Nemîshâtênemo êhthâkîwiyâni (2020)
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SAC and FOX NEWS
Nemîshâtênemo êhthâkîwiyâni
Phone: 918-968-3526 • 920963 S. Hwy. 99, Bldg. A • Stroud, OK 74079 • Vol. 42 • No. 12 • December 2020
Women in Tribal Politics:
The Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma
(Editor’s Note: The Summer
2020 edition of ‘The Chronicles
of Oklahoma’ contains articles
featuring women’s suffrage in
Oklahoma and Indian Territories. Among the features is an
article by Regina Slaughter Gordon which focuses on ‘Women
in Tribal Politics: The Sac and
Fox Nation of Oklahoma.’ Dr.
Gordon’s feature, that was written several years ago, is being
reprinted in this edition of the
‘Sac and Fox News’ with her
permission and permission from
The Chronicles of Oklahoma
editor. It begins on Page 9.)
‘The Chronicles of Oklahoma,’ with current editor Elizabeth M. B. Bass, M.A. and assistant editor Evelyn Moxley, is
a publication of the Oklahoma
Historical Society (OHS). First
issued in 1921 as the official
journal of the OHS, The Chronicles of Oklahoma is mailed
to members and subscribers
quarterly. Each issue contains
scholarly articles, book reviews,
meeting minutes, and notes and
documents.
Regina (Gina) Slaughter Gordon earned a master of arts and
doctoral degree in sociocultural
anthropology from the University of Oklahoma in Norman,
and a bachelor of arts in English
and political science with an
emphasis on international relations from Regis University in
Denver, Colorado.
As an adjunct instructor, she
has taught courses in history,
anthropology, archaeology, sociology, social ecology, and
women’s studies. She has also
worked in both the public and
private sectors in various aspects of research and grants administration in the areas of rural agriculture, engineering and
telecommunications, and environmental compliance.
Central to her academic interests are people and cultures
around the world (past and present) with research focuses on
Native North America, Latin
America, immigration, maternal
health, women in politics, and
workplace equality. Her dissertation focused on Latin American immigrant women in Oklahoma, and she has presented at
several conferences on related
topics. She currently resides in
Edmond, Oklahoma, with her
family.
Gender roles in American Indian tribal life have been shaped
by many factors, including survival, religion, and the influence of Euro-American cultural
norms. Through an anthropological lens, Regina Slaughter
Gordon argues that women have
always played an important role
in Sac and Fox tribal governance, which contributed to the
Sac and Fox Nation being the
first tribe in Oklahoma to elect a
female chief.
Sac and Fox Memorial Day Dance on May 29, 1950.
(Tartoue Negative Collection, OHS)
Pictured from left in the Sac and Fox Nation Cultural Center are: IT Technician Nick Jennings, Chief of Staff Audrey Rose Lee, Dobson Technologies Director of Enterprise Sales Rob
Griffin, Principal Chief Justin Wood, Dobson Business Sales Consultant Cliff Thompson, IT
Technician Mason Williamson, IT Director Boyd Cummings and Dobson Sales Engineer Jerry
Smith.
(Photo by Mike Brown)
Broadband Fiber-Optic Technology to Help
Provide Better Service for Tribal Members
by Mike Brown
The Sac and Fox Nation Information Technology (IT) Department and Dobson Technologies of Oklahoma City will soon
complete the installation and
activation of a new fiber-optic
Internet network to serve the entire tribal headquarters campus.
Sac and Fox IT Director Boyd
Cummings said the fiber-optic
cable installation being conducted by Dobson is one of three IT
projects made possible through
New Task Force to Focus
On Sovereignty Protection
The Sac and Fox Nation
Business Committee announced
Nov. 5 they are forming a task
force focused on sovereignty
protection.
The Business Committee is
closely monitoring and addressing a number of critical issues
that will impact the Sac and Fox
Nation. From intergovernmental
compacts to jurisdictional questions, there are a number of issues that the Sac and Fox Nation
must pro-actively address.
The Business Committee will
lead the task force and plans to
assemble a team of elders, staff
members, and attorneys to address these critical issues. The
goal is to build a coalition of
experts and parties with historical knowledge to ensure the
protection of the Nation’s sovereignty and the well-being of
all members of the Sac and Fox
Nation. The Business Committee will continue to collaborate
with other sovereign nations to
address issues in Oklahoma, but
recognizes the importance of
also focusing on issues specific
to the Sac and Fox Nation.
“The Sac and Fox Nation
continues to address legal and
regulatory issues that will impact our future, including negotiations with the Governor of
Oklahoma over compacts and
jurisdictional questions in light
of the historic ruling in McGirt
v. Oklahoma,” said Principal
Chief Justin F. Wood.
“The Business Committee is
committed to creating a framework that protects our Nation’s
sovereignty. A task force presents a great opportunity for the
Business Committee to collaborate with tribal elders and other
professionals to address these
critical issues.”
The Business Committee is
working on creating the framework for the task force and will
take official action to establish
the task force. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
federal CARES Act funding.
The other two components are
the development of a “unified
tribal database” and new tribal
website.
“All of the departments and
agencies that serve tribal members will now have access to
high-speed (one gigabit) broadband Internet and networking,”
said Cummings. “The interconnected projects will allow these
departments and agencies to deliver services more efficiently to
tribal members,” he added.
The work began in September
with the extension of fiber-optic
cable from Stroud southward to
the tribal government campus,
and is targeted for completion
by December 30, 2020.
Additional
COVIC-19 Relief
Distribution is
Approved
The Sac and Fox Nation Business Committee has approved
an additional COVID-19 relief
distribution for all enrolled Sac
and Fox tribal members. Beginning on November 16, 2020,
enrolled tribal members may
submit an application to receive
a $1,500.00 distribution.
This relief is in response to
the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure all tribal members have support to address
critical needs during the current
(Continued on Page 3)
Chief Justin Freeland Wood’s Address to the Nation
The Sac and Fox Business
Committee announced Nov. 10
that they have agreed to an extension with the State of Oklahoma on the Tobacco Tax Compact. The extension will extend
the current Compact until June
30, 2021. The terms of the Compact will not change under the
extension agreement.
The Sac and Fox Nation entered into the Compact with the
State of Oklahoma on January
1, 2013; the date of termination
was October 1, 2020. In light of
the current economic challenges presented by the COVID-19
public health emergency, the
Business Committee requested
an extension to preserve the status quo and to allow both parties ample time to negotiate the
terms of the Compact.
“Compacts play an important
role in government to govern-
ment relationships. Extensions
such as this are a practical, commonplace solution,” said Principal Chief Justin F. Wood.
“We are pleased that the State
of Oklahoma agreed to an extension. This extension is in the
best interest of the Sac and Fox
Nation, and all retailers and consumers in Oklahoma. I look forward to working with the State
of Oklahoma to negotiate a new
compact that addresses important economic contributions related to taxes and retail sales, he
added.”
With the extension in place,
the Business Committee will enter into good faith negotiations
with Oklahoma’s executive
branch to negotiate the terms
and conditions of a new compact. The Business Committee
will continue to work with other
sovereign governments to en-
sure prosperity and growth.
Sac and Fox Nation
Principal Chief
Justin Freeland Wood
Page 2 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Sac and Fox News
The Sac & Fox News is the monthly
publication of the Sac & Fox Nation,
located on SH 99, six miles south of
Stroud, OK.
Mailing address:
Sac and Fox Nation
Administration Building
920963 S Hwy 99 Bldg A
Stroud, OK 74079
Phone: 918-968-3526
Fax: 918-968-4837
The Sac & Fox News is the official
publication of the Sac and Fox
Nation. Our mission is to meet all
tribal members information needs
concerning the Nation.
The Sac & Fox News is mailed free,
one per address, to enrolled Sac and
Fox tribal members. Paid subscriptions
are available for $12.00 annually.
Editorial statements, guest columns,
and letters to the editor published in
this newspaper contain the opinions
of the writers. These opinions do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of
the Sac and Fox News staff or any
elected official or department of tribal
government or administration.
The Sac and Fox News reserves the
right to refuse publication of letters to
the editor. All editorials and letters to
the editor become the property of the
Sac and Fox News.
Submissions for publication must
be signed by the author and include
an address and contact phone number.
They are limited to 300 words. The
staff will not edit editorials or letters
to the editor to fit the 300-word limit.
Deadline for the January issue is:
Friday, December 18 at 4:30 p.m.
Reprint permission is granted, with
proper credit to the Sac and Fox News,
unless other copyrights are shown.
Articles and letters may be submitted
to the newspaper either by mail or Fax
to the address provided above, - or by
e-mail:newspaper@sacandfoxnationnsn.gov.
Address corrections & changes are
accepted by The Business Committee
at the address listed below.
Managing Editor
Mike Brown
For information:
918-968-3526 x1060
newspaper@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
Publisher: Sac and Fox Nation
Member of
Native American Journalists
Assn - Since 1988
Member OPA
~~~~~~~
Tribal Officers:
918-968-3526 or 800-259-3970
Principal Chief:
Justin Freeland Wood
Telephone (918) 968-3526
Ext. 1004
chief@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
Second Chief:
Don Abney
Telephone (918) 968-3526
Ext. 1008
secondchief@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
Secretary:
Jacklyn K. King
Telephone (918) 968-3526
Ext. 1007
secretary@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
Treasurer:
Jared King
Telephone (918) 968-3526
Ext. 1006
treasurer@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
Obituaries
Harry DeWynne ‘H.D.’ Wood
Meeker, Okla. resident Harry “H.D”
Wood, 77, passed away Tuesday, October
27, 2020 in Shawnee, Okla. Graveside
services were held November 2, 2020 at
Johnson Cemetery.
He was born May 27, 1943 in Concho,
Okla. to Freeland Wood Sr. and Lorena (Mack) Wood. He grew up north of
Shawnee and graduated from Shawnee
High School. He married Katie (Goat)
on December 7, 1964. He served in the
United States Army. Harry worked as a
hairdresser and later in the oil field as a
driller.
He was a member of the Sac and Fox
Nation and Sallateeska Baptist Church
and, was an avid bowler. He also enjoyed
watching OU football, going to the casi-
click news
Survivors include his wife, Katie
Wood of the home; 2 daughters, Lorena
Wood of Meeker and Stephanie Wood
of Meeker, 5 grandchildren: Katie, Kimberly, Tristan, Eliza and Leighnee; 3
great-grandchildren: Emmaus, Legus,
and Caius; 1 sister, Patricia Ward of
Shawnee, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, other family members and
friends.
Harry ‘H.D.’ Wood
Stella Louise Wilson
Shalah Louise Grass
Shalah Louise
Grass
Shalah Louise Grass, na na mu Kai,
was born on May 18, 1950 in Pawnee,
Okla. and passed away on Monday, November 16, 2020 at the age of 70.
Shalah was one of eleven children
born to John and Helena (Brady) Grass.
Shalah lived in Seminole, Okla. with her
long-life partner Freeland Carbitcher.
She enjoyed going to pow-wows and
the casino. Shalah also loved to bead,
sew, and cook in her free time. She was
an outspoken, wild and crazy young soul
who will be dearly missed.
Shalah is preceded in death by her parents; brothers Sammy and Gary; sisters
Carmen, Mary, Patricia and Gloria.
She leaves behind five children: Michael and Alisha Grass of Tulsa, Tyrone
Grass of Shawnee, Floyd and Ava Grass
of Shawnee, Yvonne (Mija) and Jerome
Wilburn of Shawnee and Thomasine
(Tommi) Grass of Shawnee; 17 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren and
many nieces, nephews and other extended family and friends.
A wake was held on Wednesday, November 18, 2020, in the Sac and Fox Nation Community Building, officiated by
Don Tiger and honorary speaker Don Abney. Burial followed at Sac & Fox Cemetery, Thursday, November 19, 2020.
Tribal Emergency Home
Repair (TEHR) Applications are available by request only.
RAP Department
920963 S. Hwy. 99
Stroud, OK 74079
(918) 968-3526 Ext. 2001
sfnrap@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
FAX: (918) 968-4207
Committee Member:
Robert Williamson
Telephone (918) 968-3526
Ext. 1005
cmember@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
Business Committee
Mailing Address:
Sac and Fox Nation
Administration Building
920963 S Hwy 99 Bldg A
Stroud, OK 74079
Visit us on the webb @
sacandfoxnation.com
no, and watching his children and grandchildren participate in sports.
He was preceded in death by his parents, siblings: Freeland Wood, Jr., Betty
Hernandez, Billie Jo Wood, Eddie Wood,
Jim Wood, Bob Wood, Wanda Sue Tiger
and (infant) Edgar Wood.
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Sac and Fox Nation
Sac and Fox Casino
Sac and Fox Language Program
Sac and Fox Dept. of Human Services
Sac and Fox National Public Library
Stella Louise (Grant) Wilson passed
from this life on Sunday, November 15,
2020 in Broken Arrow, Okla.
Arrangements were entrusted to the care
of Palmer Marler Funeral Home, Cushing Okla. A private family service was
held.
