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Table of contents Outside The Ropes - Dennis Knifechief .............................. 4-6 Citizen Potawatomi Nation ................................................. 8-9 Oklahoma Native Actor - Wes Studi .............................. 10-11 Chickasaw Nation: Herrington encourages Indian students to consider engineering .........................12, 14 Aviary home to 15 eagles ...............................................16-17 Cheyenne & Arapaho: Tradition returns to tribe through buffalo butcher ........................................... 18 PUBLISHER

Kent Bush MARKETING

Christina Walker Brad Casto

EDITORIAL

Adam Ewing GRAPHIC ARTIST

Cheyenne Meadows Reita Easley Brooke Jones

This magazine is published by The Shawnee News-Star in cooperation with The Tribal Nations of Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Sac and Fox Nation, Absentee Shawnee Tribe, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Chickasaw Nation, and the Pawnee Tribe. ©Copyright 2017 GateHouse Media, LLC, 215 N. Bell St., P.O. Box 1688, Shawnee, OK 74802-1688, (405) 273-4200. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the publisher.

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Outside The Ropes

s i n n e D chief e f i n K

By Adam Ewing Photos by Joe Rushmore

Not every fighter makes millions of dollars.

Some have dreams of getting to that level, while others simply do it because they love to fight. For Dennis Knifechief, it is somewhere in between.

“After my last fight I took some time away from all the extra pressure,” Knifechief said. “I have been spending a lot of time with my family, while staying in my lane and staying focused.”

As Knifechief prepares for what some might consider his most difficult fight to date, Our Native Traditions will take a look at how this fighter balances training, work, pursuing an education and staying close to his family.

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For his upcoming fight with Oklahoma State Middleweight Champ Bo Gibbs, Knifechief is working with Billy Smith at Western Ave. Boxing Gym in Oklahoma City.

“There’s a few things we had to fix with Dennis but he has the necessary tools to get the job done against Gibbs,” Smith said. “I really like his footwork. We have him up on his toes and moving around a lot more.”

Smith works with several fighters in the Oklahoma City area, including the hard-hitting Cande Rochin and rising amateur Josh Porcher.

Both Rochin and Porcher fought on the undercard of Gibbs vs. Knifechief on Aug. 18.

During this training camp, Knifechief has sparred with several different opponents. This is something head trainer Smith wanted to implement into his new fighter’s camp.

“If Dennis gets a bunch of different looks now, he will be ready for anything Gibbs has to offer on Aug. 18,” Smith said.

Knifechief travels to Western Ave. Boxing Gym from his home in Shawnee several times per week. He also works as a server at Red Lobster.

After working at Western Ave. for a couple hours in the morning Knifechief returns to Shawnee, cleans up and gets ready for his shift at work.

When he’s finished with his shift at Red Lobster, Knifechief will put in a couple miles of roadwork.

Knifechief, who started his career 1-3-1, has improved his record to 8-6-1. His most recent fight was a third round

knockout loss to Maurice Williams in a rematch. Knifechief won their first fight with a fifth round knockout.

Previous to the loss, Knifechief was riding a four fight winning streak, beating Steven Crowfield, Edwin Williams, Juan Parra and the first go-round with Maurice Williams.

As he prepares for his fight with Bo Gibbs, Knifechief is 100 percent focused on the task at hand.

With fight night near, Knifechief reflects on his time outside the boxing ring.

When he isn’t at the gym or working a double shift, Knifechief is more than likely spending time with his family.

“I have a lot to be grateful for. I have an amazing family.” Knifechief said. “They are what kept me going when there were times I wanted to give up. On my days off I will go over to my mom’s or grandma’s and do yard work, or just spend time with them. I really love them. They always push me to do better.”

On Aug. 11 Knifechief and his family celebrated his mom, Angela Thompson’s, birthday. It was a day well spent, Knifechief said. He and his family took Ms. Thompson out to dinner and showered her with gifts.

