SAC and FOX NEWS Nemîshâtênemo êhthâkîwiyâni
Phone: 918-968-3526 • 920963 S. Hwy. 99, Bldg. A • Stroud, OK 74079 • Vol. 41 • No. 11 • November 2019
EPA Official Co by Mike Brown David Gray, who serves as deputy administrator of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) South Central Region 6, headquartered in
ends OES
irector for Safe
During Visit to Discuss New Lead, Copper Rule Dallas,Texas, met with Sac and Fox Nation Business Committee members and others in an
Pictured from left in the Sac and Fox Nation Cultural Center are: EPA Project Officer Tribal Liaison Curtis Hicks, Sac and Fox Nation Second Chief Don Abney, Sac and Fox Nation Secretary Jacklyn ing, Sac and Fox Nation Principal Chief Justin Wood, EPA Region Deputy
Oct. 10 special meeting held in the Sac and Fox Nation Cultural Center.
Administrator David ray, Sac and Fox Nation Treasurer Jared King, EPA Tribal Drinking Water Manager Meaghan . Bresnahan, Sac and Fox Nation Business Committee Member Robert Williamson and Sac and Fox Nation Office of Environmental Services Director Jeremy Fincher. (Photo by Mike Brown)
Two Sac and Fox Elders Honored at th Ann al AA P O laho a Event by Mike Brown Sac and Fox Nation elders Henry Buck McClellan, Sr. and Wallace “Bud” McClellan were honored at the 11th Annual AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors event held Oct. 1 at the National Cowboy and Western
ater Pilot Pro ra
At Western Heritage Museum in OKC Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The Native American Elders Award is one of AARP Oklaho-
ma’s most prestigious and visible awards, given to recognize outstanding Native American elders who are making a powerful difference in their communities, and Indian Country. Principal Chief Justin F. Wood and Committee Member Robert Williamson attended the event on behalf of the Sac and Fox Nation Business Committee. “The Sac and Fox Nation standard of excellence was on display at the 11th Annual AARP Indian Elder Honors. I am thankful that AARP Oklahoma understands the importance of our American Indian culture. Our cultures are as vast as the oceans but, all of our great na(Continued on Page 11)
Chief
Dr. Catherine Alicia Georges, AARP National Volunteer President; Teewanna Edwards, AARP OK Executive Council member; Joe Ann Vermillion, AARP Oklahoma State President; and, Mashell Sourjohn, AARP OK Associate State Director Outreach present an AARP Indian Elder Honor medallion to Sac and Fox Nation elder Henry Buck McClellan Sr. (Photo by Jerry Hymer Photography)
Dr. Catherine Alicia Georges, AARP National Volunteer President; Teewanna Edwards, AARP OK Executive Council member; Joe Ann Vermillion, AARP Oklahoma State President; and, Mashell Sourjohn, AARP OK Associate State Director Outreach present an AARP Indian Elder Honor medallion to Sac and Fox Nation elder Wallace Bud’ McClellan. (Photo by Jerry Hymer Photography)
EPA’s South Central Region 6 includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and 66 tribal nations situated among those states. The visit was in conjunction with the EPA’s observation of ‘Children’s Health Month’ during October, in which the agency highlighted programs that state and local partners can use to protect children. Gray commended the Sac and Fox ation, and particularly Offices of Environmental Services (OES) Director Jeremy Fincher for taking part, beginning in May 2018, in a voluntary EPA pilot program titled, ‘Three T’s’ for reducing lead in drinking water in schools and child care facilities. The Three T’s refers to: training, testing and taking action.
O ibrar to Open ‘Native Voices Over the Air aves’ Exhibit Nov The University of Oklahoma Libraries will open ‘Native Voices Over the Airwaves: The Indians for Indians Hour Radio Show’ Nov. 14 in Bizzell Memorial Library, 401 W. Brooks St. in Norman, Okla. Opening events include a reception at 2:30 p.m. in the library, followed by a 7 p.m. performance inspired by the radio show at Catlett Music Center, 500 W. Boyd St., as a part of the OU School of Music’s Ruggles Native American Music Series. Broadcast over OU’s WNAD radio station, the ‘Indians for Indians’ program aired from 1941 through the mid-1970s . The show was created and originally hosted by Don Whistler, chief of the Sac and Fox tribe, and continued by OU’s Sequoyah Indian Club. “The Indians for Indians Hour was a vibrant blend of Native music and speech on an incredible array of topics, including community life, military service, religion, education and advocacy for Native rights,”
stin Freeland
I hope you have enjoyed the change of weather as much as my family has. While the transition of seasons is uplifting, I find it appropriate to offer my prayers and heartfelt condolences to those families who have lost loved ones this past year. We are a Nation in mourning with too many lost members of the Sac And Fox Nation family. I have been able to visit with many of you and find it encouraging just how much hope is within your hearts. A great example of this hope is our own Second Chief, Don Abney. Don lost his wife, Mary, just a few days after ta ing office e is an amazing example of strength and integrity while dealing with his grief. I appreciate his willingness to serve through it all. I hope you consider taking the time to reach out to our fellow tribal members and check in to ask how they are doing and how we can help each other heal through this time. As I am sure you have heard
Upcoming Events
Nov. 1
“I am here to congratulate the Sac and Fox Nation. You are already leading in this arena by participating in the Three T’s pilot program,” Gray said to Fincher and the Nation’s elected officials The ac and o ation was among the first tribes to partner with the EPA. All of your systems are safe for children, and you lead the way in Oklahoma and across the nation,” he added As part of the Three T’s pilot program, series of water samples were collected at the Sac and Fox Nation Juvenile Detention Center and the CTSA Head Start Yellow Earth Learning Center. After tests indicated trace amounts of lead in the water samples, measures were taken to eliminate the lead sources by removing or replacing aerators and certain plumbing fi tures. (Continued on Page 3)
The Late Sac and Fox Nation Principal Chief Don Whistler
ood’s Address to the Nation
by now, I have called a November 9t h Special Governing Council to approve the RAP istributions for fiscal year 2020. We will also be approving our 2019P er Capita payments. While this is later than recent years it allows us to fine tune the process for the years to come and is still more than a month prior to our December 17th deadline for processing. We are making adjustments to how we collect the revenue from our casinos which will ensure the money is on hand sooner and available for a more expedient RAP Council in 2020. From 2020 forward, it is my goal to have our revenues approved in early October and on a set and reliable schedule annually. I am aware of the necessity of these payments and services. We will not rest until our service to tribal members is exceeding all of our expectations. I appreciate those of you who have taken the time to stop in and visit over the past several
Breast Cancer Awareness Day, 11 a.m.-1p.m. Community Bldg.
exhibit curator Lina Ortega said. “It represents an incredible snapshot of U.S. history as told through Native American experience. This exhibition is a way to bring together campus and statewide communities to explore Oklahoma and U.S. history through Native voices and to (Continued on Page 3)
Nov. 9
RAP Governing Council, 10 a.m. Sac and Fox Community Bldg.
months. We have a real opportunity to grow our infrastructure and footprint within our juris(Continued on Page 5)
Sac and Fox Nation Principal Chief Justin Freeland Wood
Nov. 21
Great American Smokeout, Black Hawk Health Center
Dec. 7
Sac and Fox Elders Winter Dance, 2 p.m. Sac and Fox Community Bldg.