• P.O. B Ox 5 8 0 - O k m u lg ee , O k 74 4 4 7 • 918 .7 32 .7 7 2 0 • m v skO k emed i a .cO m • @m v skO k emed i a

Page 1Tuccênen The Mvskoke News

Hospital open to all patientsSecretary of HealtH anSwerS queStionS about McnMcby KeVin BaRnettreporter

the Muscogee (creek) nation national council designated representatives to the three council committees. (Mn file Photo)

Muscogee (creek) nation Principal chief James floyd indicated that the tribe has discussed prepara-tions for the continued interruption of the federal government. (Jason Salsman/Multimedia Producer) SHutDown – 2

Feds Respond in Kialegee case oral arguMentS not yet ScHeDuleDby lenzy KReHBiel-BuRtonMvskoke Media correspondent

Floyd discusses FedeRal goVeRnment sHutdown agreeMent reacHeD for a tHree-week fix until feb. 8by Jason salsmanMULtiMedia prodUcer

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

FEB. 1, 2018 | “HOT VLE HVSE” WIND MONTH | V O L . 4 8 , I S S U E 3THE

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

okMulgee, oklahoma— the Muscogee (creek) nation Secretary of Health Shawn terry held a press conference Jan. 10 to address the many inqui-ries received regarding accessi-bility of the Mcn Medical center by okmulgee residents and sur-rounding communities.

Mcn took ownership of the former okmulgee Memorial Hos-pital and the former george nye rehabilitation facility in 2013. at the time of the acquisition, the hospital was struggling financially, which terry said was stabilized this past year.

terry described these ventures as, “… community investments that the tribe made not only to enhance care for its citizens, but also for the entire [okmulgee] community.”

the confusion of availability arises from the union of a tradi-tional indian Health Service facil-ity with a conventional community hospital.

typically users of iHS facilities are native people, but with this melding of the two types of entities

community members are unsure as to its openness to non-native residents.

Terry affirmed all community members would have access to services such as emergency room care and diagnostic and lab ser-vices.

He expounded on this saying, “if you need to be admitted, we are going to admit you,” and, “the medical center is for the entire community to access.”

How this merged model dif-fers is in the respect of the pri-mary care clinic, which will require users to be cDib cardholders, the traditional iHS model.

terry also took the opportunity to speak on the accomplishments made by the Mcn Department of Health in 2017.

according to terry the past year saw the addition of $4 to 5 mil-lion into contract health, the sta-bilization of the MCNMC financial situation and the opening of the outpatient wing of the Mcn com-munity Hospital in okemah with the hospital portion expected to open in the coming weeks.

the eufaula clinic, he stated, is 65 percent complete and expected to open in late summer of this year.

okMulgee, oklahoma — the Muscogee (creek) nation national council assigned mem-bers for the Health, education and welfare committee; land, natural resources and cultural Preservation committee and business, finance and Justice committee during an emergency session Jan. 8 at the Mound building.

council rep. Johnnie greene will serve as chairperson for the

Hew committee, with Joyce Deere as vice chairperson. other represen-tatives serving on the committee will be James Jennings, rufus Scott and randall Hicks.

chairperson for the lnc com-mittee will be Darrell Proctor. Mark randolph will serve as vice chairper-son. newcomers Patrick freeman Jr. and thomasene yahola osborn are set to be members of the commit-tee, along with Del beaver.

the bfJ committee will consist of Pete beaver, travis Scott and David Hill. Robert Hufft will serve as chair-

person and adam Jones iii as vice chairperson.

The Internal Affairs Committee will have the following representa-tives: Pete beaver, travis Scott, Hill, Proctor, Jennings, yahola-osborn, Hufft and Randolph.

the fact-finding commit-tee will consist of: lucian tiger iii, Del beaver, rufus Scott, freeman, Jones, Deere, Hicks, and greene.

on Jan. 6, tiger was elected speaker, Hill was elected second speaker and Proctor was elected sergeant- at-arms.

for more information visit: www.mcnnc.com.

waSHington — attorneys for the u.S. Department of interior are still attempting to get a lawsuit from an oklahoma tribal town dis-missed.

on Jan. 12, attorneys for Sec-retary of the interior ryan Zinke and acting assistant Secretary — Indian Affairs John Tahsuda III filed a brief with the federal District court of the District of columbia in support of their motion to dismiss a lawsuit from the kialegee tribal town over who has authority over nine oklahoma counties.

In the filing, federal attorneys reiterated their argument that ktt has not provided a specific claim in their initial complaint and are relying solely on previous actions taken by the u.S. bureau of indian Affairs with respect to its relation-ship with the Muscogee (creek) nation.

‘it is not enough to state that the federal Defendants have vio-lated a statute,’ assistant attor-

ney General Jeffrey Wood wrote. ‘Plaintiff has to allege with some specificity the actions it alleges federal Defendants took that give rise to a valid cause of action.

‘the vague allegations in Plain-tiff’s complaint that the Federal Defendants have taken a position or may take a position does not establish a cause of action under either the ira [indian reorganiza-tion Act] or Plaintiff’s treaties.’

citing 18th and 19th cen-tury creek treaty rights, pre- and post-removal creek censuses and the creeks’ traditional organiza-tion, ktt claims in its lawsuit that it is a successor in interest to the pre-removal era creek confeder-acy, a loose coalition of more than 40 communities.

the tribal town uses that posi-tion to maintain that it – along with the other oklahoma-based tribal towns with federal recogni-tion -- has shared jurisdiction over Mcn’s eastern oklahoma reser-vation, which was reinstated in august as part of the 10th circuit court’s ruling in Murphy v. royal.

as of tuesday afternoon, oral arguments have not been sched-uled.

the wetumka-based tribal town initially filed its complaint in august in the aftermath of a raid on a restaurant and dance hall on a Muscogee (creek) allotment in broken arrow less than a mile from where the kialegees previ-ously attempted to open a casino in late 2011.

with more than 100 elec-tronic gaming machines allegedly found on the property and a gaming license nowhere in sight, the allotment’s owner, enrolled ktt member and former Mcn national council representa-tive bim Stephen bruner, was arrested for operating an unli-censed gaming facility. Sepa-rate raid-related litigation against bruner is still pending in Mcn tribal court.

the national indian gaming commission and its chairman, Jonodev chaudhuri, were origi-nally named as defendants in the kialegees’ suit, but were dropped when the tribal town filed an amended complaint in october. the nigc has twice declined to issue ktt a gaming permit for a proposed broken arrow casino.

okMulgee, oklahoma — at midnight eastern time Jan. 20, after a failure to pass a relevant legislation funding bill for gov-ernment operations and agen-cies largely centered on immi-gration issues, the united States government shutdown for the eigth time in its history.

a Senate vote was passed Jan. 22 that provided a three-

week fix and will now go before a House vote and then on to the desk of President Donald trump.