Even on days off, Knifechief is constantly thinking about

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OUR NATIVE TRADITIONS

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“I have a lot to be grateful for.

I have an amazing family.”

his upcoming fight, he said. Sometimes he will spend the whole day visualizing what needs to be done in order to secure a victory Aug. 18.

“I’m constantly thinking about this fight and what I need to do in order to get this win,” Knifechief said.

A social life is all but out of the question for Knifechief. From working, to training and spending the little extra time with family, there isn’t many hours left in the day.

“I really don’t have a social life. Boxing is a top priority in my life,” Knifechief said. “It’s the other things I miss. People look up to me and want to hangout with me.

I have to question myself, ‘am I really that busy, or am I sheltering myself because I don’t want to let people in?’ I’m just trying to put in the work and make my family proud.”

As far as a significant other, Knifechief said the timing isn’t right but down the road he is certain it will happen.

“I could have a girlfriend, but I’m just so busy,” Knifechief said. “When I think about it, in a fantasy world it works, but then I look at my schedule and training it is just tough to make it work.”

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OUR NATIVE TRADITIONS

One thing that Knifechief is most passionate about is helping the younger generations. He has spent many hours speaking with, and volunteering with various organizations. He has taken some time away from that as he needed to focus on getting his life in order, he said.

“I was that kid at one time. I was lost and struggled with addictions,” Knifechief said.

“I was trying to find my way and didn’t know what to do.

Now I’m trying to work on me. During that time in my life I did my part but I have to focus on my life. I was being there for everyone but myself. Once I get some time, I’m definitely going to go back out and volunteer as much as I can.”

Knifechief’s faith is as important to him as his fight career. He’s always reflecting on his walk with God and knows it is a never ending journey.

“I love God and I’ve believed in God all my life,” Knifechief said. “Faith is a thin line to walk. As much of a holy man as I seem to everyone, I fight it daily. I’m always trying to talk to God. Honestly the last couple months I feel like he’s testing me. Life is going to get better.”

When it’s all said and done, Knifechief had one thing on his mind; winning on Aug. 18.

“I know what I have to do to beat Bo so I’m here training and to be successful on fight night,” Knifechief said.

Even though Knifechief was unsuccessful in his fight with Gibbs, losing by a unanimous decision, he demonstrated an improved skillset according to his trainer, Smith.

“I am so proud of Dennis,” Smith said. “I feel like we won the fight but the judges didn't see it that way. We will go back to the drawing board and keep improving.”

Since the fight in August, Knifechief went on to win a third round technical knockout, stopping Antoine Anderson. With the win Knifechief improved his record to 9-7-1, with four wins coming by way of knockout.

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Moving to Indian Territory The provisions for the Citizen Potawatomi’s move to Indian Territory were stipulated in a treaty signed on February 27, 1867. Signatories and the OIA agreed that a delegation of Citizen Potawatomi would accompany the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to Indian Territory and select a tract of land, not exceeding thirty miles square. The treaty stipulated that they would buy the reservation with the proceeds from selling their “surplus” lands in Kansas at one dollar per acre to the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad.

In the winter 1868 a group of Citizen Potawatomi made a failed attempt to travel to Indian Territory to select a new reservation. The water was too high and roads were impassable. The following winter, in 1869, another party of Citizen Potawatomi traveled to Indian Territory and selected a tract of land that became the site of the Citizen Potawatomi reservation. They chose a section of land that encompassed thirty square miles from the north fork of the Canadian River to the south fork. The eastward flowing Little River, which was little more than a creek, divided the reservation almost evenly in half. The land lay just west of the Seminole reservation and had an eastern boundary at the Indian Meridian. Once the Citizen Potawatomi selected land for the new reservation they could begin the process of settling their affairs in Kansas and relocating to the Indian Territory.