Stella was born on July 13, 1944 to Sarah Murray and Austin Grant. She grew
up and attended school in Red Rock,
Okla. Stella met and fell head-over-heels
in love with James “Jim” Wilson. They
married and moved to Cushing, Okla.
and had three loving children: Jeff, J.J.,
and Jason Paul. Stella was known for her
seamstress skills and produced many ribbon shirts and bead-work for the Sac &
Fox Nation. Stella was active in the Sac
& Fox tribal community and, was the
director of Elder Services for the Sac &
Fox Nation.
Stella is survived by her two sons:
J.J. Wilson and wife, Pam; and Jason
Paul Wilson and wife, Shelly; three siblings, Austin Grant Jr., Morgan Grant,
and Francis Grant; three grandchildren,
Hunter, Raylynn, and Gabe. She is also
survived by numerous nieces, nephews,
and family friends. Stella is preceded in
death by both parents, her husband James
“Jim” Wilson, and son, Jeff Wilson.
Stella Louise Wilson
Happy December Birthday Elders!
Clifton Gene Blanchard
Lousia Michelle Jordan
Thomas Houston Carter
Lasagna Sue Copeland
Pamela Sue Smith
Anthony Mack
Watosia Keokuk
Tawana E. Gutierrez
Georgette Eileen Capshaw
Sherman Wayne Brown
Raymond H. Price
Mary Alice Wood
Mary Elizabeth Harjo
Bert Wiley Gibbs
Debra Joyce Ornelas
Gwendolynn Wilburn
Micky Longshore
John Phillip Morris
Tammy Louann Fields
Jonas Edward Walker
Marsha C. McLain
Vicky Lucinda Weems
Mary Nancy Floyd
Michelle Lynn Montgomery
Gary Marshall Ward
Dennis R. Jennings
Marcella A. Blossom
Dusty Diane Demmer
Donald Lee Tyner
Dorothy A. Hammons
George Henry Gibbs
Geneva F. Detwiler
Barry Dan McAllister
Kimberly Frances Witt
Kevin Wayne Wakolee
Michael Wayne Harris
William Roland Harris
Carla June Wallace
Arlene Rosetta Bush
Loretta D. Bigbow
John David Logan
Pamela Tina Boyd
Helen Jane Littleton
Alicia Carole Ashley
Francine Irene Johnson
Carla Lynn Davids
James John Spoon
Mary Alice Laverne Payne
Clarene Spaid
Bettina Gayle Standish
Thomas Raymond Cummins
Yvonne Louise Estes
Sharis Jean Myers
Shirley Ruth Wakole
James McDaniel Gokey
Ginger Arlene Woodall
Pamela Ann McClelland
Nancy L. Nullake
Lawrence Oliver Kahbeah
Regina Carlene Hughes
Barbara Lou Reeves
Teresa Lynn Chambers
Sunny Hope Erickson
Sharon Bernice Saulsberry
Peggy Ann Ellis
Linda E. Ellermann
Edward Scott Brewer
Curtis Wakolee
Emma Natoma Huffman
Laura Ann Redmon
Anna Marie Jefferson
Rosemary Blie
Mary Louise Carter
Richard Gene Pennock
Dara Jean Turner
Cheryl Lee Nordyke
Holland Finis Groves
Penny Lois Louise Failes
Donna Louise Merrell
Barbara J. Fields
Sarah Denise Williams
Ricky Longshore
James E. Allen
Karen Lynn Quintana
Deborah Lee Primeaux
Ronald Jasper Lauderdale
Mable C. Walton
Malvina Georgette Myers
Donna K. McAllister
Cheryl Kathleen Branson
Jeffery Glenn Irons
Roland Scott Goforth
Tina Marie Kohler
Shirley Ann Whittington
Lawrence Oliver Kahbeah
Michael Eugene O`Brien
Delores Byford
Candace Patricia Howard
Letha Diane Moats
Page 3 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Sac and Fox Nation Business Committee Approves Additional Relief Distribution
(Continued From Page 1)
public health emergency.
“We are seeing an alarming increase in
confirmed coronavirus cases in Oklahoma and across the United States. Tribal
Universities to Help
Provide Specialized
Scholarships to
Native Americans
by Donald Stotts
Agricultural Communications Services
Oklahoma State University and Northeastern Oklahoma Agriculture and Mechanical College are collaborating to
provide four Native American students
with scholarships to complete dual undergraduate degrees in plant and soil sciences and entomology.
The collaborative scholarship effort is
being funded by a $289,000 grant from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture
as part of its New Beginning for Tribal
Students program, which makes competitive grants available to provide support specifically targeted for students of
America’s tribal nations.
Both Oklahoma State and NEO are
well known for having strong Native
American student populations, specifically in their agriculture programs, said
Brian Arnall, a professor and OSU Extension precision crop nutrient management specialist with the university’s department of plant and soil sciences.
“It’s essential that we continue to provide more and better opportunities for
Native American students. The NIFA
grant provides needed resources that will
allow us to reflect and support the diverse
makeup of Oklahoma’s people,” said Arnall, who is serving as project director.
A specific goal of the project is to
develop enhanced academic support for
Native American students transferring
from a two-year Native American-Serving Non-tribal Institution such as NEO to
four-year land-grant universities such as
Oklahoma State. The hope is that graduates will bring to tribal nations the skills
necessary to improve agrosecurity measures that safeguard food, agriculture and
natural resources.
“Agrosecurity, health and science education are critical to the success of any
group of people,” said Alisen Anderson,
NEO agriculture instructor. “The disciplinary emphasis [on plant and soil sciences and entomology] will give these
students a real-world, hands-on approach
embracing vitally important aspects of
the agricultural sector.”
Co-directors on the project include
OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture
faculty members Wyatt Hoback, Beatrix
Haggard and Sergio Abit, and NEO faculty members Anderson and Mary Booth.
Both OSU and NEO officials have
long been proponents of actively pursuing opportunities to enhance diversity
at their institutions of higher learning. A
core belief is that diversity has a ripple
effect, providing different perspectives
and experiences that strengthen the organization and make it more adaptable
and responsive to the needs of those who
make up or are served by the institution.
“Increasing diversity in our undergraduate programs benefits all students
and helps us better prepare them for the
multicultural workplace they will be entering upon graduation,” said Jeff Edwards, head of the OSU Department of
Plant and Soil Sciences. “Faculty members like Dr. Arnall not only embrace the
spirit of diversity in their teaching and
Extension efforts, they pursue funding
opportunities to ensure diversity efforts
are successful.”
Studies indicate more college graduates with knowledge of modern agricultural production systems are needed,
with demand for professionals possessing these skill sets far exceeding supply.
The basic question underlying many academic agriculture programs is straightforward: How to best provide safe,
high-quality food and fiber in sustainable ways that meet the needs of an ever-growing world population on a finite
amount of available land?
“There is no future without a safe and
available supply of food and fiber,” Arnall said. “To accomplish that, every generation needs an influx of young people
who can think critically and solve issues
and concerns relative to plants and animals.”
The OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture is part of the university’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, as are two state agencies:
OSU Extension and OSU Ag Research.
members continue to face unprecedented
challenges in our fight against coronavirus,” said Principal Chief Justin F. Wood.
“In light of the significant increase in cases, we recognize tribal members have an
immediate need for additional assistance.
I encourage everyone to take safety precautions to protect their health. We can
limit spread of the virus if we all work
together.”
Applications are available on the
Nation’s website: http://sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov/departments/covid-relief/
Checks will be mailed out starting on
November 23, 2020 (upon receipt of a
completed application). Checks cannot
be picked up in person. Applications are
required in order to demonstrate need, in
compliance with regulations set by the
U.S. Treasury Department.
Applications can be emailed, faxed,
or mailed to the Sac and Fox Nation Finance Department:
• Email: covidrelief@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
• Fax: 918-968-4528
• Mail: Sac and Fox Nation
Attn: Finance
920963 S. Highway 99
Stroud, OK 74079
Applications may also be dropped off
in the secure boxes at the Administration
Building in Stroud or the Multipurpose
Center in Shawnee.
Applications must be received by December 14, 2020. Enrolled minors are
eligible, but a parent or legal guardian
must submit an application on behalf of
the minor.
Funding is from the Coronavirus Re-
lief Fund, established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
(CARES) Act, distributed to the Sac and
Fox Nation by the U.S. Department of
Treasury. More information can be found
at: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares/state-and-local-governments.
Business Committee Meeting
Minutes are now
accessible on the Website
sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
and Facebook
Revised RAP Department Application Form
Page 4 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Sac and Fox Nation Education Department News
GREETINGS!
Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday. With the
rise in numbers of COVID cases in Oklahoma, the Education Department has
been working rotating schedules. We do
have someone in the office at all times. If
you should call and cannot reach anyone,
there is a chance that person is either on
another line or may be out of the office
checking mail. Please be patient with
our department as the staff is reduced on
daily bases.
Update of RAP Funding for the Education Department: I attended the RAP
Council Meeting on Saturday, November 7, 2020. The Education Department
would like to thank the Sac and Fox
Council Members for the departments’
increase for the 2020 – 2021 budget of
$109,565.00.
In July 2020, the Education Department submitted a budget of $386,802.00
with $15,000.00 more dollars from last
year 2019 – 2020 budget, in hopes to
implement new 2 new programs. One is
for senior high school students. The Jim
Thorpe Award, which would have selected 2 female and 2 male high school
students for the category of athlete and
scholar award.
Each student would have received
$1,000.00 dollars toward their college
expense and be awarded with a trophy.
We also wanted to implement the Kindergarten and Senior High School students
with graduation stoles. We wanted to add
this expense into the 2020 – 2021 budget
in hopes that we would not have to do a
fund raiser as we did in February 2020.
We hope that the next year’s budget 2021
-2022 process for RAP will be better so
that we can implement new programs for
our Sac and Fox students.
The Business Committee recommended for the Education Department 20202021 budget of $250,000.00 which is a
decrease from the 2019 – 2020 budget of
$121,802.00. The final 2020 – 2021 RAP
Budget for Education came out to be
$359,565.00 with a decrease from 2019 –
2020 budget of $12,237.00 dollars. Keep
in mind, we had to decrease some incentives and services from the budget for the
upcoming year. So when submitting your
applications for services or incentives,
please make sure all required documents
are completed before submitting, as we
Black Hawk Health Professionals Urge
Lower-Risk Christmas Holiday Activities
Health professionals at Black Hawk
Health Center are urging everyone to
consider information provided by the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) when
planning holiday gatherings.
Christmas is a time when many families travel long distances to celebrate
together. Travel increases the chance of
getting and spreading the Covid-19 virus.
Staying home is the best way to protect
yourself and others. If you must travel,
be informed of the risks involved:
High Risk Activities
• Going shopping in crowded stores
just before, on, or after Christmas;
• Participating or being a spectator at a
crowded event;
• Attending crowded parades;
• Using alcohol or drugs, which can
cloud judgment and increase risky behaviors; and,
• Attending large indoor gatherings
with people from outside your household.
Lower Risk Activities
• Having a small dinner with only people who live in your household;
• Preparing traditional family recipes for family and neighbors, especially
those at higher risk of severe illness from
Covid-19, and delivering them in a way
that doesn’t involve contact with others;
• Having a virtual dinner and sharing
recipes with friends and family;
• Shopping online rather than in-person; and,
• Watching sports events, parades and
movies from home.
Kids and Grandkids
Are G-R-E-A-T!!
We want to feature the scholastic, academic and
athletic awards or achievements of your child or
grandchild of the Sac and Fox Nation!
Send all pertinent information, such as name of
student, town, school and grade attending,
explanation of award or achievement, and names of
parents and/or grandparents, along with a current
photo of the student to:
newspaper@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
or: Sac and Fox News, 920963 S. Hwy. 99
Stroud, OK 74079
work off of first come first served basis.
The Education Department has funded 214 Sac and Fox families with clothing/school supplies and 63 students with
school incentives. With the 2019 – 2020
RAP budget with Fall 2019, Spring 2020
and part of 2020 Fall the Sac and Fox
Nation Education Department has had 99
students attending college full time and
part time and attending vocational training.
Update on the technology equipment:
we hope by the time this newsletter is out
that we will be handing out IPads to our
Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd
grade students. Like I have been writing
each month, it is a day by day situation
on the equipment. But we are still keeping our fingers crossed for Chromebooks.
We are waiting patiently.
The Education Department would like
to thank the IT Director Boyd Cummings,
for all his work in helping with the technology equipment that our Sac and Fox
students have received. We have handed
out 259 devices and into the hands of the
Sac and Fox students. We still have 182
Sac and Fox Students waiting on equipment, with a total of 441 applications
that we have received before November
1, 2020.
We are no longer accepting technology (Chromebook or lap top) applications.
Computer devices are a very hot item
and again it is when devices are available
through the computer company. If you
by Edwina Butler-Wolfe
should have any questions concerning
your child/children’s technology equipment application, please call Elizabeth
Crawford at 918 968-3526, Ext: 2047.
Some months back, the Absentee
Shawnee Health Clinic had donated
masks for school age students and I had
mentioned in my newsletter article that
we had masks and for anyone to call.