Due to several tribal ser-vices and employees being fed-erally funded and some of the tribe’s important pending legis-lation outcomes garnering fed-eral attention, Mvskoke Media requested an interview with Muscogee (creek) nation Prin-cipal chief James floyd on the impact of government shut-down.

“as a nation we are in pretty good shape. fortunately health and safety programs remain funded,” he said. “through iHS we were contacted and said we have the authority to continue to operate as a self-governance tribe. any revenues or appro-priations we have, we can con-tinue to spend. there are pro-visions for essential services to continue.”

attorneys for the u.S. Department of interior are attempting to have a lawsuit from the kialegee tribal town dismissed. (Mn file Photo)

Muscogee (creek) nation Secretary of Health Shawn terry addresses concerns regarding accessibility to the Mcn Medical center in okmulgee. (Mn file Photo)

national council committee memBeRs assignedcoMMitteeS aSSigneD During eMergency SeSSionby liz gRayreporter

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Page 2 hokkôlenThe Mvskoke News

The Mvskoke News

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

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

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

to submit a change of address or a letter to the editor, call: 918-732-7720 or email: jwatters@mvskokemedia.com.

like the mn on Facebook:facebook.com/Muscogeenationnews

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Native American Journalist Association

Floyd named to top 5 oKlaHomans list exPanSion, renovation, financial Stability noteD aS HigHligHtS of 2017by Jason salsmanMULtiMedia prodUcer

scHool clotHing FoR college students Mcn PrograM ProviDeS grant for college age StuDentS

by liz gRayreporter

Muscogee (creek) nation Principal chief James floyd was recognized by oklahoma Magazine. (Mcn website)

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation School Clothing Program now offers assistance to college age students. (liz gray/reporter)

okMulgee, oklahoma — when it comes to the top oklaho-mans for the year 2017, Muscogee (creek) nation Principal chief James floyd has made the count-on-one-hand list.

each year, oklahoma Maga-zine staff selects its Top Five Okla-homans who, according to editor and publisher vida Schuman, “have enriched the state’s fabric through contributions to business, policy, arts, and entertainment, public service, cultural preservation and more.”

floyd admittedly was surprised by the honor and was quick to disperse praise in several different areas for the notoriety.

“i think humbled is the correct word,” he said. “It is a reflection of all of our staff and all we’ve been

able to accomplish in the last couple years, so really i’m happy for all of them.”

Particularly pleasing to floyd was the fact that this recognition is not something that you apply for or that is subject to a selection panel. floyd said it was meaningful that an out-side agency took notice and high-lighted what is being done at Mcn by simply observing progress.

“i could see that throughout the year with our staff, outside groups and agencies sort of recognizing our departmental leadership and some of the efforts that have come from our tribal programs that hadn’t been done before by other tribes,” he said. “to me that was a telling sign of the progress we’ve made.”

floyd also spoke about repair and recovery of some issues at Mcn that became public, and how much of the first half of his first term has been spent trying to rectify some of

the issues his administration faced. in the article, the $70 million

health deficit Floyd faced upon his assumption of the office is noted, and mentions that the “red” has since been turned to a profit.

floyd said that while it is never ideal to have to publicly divulge some of these struggles, it is very rewarding when a solution is reached and subsequently recog-nized.

“we may think this is internal and nobody is going to notice it, but it becomes obvious to other people, and i think it did in this case unfortu-nately,” he said. “So we had to work our way out of that situation and hopefully the recognition comes from the fact that they see we are working hard to change. not just the perception, but the situation we were in and coming out on the pos-itive side.”

the magazine also referenced the renovation of the council House in downtown okmulgee, opening a new fully equipped hospital in okemah and the completion of the river Spirit casino resort expan-sion in tulsa as impressive advance-ments of tribal business and leader-ship.

floyd indicated in the article he is pleased to focus more going for-ward on building and looking for ways to advance the interests of the nation in his next two years, with the first two years largely spent on achieving financial stability.

“it’s a challenge being principal chief, no doubt,” he said. “where i gain the most satisfaction in the nation being recognized in such a way is being around our citizens and sensing the feeling of hope in the direction we’re heading. it means a lot. it begins to generate its own pos-itive atmosphere among our com-munities and that’s what we really need.”

read the article at: www.okmag.com.

sHutdowncontinued from Page 1

floyd discussed the ability to get front-end funding from self-governance compact agree-ments to use to fill operational gaps that can result from federal shutdowns.

“we get to put that money and put it in the bank and draw interest on it until we use it,” said floyd. “it’s times like we’re in right now that that’s very important because we need to utilize those funds. for 30 days or so we’re fine. This one was only for three days. So we’ll see where it goes. but i would stress that we really need individual appropriation bills.”

Having worked for both the federal government and as the head of the tribe’s exec-utive branch, floyd indicated that these shutdowns can have an effect on policy decisions, communication and govern-ment-to-government relations.

“in general, you can’t help but have some type of slow down, because whatever works are in progress most likely halt during the shutdown,” he said. “this week there were some issues that i had hoped to deal with the bia (bureau of indian Affairs) on and I got a call on late friday evening that they most likely wouldn’t be able to meet

with me this week. it’s things like that where policy decisions get pushed back. you can’t help but have some negative effect.”

floyd mentioned that he had been in contact with two other leaders from the five civilized tribes and indicated that from a tribal administrator perspective, it is very much a wait-and-see approach because of the uncer-tain political dynamics at play.

“It’s really difficult to under-stand who’s in the leadership position whether it be in the House, the Senate or the white House,” he said. “that confusion ends up affecting the legislative process.”

for Muscogee (creek) citi-zens and Mcn employees, floyd would like to emphasize that keeping an eye on the shutdown is getting high priority from his office. It was the focus of his cab-inet meeting held the morning of Jan. 22.

He also plans to meet this week with Mcn national coun-cil Speaker lucian tiger iii to fur-ther discuss preparations for the issue.

“as we’re going through this experience of the contin-ued interruption of the govern-ment, it’s important that our citi-zens know we are looking out for them and that we are preparing so that there is no break in ser-vice to them,” floyd said.

pageant committee accepting applications SearcH iS on for Mcn aMbaSSaDorS, royaltyby daRRen delaunereporter

FoRmeR second cHieF Released FRom pRison Staff rePortS

the Muscogee (creek) nation Scholarship Pageant is accepting applications for Miss and Jr. Miss Mcn. applications are accepted until feb. 28. (Mn file Photo)

according to the federal bureau of Prisons website, former Muscogee (creek) nation Second chief roger barnett was released from prison Jan. 3. (Mn file Photo)

okMulgee, oklahoma — it is that time again. the Muscogee (creek) nation Scholarship Pag-eant is accepting applications for the 2018-19 Miss and Jr. Miss Mcn competition.

ladies between the ages of 14-24 and enrolled as Muscogee (creek) citizens, who are inter-ested in Miss and Jr. Miss Mcn are encouraged to visit www.bit.ly/mcn-

okMulgee, oklahoma — the Muscogee (creek) nation School clothing Program now offers assistance to college-age students.

according to information pro-vided by the program, Muscogee (creek) citizens 24- years-old and younger, enrolled full-time in a college or technical school and are pursuing an undergrad-uate education or certification may apply for the $150 grant provided by the program.

citizens wanting to apply must provide a copy of their cit-izenship card and proof of full-

okMulgee, oklahoma — according to the federal bureau of Pris-ons website, former Muscogee (creek) nation Second chief roger barnett was released from prison Jan. 3.

barnett was sentenced May 5, 2015 to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $211,880 in res-titution to Mcn for embezzling tribal funds. He pleaded guilty to the charges in october 2014.