The earliest families to make the journey to their new reserve arrived in Indian Territory in 1872. Since they paid for the move themselves, these families were among the more affluent Potawatomi families who were able to move from Kansas and included members of the Anderson, Melot, Clardy, Pettifer, Bergeron, and Toupin families. An Anderson family history notes that the Citizen Potawatomi brothers, John and Pete Anderson, had land holding in Kansas valued at $2,000. Records don’t indicate whether the brothers sold their allotments in Kansas, or lost them through fraud. Yet, the fact that they were able to

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finance their emigration to Indian Territory suggests that they sold at least a portion of their land and that the sale of land generated enough money that the two men and their families were able to afford the journey from Kansas to Indian Territory.

Fourteen wagons filled with supplies and eager, yet anxious, Citizen Potawatomi set out for their new homes in Indian Territory with little idea about what they would encounter and how they would succeed in supporting their families. The obvious challenges of living in a state that was hostile to its Indian population, like Kansas was, induced some to move. It also motivated them to stick together in their new homes. Most of these earliest arrivals settled together in a small community they called Pleasant Prairie near the center of the reservation.

By the end of the year, the population of the budding community was a mere twenty-eight people. It was not immediately obvious to these early emigrants or to the hundreds of Citizen Potawatomi who followed in their wake that they would soon face fierce challenges to their land tenure, their individual rights, and even their identity as Native Americans. Though given their past experiences, many could have guessed that the transition to a new land would not be an easy one. Their first major challenge would be a fight to determine their rights as members of two separate populations: the US and their tribal nation.

1891 Land Run In 1890, the Citizen Potawatomi unwillingly participated again in the allotment process implemented through the Dawes Act of 1887. With this Act, the Citizen Potawatomi were forced to accept individual allotments. In the Land Run of 1891, the remainder of the Potawatomi reservation in Oklahoma was opened up to ‘white’ settlement. It is estimated that over half of the 900 square mile reservation was simply given away by the government.

On the morning of Tuesday, September 22, 1891, more than twenty thousand anxious settlers, all “armed like a walking arsenal,” gathered on foot, horseback, and with wagons at a predetermined starting line, awaiting the sound of the bugle that would change their lives. Each one of these individuals hoped to be lucky enough to claim one of the seven thousand available one hundred and sixty acre plots, carved out of the “surplus” lands of the recently allotted Citizen Potawatomi, Iowa, and Sac and Fox reservations.

The Citizen Potawatomi, some of whom travelled to the starting line to watch the action, saw thousands of acres of land that the federal government pledged would be for the “exclusive use and occupancy” of their

tribal members pass from the tribe to the hands of non-Indian settlers in one day. This contest for recently relinquished Indian lands was one of seven land runs that occurred in Indian and Oklahoma Territories between 1889 and 1895.

More than three hundred thousand acres of “surplus” land on what used to be the Citizen Potawatomi reservation was opened to the land run.

Towns in Pottawatomie County Several towns in Pottawatomie County started out as settlements that built up around early Citizen Potawatomi allotments. A few of these towns include: • Pleasant Prairie – est. in 1871 by seven of the first Potawatomi families to move to Indian Territory. The town was known as Pleasant Prairie from 1871 to 1881, in that year the town of Wagoza was established on the site. They are near the present-day town of Wanette.

• Isabella – a short-lived town that was named for the wife of Joshua Clardy, a Citizen Potawatomi tribal member who owned the trading post in the town, which was established on his allotment. The name was quickly changed to Clardyville to better represent Joshua Clardy.

• Burnett – founded by William Griffenstein who was married to Citizen Potawatomi tribal member Catherine Burnett, she was the daughter of Potawatomi headman Abram Burnett.

• Anderson – the town was on allotment land that belonged to the Anderson family. It ceased to be a town in 1894.

• Young’s Crossing – Established in southern Pottawatomie County by George Young, who was married to a Citizen Potawatomi woman. It was a well-established town and one of five crossings for the Canadian River. George Young owned a general store and a saloon in the town.

Present Day Citizen Potawatomi Nation The latter part of the 20th Century and the early years of the 21st Century have been a period of great success for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. In fact, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation is the largest of the eight federally recognized Potawatomi tribes and the ninth largest tribe in the United States. Under sound leadership and with a tribal membership base of more than 30,000, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation has experienced growth in administration, tribal enterprises and its community outreach programs.

