone didn’t share them with others? In the tradition of the Cussetah, an
independent tribe cast under the umbrella of “Creek Nation” like other smaller
tribes, Berryhill is, in fact, the last of his tribal town.
NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
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21
Mike Berryhill’s grandpa, the late Joseph Hill Berryhill, seen in this family photo, told
him old stories, about the old people and their ways, about his heritage.
Cara Cowan Watts
Cherokee Nation
Tribal Council
District 13
Email Cara to get her
Cherokee Nation News
& Events emails or
scholarship emails!
[email protected]
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
NatiVE EVENTS CALENDAR
Powwow dates, times and
locations are subject to change.
Please call ahead or check online
in advance before making travel
plans. See www.nativeoklahoma.
us for more listings and updates
through the season.
EVERY TUESDAY
A Taste of Native Oklahoma
Lunches. 11 am-2 pm. Featuring
Indian Tacos & More. Jacobson
House Native Art Center, 609
Chautauqua Ave., Norman
EVERY WEDNESDAY
Every
Wednesday:
Powwow
Singing & Drumming, 6:30 pm-8:30
pm. Hosted by OU SNAG. Jacobson
House Native Art Center, 609
Chautauqua Ave., Norman
EVERY 1st FRIDAY: Indian Taco
Sales – from 4:00 – 8:00 pm at
Angie Smith Memorial UMC, 400 S.
W. 31st Street, Oklahoma City
Flute circle, 7:00pm-9:00pm.
Jacobson House Native Art Center,
609 Chautauqua Ave., Norman
EVERY 2nd SATURDAY
Indian Taco Sales - from 11-2:30pm
at OK Choctaw Tribal Alliance,
5320 S. Youngs Blvd, Oklahoma
City www.okchoctaws.org
EVERY 3rd SATURDAY: All you can
Eat Breakfast SALE – from 8- to
11:00 am at Angie Smith Memorial
UMC, 400 S.W. 31st Street,
Oklahoma City
THROUGH AUGUST 31, 2014
Comanche National Museum
and Cultural Center presents
Comanche Code of Honor, a
new exhibit honoring the heroic
Comanche Code Talkers of World
War II. For more information call
580-353-0404 or go to www.
comanchemuseum.com.
MAY 2
NDN taco sale 11am-3pm at Indian
Fellowship Baptist Church, 6130
S. 58th W. Ave. Oakhurst, Ok: Its
$7.00 for ndn taco/ dessert. Call
Mary Kelley @ 918-636-8394 n
Julie Dunn 918-313-6945. Delivery
call by May 1st.
MAY 3
Restoring Harmony Powwow at
Westside YMCA, 5400 S Olympia
Ave., Tulsa. Experience the spirit
of an ancient tradition at the 2014
Restoring Harmony Powwow
at Tulsa’s Westside YMCA. This
event begins with stickball games
that will take you back in time.
Continue with an awareness hike
and a showing of the film “Bully.”
In the afternoon, enjoy traditional
gourd dancing before the sun sets
and the grand entry parade begins.
Info call 918-382-2217.
MAY 9
5 p.m. – Cherokee National Treasure
Martha Berry will present a lecture,
“The Rise, Loss and Revival of
Traditional Cherokee Beadwork”
at the Cherokee Arts Center, 212
S. Water St., Tahlequah. For more
information, contact the Cherokee
Arts Center at 918-453-5728 or
[email protected].
MAY 10
Archaeology Day & Birthday Bash
at Spiro Mounds Archaeological
Center, 18154 1st St., Spiro. The
annual Archaeology Day and
Birthday Bash at the Spiro Mounds
Archaeological Center is a day to
celebrate the public opening of the
only prehistoric Native American
archaeological site in Oklahoma.
Throughout the day, archaeologists
will look at collections to help
identify artifacts, Native American
artists will show their wares and
several lectures will be given.
Visitors to this event will also enjoy
guided tours and re-enactments.
More info call 918-962-2062.
MAY 10
Locust Grove Founder’s Day
Art Show, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. at
the VFW Building on Broadway
Street. Featuring works by three
generations of the Stone family;
Williard, Jason and Mitzi. For
more information, visit the LG
Chamber of Commerce website
at locustgroveoklahoma.com and
click on the LGAA page.