During his sentencing, barnett was also banned from gaming facilities for three years and required to attend gambling addiction counseling.

pageant for any questions pertain-ing to the pageant.

according to the website, the Miss and Jr. Miss Mcn are ambas-sadors and public relations repre-sentatives for Mcn.

the pageant takes place in the first weekend of June and is what kicks off the annual MCN Festival.

for more information on requesting an application for the pageant, call: 918-549-2557 or email Mcnpageant@mcn-nsn.gov.

the deadline to enter is feb. 28.

time enrollment with a letter from the school’s registrar including the official seal of the school.

Students may apply once per year, January through December with assistance based on fund-ing availability.

the college student appli-cation is a separate application from the regular school cloth-ing application, but the receipt guidelines will remain the same.

for more information, con-tact the school clothing program at 918-549-2473.

for a copy of the college/tech-nical school student application or the regular school clothing application visit: www.mcn-nsn.gov/services/school-clothing.

The MNN is now

BREAKING NEWS!

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Page 3Tuccênen The Mvskoke News

emVpanayV - one wHo tells tHe stoRy feDeral buDget ProbleMS anD coinS, inDian veteranS MonuMent, ScHool avoiDS ‘fake’ gaS attack

by gaRy FiFeradio speciaList

okMulgee, oklahoma — “they don’t look like indians to me.” — Prez you-know-who in 1993 hearings on indian gaming a before u.S. Senate committee, describing connecticut tribes. His casino went bankrupt. their tribal casino didn’t.

ok, you awake now? Here in late January, there’s a

lot of attention being paid to our u.S. non-budget and the govern-mental shutdown.

this quote is part of a May anal-ysis posted by www.indianz.com: “as expected, the bureau of indian Affairs and the Indian Health Ser-vice are among the many losers in Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget. Details released on tuesday (May 23) show both agencies being reduced to levels not seen in nearly a decade, essentially setting the clock back on gains seen during the obama era.”

other departments important to native american tribes are facing similar cutbacks.

by the way, there have been no meetings for the white House Council on Indian Affairs. This was a group established to keep contact between tribal governments and the federal government.

the white House has not said whether it would continue the group or not.

there goes the tribal consulta-tion.

While we’re looking at stuff from Disneyland-on-the-Potomac,

the ‘washingtonian’ magazine asks the question: “why is a r--skins blanket on Display in the ameri-can indian Museum?” (they didn’t modify the name there, i did.)

Here’s what a museum staff member said: “we wanted to focus on the larger phenomenon of mas-cots beyond the washington team. the museum has taken a very strong stand that it should change its name. but even if all of those teams changed their names tomor-row, there would still be a huge phenomenon of indian imagery in american life and conversation. we want that to be the main focus.”

for something a little more positive, the united States Mint announced at the end of Decem-ber that it would issue the next $1 coin with the likeness of the legend-ary Sac and fox athlete Jim thorpe stamped on it. it will be issued in the spring,

it’s Public law 110-82, the ‘native american coin Program’ that is the basis for the govern-ment’s practice of striking coins with native american themes, like that of Sacagawea. now, if they could add several more millions of them to the budgets of native american programs.

the u.S. military’s information paper ‘Stars and Stripes’ reports a national monument to native american veterans will be pre-sented to the nation on veterans Day in the year 2020.

Sound simple? it won’t be. the design is supposed to include rep-resentations of 567 tribes, women warriors, veterans families, an ele-

ment of spirituality, tribes who rode horses, tribes who didn’t ride horses and cover several wars. on top of that, it’s supposed to wel-come vets to the national Mall and help in the healing process.

One museum staffer is hoping that one of its planned inscriptions will have a positive effect, “I think the most bigoted white suprema-cist, when he reads what (lakota veteran and Medal of Honor winner woody keeble) woody did, saving the lives of his fellow sol-diers, he’ll say, ‘gee, maybe these guys aren’t so bad after all.’ ”

remember, native warriors have fought in every war this coun-try has had, including the ones to establish the nation, the one to divide it and all the wars after that.

whoever gets chosen to design the monument has one hell of a task to perform. More power to them.

Hey, here’s some more good news. the famed Sun Dance film institute just announced eight Indigenous-made films premiered at the Sundance film festival, Jan. 18-28, in Park city, utah.

in addition, there was a special 20th anniversary archive Screen-ing of ‘Smoke Signals,’ directed by chris eyre (cheyenne/arapaho) with the screenplay by Sherman alexie (Spokane/coeur d’alene).

Remember that flick? Indians being themselves. what a refresh-ing change, except for the terrible wig that adam beach had to wear on the way home after visiting his late father’s trailer.

any chilocco School graduates out there? i’ll bet you were relieved that your former alma mater was spared a ‘simulated’ chemical attack last fall.

My loved one and i had a heck of a chuckle listening to the esteh-vtke (white) newscasters butcher-ing the pronunciation of the school name.

excuse me, the u.S. Depart-ment of Homeland Security called it a “non-hazardous attack.”

the cherokee nation raised objections about the plan and was soon joined by local residents in opposing and finally halting the project.

‘gee, maybe these guys aren’t so bad after all.”

let’s leave it at that. Hvtvm cere-cares — i’ll see you again.

cHeRoKee nation declaRes mlK day a national Holiday Mlk contributeD to native aMerican rigHtSby deViney lucHsingeRMULtiMedia speciaList

cherokee nation now observes Martin luther king Jr. Day as a nationally-recognized holi-day. (Shutterstock)

taHlequaH, oklahoma —cher-okee nation Principal chief bill John baker recently signed an executive order to declare Martin luther king Jr. Day a national holiday to be observed by the cherokee nation.