From a beginning in 1970 with only two-and-onehalf acres of tribal land held in common and less than $1,000 in cash assets, the Nation has grown to have a $522 million economic impact in the State of Oklahoma.

This includes $68 million in wages and benefits which directly supports more than 2,000 jobs and purchases contributing to a $377 million impact on the local economy.

In recent years, careful planning and prudent use of revenues generated through Indian gaming and various business enterprises have made possible resurgence in the Citi-

zen Potawatomi Nation’s prospects. Economic development which benefits the entire community is in the best interest of both tribal members and non-Indians. To this end, the Nation’s business and gaming endeavors produce many positive results, including job creation, the attraction of tourism revenue, and the reduction of poverty and unemployment.

Citizen Potawatomi Nation has several tribal enterprises, including the largest tribally owned grocery store, Community Development Corporation and First National Bank. These enterprises allow Citizen Potawatomi Nation to be the largest employer in Pottawatomie County with more than three times as many employees as the next largest employer.

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OKLAHOMA NATIVE ACTOR

i d u t S Wes

By Adam Ewing adam.ewing@news-star.com With Photos: PROVIDED

Actor Wes Studi has starred in several blockbuster films such as ‘Dance with Wolves,’ ‘The Last of the Mohicans,’ ‘Heat’ and ‘Avatar.’

At an early age, Wes did not dream of becoming an actor. After attending Northeastern University in Tahlequah, he became a professional horse trainer.

In 1983 Studi began acting with the American Indian Theater Company in

Tulsa. The first roles were small workshops and plays. His first gig was in 1984 with ‘Black Elk Speaks.”

Through all the roles he’s played, one of the more challenging aspects is the physical aspect to acting.

“I would say the larger part of the films have been physically challenging,” Studi said. “It’s riding horses in the dust and sand and mountains, or running through the humid mountains of the southeastern United States. All the roles have been fairly physically demanding. I wouldn’t say one was more than the most.”’

Studi played several Native American roles in his acting career. It is a team effort when it comes to portraying Native American culture accurately, he said.

“I think it’s incumbent on everyone, starting with the writer,” Studi said.

“Then it involves everyone who has their name in the credits. If it’s a historical story, we all have to take into consideration and make sure every aspect is authenticated and part of our history. To tell a story as accurately as possible, is always very important in terms of how your film is received.”

Throughout his television and film career, Studi has worked with some of the top names in Hollywood. From Al Pacino to Kevin Costner, to Daniel Day-Lewis, Studi held his own when it comes to the art of acting. Even though he’s shared the screen with these names, he was not intimidated, and if he was, it was at his own accord.

“I felt intimidated myself,” Studi said.

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“I don’t think any of the actors were that way toward me. It could be more of their reputation and could be an intimidating factor for a first time player with actors of this renown.”

Before Studi’s career in Hollywood, he served in the United States Army and voluntarily served one tour in South Vietnam as a member of the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta. With his time served, Studi credits this part of his life for changing his perspective on how he perceives the world.

“With a full year of service in Vietnam, I started to look at humanity in a different way,” Studi said. “I began to look at humanity in a different way. Perhaps I lost a bit of respect for we as human beings in terms of knowing what is right and what is wrong and what is human and what is not. I think my ire was brought up a bit in terms of how much political considerations have such an impact on individual lives. It’s kind of disheartening to think that we are still doing the same thing over and over again.”

After serving his country and spending time at Northeastern University, Studi was attracted to Native American politics starting in the early early 1970s.

“I learned of the many injustices suffered by our ancestors and things that weren’t kosher in terms of how events led us to our position in the world at that time,” Studi said. “When you discover those things, it can actually piss you off.”

Studi joined the American Indian Movement (AIM) and participated in the Trail of Broken Treaties protest march in 1972. He also was one of the protestors who occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs building. In 1973, Studi participated in the occupation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota and was subsequently arrested.