MAY 17
Cherokee Heritage Gospel Sing
at the Cherokee Heritage Center,
21192 S. Keeler Dr., Tahlequah.
Head over to Tahlequah for the
annual Cherokee Heritage Gospel
Sing, held at the renowned
Cherokee Heritage Center. This
event combines contemporary
and traditional gospel music while
providing a Cherokee community
kinship. A free traditional hog fry
dinner is available to all attendees.
More info call 888-999-6007.
MAY 17
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Lisa Rutherford
will teach a beaded purse class at
the Cherokee Arts Center, 212 S.
Water St., Tahlequah. For more
information, contact the Cherokee
Arts Center at 918-453-5728 or
[email protected].
MAY 22-24
Vendors and visitors from several
states will be at the Will Rogers
Memorial Museum for the
5th annual American Cowboys
Traders Days. Activities will also
be scheduled at the Davis Arms
& Historial Museum. Cowboy,
western, Old West and Native
American related items will be
among the shopping opportunities
and there will be pony rides for the
kids, food concessions and other
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23
NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
entertainment. For additional information contact Ivan Pace,
918-698-8442.
MAY 23-25
Annual Delaware Powwow at the Fred Fall-Leaf Memorial
Campgrounds located in Copan, three miles east of Highway
75 on Road 600. Friday night kicks off with Gourd Dancing
at 6 p.m. and Grand Entry at 8 p.m. Saturday’s schedule of
events begin at 11 a.m. with the Bet football game held in
the area between the Markley Camp and Fred Fall-Leaf’s
home. The game is played between men and women.
Gourd Dancing will follow at 1 p.m. and evening Grand
Entry at 8 p.m. Also held that evening will be the Women’s
Delaware Dress Style Dance Contest. A concession stand will
be available, along with arts and crafts booths. Admission
and parking are free. Contact LuAnn Hainline at 918-3389907 for further information.
MAY 24
Artesian Arts Festival - The Chickasaw Nation is hosting
the inaugural Artesian Arts Festival, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the
Artesian Plaza, 1001 W. First Street in Sulphur. The Festival
will highlight artists and art from Southeastern tribes, such
as Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek and Seminole. Free
and open to the public. For more information see article
on page 8 or call (580) 272-5520, or inquire by email at
[email protected]
UNI_14-CN7_21_14_ArtesianArtsFestival.indd 1
4/22/14 1:19 PM
50th Annual Delaware Powwow
May 23, 24 & 25, 2014
Fred Fall-Leaf Memorial Campgrounds, Copan
(3 miles east of HWY 75 on Road 600)
Gourd Dancing Friday & Saturday
Stomp Dance following Powwow each night
DANCE CONTESTS FRI SAT SUN 8PM-CLOSE
(See calendar listing page 22 for more information)
Free Admission • More Info Call 918-338-9907
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Bone chokers $20 per dozen
Handmade lamp worked glass bead bracelets $1.00 each
Glass bead stretch bracelets 5 for $2.50
12 Necklaces: Chain w/ pendant and display pad $13.50
36 inch gemstone chip strands Reg. 3.95 now $2.00
36 inch turquoise chip strands Reg. 7.95 now $4.00
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1-888-720-1967
Remember we’ve moved around the corner
109 North Broadway, Skiatook, OK 74070
New Dealers Cash or Credit Card Only.
[email protected]
Open Noon-6pm Mon. thru Fri. • 10am-5m Sat. • Closed Sun.
Local: 396-1713-Countrywide Toll Free 1-888-720-1967
Website: www.supernaw.com • Email: [email protected]
We’ll buy that single rifle setting in your closet up to an entire estate or collection.
OPENING SOON!
Tonkawa Casino West
Now hiring for all positions
Apply in person at:
Tonkawa Indian Casino
10700 Allen Dr., Tonkawa, OK
or online at:
www.tonkawacasino.com
Phone Charles today 405-257-2500 and let him put some cash in your pocket!
Let Wewoka Street Pawn & Gold be your one stop center
for Quick Cash or even a place where you can shop for DISCOUNT
Tools • Jewlery • Art • Musical Instruments • Firearms & More
We make you our priority. We can even sell your items on Ebay!
Stop by and visit with Debi or Charles.We look forward to serving you!