‘He was a remarkable advocate for change for all people of color in amer-ica, including indian country,’ baker said in a press release.

king was one of the individuals who championed the civil rights move-ment in the 1960s.

according to www.peoplesworld.org, king aided native americans in southern alabama to desegregate schools.

the Poarch band creek indian children living in the area who were dark complected were not allowed to use the school bus, while whites and light complected native children were allowed to ride the bus.

tribal leaders asked king for help after they heard of his desegregation campaign in birmingham, alabama. He intervened and the issue was resolved.

according to the site, there were a number of native americans contin-gent with the 1963 March on wash-ington.

the site states the native amer-ican rights movement of the 1960s was heavily inspired by the civil rights movement and its leaders.

the site states the native ameri-can rights fund or narf was mod-eled after the nation association for the advancement of colored People’s

legal defense and education fund.‘our nation was born in geno-

cide when it embraced the doctrine that the original american, the indian, was an inferior race,’ king wrote in his 1963 book ‘why we can’t wait.’ ‘even before there were large num-bers of negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already dis-figured colonial society. from the six-teenth century forward, blood flowed in battles of racial supremacy. we are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or feel remorse for this shameful episode. our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.’

in his executive order, baker urges his citizens to dedicate the holiday as a day of service to the community to follow the legacy of king.

‘by devoting this day to service we move closer to Dr. king’s vision on living and working together as one community. through our deeds, we honor Dr. king’s legacy that also serves to unite and strengthen each of us and the entire cherokee nation,’ he stated in the executive order.

the Muscogee (creek) nation does not observe Martin luther king Jr. Day as a national holiday.

Mvskoke Media contacted Mcn Public relations regarding the holiday. an official statement from the execu-tive branch was not received by press time.

this year, Martin luther king Jr. Day is observed Jan. 15.

TECH,GADGETS, & TRENDS

okMulgee, oklahoma — Since the internet became available to the public in 1991, countless changes and innovations in the tech sector have been introduced, tested and expounded upon. but none seem to have had the potential to make such a large-scale impact, since the internet itself, as bitcoin.

Surely, if you have ever engaged in online commerce whether buying or selling you have heard of bitcoin. if not, you will because now traditional brick and mortar businesses are beginning to accept bc as payment. but, what exactly is it?

unless you are a computer geek interested in data management, open source software or cryptography, the technical side of bitcoin will make your eyes glaze over in boredom and disinterest.

Put simply bitcoin is “digital money.” It is, however, quite different than what we tradition-

ally think of as money in that it does not exist in physi-cal form and it is not controlled by any centralized entity.

Meaning that there are no tangible coins or notes to

no casH, no pRoBlemtHe Digital future of Money by KeVin BaRnettreporter

be exchanged, it only exists online and there is no over-seeing bank or country that issues, backs or regulates it.

the idea for bc was outlined in a document, now referred to as its ‘whitepaper’ that was distributed via the web to various public sites on Halloween 2008.

the whitepaper is attributed to a person (or group) known as Satoshi nakamoto whose identity is still a mys-tery, and as with any mystery left to the online commu-nity, conspiracy theories abound.

regardless of whether or not the future holds the unveiling of the mysterious nakamoto or even the even-tual rise or fall of cryptocurrency, what is certain is the impact that the blockchain technology that it introduced is already having on the status quo.

the blockchain is the concept underlying bitcoins trustworthiness. and it is already being implemented in other industries like real estate, banking and healthcare to name a few.

the blockchain is, essentially, a collection of ongoing distributed ledger entries grouped in encrypted “blocks” which are validated by the collective network of all com-puters using that “database”…

i can picture the boredom in your eyes so lets just say that the group of users takes the place of a central body to record all transactions.

Potentially, the biggest disruption of blockchain tech-nology to industries is the cancelling out of “middlemen” such as banks, lawyers and title companies.

for example, when you use your credit/debit card the transaction seemingly is instantaneous, but actually the transaction takes much longer to reconcile due to the transaction going through the two banks (the buyers’ and the vendors’).

this technology could cut the banks role out of the process; if nothing else it would significantly reduce their level of participation and the built-in costs arising from their involvement.

Many experts agree that bitcoin, or another crypto-currency; becoming a standalone currency is decades away but a real possibility.

the most vocal opponents are quick to label the bit-coin phenomenon as a market “bubble.” comparisons to the dot-com and housing bubbles, in which prices were skyrocketing with seemingly no end in site, help to give credence to this claim.

Just six months ago, bitcoins were valued at $2,800, peaking at just under $20,000 in December and now at the writing of this article they are holding around $15,000.

there is a story of a man paying $10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas in the outset of this crypto cash experi-ment (2009-2010) when they were valued at less than a penny. if that transaction were to take place today, those pizzas would be worth over $150 million.

Maybe the next generation of bitcoins should be called bunchcoins.

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Page 4 ôStenThe Mvskoke News

pRepaRing FoR college? HigHer eDucation DePartMent will HolD two eventS for college bounD StuDentSby KeVin BaRnettreporter

123 magic woRKsHop seeKs to teacH paRents eFFectiVe discipline workSHoP offerS SuPPort for ParentSby deViney lucHsingeRMULtiMedia speciaList

okMulgee, oklahoma — with the passing of the hol-

iday season the arrival of tax season, many families focus has shifted onto the coming college admissions processes.

to aid students and their families in this oftentimes overwhelming process the Muscogee (creek) nation Higher education Depart-ment will be holding two Stu-dent outreach and resources (S.o.a.r.) days to inform cit-izens about supplemental funding available through the tribe.

these two events are to be held on feb. 13, from 4-7 p.m. at the Jenks High School and feb. 15, 6-8 p.m. at the eufaula Dormitory.

the S.o.a.r. day locations are geographically positioned within the nation’s boundar-ies to be accessibly convenient for any interested student and their families to get informa-tion.

okMulgee, oklahoma — Muscogee (creek) nation behav-ioral Health Services and Mcn Proj-ect launch will be hosting a series of parenting seminars called 123 Magic, which takes ‘a humorous look at parenting, a serious look at discipline.’

“Parenting is not for the faint of heart,” natalie russell, young child wellness coordinator for Mcn Proj-ect launch said.

She said it can be physically and emotionally taxing on parents to deal with a child’s misbehavior.

russell said good parents can frustrate their children by asking them to do things they do not want to do, such as go to school, and can also frustrate their children by asking them to stop doing things they want to do, such as to quitting video games when it is bedtime.

She said a well-disciplined child can deal with this frustration and comply.

123 Magic gives parents six basic testing tactics children use on their parents and practical ways to handle the child’s behavior so the parents are in control and not the children. the program also pres-ents techniques to strengthen the parent-child relationship.