Since I had no calls, we have decided to
deliver the masks to the 11 schools that
the Sac and Fox Nation service, Agra,
Cushing, Davenport, Grove, Meeker,
North Rock Creek, Prague, Pleasant
Grove, Ripley, and Shawnee.
Elizabeth did make phone calls to each
school, and all but Stroud accepted the
masks. She made deliveries on November 17 and 18, 2020. The Education
Department would like to thank the Absentee Shawnee Health Clinic for their
generous donation. This a true way of
all tribal nations working together to get
through these rough times. The masks
were made by tribal members of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe and some were donated by other agencies.
THE SAC AND FOX NATION EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WOULD
LIKE TO WISH EVERYONE A SAFE
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!
Edwina Butler-Wolfe
Education Director
918 968-3526, Ext: 2046
405 328-0402 cell number
butler-wolfe@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
Sac and Fox Nation Telephone
Extensions
Main Number: 918-968-3526
Chief - 1004 • Second Chief - 1005 • Treasurer - 1006 • Secretary - 1007
Committee Member - 1010 • BC Front Desk - 1002 • Tax - 1043-1045
Accounting - 1030-1036 • Property and Procurement - 1020-1039-1022
Maintenance - 2063 • BHHC - 918-968-9531 • ICW - 1711 • Court - 2039
Library - 2020-2021 • Language - 1075 • JUVI - 4000
USDA - 2077 (WIC 2079)-2080-2081-2082 (Warehouse USDA 2089)
Education - 2046 • IT - 2041 • Police - 2033 • Self-Governance - 1080
Capitol Security - 1090 • Realty - 1050 • Enrollment - 1040-1041
RAP - 2000 • Social Services - 2010-2011 • OES - 2091-2092-2094
Veterans - 1065 • Newspaper - 1060 • Chief of Staff - 1001
NAGPRA/Historic Preservation - 1070 • Covid Relief - 1819
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT NOTICE
Applications for College - Vocational and Adult Education
are on the Sac and Fox Nation Web site Click on Education for downloads.
CALLING ALL
SAUK AND FOX ARTISTS!
We are looking for Sauk and Fox
artwork to hang in the new ‘Soon to
Open’ Senior Citizens, Veterans Office and Transportation Building reception area, Stroud, Okla.
This will be on a consignment/loan
basis as there are no funds to purchase at this time.
For information, please call
Dottie Tiger, 918/290-1754.
If at least 1 in your household
has a CDIB, you reside within
our 5 tribe Service Area, & you
meet USDA Income Guidelines…
YOU MAY QUALIFY!!!
CALL TODAY!!! 1-800-256-3398
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Page 5 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
The W-9 FORM IS ON PAGE 8 OF THIS EDITION
Page 6 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
SAUK LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT
PHILOSOPHY
Indians are born speaking our languages. For some of us,
they lie dormant within our bodies. They are looking for a
way out. God gave us these beautiful languages. All of us
hold them in a sacred manner within. There is no such thing
as an Indian person who cannot speak Indian.
Our language programs find these languages within our
bodies. They bring them out through our mouths and deliver
them to their rightful resting places within our hearts.
Sauk Language
Department
December 2020 Quotes
Page 7 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Sam Morris Jr. Among Those
Honored by AARP Oklahoma
Sac and Fox Nation tribal elder Sam
Morris Jr. was among 41 Native American elders from 20 Oklahoma tribal nations who were recognized, virtually, at
the 12th annual AARP Oklahoma Indian
Elder Honors Program on Friday, November 13, 2020.
Each honoree was selected based on
a lifetime of achievement, service and
commitment to our nation, state, communities and Indian Country. Since 2009,
AARP Oklahoma has honored 550 Native American elders from Oklahoma’s
39 tribal nations.
The AARP Oklahoma honors program states: “Sam Morris’s life is filled
with music that has touched individuals,
both young and old. Mr. Morris graduated high school in Shawnee where he
was a member of the high school band.
After returning from active duty during
the Vietnam War, Mr. Morris pursued a
college career and graduated from Haskell Indian Junior College in Lawrence,
Kansas.
“He continued his education with a
bachelor’s degree in music education at
Northeastern State University, followed
by a master’s degree from Southwestern
Oklahoma State University.
“Mr. Morris began his career by organizing a band with Native American
students from surrounding areas at the
Riverside Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian School in Anadarko, Okla. The band
marched in parades and performed in
Native American expositions. He continued to teach music through classes
such as music honors, band and choir
at Anadarko, Stillwell, Fort Gibson and
Tahlequah-Sequoyah school systems.
“Mr. Morris’s 48-year career dedicated to music has positively impacted thousands of students. Many of his students
pursuied careers in music education as a
result of his leadership and inspiration.”
Sam Morris Jr.
HELP WANTED!
SAC & FOX NATION
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The following is a list of job vacancies with
the Sac & Fox Nation:
Maintenance Technician
Elders Program Coordinator
Health Information Manager
Chief Financial Director
Resident Advisor (Juvenile Detention Center)
Land and Cattle Laborer
COVID-19 Custodian (Temporary)
COVID-19 Entrance Screener (Temporary)
Environmental Technician (Part Time)
Shipping & Receiving & Filing Clerk (Temporary)
RAP Receptionist - Part-time
Grant Writer/Planner
Surveillance Observer - Gaming
Applicants must successfully pass an OSBI/National background check and
drug screen. Preference in hiring is given to qualified Native Americans.
Applicants claiming Indian Preference must provide a copy of their CDIB. For
more information and to learn how to apply please visit our website at:
www.sacandfoxnation.com
or contact Human Resources, Sac and Fox Nation, 920963 S. Hwy. 99,
Bldg. A Stroud, OK 74079 or by phone (918) 968-3526
NOTICE
To receive a Per-Capita Payment
approved at the Nov. 7, 2020 RAP
Governing Council, please submit a
completed W-9 Form with:
• Your current mailing address;
and,
• Your Sac and Fox Nation enrollment number to:
Mail: Sac and Fox Nation
Att: Finance Dept.
920963 S. Hwy. 99
Stroud, OK 74079
or
FAX: 918-968-4528
or
E-Mail:
finance@sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
(Note: A W-9 Form can be found
on Page 8 of this edition)
December Word Search
Page 8 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
2 0 2 0 P E R C A P I TA PAY M E N T I N F O R M AT I O N
• Individual must be enrolled by September 30, 2020 to be eligible for
the 2020 per capita payment.
• Tribal members will need to submit a W9 to the Finance Department
for the upcoming 2020 Per Capita Payment.
• Once a W-9 form is received, it will be updated into our system and
all payments due will be made at a time of disbursement.
• If an individual is a NEW tribal member, or has had a NAME CHANGE,
a copy of Social Security card is needed for our records.
• There is NO deadline on submitting a W9. All checks will be mailed,
no exceptions.
• The IRS 1099 form will be mailed by January 31, 2021.
NEW MINORS . . . PLEASE SEND COPY OF SOCIAL SECURITY
CARD SO WE CAN GET TRUST ACCOUNTS ESTABLISHED
920963 S. Hwy. 99, Building A • Stroud, OK 74079 • (918) 968-1141 • FAX (918) 968-1142
W-9 Form
It is critical that the W-9 Form be completed correctly and thoroughly
for each individual tribal member. Be sure to fill out your NAME, MAILING ADDRESS, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, and then SIGN and
DATE your form.
Required Legal Documents
If you have had a name change due to marriage, divorce, adoption,
etc., it is important the Finance Department has a copy of your social
security card. All othere legal documents should be sent to the Enrollment Department so their records can be updated. Any guardianship
or Power of Attorney documents need to be on file with the Finance
Department.
Minors
Parents or guardians are responsible for providing a W-9 for minor
children; not doing so could result in the minor’s payment not being
deposited into the minor’s trust fund account in a timely manner.
Sac and Fox Nation
Finance Department
920963 S. Hwy 99, Bldg. A
Stroud, Oklahoma 74079
Direct fax: 918-968-4528
If you have any questions, please contact the Finance Department staff
by phone at 918-968-3526 or 800-259-3970 ext. 1033, 1038 or 1027.
Tax Liability Notification
What are the withholding requirements for distributions that are made
per a Revenue Allocation Plan (RAP)? The first step is to identify the
source of funds used for the distribution. Unless the source of funds
is specifically exempt from taxation, the amounts that make up the
distributions to tribal members are taxable.
Which funds get reported on Form 1099-Misc?
Distributions could be derived from many
sources, including the profits from a tribal business other than a Class II or Class III gaming
operation, interest income on investments, or
rental payments from tribal lands. All these
payments require a tribe to prepare a Form
1099-MISC
When does a person receive a Form 1099-Misc,
Statement for Recipients of Miscellaneous Income? If a person receives $600 or more in
1 calendar year from the same source, that
amount must be reported on a Form 1099, and
that Form 1099-Misc. must be provided to the
individual.
Per capita payments could affect any Tribal,
Federal, State, and/or Local benefits you may
receive or programs in which you participate.
The Sac and Fox Nation encourage you to
check with your tax accountant or benefit specialist.
Can the allotted minor payment be refused in order to
have the entire per capita payment be deposited in trust?
Yes, but in order to do so we must still receive a W-9 for
the same reasons stated above. We would also need a
written statement to that effect to be included with the W-9.
W-9 FORM MUST BE CUT ON DOTTED LINE BEFORE MAILING
X
X
X
SAC AND FOX NATION
920883 S. HIGHWAY 99 BLDG. “A”
STROUD, OKLAHOMA, 74079
It is only the amount distributed from NET
GAMING REVENUE that is subject to withholding. The Internal Revenue Code provides
that “Every person, including an Indian tribe,
making a payment to a member of an Indian
tribe from the net revenues of any Class II or
Class III gaming activity conducted or licensed
by such tribe, shall deduct and withhold from
such payment a tax in an amount equal to such
payment’s proportionate share of the annualized tax.” The amount to withhold is provided
in Withholding Tables found in IRS Publication
15-A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide.
If the Indian tribe anticipates making a distribution of any kind, the Indian tribe needs the
tribal members’ Social Security number before
the distribution is made. If an Indian tribe does
not know a tribal member’s Social Security
number at the time of distribution, the distribution is subject to “backup withholding” (at 28%
in 2009). (Source: Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) Indian Tribal Governments Frequently
Asked Questions, Last Reviewed or Updated:
April 22, 2013)
Why does a W-9 needed to be submitted yearly?
If a tribal member receives income that is taxable, a 1099
must be issued for Tax Purposes. The W-9 also serves as
a yearly address update.
^
Contact information:
NOTICE
X
X
X
^
Contact information - Finance Department
For identity/security purposes, a W-9 form will not be accepted by
e-mail. Completed forms may be hand delivered, mailed, or faxed.
Page 9 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Women in Tribal Politics: The Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma
By Regina Slaughter Gordon
Kochininako is beautiful because she has the courage to act in times of great peril, and her
triumph is achieved by her sensuality, not through violence and destruction. For these qualities
of the spirit, Yellow Woman and all women are beautiful.1
Thirty years after global economic realignments and the subsequent sociopolitical revolution of the 1960s, a broader acknowledgement of gender status disparities in the larger American social structure had firmly taken root. By the 1990s, challenges to gender role assignments, particularly in cultures originating outside of the dominant Western European heritage,
such as the historic and contemporary roles of women in Native North America, proliferated
in both the academic and nonacademic worlds, as seen in the art, literature, law, local economies, and political leadership of the time. Already grounded in the study of non-Western
peoples, the field of anthropology at that time was also experiencing an increase in women
students, who contributed significantly to changes in theoretical approaches that shifted paradigms on who and how different culture groups should be included in the historical record. A
forerunner in this area was Eleanor Leacock’s 1970s work on the roles and status of women
in egalitarian societies, which challenged the power dynamics of domestic/public dichotomies
so prevalent in academic literature.2
As a student of anthropology in the late twentieth century in Oklahoma, which is the historic location for the resettlement of Native North American tribes in the United States (Indian
Territory), I too wove my own passion for people, cultures, and politics around the world by
focusing my master’s thesis on the role of contemporary American Indian women in the tribal
political system. Using the case study approach, I focused on one Oklahoma tribe, the Sac
and Fox Nation, because I argued that research in this area would enhance the ethnohistoric
information available about this tribe and Native women in general. And although I did not explicitly state it at the time, a goal was to position them within the larger global socioeconomic
and political frameworks on the status of women.
What I hoped to achieve was a greater understanding of the status and role of women in
tribal politics, and how they had transformed over time. While it is understood that considerable variation exists among tribes across the continent, research constraints only allowed me
to focus on one Indigenous group. The Sac and Fox Nation was an ideal community to analyze
because it had many progressive and politically active women within its tribal government. At
the time, I understood through literature searches that very little information was available on
the Sac and Fox, especially in the realm of women’s lives. I state this up front because since
I conducted field research in the 1990s, much has changed in both the academic and nonacademic worlds, and it is more widely understood, respected, and accepted that people native to
their own culture group can better represent who they are and where they originate.