“I don’t think I learned anything I didn’t already know,” Studi said. “We as Indians are still seen as the ‘other’ by people in government.”

Currently, Studi remains active and recently participated in a movement at Standing Rock. Studi’s passion for Native American’s rights is still the same but his age has mellowed him out, he said.

“Maybe I give things a little more thought than I used to,” Studi said. “Other than that, my attitude hasn’t changed that much.”

Of the undertakings, Studi is most proud of is his work to preserve indigenous languages. Studi acts as a spokesperson for the Indigenous Language Institute and has been a language consultant in several films, including ‘Avatar.”

“I think it’s an awful shame for any group of people to lose a form of communication that was developed over

centuries,” Studi said. “It may be a losing battle, but in my mind we need to do as much as we can to continue to use what our ancestors passed on to us. I think it’s only respectful.”

Currently, Studi is working on a film titled ‘Hostiles.’ It is directed by Scott Cooper and features Rosamund Pike, Christian Bale and Studi. It is a western-themed film about the conflict between the Cheyenne and the U.S. Army in the 1860s.

“It is a road trip on horseback, and the resulting warfare and conflict between two principles,” Studi said.

For more information on Wes Studi, visit his website www.wesleystudi.com.

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Herrington encourages Indian students to consider engineering Chickasaw aviator dedicates efforts to expanding horizons of Native students Fifteen years after Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington flew into space, and a prominent place in history, as the first enrolled citizen of a Native American tribe to fly into space, he was inducted into the San Diego Air & Space Museum Hall of Fame.

While his accomplishments during the mission to the International Space Station are impressive, some might say they pale in comparison to what he has achieved since returning to earth.

During the STS-113 mission, which lasted from November 23 to December 7, 2002, Mr. Herrington logged more than 330 hours in space, including three space walks (EVAs) totaling 19 hours and 55 minutes.

During his EVAs, Mr. Herrington helped install an aluminum structure 45 feet long, weighing more than 27,500 pounds onto the International Space Station, giving him the opportunity to achieve his goal of “turning a wrench in space.”

His crew also brought the Expedition-Five crew home from their six-month stay aboard the space station.

One of his most difficult and emotional tasks began only a few weeks after he returned from that highly successful mission, as he helped with recovery efforts after the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster.

He remembers well where he was on that fateful February 1, 2003, when the shuttle disintegrated during re-entry into earth’s atmosphere over Texas.

“I was standing in front of my TV with my daughter watching the NASA channel to watch reentry and quickly realized it wasn’t happening as we anticipated,” he said, still struggling

“If you look back, if you think about it from a historic perspective and from a tribal perspective, that is how we survived. We survived by cooperating. We survived by working together and solving problems that exist in our lives.”

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to control his emotions almost 15 years later. “I had to shuffle my daughter off to find someone to watch her and go right to work.”

Mr. Herrington worked to control the helicopters and plot out the ground search that extended from Texas into Louisiana.

“I remember being invited to where they were bringing the recovered pieces in,” he said. “And they would ask me what it was, and I would have to identify what it was.

And I was seeing hardware I would have used in space in my mission. And that was tough.

“One of the things that was most poignant for me out of this whole tragedy was I got to meet Native American fire crews that treated everything they found with such reverence.

“Here were folks who were finding this debris – I mean a piece of hardware, and they treated it like a living, breathing being. A piece of hardware and they treated it with such reverence and they had such a close bond with what they were doing and it just touched my heart.”

Mr. Herrington retired from NASA October 1, 2005.

The years since have not remotely resembled what most people think of as retirement.

Most of his work, which includes a 4,000-mile bike ride across the United States, has continued his focus on promoting education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, particularly among Native American students.

He has a long history of inspiring students with stories of his own experiences, and is still in demand as a motivational speaker nationally to industries and academia, advocating STEM studies and calling attention to innumerable contributions made by Native Americans throughout history.