Wewoka St Pawn & Gold • 5th & S. Wewoka St. • Wewoka, OK
“Where every day is Indian Day”
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
GAMING t
Buffalo Run Casino
1366 U.S. 69, Miami
(918) 542-7140
Creek Nation Casino
Checotah is located just north of
downtown Checotah on Broadway
or just north of I-40 at the Checotah
Exit, east of Highway 69. Our 12,000
square foot facility has over 325 of
your favorite games including Mr.
Money Bags, Red Hot Ruby, Fort Knox
and many more! We offer generous
daily and monthly promotions and
cash giveaways for our players club
members. We’re open from 8am
to 6am with breakfast, lunch, and
dinner served daily at The Grill.
Come see why we are the best
casino in the area with better games,
better payouts and the best rewards
around.
DUCK CREEK CASINO
Creek Nation Casino Duck Creek
in Beggs features over 250 gaming
machines in a 5,000-square-foot
facility. Stop by to try your luck at
this casino, where you can play every
day of the week from 9am-7am.
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On-site concessions are available
at Creek Nation Casino Duck Creek.
10085 Ferguson Rd, Beggs. 918-2673468 or 918-267-3469
GOLDEN PONY CASINO
109095 Okemah St, Okemah
(918) 560-6199
The Golden Pony Casino in Okemah,
run by the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town
of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation,
offers a variety of entertainment
options in one venue. With a wide
variety of slot machines and new
ones being added all the time, you’ll
play games for hours and never get
bored.
OSAGE CASINOS
951 W.36th St. N., Tulsa
Osage Casino, Tulsa is the closest
gaming facility to Downtown Tulsa.
The Casino is open 24/7 and offers
guests more than 1,000 state-ofthe-art Electronic Games, 11 Table
Games, an 8-table Poker Room, a
grill and an entertainment lounge
with a bar. www.osagecasinos.com
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OSAGE CASINO HOMINY
39 Deer Ave.
(918) 885-2158
OSAGE CASINO PONCA CITY
64464, U.S. 60
(580) 765-2973
OSAGE CASINO SAND SPRINGS
301 Blackjack Dr.
(918) 699-7777
OSAGE CASINO Skiatook
6455 West Rogers Boulevard
(918) 699-7873
THUNDERBIRD CASINO
15700 Oklahoma 9, Norman
(405) 360-9270
At Thunderbird Casino, you’ll not
only find the friendliest dealers
and casino personnel, but some
of the hottest gaming action in the
state, dealing popular table games
like Blackjack and Poker, as well as
hundreds of both new and classic
gaming machines for hours of fun
and winning!
Our Shawnee location is located at
2051 S. Gordon Cooper Dr. Come
check us out!
• Over250gamingmachines • LadiesNight–Mondays5–10pm
• Concessionson-site
• Men’sNight–Tuesdays5–10pm
10085 Ferguson Rd. Beggs, OK 74421 · 918-267-3468
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
Coupon valid April 15 – November 1, 2014
Coupon only valid if brought into casino. No photocopies accepted.
109095 N. 3830 Rd. • Okemah, OK 74859
©2014 All rights reserved. Management reserves the right to adjust any point or comp balance resulting from fraud, malfunction, or operator
error and where allowed by law. May be subject to forfeiture under certain conditions. Not transferable and not valid with any other offer.
Golden Pony Casino is not responsible for lost or stolen coupons. Alteration or unauthorized use voids this coupon. Restrictions may apply.
Only one cash redemption per visit, per day. Must present valid state-issued ID. Offer void in the event of a printing error. Persons who are
not eligible to game at this property should consider this offer invalid. All players and guests must be at least 18 years or older. Gambling too
much? Call 1-800-522-4700.