Even in the 1990s, however, the attractiveness of ethnography as a research method was
that it had already evolved in its approach to Native voices as the primary sources of information about their own culture group. To this end, my interest in Native North America and
women’s affairs was already heavily influenced by American Indian artists and activists of
the late 1960s and early 1970s in Oklahoma where I, primarily of European descent, was also
born and raised. One cannot speak of the culture of Oklahoma today without acknowledging
the foundations of Native culture woven throughout the state’s contested history, including the
many women who have lent their voices and talents to ensuring that Native cultural traditions
persist. As an example, before achieving national recognition as the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma in the 1980s, Wilma Mankiller participated
in Indian activist events of the 1970s. Of the American Indian Movement (AIM), Shirley Witt,
an Akwesasne Mohawk, wrote that “after many of the male leaders had been jailed or were
trying to escape incarceration in the mid-seventies, it was the women ‘warriors’ who formed
the stable core of the Indian movement and kept concerns alive.”3
Nevertheless, despite the dynamics of social change preserved in historical records, I
maintained that much had yet to be learned about the functions of American Indian women
within the local context of their Indigenous communities and as part of the larger dominant
Euro-American social structure. Acknowledging the voices of American Indian women as
the primary experts of their own cultures today, the following analysis is a summary of my
research within the academic context of the 1990s. Along with the secondary resources used
to establish the ethnohistory of the Sac and Fox Nation, the primary resources included participant observation in community activities and extended oral history interviews with the
principal chief at the time of field research, Dora Young, along with other willing participants,
both women and men, who agreed to assist in providing me with as much information as possible to complete my research and analysis. Looking back, I did not always get every detail
right, although I am extremely grateful for their time, patience, and willingness to teach (and
correct) me about who they were as individuals, their lifeways, and their perspective on the
role of women in tribal politics and beyond.
When Europeans began to arrive in the Americas in the 1600s, both the Sauk people
(Osa’Kiwug) and the Fox people (Meshkwa kihug) lived in the Great Lakes region. Considered woodland tribes, they were two distinct groups closely related through geographical and
linguistic overlap. Early records indicate that the Fox inhabited the areas south of the tip of
Lake Superior in what is present-day Wisconsin. The Sauk lived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Their spoken language is part of the Algonquian branch of the North American Native
language classification system.4 Pressure from the French, Iroquois, and Chippewa pushed
them south in the seventeenth century, and the onslaught of white settlers pushed them further
into Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri until they were forced to cede lands through treaties
with the US government in the 1800s. First relocated to Iowa, where many in the Fox community remain today, the two tribes were later sent to Kansas before their final relocation to the
central part of Indian Territory (now Oklahoma, near Stroud). Merged formally, they became
known as the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma.5
In this study the primary social area of investigation was the political/economic structure
and how the role of women interacts in that framework. The main argument maintains the
view that, despite profound effects of the European invasion, the role of women in politics
(as defined by Western standards) has remained as equal and as important as the role of men
in politics. This argument assumes that, generally, the role of women was equal and significant in the pre-European contact and pre-reservation eras in comparison to men’s roles, even
though they may have been different. Furthermore, discussions with contemporary Sac and
Fox women reveal that one of the vital reasons American Indian tribes persist within the larger
social framework is due to the careful protection of traditional social structures and beliefs of
women. The earliest myths and legends reveal the importance of Indian women as cultural
mediators between Native and Euro-American societies; therefore, their flexibility in adapting
new customs has also propelled them to be bearers of tradition.
To the dismay of many Native peoples and educators, American history books and standard
educational programs leave out significant portions of the changes in Native lifeways. Left to
a handful of stereotypes, American Indian women in particular, are either reduced to romanticized, uncivilized, and subservient characters of the historical American frontier or, if even
recognized as a contemporary reality, are buried at the bottom of the socioeconomic strata of
the American capitalist system. Therefore, two main models were employed in this analysis
of Sac and Fox women in order to better understand these perceptions.
The first model is a revised version of the early 1970s domestic/public dichotomy proposed
by Michelle Rosaldo, which resulted in a popular approach to a gender specific paradigm.6
The new version has rethought the tendency of feminist research in anthropology to look for
universal truths and origins. In essence, it is summed up by Rosaldo when she states:
We have gone beyond the use of dichotomies to produce analyses of the complex and
layered structure of women’s lives. We now treat women more historically, viewing them as
social actors and examining the variability among women’s situations within one culture and
in their relationship to men.7
This perspective considers the interrelationship of Sac and Fox women within their community and their reaction to the unique circumstances surrounding them historically and environmentally.
A second model applied to this study is a structure for analysis on contemporary Sac and
Fox women leaders rooted in theories found in Francine D’Amico and Peter R. Beckman’s
book, Women in World Politics (1995). This structure clarifies the concepts of androcentrism
(viewing men as the norm), gender-as-difference (viewing gender from the differences a culture has created between men and women), and gender-as-power. The last perspective “acknowledges that cultures create gender differences, but argues that these differences represent
the use of power by one group in the society over the other, and that socializing people into
those differences maintains the unequal power relationship.”8 Using this approach, D’Amico
and Beckman review the various ways a person rises to power. They adjust the categories specifically for the analysis of women leaders. It is, therefore, within the gender-specific model
and the model on women in world politics that I present as holistic an argument as possible
regarding the changing roles of Native women and the contradictory stereotypes that tend to
be transformed with those changes.9
Sac and Fox Nation Chief Mary McCormick and other tribal members listen to
testimony before a congressional Indian policy task force in Oklahoma City,
March 1976. McCormick, pictured in the lower right corner facing left, testified
on community development programs in the Sac and Fox Nation (Oklahoma
Publishing Company Photography Collection, OHS).
Because the focus of this study was primarily on the contemporary role of women in the
political realm, it would be far beyond the scope to detail Sac and Fox life in the European
contact/pre-European contact eras. Therefore, an ethnohistoric overview of social organization is presented in order to clarify circumstances occurring in the modern tribal structure.
Where modern Euro-American academics try to clearly define the boundaries between politics, economics, religion, and social occasions, such a rigid approach to these aspects of early
Indigenous communities belies their fluidity. Religious and philosophical thought governed
even the mundane aspects of life. Nonetheless, using (loosely) the academic definitions of
these social categories as tools for analysis, as much of early Sac and Fox life that can be
reconstructed is presented.
From a religious perspective, the significance of the role of women in a community is closely aligned to their cosmology. Martha Harroun Foster argues in her article, “Of Baggage and
Bondage: Gender and Status Among Hidatsa and Crow Women,” that “symbolic/cultural theories, while often used to explain continued male dominance, can explain the maintenance of
women’s positions in society, even after considerable economic change and cultural stress.”10
Crow creation stories, she maintains, indicate that “women were made out of identical materials as men (not from a part of man) and gave them essentially equal roles to play.”11 From
this perspective, the concept of Grandmother Earth is a prominent figure in both Sac and Fox
creation stories. This is demonstrated in William Jones’s account of Fox cosmology when he
wrote:
The Earth on which we live is a woman, too. She is our grandmother, and she is also a
grandmother to Wisa’ka. She and the people regard each other with good feeling; she loves
them and they love her. She provides us with all the food we eat and lets us live and dwell
upon her. And when one dies she watches over one’s soul; 4 days she watches and then the
soul goes westward to the place where the Sun goes down. And the trees that grow upon her
are our grandparents. They are kindly toward us, for without them we could do but little. . . .
The trees that grow upon her are mortals and they are our grandfathers.12
Alanson Skinner relates a similar description of Sauk cosmology, although less detailed and
less focused on the importance of the female aspect. “Ma’sakomigo`kwa, Our Grandmother,
the Earth, is personified as an old woman.”13 In Fox cosmology, the moon is also a grandmother
figure. Jones recounts the moon as having: a kindly nature and it never angers her to have
us look at her. She is beneficent and gives us good things. There are dark shady spots on the
Moon. One is a Fox Indian seated before a mortar. In his two hands is a pestle and he is busy
pounding corn and making it into hominy. . . . We say the moon dies every so often, but we
are aware of the fact that this is really not true. She simply absents herself for a short while
and then comes back.14
Therefore, the feminine qualities drawn from the Earth and the moon suggest the vital importance of women in the processes of life. Author Rebecca Tsosie clarifies:
Unlike the European Christian religion, guided by an omnipotent male God, most Indian
religions revolved around co-equal deities who protected their “creations”—the Earth, sky,
animals, crops and human beings. Because the Earth’s natural system depends on cyclical
regeneration, the “female” aspects were particularly important.15
In this explanation, the significance lies in the representation of a balanced cosmology
which is, in turn, reflected in social aspects of the tribe.
Many publications in feminist anthropology minimized “the predilection to label women
as a class as powerful or powerless. A second agreement among feminist researchers is that
power is a concept that can be discussed apart from a formal political structure. In this case
most echo the concept that Leacock referred to as autonomy.”16 Therefore, working from
the concept of power and individual autonomy within a community, it becomes clear that the
qualitative function of women illustrated in Sac and Fox creation stories indicate the importance of their roles in the community.
Unsurprisingly, many early accounts gathered about both tribes are colored by ethnocentric
and androcentric perspectives. Until the twentieth century, most, if not all, records were kept
by men. French and British fur traders interacted with both tribes in the growth of the furtrading economy. An offshoot of this came with the missionaries who sought to learn more about
the Native peoples so that they could propagate their own beliefs throughout all regions of the
world, which was also an effective mechanism for assimilation and acculturation. Until the
early 1800s, European women were virtually banned from New World expeditions. Even the
ethnographic data collected during the removal process is heavily grounded in a male perspective. Nevertheless, the work of anthropologist William Jones is applauded, particularly for
the “emic” perspective he contributed from his Fox heritage. Jones was a Harvard University
graduate, and the influence of a Euro-philosophical education is evident throughout his work.
In Kerstin Muller’s thesis analysis of Sac and Fox women, she writes:
[I]n the Central Algonkian [sic] creation myths, women were created after man, which
served as a basis for the secondary roles ascribed them. However, if this careful allusion may
be made, it might well be that Christianity had already exerted an influence on the Sauk by the
beginning of the twentieth century, when Michaelson wrote the story down.17
Michaelson’s translation implies that after the chiefs and clans consisting of men had been
made, women were created as an afterthought in order to increase the population. Although
male roles are different and may be seen as a result of hierarchical power struggles by Western
standards, they could also be seen as complementing women’s roles.18
Early documentation of the life cycle for Sac and Fox women might be seen as evidence
to support a “separate but equal” concept for Indigenous women of the pre-European contact
and European contact eras. The physical disparity between men and women served to weaken
the latter’s influence in various social positions, yet these same differences may have also
empowered their position in other social contexts. From birth to old age, women maintained
traditional roles while adapting to greater outside influences. One pre-reservation custom was
for children at an early age to be raised by a relative other than the biological parents. As
described by an anonymous Fox woman in her biography, her aunt raised her. She thought
of her aunt as her mother.19 Although this custom varied with circumstances, it provided an
attitude geared toward a collective responsibility of social education rather than the burden of
individual family survival.
Consequently, the instruction of a young girl in the traditional operation of her community
was embedded in the various and overlapping roles that the older women played—both within
and outside of her immediate family. By the time a girl reached puberty, her training in almost
all mundane aspects of life would have been complete. She would have learned the daily
cooking, farming, gathering, and sewing procedures and routines. Women were also the primary farmers and builders of lodges, and by early womanhood each girl would be intimately
familiar with her position in various ceremonial and game activities. All of this was achieved
with guidance from the older women.
As an integral part of the economy, the function of women within the social organization of
any community inevitably leads to the topics of politics and issues of authority and power. In
(Continued on Page 10)
Page 10 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Women in Tribal Politics: The Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma
(Continued from Page 9)
pre-removal Sauk and Fox communities, a central, authoritative structure existed, but was
weak by Western standards. According to Sol Tax’s “Features of the Aboriginal System Specifically for Fox Society,” the system of government centering around a tribal council “was
a truly representative group, since it was composed of the headmen of each extended family
grouping or clan that made up the tribe.” Two primary leaders functioned as the main ruling
officers. One was the role of the peace chief, who served as the village chief. This position was
inherited through the Bear Clan in Fox society, and it is inferred that the same is true of Sauk
society. The war chief, as the other primary leader, was generally a person displaying strong
leadership qualities. By popular opinion, he was elected and followed based on his success
in battle.20
Another important officer was the ceremony leader. This was generally a person possessing
leadership qualities from a spiritual perspective. Such a position required detailed knowledge
of rituals for various seasonal and military ceremonies. Although authority maintained by
this position may have been more limited than the offices of the peace and war chiefs, it was
important in that it served a cohesive function in Fox social organization.21
On the maintenance of the pre-reservation Fox authority structure, Sol Tax describes a system of checks and balances that allowed no office of authority too much power at any given
point. All positions, whether inherited or not, were subject to popular opinion and if a person
was not performing up to expectations, measures were taken to oust him or her. One way of
doing this was by limiting the time a person occupied a specific role. Regarding authority in
the social structure, Sol Tax contended:
Nor did there exist anything like social classes. In fact, there was a remarkable degree of
equality, of rights and of status, among members of the tribe. People of all ages and both sexes
were accorded a high degree of respect. Age-grading was weakly formalized, and women,
although formally in a position of subordination, could actually exercise a good deal of influence if they were capable.22
Tax also makes two points that are significant in understanding organization of the authority
structure. One is the general understanding that individuals saw themselves as parts of a social
collective. In matters outside the realm of subsistence, each person knew the role they played
or what would be needed in the coordination of action. Tax suggests that leaders needed to
exert little effort to motivate individuals. Another important ideological aspect of authority
and power within the community was competence. People accepted authority if it was proven
that a person was capable of producing the desired results.23
Where do women fit in this pre-European contact structure? Left up to early observers, they
fit neatly as “subordinates” to men in important decision-making processes. In an attempt to
update the terminology as described by Sol Tax and his ethnological counterparts, I suggest
that women were not inferior in hierarchical terms, as indicated. Instead, I adopt the theoretical position of the shifted, gender-specific paradigm of contemporary feminist research in
anthropology, which maintains that women are social actors based on their historical context.