After years of promoting education, he was inspired to continue his own by Dr. Ed Galindo, a Native American instructor he met in Idaho.

“The first time I met him, I was riding my bike across the country and he said, ‘you know, if you are interested in getting a PhD., come back and talk to me’,” he said.

“But I didn’t live in Idaho. I lived in Oklahoma.”

But Mr. Herrington also met another person in Idaho who would change his life. Margo Aragon handled all of his appearances in the state.

“I met Margo on the bike ride and fell in love. We got married and I moved to Idaho. I called Ed and said, ‘let’s do this’.”

While it was almost given that he would study education, Mr. Herrington worked with Dr. Galindo to focus his research.

“We started talking about how I could make a difference and what is the point of getting a PhD. And I looked at it as a way to give back. I know what motivated me

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to follow the path that I did and the people that helped motivate me and help me make the decisions, so now it was my turn to give back.”

There were numerous studies that looked at the reasons Native American students were not successful in education, but few looked at the reasons for success, even though there are quite a few successful engineers and scientists.

“The question to answer is what makes the ones who are successful, successful, so I went down that path,” Mr. Herrington said. “Let’s go down that. So we looked at some of the programs – I evaluated some of the programs of the Native students here in Idaho participated in.

“What it came down to is that they were saying it did because of the hands–on learning. They could do stuff with their hands. They could see the practical nature of what they were doing, and they could tie it to their learning. And it was fun. They worked with their friends. They collaborated. It was this cooperative type of learning environment. And I realized that growing up, that is what worked for me.

“If you look back, if you think about it from a historic perspective and from a tribal perspective, that is how we survived. We survived by cooperating. We survived by working together and solving problems that exist in our lives.”

Today, he continues that work of motivating Indian students and helping explain how to help them become successful.

He was reminded of the impact of that work when he was in Phoenix at a conference for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, where he is serving as a board member for the second time.

“I was on the elevator in the hotel,” he said. “This young woman said ‘you’re John Herrington.’ I was like uhhh,” he joked. “She said ‘I met you when I was 12 years old, and it was at a Navajo summer camp. It was the Dine’ summer camp at Fort Lewis College.’

“She said ‘before I met you I didn’t realize I could be an engineer. I’m now a civil engineer with the City of San Francisco, working in hydrology. I want to thank you.’ I was just stunned. That was nice feedback on making an impression on somebody at a very early age.

“That is just one example – it brings it full circle.

As I had done to somebody else that encouraged me to go back to school - I called him after I had become an astronaut – after I was selected and thanked him for making an impression on me. So it’s nice to come full circle.”

Contributed by Tony Choate, Media Relations.

OUR NATIVE TRADITIONS

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Aviary home to 15 eagles Citizen Potawatomi Nation

By Adam Ewing

adam.ewing@news-star.com Twitter: @Adam_NewsStar

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation Eagle Aviary has been in operation since 2012. They opened with eight eagles and currently house 15 eagles.

“Eagles live approximately 50 years in captivity and our goal is to give them the best quality of life that they can possibly have,” Bree Dunham said.

The idea for the eagle aviary came in 2007 when Bree Dunham and Jennifer Randell’s mother tragically passed away.

“That sort of tragedy changes a person,” Randell said “It was so sudden. In our artist mind, trying to deal with that grief, we quit school and found the best camera we could get and photograph eagles all over the United States.

What led us to that is when the tribe presented us with an eagle feather. We had some incredible experiences and met some amazing people along the way.”

The aviary picked up steam while Dunham and Randell were at a local presentation on raising eagles.

“We were at an eagle watch here in Oklahoma and a member of the Iowa Nation was giving a presentation,” Randell said. “He was really emotional and it really touched me. He talked about how many eagles were lost that year due to not having a permanent home.”

Immediately following the presentation, Randell picked up the phone and called her grandmother, who put the wheels in motion, setting up a meeting with the CPN Chairman.