Some of the testing tactics chil-dren use are badgering, show-ing temper, an aggressive attack or emotional outburst, threats, martyr-dom and buttering up.

there will also be college representative’s present to provide information about their particular institutions.

with the continual rise of education costs parents are encouraged to take advan-tage of all available resources to help alleviate some of the financial burden that comes with a child attending college.

okmulgee High School counselor Dawn wallace advised, “the first thing par-ents should do is submit their fafSa [free application for federal Student aid] as soon as possible.”

the fafSa is used to deter-mine students eligibility for financial aid such as grants, loans and work study.

fafSa submissions for the fall 2018 semester opened october 1, 2017 and remains open until funds are depleted.

oklahoma also offers state residents a tuition aid grant (otag).

otag is a supplemental state grant for which students are automatically considered

one method of discipline rus-sell recommends is to count the behaviors. for example, if a child is acting out in public, count the negative actions they display, such as whining. when the child gets to three negative behaviors, russell recommends a time-out.

She said if the child is still in the middle of a tantrum when the dis-cipline starts, wait for the tantrum to end before the time-out timer begins. She recommends one minute for each year of the child’s age.

russell said there are a lot of different ways to discipline a child, but as long as there is structure, positive nurturing and the child knows who is in charge, parents are on the right track.

one of the biggest stigmas she said she faces during her parent-ing classes is the argument that parents already know how to be a parent, so why would they need classes? She said they are not trying to preach at parents or tell them they are wrong.

“We want to offer that sup-port and a little bit of hope in these workshops,” russell said.

the workshop will be held in two sessions. The first session was held Jan. 22. the second session will be held Jan. 29.

russell said the department is planning to host another workshop sometime in June. contact russell at: 918-486-8965 for more infor-mation about the upcoming work-shops.

when the fafSa is submitted, so nothing extra need be done outside of that application.

as with the federal grants, otag remains open until available funds are exhausted.

typically, demand out-weighs the availability so the application date is the decid-ing factor on whether or not a student will receive the grant.

for Muscogee (creek) stu-dents there are additional funding resources available through the tribe, which is why the S.o.a.r. days were imple-mented.

the Higher educa-tion Department adminis-ters grants and scholarships for enrolled citizens seeking undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral degrees.

assistant Scholarship coor-dinator, Serena Drinnon reit-erated the commonly heralded recommendation saying, “the main things to keep in mind are the application deadlines.”

Drinnon also addressed an issue that commonly causes some confusion among appli-cants, the need for both their citizenship card and a cDib card in order to be eligible for both grants.

the difference she said is, “the cDib card says you are of native descent, and that is [for] the bia grant; and the citizenship card says you’re an enrolled with the creek tribe for the tribal grant.”

both Drinnon and wal-lace stressed the need to seek other scholarships and fund-ing sources which as Drinnon said, “it takes a lot of online searching and research, but it is out there.”

for more information about the S.o.a.r days or about available resources and requirements contact the Higher education Department or visit their page on the web-site: www.mcn-nsn.gov/ser-vices/education-training/higher-education.

The MCN Higher education department offers Muscogee students a hand with college preparation. (Mn file Photo)

Muscogee (creek) nation behavioral Health Services and Mcn Project launch are hosting a parent-ing workshop to help parents with effective discipline methods for their children. (MN File Photo)

tRump allegedly uses ‘VulgaR’ teRms to descRiBe countRies coMMentS SuggeSt iMMigrantS froM SoMe countrieS unDeSirableby daRRen delaunereporter

waSHington — according to the ‘washington Post,’ Presi-dent Donald trump allegedly used what some are calling vulgar terms when rejecting a pitch Jan. 11 from a bipartisan team of senators on an immigration deal to protect Daca or Deferred action for child-hood arrivals participants.

“why are we having all these people from ****hole countries coming here?” trump allegedly said during the meeting in the Oval Office.

Mvskoke Media has chosen to redact some of the statement because of the use of obscenities.

the ‘washington Post’ later reported that u.S. Senate Minority whip Dick Durbin said trump, “said things that were hate-filled, vile and racist.”

the outlet reported that trump singled out Haiti.

“why do we need more Hai-

tians?” trump said according to people that were in the meeting. “take them out.”

the articles also stated trump suggested that the u.S. should bring more people from countries such as norway. He met with the norway prime minister Jan. 10.

according to a white House official, Trump said he would be open to more immigrants from asian countries because he felt that they help the u.S. economi-cally.

on twitter, trump stated he did not say derogatory things about Haitians and that he should record future meetings. He also denied he used derogatory lan-guage about immigrants.

“the language used by me at the Daca meeting was tough, but this was not the language used,” trump said on his twitter account.

Mvskoke Media was unable to find a statement regarding the issue at: www.whitehouse.gov as of press time.

according to the ‘washington Post,’ President Donald trump allegedly used what some are calling vulgar terms to describe countries during a meeting with lawmakers Jan. 11 at the Oval Office. (www.whitehouse.gov)

• P.O. B Ox 5 8 0 - O k M u lG ee , O k 74 4 4 7 • 918 .7 32 .7 7 2 0 • M v SkO k eMed I A .CO M • @M v SkO k eMed I A

Page 5caHkêPen The Mvskoke News

‘ten little indians’ oRigin Follows otHeR questionaBle RHymes native writerS reSearcH HiStory of PoPular teacHing tool

by steRling cospeRManager

okMulgee, oklahoma — by now, many people know that a lot of common nursery rhymes have less than innocent origins.

While research findings vary, most scholars agree that some have at least two meanings.

‘baa baa black Sheep’ has been called commentary on royal taxes.

‘Mary, Mary’ is known as an account of queen ‘bloody’ Mary i, who executed Protestants and ‘yankee Doodle’ has been attributed to a british satire on american revolutionaries.

The first two are supposed critiques by the british of their leadership and they later direct this satire at americans in ‘yankee.’

recent pieces by native writ-ers Julianne Jennings and alex Jacobs seem to show that amer-icans continued to pay this for-ward with ‘ten little indians.’

The first known official ver-sion of the song by Septimus winner in the 1860s, ‘ten little injuns’ shows cause for concern based just on the title.

couple this with the lyrics that get the number down to one such as ‘foolin’ with a gun’ and another that ‘tumbled over-board’ and the original is cer-tainly not ideal for teaching counting.

So at least winners writes a happy ending right?

“ ‘one little injun living all alone; he got married and then there were none,’ ” Jacobs cited in an interview with ‘Mvskoke radio’ host gary fife.

Jacobs sees it differently. “the last one he married in,

which is kind of the whole man-ifest destiny, or the original bia (Bureau of Indian Affairs) or the government programs was to assimilate the indian and so they’d disappear culturally,” he said.

Jacobs said the contemporary version is still troubling.

“kids today will tell you they’re all dead. why is that, because of stuff like this,” Jacobs said.

the song itself is still here and Jacobs does not expect this to change.

“i think every time it pops up, it’s a moment to educate the educators and the schools in the sense that it’s kind of not going away,” he said. “i think we all have to make that effort to edify and teach people and to do more on media.”

Plenty high profile work to the contrary has already been done with the song.

the yardbirds, Harry nilsson, the beach boys as well as bill Haley and His comets have all capitalized on the tune’s public domain status.