From this perspective, Sauk and Fox women of the pre-European contact/preremoval eras
would not have been subordinate or separate, but rather individual members with a specific
function in the greater collective. Their role was heavily influenced by economics, land distribution, and kinship organization.
In the Fox kinship structure, the war chief was usually descended through the Fox clan. A
kindly chief is also from this clan, and Jones asserts that: No man is necessarily looked up
to as the official head of the gens (clan). When there is a head it is usually a man who has the
ability for large affairs. When the tribe was big and the gens large there were usually several
men who were looked up to as heads of the gens.24
Under such recorded political structures, it appears that women have little or no place in
the formal decision-making process of preremoval Sauk and Fox governments. Two points,
however, could be argued against the perception of a clear division between the public versus private role that has been so prevalent in historical documentation. The first point focuses on elders who played (and still play) a significant role in the decision-making process.
Post-menopausal women were considered elders, who were generally accorded the highest
positions of respect and honor.
The second point is related to the first point, because by the time a woman became an elder,
she had proven through a long life of work and experience that her knowledge and input were
valuable. Before she became an elder, however, her influence on important decision-making
processes could not be ignored either. In his thesis on female status in northeastern North
America, David Ezzo indicates two factors that suggest the influence of women in the political realm. These factors are fraternal intergroup strength and postmarital residence rules.
Based on J. F. Collier’s work, Ezzo denies the view that, in patrilocal societies, females must
attempt to exert influence through the husband and sons. “Thus females work to promote the
interest of her husbands or sons in the patrilocal domestic group which puts them into conflict
with males, who work to bond lineages.” He also suggests that “female domestic quarrels
affect the wider political alignments of a group. This is a fact that many anthropologists have
ignored.”25
Although little information was recorded of pre-reservation Sauk and Fox traditional customs and social organization, there is enough evidence to provide a general idea of a long and
well-established system. More importantly, the role of women within that system assumed
characteristics that were conducive to environmental circumstances. The status of women
within this environment is further explored in the next section, which will demonstrate the
power structure in the Sauk and Fox communities as it changed with European occupation.
Once the United States initiated the treaty process with the Sauk and Fox peoples, internal
weakening of traditional governing customs became increasingly evident within the tribes. By
the time they were settled in Kansas, considerable restructuring of tribal, social, and political
affairs began to take place. These structural changes ultimately served as a base for the modern tribal government and the role of women in contemporary politics.
As a country, the United States grew substantially stronger economically and politically
by the late nineteenth century. Post–Civil War policy focused on Reconstruction, and the US
government maintained a policy of isolationism on the international front well into the twentieth century. With a burgeoning population and economy, the government also expanded.
Attention to land distribution and the Native population again became a central issue for the
young nation.
From this larger framework, American women had little to do with public affairs. Although
they handled their positions as pioneers and aids to the wounded during and after the Civil
War era with tough resolve, they were not considered significant actors in the governing process. Such attitudes spilled over regarding Native women. There is a smattering of women
throughout early American history who are documented in educational literature, but many of
these are represented as anomalies in Indian and white communities. Therefore, this section
on the transformation of Sac and Fox tribal government is regretfully devoid of significant
women actors. Certainly, there were women who were critical in these changing processes.
Many informants I spoke with were quick to remember relatives and friends who contributed
to tribal survival, but unfortunately most documentation leaves out important names of women during this time period.26 This may be attributed to the underlying androcentrism often
found in US government documentation.
The renewed interest in tribal government affairs by the Sac and Fox people was shown by
their agitation over the question of land leasing to white settlers in 1915 and 1916. However,
little was accomplished regarding the strengthening of a tribal government structure. In 1923
the leasing question arose again. This time a new but controversial leader sprang to the front
of the Sac and Fox community. Frank O. Jones made his presence known and was elected
chairman of a General Council meeting held August 4, 1924. Between this time and 1936,
Jones worked for active involvement in Sac and Fox tribal government and shaped its relationship with the United States government.27
During the 1920s, the US government installed a tribal government with limited authority
over community affairs. And, even though a majority of members felt a desire for greater
control over tribal affairs, opinions on how to accomplish it were strongly divided. One set
of opinions demonstrated an antigovernment sentiment through the guidance of Jones. The
goal of this group was to reorganize the tribal government structure to one much like that of
the US government, but they held the opinion that any affiliation with the federal government
was not necessary.28
Between 1924 and 1937, the struggle between tribal factions took on a new role. Although
all were in agreement that tribal affairs should be governed by the authority of tribal members
rather than the US government, the way it was to be accomplished remained a fundamental
controversy. Jones heightened this tension when he became the elected chairman of the August 4, 1924, General Council meeting. A business committee of seven tribal members was established at this assembly. It included Frank Jones, Sadie Feder, Jennie Meeks, Edward Butler,
Dan McCoy, George Appletree, and Richard Duncan. This committee, however, “was not
recognized by the BIA as having the authority to manage tribal affairs,” but they continued to
debate many issues from government operating expenses to allotment.29
For several years Jones attempted to establish the tribe as a self-governing entity, but his
aggressive approach was not met with enthusiasm by many tribal members and Bureau of In-
A Sac and Fox Industries building, December 1990 .
(Oklahoma Publishing Company Photography Collection, OHS).
dian Affairs (BIA) officials. This was partly due to his continual out-of-state residence and his
blood quantum. Jones did not live in the state of Oklahoma, and he was only one-quarter Fox,
which lowered his credibility in the eyes of many members with a higher blood quantum.30
Through the 1920s and 1930s, there were very few, if any, women credited in Sac and Fox
historical documentation, and it may be inferred that part of the BIA’s underlying conflict with
this group was the progressive involvement of women who were not considered significant
components of the American governing process at that time. One feature of the Jones era
was the publicly active role women represented in the shaping of the tribal government. One
source indicated, “In tribes whose government was based on the clan organization the gods
were thought of as related one to another in degrees required by such an institution in which
woman is supreme, exercising rights lying at the foundation of tribal society and government.” Consequently, women greatly influenced the social decision-making processes as seen
in the Black Hawk Wars.31 However, historical documentation so far has generally proven to
leave out this realm of women’s lives.
An example of one woman working overtly for the tribe during the 1920s and 1930s was
Sadie Feder. She realized early on that the tribe would need a tribal historian, and took it upon
herself to begin the recordkeeping process. She provided a model for women of the tribe
during a critical transition period, and she also represented the public role in the historical
documentation needed for the tribe. Her efforts were noted by two women of the tribe, Peggy
Acoya and Mary McCormick, during my interviews with them.32
Soon after the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936 was passed, the Frank Jones faction
was ousted and a new group took over the drafting and petitioning of a new constitution and
bylaws for the tribe. By January 1938 the first principal chief, Don Whistler, was elected
under the new constitution. From this point, the Sac and Fox struggled to strengthen the new
governing body, but they had many hurdles to overcome within the tribe and with the US
government. One of these hurdles presented itself in the continuing opposition by Frank Jones
and his supporters. This group had formed an organization, the Ah-tha-keewah and Me-sqaukee Association, which had declared itself to be the official governing body of the Sac and
Fox. Jones attempted to get the BIA in Washington to recognize them as a legitimate government, but was never successful. Don Whistler remained principal chief until he died in 1951.
Throughout his years in office Whistler accomplished much, primarily because he remained
accessible to Sac and Fox tribal members and cordial to BIA officers. Nonetheless, scholar
Jeri Whistler Snow questioned whether the reorganized constitution was truly representative
of Sac and Fox tribal members. On this front, she stated:
Although the Traditionalists were opposed to Frank Jones and his government, it is evident
from the closeness of the vote on the constitution at the Stroud Community House where most
of the Traditionalists and conservative members of the tribe voted that these people were not
anxious to adopt another constitution. And most of the members of the tribe who participate
in tribal activities—powwows, councils, tribal elections—are Traditionalists. These people
realize that their government is best run by acculturated men [or women today], but they do
not like the idea of entrusting any man or committee with the power to lease or manage tribal
lands or funds; these are functions which they feel rightfully belong to the tribe as a whole.33
Whether a balance in power was achieved, Snow demonstrated that many tribal members
had a strong interest in tribal governance, despite disagreements on the governing structure.
From the time of reservations through the 1960s, Sac and Fox governing structures reflected the oppression of the dominant American governing structure. Tribal leaders were recognized and recorded based on the outside authority of Washington officials rather than upon
agreement among tribal members. Because of Washington’s upper hand in tribal affairs, those
persons recognized as political leaders were men. The function of women in significant social decision-making processes had been redefined to demonstrate stronger American social
trends, which dictated that women should be subordinate to the public image of men, as is
further discussed in the section on Indian education policies. Gradually, Sac and Fox tribal
members were able to reclaim much of their own governing authority, but it was not done by
male tribal leaders alone. Interest and support by both male and female members were necessary. The men and women living under the control of US federal policies were the parents,
grandparents, and great-grandparents of the women leaders of today.
Over the span of a few generations, the role of Sac and Fox women within the tribal community changed dramatically. The move from Kansas to Oklahoma signified a desperate act
to salvage pre-European contact traditions while embracing the reality of a new, staggering
American population. Many efforts by the Sac and Fox people failed to retain past customs,
and this is largely attributed to the education policies of the federal government directed toward the Indigenous population. Economics also greatly influenced the turn that Native communities would take despite traditional survival customs. However, interwoven in the fabric
of economic, political, educational, and technological changes, many strands of tradition have
endured. An overview of education policies during the past hundred years will help clarify
influential factors in cultural continuity and change. Then, a review of the life of one Sauk
woman between 1881 and 1950 will demonstrate the impact of both Indian and white cultural
traditions on her role as a woman.
Indian school experiences vary with the times that students attended. Overall, however,
the schools were used as mechanisms of socialization rather than working toward academic
superiority. Women and men were generally divided and taught skills that reflected the social
division of labor in the Euro-American tradition. Women were taught home economics and
men were taught agriculture and industrial trades. K. Tsianina Lomawaima chronicled the
history of Chilocco Indian School in her book They Called It Prairie Light (1994). Many
Oklahoma Indians attended Chilocco, including those of the Sac and Fox Nation. Lomawaima
makes several observations about federal policies and American social trends in Indian education and their influences on women. One observation was the goal to fully assimilate women
into domestic roles. She contends that more time was spent on the particulars of appearance
and the detailing of progress in respectful attitudes rather than on accomplishments in skilled
activities such as cooking, needlework, and sewing. On this subject she maintained:
The struggle to reform and reshape the Indian home targeted the education of young women. They would serve as the matrons of allotment households, promoting a Christian, civilized
lifestyle and supporting their husbands in the difficult transition from hunter, or pastoralist, to
farmer. Women’s capacity to bear this burden was taken for granted by the Victorian vision
of Woman as Mother, influencing society and shaping the future through her nurture of her
children.34
Unfortunately for these young women, the above ideology was aggravated by late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century racist ideology, which propounded that physical and mental competence was a result of heredity. It was often assumed that any perceived physical and
mental differences of Indians made them slower and less graceful in Euro-American thought
patterns, subsistence activities, and styles of clothing. Lomawaima suggests that “narrative
evidence from Chilocco alumni reveals that federal practice did not successfully accomplish
subservience training and that Indian students successfully resisted policy and practice” in
regard to the female body and the dress code.35 From alumni accounts, there were ways of
sidestepping some of the codes, at least part of the time. In a creative manner, they were able
to incorporate bits of Native dress with their uniforms.
Indian school experiences may not have been what contemporary women would find fertile ground for producing strong women leaders. In fact, it would seem quite the contrary.
Nevertheless, the generation of women who attended these institutions were the mothers and
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Women in Tribal Politics: The Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma
(Continued from Page 10)
grandmothers of the Indian women leaders of today. Their experiences helped to shape and
prepare their daughters for more integrated interaction between white and Indian communities. And despite all of the assimilation efforts of their educators, they were also able, to a
degree, to remain the protectors of their traditional heritage.