“I talked to my grandmother and she set up a meeting with the CPN Tribal Chairman Rocky Barrett,” Randell said.

“We showed him a dvd of an eagle rescue. We told him what we wanted to do and that the tribe needed that for the community.

Barrett approved the aviary and Dunham and Randell began an extensive training program, which included over 350 hours of hands-on experience with eagles.

“In the middle of a horrible economy we quit our jobs and put our house up for sale. Our family probably thought we were crazy,” Dunham said.

In 2010 the sisters received a Fish and Wildlife Grant for $200,000 and the tribe stepped up and matched the grant.

A former resident of the Aviary, Wadase Zhabwe, a juvenile bald eagle, whose name means Brave Breakthrough, helped the aviary achieve a world’s first.

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She was originally transferred as a non-releasable eagle in June of 2012. She had injured her wing after falling out of her nest in Florida.

She began to fly shortly after her arrival at the CPN and she did so well, it was realized that she could be released.

With special permission from USFWS, the CPN Aviary became the first Native American Eagle Aviary to release an eagle that was banded and fitted with a GPS telemetry backpack harness. With this data, the CPN is now able to observe her progress as she learns to hunt and fish –– and they know that she is thriving in the wild.

Wadase Zhabwe has been back to visit several times since

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her release to the wild.

Another milestone for the aviary was the birth of a new member in the family. Two of the eagles decided to pair up.

“That is a good thing in captivity, showing we have given them a peaceful environment. We provided nesting material to help in the process.”

“Two eggs were laid this year. One was a normal egg and one was a misshaped. The first egg didn’t hatch and we thought we were going to have to get a foster chick. On day 36, which was March 21 at exactly 10:04, we noticed the parents standing over the nest. We were surprised as they were that the little egg hatched.”

The baby eagle defied the odds and is doing well today, Dunham said.

“This little eagle wasn’t even as big as a golf ball,” Randell said. “Usually they are the size of the softball. That little golf ball is now 15 weeks old.”

The baby eagle has had minimal contact with humans. His first contact with humans came after nine weeks. The plan is to release this baby eagle back into the wild at the end of July or the beginning of August. He will receive the West Nile vaccinations before being allowed to fly in the wild.

“We will be the first Native American Aviary to release an eagle that was hatched in captivity back into the wild.” Dunham said.

Tours of the aviary are available by appointment only.

The aviary is open to the public by appointment Wednesday through Saturday.

To check out more about the bald eagles, visit www.potawatomiheritage.org or to set up an appointment to see them, call (405) 275-3121 or 405-863-5623

OKLAHOMA Native Royalty

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2017

3rd Place - Online Best Digital Publication from the Native American Journalism Association

OUR NATIVE TRADITIONS

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Tradition returns to tribe through buffalo butcher

Provided by Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribal Tribune

It was a gray, violently windy day in Concho. Men and women sharpened knives and children huddled close to their parents, unsure of what to expect. They gathered around the sacred animal, ready to learn the old ways of ceremony and survival.

So began the buffalo butcher hosted by the Culture and Heritage Program in collaboration with the R.E.Sp.E.C.T, and Farm and Ranch Programs at the Concho powwow grounds.

The buffalo used in the butchering ceremony was a 4-5 year old male taken from the C&A’s herd taken down by a group of experienced hunters early that gloomy morning. Culture and Heritage director Max Bear claimed the honor of dropping the bull. Remarking on the sacredness of the hunt, Bear stated that he said a short prayer of thanks when he shot it.

Culture and Heritage project manager, Greg Spotted Bird talked to the crowd about the importance of the buffalo to C&A culture.

“The buffalo is a sacred animal to us, it has taken us a long way,” Spotted Bird said. “That’s why we’re here today, trying to teach the kids.”

Young and old took part in the arduous task of butchering such a large animal. Beginning with a long cut up the underbelly, everyone set to work removing organs, the hide, identifying and then cutting up the cuts of meat and finally severing the head. Each part had a use or prior claim by a tribal member, ranging from the hooves to even the hair on the buffalo’s head, which will soon become part of a traditional doll.