During the interview, fife

recalled a Popeye cartoon from his childhood where the popular spinach-eating protagonist fights off Indians with each one turn-ing into a grave as they hit the ground.

in his research, Jacobs came across another animated refer-ence in ‘a walt Disney Silly Sym-phony.’

“it’s a big part of the cartoon and there’s a part there where they not only do their song but they start dancing and war whooping and all of storyland goes along with them,” he said.

He said different takes on the narrative could still be found in surprising places.

“there’s even an award-win-ning book about these bunnies dressed up as indians, a count-ing book that’s actually sold at the national Museum of the american indian in washing-ton, D.c. and maybe new york,” Jacobs said.

one of the biggest liter-ary works of all time by agatha Christy has a different version of the double meaning.

“this book was originally called ten little ‘n’ words, you know and then they retitled it to ‘and then there were none,’ which is the last words of that nursery rhyme ‘ten little indi-ans,’ ” Jacobs said. “Sold over 100 million copies, one of the biggest selling books ever.”

the book is rated 4.2/5 on goodreads and 91 percent of google users liked it.

this was not an original idea as one of the first modifications of ‘ten little injuns’ was used during blackface minstrel shows in the 1860s.

Jacobs likened his inquiry on ‘little indians’ to the mascot issue and acknowledged that a similar response to challeng-ing these sports teams is to be expected while reiterating the importance of awareness.

“So it’s there and i think part of our education. we can’t ban it or get in a political correctness huff,” he said.

as the fourth media pro-fessional in this chain that researched the song, it seems most other rhymes with dark ori-gins have much more subtlety than ‘ten little injuns.’

native american freelance writer alex Jacobs recently published a piece on the origins of the nursery rhyme ‘ten little indians’ after an initial story from fellow native writer Julianne Jennings. (a nursery rhyme youtube channel)

cHange in mood could Relate to cHange in seasonstyPe of DePreSSion coulD occur SaMe tiMe, every year

by daRRen delaunereporter

okMulgee, oklahoma — the months go by and sea-sons change throughout the year. with these changes in the season, people could be going through changes in their mood.

it might be called a seasonal funk or winter blues.

Muscogee (creek) nation behavioral Health Services Director Dr. tamara newcomb suggests that this seasonal funk could be seasonal affective dis-order.

“Most people, symptoms start out in the fall and continue during the winter months,” she said. “their energy is low and they feel moody.”

newcomb said seasonal affective disorder is a condition related to a change in seasons. it usually begins and ends about the same time every year.

though not as common, SaD can occur in the spring and early summer.

newcomb said the sun not being out as often is one of the things that can trigger the depression.

“People shouldn’t brush off the feeling of being down in the dumps or the blahs,” new-comb said. “there are steps that people can take to improve their mood or motivation.”

“when we are exposed to sunlight we get that vitamin D,” she said. “it helps with our sero-tonin and melatonin levels.”

a primary treatment for SaD is being exposed to an ultra-vi-olet light.

“it is phototherapy (light ther-apy),” newcomb said. “this can be used for sleep disorders as well.”

being exposed to the light can help improve sleep sched-ules.

“the light is important for our sleep regulation and our mood

regulation,” newcomb said.She said purchasing a light

box to put in the house or office during the day can help regulate mood.

“it is similar to the light that you find in a tanning bed,” she said. “it is on that same level and certain kind of light that you need exposure to.”

newcomb said the light box is relatively cheap and exposure for 10-15 minutes can help.

She said SaD symptoms are similar to depression but a person will find it occurring con-sistently at the same time each year.

“that is one indicator that it is seasonal affective disorder,” newcomb said.

other symptoms to look for are feeling depressed most of the day, nearly every day, having low energy and losing interest in activities that were enjoyable.

“Having trouble with sleep and experiencing changes in appetite are other symptoms,” newcomb said.

feeling sluggish or agitated and weight fluctuations are also symptoms of SaD.

“even having thoughts about death or suicide,” she said.

newcomb said relaxation or meditation can also help counter these symptoms.

newcomb said to speak with your primary care physician in regards to SaD.

“Medication can also be effective when prescribed by a doctor,” she said.

newcomb said if a person has these symptoms and would like to schedule an appointment with bHS, call: 918-758-1910.

“that is a central contact number,” she said. “we have offices at our clinics that we can give those numbers to the patient.”

newcomb said bHS repre-sentatives are located at all clin-ics within the Mcn jurisdiction.

Feeling down or sluggish about the same time every year? It might be seasonal affective disorder. (Mn file Photo)

NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK SEPTEMBER 10th–16th

MCN Behavioral Health1.888.756.4333

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

or 1240thebrew.com!

• P.O. B Ox 5 8 0 - O k M u lG ee , O k 74 4 4 7 • 918 .7 32 .7 7 2 0 • M v SkO k eMed I A .CO M • @M v SkO k eMed I A

Page 6 ePâkenThe Mvskoke News

can smoKing Be stopped? can people quit?factS, aDDictionS, tiPS, HealtHby daRRen delaunereporter

a caReeR oF seRViceyaHola StePS aSiDe by KeVin BaRnettreporter

okMulgee, oklahoma — according to the u.S. centers for Disease control and Preven-tion, tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the u.S.

cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 americans each year with more than 41,000 of those deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke.

by race, american indian/Alaska Natives are first in these death totals accounting for 21.9 percent.

Does anyone care?why is it hard to stop smok-

ing once you started?Muscogee (creek) nation

tobacco Prevention Program Manager carla feathers said there is something in cigarettes that makes it hard to quit.

“nicotine,” she said. “nico-tine is actually more addicting than heroin.”

She said smoking is not only a bad habit, but it is an addic-tion.

“oklahoma is one of the higher rankings for the country in terms of tobacco use,” feath-ers said.

She said smoking affects your body, health-wise.

“It affects your breathing, your organs, everything,” she said. “if you already have health problems it complicates those and makes it worse.”

Most people, especially smokers and the people who

okMulgee, oklahoma— after nearly three decades of service to the Muscogee (creek) nation in various capacities, most notably his 20 years on the national council as the

are around them know about secondhand smoke, but there is another type that is also harmful yet unknown.

“thirdhand smoke can get into your couches, walls and upholstery in your cars,” feath-ers said. “the chemicals can be absorbed by your skin and affect those that don’t even smoke.”

feathers said pets can be affected by smoking. They can experience respiratory prob-lems from secondhand smoke.

She also said that it is not the same when our ancestors would smoke traditionally. the numer-ous chemicals in a cigarette bring the harm to everyone.

“it is not the same tobacco,” feathers said. “the tobacco of today is highly engineered to make it more addictive.”

She said smoking is a learned behavior. feathers said people who smoke for numerous years have their bodies conditioned for the cigarette.

according to an article found at www.scientificamerican.com, smokers have used vaping or e-cigarettes as a substitute to smoking cigarettes. e-cigs still contain nicotine. Some do not have the addictive chemical if the smoker chooses not to use it.

they also can have toxic chemicals such as formalde-hyde, nitrosamines and lead.