In her thesis on the impact of boarding schools on Cherokee women, Timi Williams challenges James Clifford’s reductionist perspective on culture and suggests that “culture in this
sense is dynamic, in perpetual reformation, exhibiting regenerative qualities.” She further
makes the distinction between the terms acculturation and assimilation. Acculturation is the
adoption of dominant culture traits by a minority culture “whereby the minority’s culture becomes modified.” By comparison, “Assimilation is the absorption of an ethnic minority into
the dominant society, where the dominant culture remains unchanged resulting in the elimination of ethnic differences.” Williams thus combines these views to propose that cultural
modification is ethnic reorganization, which is “best understood as a strategy by which ethnic
minority groups negotiate change.”36
In regard to Indian education of the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s (when most of my interviewees were educated), Williams applies her theories to radical policy changes on education.
Indian children of this time were being trained for automated labor in an urban-industrial
economy. “Conjointly, while these children were being prepped in vocational positions determined by dominant societal needs, their parents, still reeling from a decade of termination,
were coping with a federal cooption of Indian land wealth.”37
Feeding off the earlier education policies for Indians, the Indian Relocation Act of 1956
provided a renewed goal in mainstreaming Indians into the larger American social system.
The act provided for thousands of reservation Indians to resettle in large cities. The BIA administered the policies set up by the act, which involved the training and placement of Indians
into various types of employment.38
The effects of the urban relocation program are linked to the Pan-Indian Movement in the
late 1960s and 1970s. This phenomenon has been characterized through a wide range of social
developments. On one extreme, the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM) began from
a grassroots movement by young Indian people, in both urban areas and on reservations, in
an attempt to fight racism and oppression, much like the Black Power movement of ten years
earlier. AIM became characterized as a violent band of American Indians who demonstrated
their frustrations through building and land takeovers. Some of these events played out at the
Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay, the BIA Federal Building in Washington, DC, and the
Wounded Knee standoff in South Dakota. Coinciding with this movement was the rise of social liberal trends in such areas as music, drug and alcohol consumption, living arrangements,
dress, and public self-expression of the late 1960s and early 1970s. At a time of escalating
warfare in Vietnam, the impact of violence and death through media coverage perpetuated
these often extreme trends. Not all AIM activists were violent, and in many cases harm came
only after authorities moved onto the scene.39
Many tribal governments at this time were in a period of reformation as well. The members
of various tribes, like the Sac and Fox, felt that AIM’s means of achieving social retribution
were a threat to reorganizing efforts in their communities. In 1973, just prior to the Sac and
Fox election of Dora Schexnider (later Dora Young), who was the first elected woman chief
of a federally recognized tribe in Oklahoma, an AIM convention was held in Pawnee and
the concern over potential violence prompted many Oklahoma tribal leaders to meet at the
State Capitol in Oklahoma City to arrange for the use of state law enforcement officers in the
Pawnee area. They also agreed to keep as much of the media away as possible to avoid “sensationalism and thus ruin tribal reputations.”40
Author Michael Reinschmidt suggests that the discontented youth of that era caused greater
tension within the Sac and Fox Nation. There was rejection of middle-aged leaders who, once
thought to be “progressive” within the community, were actually very conservative in the eyes
of the younger generation. Reinschmidt qualified this sentiment when he wrote:
By maintaining the illusion of a still functional traditionalism as a strategy of legitimacy
many Indian business committees became unintended victims of their own tradition myth
while the young people’s disillusioned search for true identity was a much more realistic expression of the “New Indianism” of the seventies.41
Nonetheless, a significant outcome of AIM activities was a heightened awareness by the
rest of the United States of the social status of the Indigenous minority across the continent.
Reinschmidt further concluded that “although the Sauk tribal government rejected AIM, the
Sauk—like all other tribes—indirectly profited from Red Power later on during the seventies
because AIM-type Indian activism had helped to prepare the stage for a new federal policy
[aimed at] self-determination.”42 On this subject, authors Vine Deloria Jr. and Clifford M.
Lytle suggested:
The political damage that had been inflicted upon tribal governments for so many decades
in the past could not be undone overnight. The traditional forms of tribal government had been
dormant for too long and much of the religious undergirding of the informal customs had been
badly eroded. The format that emerged under the 1934 act was almost a carbon copy of the
structured, legalist European form of government. Since tribal governments were floundering,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs seized the initiative and drafted a model constitution that could
be used by tribes as a starting point for their written documents.43
The decades that followed witnessed slow rejuvenation of tribal community affairs. When
noted Indian historian William Hagan wrote his book on the Sac and Fox Indians in the 1950s,
he visited with some of the tribal leaders and found the community to be weakly united. He
revisited in the 1990s and was surprised to see the growth and strengthening of spirit that the
community had undergone.44
One reason for the significant turn-around in tribal governance was the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975. This act primarily established a direct line between the federal government and the tribes “to contract with and make grants for the delivery
of federal services.”45 A problem from the beginning, however, was the lack of management
experience among tribal members, particularly in funding and administration. Previously, the
BIA had channeled funds and handled programs so that once turned over to tribal members,
their administrative inexperience was evident. One conversation I had with a tribal employee
revealed that a difficulty was relearning a way of life that the United States had spent so much
time trying to abolish.
By the mid-1990s, it had been twenty years since self-determination was enacted, and the
BIA remained a constant in tribal government affairs. The Sac and Fox achieved the status of self-governance with the 1975 act, but continued to work with the BIA. Despite the
achievements of tribal reorganization, Deloria and Lytle suggested that one of the continuing
problems in the relationship between the United States and the tribes is structural. Legal issues continued to plague both jurisdictions of the tribal courts and the United States. But, as
Deloria and Lytle also point out, modern tribal structures vary widely, as did their traditional
counterparts. According to the National American Indian Court Judges Association, modern
tribal governments fall into four basic categories: Representative, Representative/Traditional
Combination, General Council, and Theocracy.46
The Sac and Fox fall under the General Council category, which is characterized by a
constitution adopted by tribal members. Tribal officers are elected under these laws and thus
govern through them. The ultimate authority is the General Council (i.e. tribal members), who
meet regularly as well as on special occasions to vote on important issues.
Since the early 1970s, the rise in the number of women as tribal officials has been substantial. Beatrice Medicine contends in her article “North American Indigenous Women and
Cultural Domination,” “that the status and role of Indian women declined after the formation
of reservations.” She bases this claim on ethnographic evidence of the imposition of the patriarchal nuclear model on pre-European contact and post-European contact Native communities. One example she cites is the matrilineal-matrilocal Navajo, whose present-day council
consists mainly of men. Medicine attributes this to the Wheeler-Howard Act of 1934 (also
known as the Indian Reorganization Act) and argues that this “act set up tribal councils based
on the premise that men should be leaders.” This model often circumvented the role of women
in tribal government and allowed male control. Thus, the act has eroded the position of women
in decision making.47
Medicine admits that since the 1960s “the political and economic influence of women has
grown,” and this is especially evident in the legal field where over one-third of the growing
American Indian and Alaska Native lawyers are women. She ends on a promising note by
referring to a Lumbee woman who was the first woman to argue a case successfully in the
US Supreme Court. Medicine’s future projections indicate that, “if women serve as judges in
tribal courts on Indian reservations or penetrate the legal systems in off-reservations border
towns, these developments will greatly improve the legal status of all Indians in the United
States.”48
Applying Medicine’s projections to Sac and Fox women, the forecast seems to hold true.
Dora Steel Schexnider Young
(Oklahoma Publishing Company Photography Collection, OHS)
Mary McCormick, July 2005
(Mary Jane Warde Collection, OHS)
With the first successful election of a woman chief in 1973, the public realm of influence
held by men had been shattered. Although I have argued that women have been influential in
a covert manner throughout the reservation and post-reservation eras, it has only been in the
past thirty years that a few have been able to break into the male-dominated public sphere.
A recent Sac and Fox tribal attorney is a woman, and throughout my field visits to the tribal
headquarters in Stroud, it was not uncommon to encounter women in various political and civil service positions. And although women still held the majority, if not all, clerical or support
staff positions at the time of field research in the 1990s, their chances of moving up to more
socially and politically influential roles were much greater than in the past.49
Another realm of influence to consider is the women who do not actively participate in the
official governing structure. One government female employee said that, unlike many tribes,
the Sac and Fox Nation had a high percentage of tribal members who could provide a wealth
of professional resources, but these avenues have rarely been pursued by tribal officials. One
woman even felt that the balance between men and women as influential spokespersons within the tribe tipped in favor of women. She suggested that perhaps the tribe needed to work
toward a more equal balance of power.50 As the government structure matures, however, it
is very possible that the growing number of educated tribal members, including women, will
contribute substantially to the operation and unity of the community.
Not long after Dora S. Young took office as principal chief of the Sac and Fox Nation for
her second (non-consecutive) term, she agreed to be interviewed for this project. She was
installed on November 29, 1995. She made herself and her knowledge readily available and
showed a willingness to contribute to the information about her people. In her amiable way,
Chief Young began to speak of her family and her Sauk heritage.51
Beginning with an overview of Sac and Fox history, Chief Young was quick to point out
the importance of women in the Black Hawk Wars and the devastation the wars caused the
Sac and Fox people. Out of approximately 1,500 people, only about 100 survivors remained
after the Black Hawk Wars. Those people enduring the journey from Iowa to Kansas and on
to Oklahoma included Young’s ancestors. While the tribe was in Kansas, Dora Pattequah was
born. She was Chief Young’s namesake and maternal grandmother. An attempt was made to
send Grandmother Dora to Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, but like many
Indian children during that time, she was hidden from the authorities and escaped the formal
system of assimilation. She later married Benjamin Walker, the son of Lydia McKosato Walker (daughter of Chief McKosato) and Paw-mo-tho (Clyde Walker). They had ten children,
one of whom was Frances Walker, Chief Young’s mother. Frances Walker attended Chilocco
Indian School where she achieved the position of major on the drill team. She married Thomas
Coker, who was of Seminole, Muscogee (Creek), and Irish ancestry.52
The fifth child in a line of six children, Chief Young was born on January 22, 1939, at Claremore Indian Hospital. She is a member of the Thunder Clan. While growing up, her father was
active in Seminole tribal affairs, which fueled her interest in contemporary tribal government
early on. Life was not always easy for the Coker family. Young recalled many times when groceries were low, but somehow her mother always had some delicious “water biscuits and water gravy.” Her father, Thomas, represented the Tuskegia Harjo band of the Seminole Nation
and encouraged his children to participate in family discussions of tribal affairs. Due to issues
regarding land claims and their predominately Sauk background, however, Chief Young and
her siblings were enrolled with the Sac and Fox Nation on October 16, 1954. This was done
upon the urging of their Grandmother Dora, who was an 1891 Sac and Fox allotee.53
Raised in the Pleasant Grove area west of Seminole, Young attended public schools. In
May 1957 she graduated from Oklahoma City Business College for secretarial work. Anxious
to go to work, she moved to the Territory of Alaska to be near one of her sisters. She arrived
on Saturday and was working by Tuesday for the US Air Force. This began a long career in
civil service, which led her through positions with the US Army, Bureau of Indian Affairs, US
Department of Agriculture, and Indian Health Services. She retired from twenty-four years of
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Women in Tribal Politics: The Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma
(Continued from Page 11)
federal service at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on March 30, 1993.54
First elected principal chief of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma in August of 1973,
Young took a break from federal service to become the first elected woman chief under modern tribal constitutions in the state of Oklahoma. She pointed out that at this time, the issue
of being a woman, particularly a young woman, in office was a problem for many tribal
members. Reinschmidt stated in his dissertation that, “in spite of her capabilities and accomplishments, the time did not seem right for a woman to assume the highest tribal position. .
. . it was especially the male body of the tribe that apparently could not follow the rule of a
woman. One of her four fellow candidates later stated, that it was a humiliating experience for
him having been beaten by
a woman.”55 Nevertheless, Chief Young set her mind to tribal government affairs. One of the
basic challenges she found since that first term was “the ability to keep focused on bringing
about quality government in order to bring overall benefits to the members of the Sac and Fox
Nation.”56
Unfortunately, the fact that Chief Young was a woman during this first term continued to
overshadow her desires to accomplish important tribal goals. Reinschmidt pointed this out
when he wrote:
The Sauk almost factionalized over the first female chief of an Oklahoma Indian tribe.
Schexnider (formally Young’s last name) today recounts that there was a lot of revenge action
against her politics just because she was a woman. The General Council, for example, was
called upon by the opposition group to draw up a resolution which would limit her power.57
Among other accomplishments, however, Reinschmidt credited her with establishing “the
first permanently opened tribal office without receiving a full-time salary.” She became the
tribe’s first full-time chief and the community center was completed during her first term.58
All of Young’s brothers and sisters have also contributed their time in serving the Sac and
Fox people in one way or another. She is proud of each one, which was especially evident
when she spoke of the sudden and unexpected loss of her older brother. Also, like many contemporary women in the United States today, Young was a working mother of two. She spoke
affably of her daughters, Ellen and Lina, and her grandson Steven, “the joy of my life.”59
By the time of reelection in 1995, the issue of being a woman in office had subsided. This
may be partly attributed to the dominant cultural trends in American society to accept women
in more public roles, which were much different than the first time Chief Young was elected.