The main goal of the event was to involve young tribal members in the old traditions of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. Instruction was given in a typical familiar way, not by one person standing apart and offering intellectual or anecdotal information about the traditions. Each experienced man or woman had a share in teaching and including the young.

It was 4-year-old Sinte Luta Houska’s first time at a

buffalo butcher. He and his mother Terra Houska of the Ogalala Lakota tribes moved here from South Dakota. Though he was nervously concerned for the buffalo, asking if they would be calling an ambulance to help it, his mother comfortingly helped him to understand a little of the tradition.

“He’s an animal lover,” Houska said. “But I told him that it’s a Rachelle RomanNose (l) good thing, that they’re along with other teen girls skinning the buffalo to cutting parts of the buffalo. make blankets. There are a lot more educational opportunities here for education.”

Many women were at the ready to be handed buffalo meat, deftly dividing the cuts for cooking and drying as well as teaching young ones their art. Ten-year-old Memo Valenzuela said he learned much about the buffalo.

“I think it looks cool and I think everything looks fragile. It’s very useful,” Valenzuela said.

The R.E.Sp.E.C.T. Program provided a grill to cook buffalo sirloin and heart and gave out samples to the crowd. While they cooked, the sun made an appearance, lightening the mood considerably and jokes circulated as everyone prepared to eat.

It was teenager Mollie Harrison’s first butchering experience also, though her mother had been teaching her many other traditional practices.

“This is just another thing that brings me closer to my tribe and heritage,” Harrison said.

Harrison had a large share in helping to remove the hide from the buffalo. According to the history being passed around the site, traditional women could skin the entire buffalo in under an hour.

“I give it to them women,” Harrison said. “They certainly got us beat on time.”

Spotted Bird also gave a demonstration of the range of products the tribe could, and still do, make from all parts of the buffalo.

There was sinew thread and bone needles, hide cloth tanned with oil from the brain, ribs to shape arrow shafts and powwow regalia.

For example, the animal’s windpipe is used to give the dancer strength and increased lung capacity.

Eventually this particular hide will be tanned in the traditional way with brain oil, then quartered and used next year in the tribes’ three different ceremonies.

Elsie Sage trimming meat off of buffalo hide.

For more information on future traditional events, contact the Culture and Heritage Program at (405) 422-8267.

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OUR NATIVE TRADITIONS

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Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma The Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma (the Thakiwa) official emblem, designed by tribal member Delano Franklin in 1976, honors two great Sac and Fox members: warrior and leader Black Hawk and athlete Jim Thorpe.

On the emblem is the graphic representation of a black sparrow hawk. Printed on the black band between the hawk’s wing tips is “Ma Kai Tai Me She Kiakiak” (Black Sparrow Hawk). Black Hawk opposed the forced eviction of his Sauk people from their homelands that included 700 miles in Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin from Ouisconsin to Portage des Sioux. The heart of the territory was the village of Saukenuk, now Rock Island, Illinois where we lived beside the Mississippi River for over a century. Black Hawk rallied the Sauk and their allies and took a stand against the Americans in 1832 in what became known as the Black Hawk “war”.

Black Hawk is honored as a man of principle and honest who cared about the sovereign and spiritual rights of his people.

The colors black and white represent the two social classes whose memberships are determined by birth order: the Oskush and the Kisko.

James Francis “Jim” Thorpe is represented by the five Olympic rings above the hawk’s head.

Still remembered as one of the greatest athletes of all time and called “the greatest athlete in the world” by King Gustav V of Sweden, Thorpe overcame adversity to achieve greatness and never forgot his Sac and Fox teachings.

The shield on the hawk’s chest features the emblems of Spain, France, Britain, and the United States, the four nations with whom the Sac and Fox allied.

Native persons were not citizens of the United States until 1924. Therefore, at the time of Jim Thorpe’s 1912 Olympic victories, he was a citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation only.