NO04-1114$5
Redeem
this ad
foR
fRee play
918.473.5200
830 N. Broadway Checotah, Ok
www.creeknationchecotah.com
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
NatiVE Attractions
Artesian Hotel
1001 W 1st St • Sulphur
855-455-5255
www.artesianhotel.com
Bigheart Museum
616 W Main • Barnsdall
918-847-2397
Caddo Heritage Museum
Caddo Nation Complex • Binger
405-656-2344
www.caddonation-nsn.gov
Cherokee Heritage Center
21192 S Keeler Drive • Tahlequah
918-456-6007
www.cherokeeheritage.org
Cherokee Strip Museum
90114th St • Alva
580-327-2030
www.alvaok.net/alvachamber
Cheyenne Cultural Center
2250 NE Route 66 • Clinton
580-232-6224
www.clintonokla.org
Chickasaw Council House
Museum
209 N Fisher Ave • Tishomingo
580-371-3351
www.chickasaw.net
Chickasaw Nation Visitor
Center
520 E Arlington • Ada
580-436-2603
www.chickasaw.net
Chickasaw National Capitol
Building
411 W 9th • Tishomingo
580-371-9835
www.chickasaw.net
Choctaw Nation Museum
Council House Road • Tuskahoma
918-569-4465
Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Cultural Heritage Center
and Firelake Gifts
1899 N Gordon Cooper • Shawnee
405-878-5830
www.potawatomi.org/culture
Comanche National Museum
and Cultural Center
701 NW Ferris Ave. • Lawton
580-353-0404
www.comanchemuseum.com
Coo-Y-Yah Museum
847 Hwy 69 and S 8th St • Pryor
918-825-2222
Creek Council House Museum
106 W 6th • Okmulgee
918-756-2324
www.tourokmulgee.com
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Fort Sill Historic Landmark and
Museum
437 Quanah Rd. • Fort Sill
580-442-5123
http://sill-www.army.mil/museum
Fort Washita Historic Site and
Museum
3348 State Rd 199 • Durant
580-924-6502
Gardner Mission and Museum
Hwy 70 E • Broken Bow
580-584-6588
Gilcrease Museum
1400 Gilcrease Museum Rd. • Tulsa
918-596-2700 or 888-655-2278
www.gilcrease.org
Indian Memorial Museum
402 E 2nd St. • Broken Bow
580-584-6531
Delaware County Historical
Society & Mariee Wallace
Museum
538 Krause St • Jay
918-253-4345 or 866-253-4345
Delaware Tribal Museum
Hwy 281 N • Anadarko
405-247-2448
Five Civilized Tribes Museum
1101 Honor Heights Dr • Muskogee
918-683-1701 or 877-587-4237
www.fivetribes.org
Fred Jones Jr.