Also,
Young becoming an elder in the traditional sense may have given the second election more
respectful attention by many tribal members. Besides attitudes toward women, many facets
of tribal government had changed since the early 1970s as well. The government had grown,
employing many people to help with the daily operation and development of the nation’s
business.
In general, Chief Young’s goal this second time was to “improve the quality of the Sac
and Fox tribal government.”60 While the issue of sovereignty had gained momentum with
Indian tribes throughout the United States, Chief Young indicated that in reference to women,
it would help preserve their roles. She felt that everyone should have an opportunity and that
working toward sovereignty would produce meaningful changes for the good of the tribe as
a whole.61
In June of 1987, the Sac and Fox Constitution was updated with a federal charter. It included business incorporation and tax provisions. The act of ratifying these provisions signified
that, without the economic tools used by the larger US social system, it would be difficult to
provide certain fundamental benefits to all tribal members. From Chief Young’s perspective,
every member should be protected under United States and Indian law.62
One of the aspects within the Sac and Fox system that Chief Young felt should be updated
was the election process. She believed there should be a full-time Election Board that would
receive proper training in election procedures. Also, the Election Ordinance should be modified to allow for a primary. When questioned about the economic position of tribal members
and women in particular, Chief Young indicated that the standard of living is better than it
has been and is still improving. Many tribal members have moved into professional positions
within and outside of the tribe. In this respect, knowledge and resources are more widely
available and are continuing to grow.
Since the initial interview with Chief Young in 1996, I encountered many men and women
who had varying perspectives on the Sac and Fox Nation as a community and as a government. But the one common factor linking them all seemed to be their dedication to learning
and teaching about their Sac and Fox heritage. One employee commented that, as principal
chief, Young was more accessible to tribal members than many of the men who held that office in the past. Young seemed sincerely interested in youth activities, such as a new language
program held during the summer that helped enhance the children’s overall knowledge of their
heritage.63
As chief, Young spent much of her time traveling. With close ties to Washington, she often
took trips to the East Coast regarding tribal and national affairs. In May of 1996 she participated in ceremonies for the commissioning of the USS Black Hawk, a “ship in the U.S. Navy’s
MHC 51 (OSPREY) Class Coastal Minehunter Program.”64 In August of 1996 she visited
Washington, DC, with 140 tribal leaders for a White House policy briefing. Issues included
Indian housing, crime policy, and government waste.65 A serious consideration for Sac and
Fox leaders that stemmed from business trips such as these was the potential decrease in
federal funding assistance to Indian tribes across the country. Thus, the pressure to move toward economic self-sufficiency was becoming an issue of increasing importance for federally
recognized tribes.66
Looking at Chief Young’s background, there is certainly a history of tribal leadership, both
in a traditional sense and under reorganization. Although she did not directly inherit her post
as principal chief from a relative, Young inherited the strong drive and influence of this role
from her lineage, as she is a descendent of Chief McKosato and Chief Pattequah. Therefore,
I would qualify her in the surrogate category of a woman’s path to power as proposed by
D’Amico and Beckman.
My second field interview was with a former principal chief who served from December
1975 to December 1977. She also served as the Sac and Fox Nation’s secretary. A recurring
characteristic of Sac and Fox women found throughout interviews and discussions with members and nonmembers of the tribe is freedom of opinions and ideas, which the women actively
express in and out of the General Council meeting held each year at the end of August. This
may be true, but after talking with Mary F. McCormick, the prevailing impression was not
one of an overly aggressive, outspoken person, which is stereotypical of contemporary feminist activists. Rather, like many of her counterparts, she was soft-spoken and patient while
explaining her perspective on the questions presented.67
After Chief Young’s first term expired in 1975, John B. McClelland was elected principal
chief. Not more than three months into his term, he passed away unexpectedly and the Business Committee reacted by appointing McCormick as the second woman chief of the tribe. Of
this election, Reinschmidt and his wife, Kerstin Muller, documented that:
Clashes did not become as serious as during her sister’s tenure. With the experience of her
sister in mind she announced: “Being a woman will prove no handicap. . . . There is a place
for all Indians, including housewives, in shaping tribal plans.”68
The election and appointment of two tribal women into the chief’s position within such a
short period fueled a debate between the tribal generations, and opinions on female leadership
have been split. Some of the older women said the power associated with the position of chief
“makes women crazy,” whereas educated (in the Euro-Western tradition) younger women
were enthusiastic about the idea of women in tribal leadership, provided they are aptly gifted
and thoroughly qualified. Nevertheless, it is widely agreed upon by Sauk women that they
should hold offices to support female interests in tribal politics.69
Like Young, McCormick was a working mother. She is obviously proud of the two daughters she raised with her husband, Gwinn McCormick, who have been successful in their educational and professional careers. This is not surprising given her dedication to education. At
one point, McCormick even wrote a play that was performed by members of the tribe. She
encouraged such activities, especially among youth, because the plays were prime tools for
learning more about their past and keeping traditions alive.70 Her commitment to education
was embodied in the July 1996 Sac and Fox newspaper picture of McCormick with several
Sac and Fox children graduating from the Head Start program.
McCormick demonstrated a wealth of knowledge about her people and government operations. Therefore, when it came to questions on her role in the Sac and Fox government
and her ensuing goals, she had plenty to share. She was proud of her early accomplishments,
particularly of procuring water for the reservation. Working to keep family and tribal members informed and involved was not an easy task. One of her early political goals was to
promote unity among tribal members. Instead of acknowledging antagonisms between North
and South Sauk, the elders and the youth, or women and men, she advocated that there should
be more harmony among them. This unity in ideology strengthened the tribe, although like all
communities, tensions are
still evident.71
The role of women in Sac and Fox society was not overtly political in earlier times. If past
records accurately reflect the lives of women in pre-European-contact- and European-contact-era Sac and Fox communities, then women’s responsibilities were distributed elsewhere.
As I have maintained earlier, these responsibilities are often vague because past records reflect
only partial views on earlier traditions and customs. Consequently, inferences have been made
based on the influence and importance of women’s decisions regarding domestic and economic affairs that impacted the entire community.
For such strong leadership roles to emerge in the second half of the twentieth century
among Sac and Fox women, there had to be a strain of tradition from their past that opened
doors for them into modern politics. This strain of tradition, I argue, has continued despite
deficiencies in historical documentation and may be found in the importance of women in the
past as domestic managers. However, this role was restricted in the United States’s acculturation efforts when women were trained to be “seen and not heard.” Hence, gaining acceptance
in the public realm required changes in the dominant culture’s philosophical trends. When the
1960s began to reflect such changes, such as advocating the female voice in important local,
state, and national decision-making processes, women began to move into more public roles.
With the emergence of women as public figures and their visibility in political roles, they
have proven to be successful administrators, particularly in community affairs and social development. However, it has not been an easy task for women to gain these positions. As the
world economy grows, Kathryn Ward has suggested that “women’s traditional sources of
livelihood are disrupted without a sex-equitable redistribution of the new economic and social
resources generated by economic growth.”72 Nonetheless, the strength of women in traditional political processes, whether it was in the public or private realm, has served to promote
contemporary acceptance of Sac and Fox women in the political arena. Overcoming the economic suppression of the larger socioeconomic system has not been an easy task, but this has
not stopped them from the will to keep their heritage alive.
The Sac and Fox people have survived as a community, and the role of women within the
present governing structure appears to be more overtly significant since the pre-removal era.
The rise of women in public tribal roles is seen throughout tribes across the continent and
within the state of Oklahoma. The Sac and Fox were among the first to break Oklahoma tribal
political trends that had prescribed men as the primary political figures. They encouraged the
participation of women in tribal decision-making affairs, and because of this, they have been
classed as a progressive tribe among their tribal counterparts.
Many factors have contributed to the significant changes that have taken place in the lives
of American Indian women since Europeans arrived. They have been challenged in their ability to adapt to many different social customs while attempting to hold on to the traditions of
their ancestors. Modern Native women have been able to incorporate both cultures by using
tools of the dominant culture to express their heritage. They have become writers, artists,
activists, lawyers, and politicians. Many Sac and Fox women have found that by working in
their tribal government, they have been able to strengthen community unity and pass along
their heritage through social development programs.
ENDNOTES
1 Leslie Marmon Silko, Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit: Essays on Native American Life Today (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996), 72. When speaking of contemporary
members of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma, they are referred to as Sac and Fox. Referring to their pre-Oklahoma history, a distinction is made between one or the other tribe. Few
people of the Fox (also referred to as the Meskwaki or Mesquaki) Tribe actually relocated to
Oklahoma. Most people of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma are descendent of the community termed the Sauk by the French. When speaking of a person or people of this heritage,
the author uses the spelling Sauk instead of Sac.
2 Eleanor Leacock, “Class, Commodity, and the Status of Women,” in Stanley Diamond, ed.,
Toward a Marxist Anthropology: Problems and Perspectives (The Hague, The Netherlands:
Mouton Publishers, 1979).
3 Rebecca Tsosie, “Changing Women: The Cross-Currents of American Indian Feminine
Identity,” American Indian Culture and Research Journal 12, no. 1 (1988): 22.
4 Duane Champagne, Native America: Portrait of the Peoples (Detroit: Visible Ink Press,
1994). 5 Muriel H. Wright, A Guide to the Indian Tribes of Oklahoma (Norman: University
of Oklahoma Press, 1986).
6 Caroline B. Brettell and Carolyn F. Sargent, eds., Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective
(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993). 7 Ibid., 75.
8 Francine D’Amico and Peter R. Beckman, eds., Women in World Politics: An Introduction
(Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey, 1995), 5. 9 D’Amico and Beckman, Women in World
Politics. 10 Martha Harroun Foster, “Of Baggage and Bondage: Gender and Status among
Hidatsa and Crow Women,” American Indian Culture and Research Journal 17, no. 2 (1993):
142. 11 Ibid. 12 William Jones, ed. by Margaret Welpley Fisher, Ethnography of the Fox
Indians (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1939), 20.
13 Alanson Skinner, Observations on the Ethnology of the Sauk Indians (Milwaukee, WI:
Board of Trustees of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee, 1923), 35.
14 Jones, Ethnography of the Fox Indians, 20. 15 Tsosie, “Changing Women,” 7.
16 Laura F. Klein and Lillian A. Ackerman, eds., Women and Power in Native North America
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995), 12.
17 Kerstin Muller, “The Changing Role of Algonkian Women: A Study on the Contemporary
Sac and Fox of Oklahoma” (master’s thesis, University of Tulsa, 1991), 55–56.
18 Ibid.; Truman Michelson, Notes on the Fox Wâpanōwiweni (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1932). 19 Arlene Hirschfelder, Native Heritage: Personal Accounts by
American Indians 1790 to the Present (New York: MacMillan, Inc., 1995).
20 Sol Tax, “Features of the Aboriginal System Specifically for Fox Society,” in Fred O. Gearing, Robert McC. Netting, and Lisa Redfield Peattie, eds., Documentary History of the Fox
Project, 1948–1959: A Program in Action Anthropology (Chicago: University of Chicago,
1960), 129. 21 Tax, “Features of the Aboriginal System,” 129. 22 Ibid., 130. 23 Ibid. 24
Jones, Ethnography of the Fox Indians, 73. 25 David Ezzo, “Female Status in Northeastern
North America” (master’s thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1987), 73.
26 Interviews with Sac and Fox Nation tribal members by the author, April–August 1996.
27 Jeri Whistler Snow, “Sac and Fox Tribal Government from 1885 through Reorganization
Under the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act in 1937” (master’s thesis, University of Oklahoma,
1970), 35. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid., 30. 30 Ibid.
31 Frederick Webb Hodge, Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico (New York:
Rowman and Littlefield, Inc., 1965), 968–69.
32 Peggy Acoya, interview by the author, April 28, 1996; Mary McCormick, interviews by the
author, April 16, 1996, and May 29, 1996. 33 Snow, “Sac and Fox Tribal Government,” 101.
34 K. Tsianina Lomawaima, They Called It Prairie Light: The Story of Chilocco Indian School
(Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994), 87.
35 Ibid., 94. 36 Timi Williams, “It Was an Indian School”: An Ethnographic Account of
Cherokee Women Who Attended Chilocco Indian Agricultural School, 1950–1959” (master’s
thesis, University of Oklahoma, 1995), 36–37. 37 Ibid., 58. 38 Lomawaima, They Called It
Prairie Light. 39 Mary Brave Bird, with Richard Erdoes, Ohitika Woman (New York: HarperCollins, 1993); Mary Crow Dog, with Richard Erdoes, Lakota Woman (New York: Grove
Weidenfeld, 1990); Russell Means, with Marvin Wolf, Where White Men Fear to Tread: The
Autobiography of Russell Means (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995).