“e-cigarettes are actually cre-ating dual users,” feathers said. “they will still smoke cigarettes and now the e-cigs.”

She said people inhale more

tukvpvtce District representa-tive, thomas yahola decided not to run for re-election.

yahola, lifelong wetumka resident, took an interest in tribal politics at an early age.

Before the Nation was offi-cially re-established, he began attending council meetings in okmulgee as a teenager when they were held in the council

bad chemicals in their body being a dual user.

“they (e-cigs) are not fDa (food and Drug administra-tion) regulated so people do not know if extra chemicals are being added to them,” feathers said.

feathers said tPP does not support vaping.

“it’s not water vapor, there are chemicals in there,” she said.

How can one stop smoking?there are numerous tips

people can follow if they want to quit smoking.

feathers said to speak with your doctor and they will offer tips or prescriptions for medica-tion on quitting.

“their doctor or healthcare provider will be able to pro-vide the step, tips or medication on what they will need to quit smoking,” she said.

another way is going cold turkey, or quitting smoking alto-gether.

“People have to be careful with this one,” feathers said. “nicotine is highly addictive and smokers can go through a with-drawal.”

She said there are also sup-port systems, gums and patches that can help a smoker should they choose to quit.

“there are resources such as 1-800-quit-now that can help with gum and patches,” feath-ers said.

She said nicotine is an appe-tite suppressant, so when quit-ting smoking can cause weight gain. working with tobacco users, she said they can taste and smell better because they quit.

“we tell people to eat some-thing healthy instead of having candy around,” she said. “the taste buds come back because there is no more tar from the cigarette covering them. eating healthy will help with making better habits for your body.”

feathers said the Mcn Department of Health has a policy that their campuses are tobacco-free areas.

“People are not allowed to smoke in their vehicles, in the hospital or clinic parking lots,” she said.

for Mcn the requirement is supposed to be 50-feet from the buildings. while some of the chartered communities have their own policy, they fall under the Mcn.

“it is still suppose to be 50-feet from the building,” feather said.

for more information about tPP, call: 918-756-6231.

House and at times in the now gone oakdale Schoolhouse.

“back then the chiefs were selected by the [u.S.] presi-dent… and they would have dif-ferent representatives from the different tribal towns there and i would go and listen to them,” yahola remembered. “they con-ducted all their business in the (Mvskoke) language then.”

He took on an active role in tribal matters when he became secretary for fishpond tribal town.

yahola recalled those early years.

“we would meet in one of the representative’s houses and conduct business and then one of the representatives would come up here [okmulgee] to the council meetings,” he said.

in the subsequent years yahola attended school, joined the u.S. army and later held a position in the federal govern-ment with the army corps of engineers.

the 1970s brought about many changes for the nation culminating with the passing of the 1979 Mcn constitution which offered a new direction for the tribe, one of self-gover-nance.

it was during the 1980s, while still with the corps of engineers that he began enter-taining the idea of running for a seat on the national council.

yahola was able to make a smooth transition into the political arena when he was elected to the council just prior to ending his employment with the corps of engineers.

yahola proposed a vast amount of legislation during his time as a representative.

in his early years on council he worked closely with kansas State rep. rochelle chronister and the inter-tribal council of the five civilized tribes, intro-ducing and supporting legisla-tion that designated areas along the verdigris, fall and big Sandy river valleys as the ‘opothle yahola Historical trail.’

yahola also wrote legislation that commissioned a bronze bust of opothle yahola that was to be placed in the national Hall of fame for famous american indians.

two busts were conse-quently produced. one went to the Hall of fame in anadarko, and the second now sits in the entranceway of the Solomon Mccombs building on the Mcn complex in okmulgee.

recognizing the need for Muscogee (creek) veterans and their families, yahola also founded the Mcn Honor guard and wrote legislation for tribal support.

He was also responsible for the name change of his dis-trict from Hughes/Seminole to

tukvpvtce. “ …all the other districts had

creek designations and this [Hughes] just stood out and i found out how that name came about and i didn’t feel that was adequate for our nation,” yahola said.

His decision to not seek re-election has been a long time coming.

“i’m getting older and i thought the last term was going to be my last,” he said.

the november 2017 election saw his council seat taken by his daughter, thomasene yahola osborn.

asked what advice he gave her upon her decision to run for his vacant seat, he told her, “you have to want to be a ser-vant to the people. that should be your priority and if not, don’t do it.”

He summed up the many years given to the tribe.

“when i had a job, it was a job but this is a service and a privilege,” yahola said.

as with some acts of good-will and public service most go unnoticed, but their absence seldom does.

the nation will without a doubt feel the absence of thomas yahola.

and in the truest form of ser-vice, he offered the Mvskoke people ‘thanks’ for giving him the opportunity to serve.

according to the u.S. centers for Disease control and Prevention, american indians top the list of smokers by race. can this addiction be turned around? (Shutterstock image)

(Mn file Photo)

citizen Helps tRiBes win case king leaDS counSel on 50-year-olD caSe by daRRen delaunereporter

la PuSH, washington — Since her second year as an attorney in 2010, Muscogee (creek) citizen and attorney lauren king has been representing the quileute tribe in united States v. washington, a case that is almost 50 years old.

“i feel extremely close to quileute,” she said. “i grew up as an attorney with them.”

king is a partner for foster Pepper Pllc in Seattle.

in 2012, king became lead counsel for the quileute in a high-stakes treaty fishing rights dispute. the Makah indian tribe had sued the quileute tribe and the quinault indian nation in united States v. washington, seeking to dramat-ically cut back where in the Pacific ocean the quileute and quinault could fish.

at stake were the western boundaries for the quileute and Quinault in the Pacific Ocean, as well as the northern bound-ary of the Quileute’s treaty fishing grounds.

Treaty fishing boundaries are determined based upon where a tribe customarily caught aquatic species at and before treaty times, which were the 1850s for the quileute. evidence drawn from lin-guistics, archaeology, marine biol-ogy and anthropology was pre-sented at trial to prove where the quileute caught aquatic animals in the 1850s.

king said the trial began in spring 2015 and lasted for 23 days.

“in July 2015, Judge ricardo Martinez, who oversaw the case in the federal trial court, issued an order that quileute harvested aquatic animals out to 40 miles offshore at treaty times, and that

quinault went out to 30 miles,” king said. “therefore, the court set the tribes’ treaty fishing areas 40 and 30 miles offshore, respectively.”

but the quileute and quinault’s win did not mean they were out of the woods. the Makah indian tribe appealed the decision.

the Makah appeal argued that the quileute and quinault pursued whales and seals much further out to sea than fish at treaty times, and Martinez wrongly determined all the waters were included in the treaty fishing right.

king said there was a treaty interpretation question where har-vesting sea mammals could count in treaty fishing rights determina-tions. the question was how the tribes understood their treaties.