Museum of Art
555 Elm Ave. • Norman
405-325-3272
www.ou.edu/fjjma
Fort Gibson Historic Site and
Interpretive Center
907 N Garrison Ave. • Fort Gibson
918-478-4088
www.okhistory.org
John Hair Museum
18627 W Keetoowah Circle
Tahlequah • 918-772-4389
www.keetoowahcherokee.org
Jacobson House Native Art
Center
609 Chautauqua • Norman
405-366-1667
www.jacobsonhouse.com
Kanza Museum
Kaw Tribal Complex • Kaw City
580-269-2552 or 866-404-5297
www.kawnation.com
Kiowa Tribal Museum
Hwy 9 W • Carnegie • 580-654-2300
Museum of the Great Plains
601 NW Ferris Ave. • Lawton
580-581-3460
www.museumgreatplains.org
Museum of the Red River
812 E Lincoln Rd • Idabel
580-286-3616
www.museumoftheredriver.org
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
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National Cowboy and Western
Heritage Museum
1700 NE 63rd • Oklahoma City
405-478-2250
www.nationalcowboymuseum.org
Oklahoma History Center
2401 N Laird Ave. • Oklahoma City
405-522-5248
www.okhistorycenter.org
Osage Tribal Museum, Library
and Archives
819 Grandview Ave. • Pawhuska
918-287-5441
www.osagetribe.com/museum
Permanent Art of the
Oklahoma State Capitol
2300 N Lincoln Blvd. • Oklahoma City
405-521-3356
www.ok.gov
Philbrook Museum of Art
2727 S Rockford Rd. • Tulsa
918-749-7941
www.philbrook.org
Red Earth Museum
6 Santa Fe Plaza
Oklahoma City
405-427-5228
www.redearth.org
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Southern Plains Museum
Tonkawa Tribal Museum
715 E Central Blvd. • Anadarko
405-247-6221
www.doi.gov/iacb/museums/
museum_s_plains.html
36 Cisco Dr. • Tonkawa
580-628-5301
www.tonkawatribe.com
Spiro Mounds
Archaeological Center
18154 1st St. • Spiro
918-962-2062
okhistory.org/outreach/museums/
spiromounds.html
Standing Bear Park, Museum
and Education Center
601 Standing Bear Pkwy • Ponca City
580-762-1514
www.standingbearpark.com
Tahlonteeskee Cherokee
Courthouse Museum
Rt. 2 Box 37-1 • Gore
918-489-5663
Talbot Research Library and
Museum
500 S. Colcord Ave. • Colcord
918-326-4532
www.talbotlibrary.com
Three Valley Museum
401 W. Main • Durant
580-920-1907
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Top of Oklahoma Historical
Society Museum
303 S. Main
Blackwell
580-363-0209
Washita Battlefield National
Historic Site
West of town, Cheyenne
580-497-2742
www.nps.gov/waba
Webbers Falls Historical
Museum
Commercial & Main, Webbers Falls
918-464-2728
Wheelock Academy
Rt. 2 Box 257-A8 • Garvin
580-746-2139
www.choctawnation.com
Woolaroc Ranch, Museum
and Wildlife Preserve
1925 Woolaroc Ranch Rd.
Bartlesville
918-336-0307 or 888-966-5276
www.woolaroc.org
Sam Noble Oklahoma
Museum of Natural History
2401 Chautauqua Ave. • Norman
405-325-4712
www.snomnh.ou.edu
Seminole Nation Museum
524 S Wewoka • Wewoka
405-257-5580
www.theseminolenationmuseum.org
Sequoyah’s Cabin
Rt. 1 Box 141 • Sallisaw
918-775-2413
www.cherokeetourismok.com
Holisso Research Center of
Chickasaw History and Culture
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
LodgING t
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CLAREMORE
Comfort Inn
1720 S. Lynn Riggs
(918) 343-3297
POCOLA
CHOCTAW HOTEL
Interstate 540
800-590-5825
TAHLEQUAH
BEST WESTERN
3296 S Muskogee
(918) 458-1818
CUSHING
Best Western
508 E Main St
(918) 306-4299
PONCA CITY
OSAGE CASINO HOTEL
64464, U.S. 60
(580) 765-2973
COMFORT INN
101 Reasor St
(918) 431-0600
DURANT
CHOCTAW LODGE
DURANT
800-590-5825
SAND SPRINGS
Hampton Inn
7852 W. Parkway Blvd
(918) 245-8500
MIAMI
BUFFALO RUN HOTEL
1366 U.S. 69
(918) 542-2900
SKIATOOK
OSAGE CASINO HOTEL
5591 W Rogers Blvd
(918) 699-7873
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DAYS INN
701 Holiday Dr
(918) 456-7800
Tulsa
Clarion Inn
Airport
2201 N. 77 E. Ave.
(918) 835-9911
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Comfort Suites
1737 S. 101st E. Ave
(918) 628-0900
Hilton Garden Inn
7728 E. Virgin Court
(918) 838-1444
Holiday Inn Express
3215 S. 79th E. Ave
(918) 665-4242
Quality Suites
3112 S. 79th E. Ave
(918) 858-9625
Hyatt Place
7037 S. Zurich Ave
(918) 491-4010
NEWKIRK/PONCA CITY
FIRST COUNCIL HOTEL
12875 U.S. 77
580.448.3225 or
toll-free 877-232-9213.
Just a short 10 minute
drive east of I-35, the
First
Council
Hotel
rooms feature custom
double plush bedding,
premium linens, 42” HD
Cable TV, hair dryers,
irons and ironing boards.
Luxury suites are custom
decorated and feature
Native artwork, oneof-a-kind special made
Pendleton blankets, king
size bed, leather sofas
and chairs, coffee makers,
granite counter tops and
oversized soaking tubs.
Full hot breakfast buffet,
complimentary
valet
parking, bell service and
WiFi throughout the hotel
are included.
Spring
FOR A VACATION!
PLAY, STAY AND DINE FOR JUST $109
+TAXES
/ NIGHT
Your one-night getaway includes:
• One–night stay in our luxurious hotel
• $20 Council Cash and $30 dining voucher
• Complimentary breakfast and valet parking
• Fitness room access
• Free Wi-Fi
Make your reservation today using the code 109M14
Call toll free at 877.232.9213
Monday - THURSDAY
VALID MAY 2014
www.FirstCouncilCasinoHotel.com
12875 NORTH HIGHWAY 77, NEWKIRK, OKLAHOMA 74647
Hotel offer based on double occupancy. Blackout dates may apply. Single occupants will receive one food voucher and one Free Play offer per night.
NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
OKLAHOMA Tribal Directory
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe
2025 South Gordon Cooper Shawnee Oklahoma 74801 Phone: 405.275.4030
Alabama-Quassarte
Tribal Town
101 E. Broadway
Wetumka, Ok. 74883
Phone: 405 452-3987
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
511 East Colorado Drive
Anadarko, Okla.
405-247-9493
Caddo Nation of Oklahoma Hwys. 281 & 152 Intersection
Binger, Okla.
405-656-2344
Cherokee Nation
South of Tahlequah, Hwy. 62
Tahlequah, Okla.
918-453-5000
Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes
100 Red Moon Circle
Concho, Okla.
405-262-0345
Chickasaw Nation
124 East 14th Street
Ada, Okla.
(580) 436-2603
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma 529 N. 16th St., Durant, Okla.
800-522-6170
Citizen Potawatomi Nation
1601 Gordon Cooper Drive
Shawnee, Okla.
405-275-3121
Comanche Nation
584 NW Bingo Rd.
Lawton, Okla.
877-492-4988
Delaware (Lenape) Tribe
of Indians
5100 East Tuxedo Blvd.
Bartlesville, Okla.
918- 337-6550
Delaware Nation
31064 State Highway 281
Anadarko, Okla.
405-247-2448
Eastern Shawnee Tribe of
Oklahoma
127 Oneida St.
Seneca, Missouri
918-666-2435
Fort Sill Apache Tribe
Route 2, Box 121
Apache, Okla.
580-588-2298
Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma
RR 1, Box 721
Perkins, OK
405-547-2402
Kaw Nation of Oklahoma
698 Grandview Drive
Kaw City, Okla.
580-269-2552
Kialegee Tribal Town
623 East Hwy. 9
Wetumka, Okla.
405-452-3262
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma
P.O. Box 70
McLoud, Okla.
405-964-7053
Kiowa Indian Tribe of
Oklahoma
Hwy. 9, West of Carnegie
Carnegie, Okla.
580-654-2300
Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
202 S. Eight Tribes Trail
Miami, Okla.
918-542-1445
Sac and Fox Nation
920883 S. Hwy 99
Stroud, Okla.
918-968-3526
Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma
418 G Street Miami, Okla.
918-542-1190
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
Junction Hwys. 270 and 56
P. O. Box 1498, Wewoka, Okla.
405-257-7200
Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Hwy. 75 and Loop 56
Okmulgee, Okla.
800-482-1979
Osage Nation
813 Grandview
Pawhuska, Okla.
918-287-5555
Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma
13 S. 69 A
Miami, Okla.
918-540-1536
Otoe-Missouria Tribe
8151 Hwy 177
Red Rock, Okla.
877-692-6863
Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma
Pawnee, Okla.
918-762-3621
Peoria Tribe of Indians of
Oklahoma
118 S. Eight Tribes Trail
Miami, Okla.
918-540-2535
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe
R2301 E. Steve Owens Blvd.
Miami, Okla.
918-542-6609
Shawnee Tribe
29 S. Hwy. 69A
Miami, Okla.
918-542-2441
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town 09095 Okemah Street
Okemah, Okla.
918-560-6198.
Tonkawa Tribe of Indians
1 Rush Buffalo Road
Tonkawa, Okla.
580-628-2561
United Keetoowah Band of
Cherokee Indians
PO Box 746
Tahlequah, Okla.
918-431-1818
Ponca Tribe
20 White Eagle Drive
Ponca City, Okla.
580-762-8104
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
[Wichita, Keechi, Waco,
Tawakonie]
Hwy. 281, Anadarko, Okla.
405-247-2425
Quapaw Tribe of Indians
5681 S. 630 Rd.
Quapaw,Okla.
918-542-1853
Wyandotte Nation
64700 E. Highway 60
Wyandotte, Okla.
918-678-2297
NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
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Mike Berryhill (wearing a red scarf) looks on as bow shooters gather
during the annual Muscogee Creek Nation Festival to try their skill
against one another. The festival is held in June in Okmulgee.
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NATIVE OKLAHOMA • MAY 2014
(CHEROKEE)
Matt Roberts
Principal
Owasso High School