40 Michael Reinschmidt, “Ethnohistory of the Sauk, 1885–1985: A Socio-Political Study on
Continuity and Change” (PhD diss., Cuvillier Verlag, 1993), 267. 41 Ibid. 42 Ibid.
43 Vine Deloria Jr. and Clifford M. Lytle, American Indians, American Justice (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994), 102. 44 William T. Hagan, The Sac and Fox Indians (Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1958); William T. Hagan, personal communication with the
author, 1996. 45 Deloria and Lytle, American Indians, American Justice, 103. 46 Ibid., 108.
47 Beatrice Medicine, “North American Indigenous Women and Cultural Domination,”
American Indian Culture and Research Journal 17, no. 3 (1993): 128–29. 48 Ibid., 129.
49 Dora Young, interviews by the author, April 16, 1996, and May 20, 1996; McCormick interviews. 50 Interviews with Sac and Fox Nation tribal members by the author, April–August
1996. 51 Young interviews. 52 Ibid. 53 Ibid. 54 Ibid.
55 Reinschmidt, “Ethnohistory of the Sauk,” 281. 56 Young interviews.
57 Reinschmidt, “Ethnohistory of the Sauk,” 282. 58 Ibid., 283.
59 Young interview, May 20, 1996. 60 Ibid. 61 Young interviews. 62 Ibid.
63 Interviews with Sac and Fox Nation tribal members by the author, April–August 1996.
64 Sac and Fox News, June 1996, 6.
65 Sac and Fox News, September 1996, 1. 66 Young interview, May 20, 1996.
67 McCormick interviews. 68 Reinschmidt, “Ethnohistory of the Sauk,” 284.
69 Ibid. 70 McCormick interviews. 71 Ibid.
72 Kathryn B. Ward, Women in the World-System: Its Impact on Status and Fertility (New
York: Praeger Publishing, 1984), 1.
Page 13 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Governing Council Minutes
December 2020
SAC AND FOX NATION
FOOD DISTRIBUTION
PROGRAM
STROUD WAREHOUSE
918-968-3030 • 1-800-256-3398
SHAWNEE OFFICE
405-395-0063 • 1-886-622-2310
ALL FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS
ARE BY APPOINTMENT ONLY! THANK YOU!!
For more information, please contact:
Karen Hamilton or Nethia Wallace
Shawnee Multi-Purpose Building
405-275-1262
Page 14 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Revised RAP Department Application Forms
Page 15 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Revised RAP Department Application Forms
Page 16 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
Revised RAP Department Application Forms
Page 17 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
CDC Recommends Three Actions to Prevent the Flu
The Center for Disease Control (CDC)
recommends 3 actions to prevent flu:
1. Get a flu vaccine, 2. Practice every-
day preventive actions, and 3. Take antiviral medication to treat flu if your doctor
prescribes them.
Take time to get a flu vaccine.
• CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step
in protecting against flu viruses. Getting
a flu vaccine during 2020-2021 will be
more important than ever.
• Flu vaccines will not prevent
COVID-19, but they will reduce the burden of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and
deaths on the health care system and conserve scarce medical resources for the
care of people with COVID-19.
• CDC estimates that last season, fewer
than half of Americans got a flu vaccine
and at least 410,000 people were hospitalized from flu. Increased vaccination
coverage would reduce that burden.
• Most flu vaccines protect against the
four flu viruses that research suggests
will be most common.
• Everyone 6 months of age and older
should get annual flu vaccine by the end
of October..
• Vaccination of high risk persons is
especially important to decrease their
risk of severe flu illness.
• People at high risk of serious flu
complications include young children,
pregnant women, people with certain
chronic health conditions like asthma,
diabetes or heart and lung disease and
people 65 years and older. Many people
at higher risk from flu also seem to be at
higher risk from COVID-19.
• Vaccination also is important for
health care workers, and other people
who live with or care for people at higher
risk to keep from spreading flu to them.
This is especially true for people who
work in long-term care facilities, which
are home to many of the people most vulnerable to flu and COVID-19.
• Children younger than 6 months are
at high risk of serious flu illness, but are
too young to be vaccinated. People who
care for infants should be vaccinated instead.
Take everyday preventive actions to
stop the spread of germs.
• Take everyday preventive actions
that are always recommended to reduce
the spread of flu.
• Avoid close contact with people who
are sick. If you are sick, limit contact
with others as much as possible to keep
from infecting them.
• Cover coughs and sneezes. Cover
your nose and mouth with a tissue when
you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in
the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and
water. If soap and water are not available,
use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and
mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with viruses that cause flu.
• For flu, CDC recommends that people stay home for at least 24 hours after
their fever is gone except to get medical
care or other necessities. Fever should be
gone without the need to use a fever-reducing medicine. The stay-at-home guidance for COVID-19 may be different.
• In the context of the COVID-19
pandemic, local governments or public health departments may recommend
additional precautions be taken in your
community. Follow those instructions.
Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor
prescribes them.
• If you are sick with flu, antiviral
drugs can be used to treat your illness.
Flu antiviral drugs are not designed to
treat COVID-19.
• Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics. They are prescription medicines
(pills, liquid or an inhaled powder) and
are not available over-the-counter.
• Antiviral drugs can make flu illness
milder and shorten the time you are sick.
They may also prevent serious flu complications. Treatment with an antiviral
drug can mean the difference between
having a milder illness versus a very serious illness that could result in a hospital
stay.
• Studies show that flu antiviral drugs
work best for treatment when they are
started within 2 days of getting sick, but
starting them later can still be helpful, especially if the sick person has a high risk
factor or is very sick from flu.
• If you are at higher risk from flu and
get flu symptoms, call your health care
provider early so you can be treated with
flu antivirals if needed. Follow your doctor’s instructions for taking this drug.
Flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore
throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches,
headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also may have vomiting and diarrhea.
People may be infected with flu and have
respiratory symptoms without a fever.
Visit CDC’s website(https://www.cdc.
gov) to find out what to do if you get sick
with flu.
Page 18 - Sac and Fox News - December 2020
New Oklahoma Listings Added to National Register of Historic Places
The Oklahoma Historical Society,
State Historic Preservation Office (OKSHPO) has announced the newest National Register of Historic Places listings
for Oklahoma. The National Register of
Historic Places is our nation’s official list
of properties significant in our past.
• The House Building at 301–305 N.
Main St. in Bristow, Creek County, is
listed in the National Register of Historic
Places for its role in commerce as an excellent example of a downtown department store. The building was constructed in 1927 and 1928 by W. E. Krumrei
for the House family. The building was
immediately occupied by two national
department store retailers, Montgomery
Ward and J. C. Penney.
The building is also significant as a
unique example of the Tudor Revival
style in Bristow, as well as in commercial architecture in general. Many of the
Tudor Revival elements on the west and
south street-facing exterior elevations
still exist in their original configuration.
These elements include the stone arch,
the multi-light windows and the perimeter mansard roof with exposed rafter tails
and decorative cross gables.
• The Kimbrough Temple C. M. E.
Church at 1029 S. 12th St. in Ponca City,
Kay County, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its association
with the segregated Black community of
Ponca City. In the early 1900s, residents
and city leaders set aside the area as an
Grants Available for Farmers, Ranchers
Facing Hardships Due to COVID-19
In August, the Sac and Fox Nation
Business Committee announced the Sac
and Fox Nation was awarded a grant from
Business Committee Meeting
Minutes are now
accessible on the Website
sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
and Facebook
Like Us on Facebook!
Sac and Fox Nation
Sac and Fox Casino
Sac and Fox Language Program
Sac and Fox Dept. of Human Services
Sac and Fox National Public Library
the Native American Agricultural Fund
(NAAF) to provide assistance to Native farmers and ranchers in the Sac and
Fox Nation’s jurisdiction who are facing hardships because of the COVID-19
pandemic. Eligible Native farmers and
ranchers can apply for a one-time award
of $1,000.00.
Eligibility requirements are:
• Reside in one of the following counties: Lincoln, Pottawatomie, Payne, Okfuskee, Creek, Seminole;
• Provide proof of Tribal enrollment
(any federally recognized Indian tribe)
or Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood;
Provide proof of livestock or farm status
(recent Schedule F, Form 4835, sales tax
exemption documentation, or FFA/4H
documentation for students);
• Identify how your agricultural operation has been adversely impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic; and,
• Submit a completed application to
the Sac and Fox Nation with a completed
W-9 Form.
• As of November 18, 2020, twenty-three (23) grants are still available.
Applications are being accepted and will
be reviewed on a first come, first serve
basis. Detailed information and the application can be found on the website:
http://sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov/departments/covid-relief/
African American community. In 1942
the congregants of the Kimbrough Temple C. M. E. Church raised enough funds
to construct a stone chapel for worship
and community meetings.
Due to cost and dedication to their
endeavor, the parishioners started building the stone church themselves of local
stones in 1943. The church is situated in
the traditional all-Black Dixie Hill Addition, also known as the Attucks Community. This structure served the community
not only with religious services, but also
with social services and community outreach, thus becoming central to the Black
community of Ponca City.
• The Nickles Machine Shop at 600 S.
First St. in Ponca City, Kay County, is
listed in the National Register of Historic
Places for its association with the history of oil and gas production in Oklahoma and the United States. In the 1940s,
the surge in need for oil and natural gas
during World War II opened up a new
industry in which the Nickles Machine
Shop’s expertise in diesel engines and
compressors became important. During
World War II, the oil and natural gas industry pumped its products across the
country to meet the demands of the growing war effort. Companies changed from
the oil-fired engines to natural gas-fueled
compressors.
The Nickles Machine Shop provided
service and parts for the natural gas engines that powered the compressors. This
allowed companies in the oil and gas
industry to move their resources from
places like Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana to the Midwest and East Coast. The
Nickles Machine Shop is also significant
for its Early 20th-Century Commercial
architectural style as applied to an industrial building. It is a unique example of
commercial design on a massive scale,
consuming an entire city block. The simple but distinct sections have false fronts
with applied brick ornamentation, giving
them a style that reflects the early contemporary commercial architecture in the
community.
• The Old City Hall, Theater and
Masonic Lodge at 401 E. First St. in
Heavener, LeFlore County, is listed in
the National Register of Historic Places
for its Neoclassical architectural style.
The Neoclassical elements found on the
building include the classical columns,
the symmetrically placed windows and
doors and the two-story arched windows.
Public buildings and banks were perfectly suited for this style because it is very
somber and orderly. The Old City Hall,
Theater and Masonic Lodge is the only
extant building in the Neoclassical style
in Heavener as applied to buildings along
the Main Street corridor.
• The Villa Teresa Historic District
at 1212, 1216, 1228 and 1300 Classen
Drive in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
County, is listed in the National Register
of Historic Places for Community Planning and Development, Education and
Architecture. The period of significance
begins in 1917, when a large, Colonial
Revival-style mansion was built at 1300
Classen Drive. The construction of several other grand homes along Classen
Drive soon followed, most notably an
Italian Renaissance Revival-style house
at 1212 Classen Drive and another Colonial Revival-style house at 1228 Classen
Drive. In 1933 the purchase of the residence at 1300 Classen Drive by the Carmelite Sisters marked the establishment
of Villa Teresa School. As the school
population grew, the Carmelite Sisters
acquired the adjacent buildings at 1228
and 1212 Classen Drive, then constructed a new school building at 1216 Classen
Drive.
• Heritage Hills East Historic District, bounded by Northwest 14th Street,
North Broadway Avenue, Northwest
22nd Street and North Robinson Avenue
in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, is
listed in the National Register of Historic
Places for its association with Community Planning and Development of Oklahoma City. It is also significant for Architecture as a collection of architectural
styles popular within a brief and significant span of Oklahoma City’s history and
built as part of a cohesive and intentional
neighborhood development. The district
created a readily identifiable, significant
and distinguishable entity within the residential development of Oklahoma City
at large.
The development of Heritage Hills
East is representative of the rapid waves
of Oklahoma City’s early growth, as residential neighborhoods moved outward
from the original townsite of Oklahoma
City. Much of this development was intentional and well-planned, as developers like Anton Classen and G. A. Nichols
assembled large properties and shaped
Oklahoma City’s earliest neighborhoods.
The early development of Heritage Hills
East was quickly followed by increasing
density and then commercial development. Other than commercial development, much of which replaced previous
single-family homes along the west side
of North Broadway Avenue, most of the
extant properties were constructed between 1910 and 1932.
Business Committee Meeting
Minutes are now
accessible on the Website
sacandfoxnation-nsn.gov
and Facebook
Why the
‘nsn.gov’
Designation?
From time to time, a question
has been asked as to why the Sac
and Fox Nation uses such a special
exclusive (and longer) native sovereign nation dot gov Internet designation and name:
The “nsn dot gov” (nsn.gov) designation carries with it more significant levels of legitimacy, trust, and
authority than a commercial, “dot
com” domain name.
“NSN DOT GOV” confirms that
it is an official government website that has been certified, verified, and recognized by the United
States Government.
Of course, commercial sub-entities and public political subdivisions of tribal government may
also use a commercial dot com designation for commercial-oriented
purposes.
Truman Carter
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.