“because the treaty included ‘the right of taking fish,’” she said. “the issue was what that provi-sion meant in 1855, how the tribes would have understood it as it was translated from english to the tribes’ languages during the treaty negotiations.”

the Makah indian tribe urged a modern-day interpretation of fish to only mean fin fish.

king said that interpretation was inappropriate to do under Supreme court precedent.

“the treaty interpretation was front and center on the appeal,” she said.

in october 2017, a three-judge appellate panel ruled that evidence of whaling and sealing were appro-priately used by the lower court to determine the tribes’ treaty fishing areas.

The panel also affirmed the 40 and 30 mile boundaries, but reversed an order imposing lon-gitudinal lines where the tribes could fish because the lines drawn, “far exceed the court’s underly-ing factual findings,” according to the opinion written by u.S. circuit Judge M. Margaret Mckeown.

“it was a very quick decision after we did oral argument,” king said. “i got to argue on august 30 on behalf of the quileute and quinault.”

She said she is glad that their voices were heard but felt it was unfortunate that they had to go to court to be able to do it.

The Makah Indian Tribe filed another appeal on the decision again; king said the Makah have moved for a rehearing.

She said she feels it is an honor to get to do this for different tribes.

“i tell my friends that i get to do this, to learn different cultures,” king said. “I get to figure out how to communicate to judges who might not have knowledge of tribes in general.”

She said she considers the quileute an amazing client and amazing friends.

Muscogee (creek) citizen and partner at foster Pepper Pllc lauren king has helped two tribes in winning their case over fishing rights for their people and culture. (foster Pepper Pllc website)

• P.O. B Ox 5 8 0 - O k M u lG ee , O k 74 4 4 7 • 918 .7 32 .7 7 2 0 • M v SkO k eMed I A .CO M • @M v SkO k eMed I A

Page 7kôlvPâken The Mvskoke News

communitycalendaR

mcn new mexico gatHeRing

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

for more information, con-tact wanda Morrison at: 505-795-2070 or mswanda@new-mexico.com, or kenneth Johnson at: 505-473-5365 or kenneth@kennethjohnson.com.

natiVe BiBle study oFFeRed By mail

Discovery bible School is offering a free Bible study by and for natives called native new Day. they are sent by mail and those who are interested may contact us at P.o. box 14208, tulsa, ok 74159.

wild onion dinneR

the Salt creek Methodist church annual all you can eat wild onion dinner will be held from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. March 3 at the Holdenville creek indian community center.

suBmissionscHieF Floyd

ReFlects on 2017

Mcn Public relationS MeDia releaSe

okMulgee, oklahoma — Hesci,

as we begin 2018, i hope each Muscogee (creek) citizen was able to enjoy the holidays with family and friends, as well as give thanks to our creator for a safe and prosperous year in 2017.

to bring in the new year, i’d like to take a look back on the advances of our nation through-out the past year and the prom-ises of 2018.

Mvskoke citizens and the public will get the opportunity to view the complete restoration of the Historic council House right here in okmulgee, okla., by mid-year. the interior reno-vations of the council House are being completed at this time, which will include pieces of fur-niture from the original council House that we were fortunate to have donated by citizens, as well as furniture created as replicas down to the finest details.

this past year brought a lot of focus and improvements to the Muscogee (creek) nation Department of Health and the healthcare budget. i am pleased to say we were able to restruc-ture the eufaula clinic and creek nation community Hospital - okemah loan at a lower inter-est rate and have paid down $20 million of that by operat-ing our facilities more efficiently. we were able to cut down dras-tically on the no-show rate by calling patients ahead of time, as well as increased our third-party resources such as identifi-cation of private insurance. our facilities have also implemented electronic medical records and an updated phone system that allows all locations to commu-nicate using a four-digit exten-sion. by renegotiating the Health Department phone costs, we were able to cover the costs of the new phone system.

as Mvskoke citizens we have to continue to preserve our cul-ture and traditions. we have hired new language instruc-tors who are working with our Head Start Programs and teach-ing the language to the children. in the coming year, citizens will be offered a product that can be used anywhere in the world with 24-hour access to the Mvskoke language as a means to learn the language and accuracy of the language through testing.

Many thanks to the national council for its support in several projects this past year including the Master Plan. we have just completed the Master Plan that will be passed on to the national council for its acceptance this month.

the Master Plan is a transfor-mation of the nation’s land and its properties within the okmul-gee area for both long and short-term projects. the Master Plan will include additions to the omniplex, as well as a focus on a 40-acre parcel of land for cem-eteries. about 12.5 acres of that will be designated to the vet-erans cemetery through a u.S. department of veterans Affairs grant that has been applied for. this grant would provide ongo-ing funds to operate the ceme-tery. the remaining land will be configured to a citizen cemetery. Projects such as the cemetery preservation are what we must do as a tribe to be the best stew-ards of our past for future gen-erations.

the Master Plan will work as a template for the nation to go off of and will be made public once approved through the council. this is a project that addresses economic develop-ment and job revenue that will align our nation’s services into one location for the convenience of the citizens. as a nation it is our goal to protect our citizens,

as well as our tribal employees. the administration has worked throughout 2017 to imple-ment policies regarding harass-ment at the workplace. within the upcoming months, employ-ees will have the ability to report anonymously any incidents of harassment through a toll free number. there will also be a contract entered with an out-side source that will evaluate each harassment complaint with a team to consider further action for each case.

with the support of congress-man Tom Cole, significant prog-ress has been made regarding the Stigler act, also known as the act of 47. the Stigler act, which details the transfer of restricted property and blood quantum, is in the final review by the u.S. congress. the Muscogee nation has worked closely with the lead-ers of the five civilized tribes to amend technical wording that addresses taxable property and whether it is restricted or fee status dependent on the citizen’s blood quantum being less than half.

it is the goal of the Muscogee (creek) nation to continue to be of service to the citizens in each entity while preserving the Mvskoke culture. we look for-ward to new business develop-ments and economic success while creating and diversifying employment opportunities for our people in 2018.

it is my honor and privilege to be here for you. Many blessings in 2018!

James r. floydPrincipal chiefMuscogee (creek) nation

Housing Hosts posteR contest

Mcn HouSing DePartMent MeDia releaSe

okMulgee, oklahoma — the Muscogee (creek) nation Department of Housing and amerind risk Management are sponsoring a safety poster con-test and is open to any creek Student in grades k-8. Posters entered must illustrate a “safety” theme promoting any safety issue such as fire, distracted driving, home fire escape plan, stranger danger, how to call 911, etc.

categories are k-3, 4-6 and 7-8. Posters must be drawn horizontally on an 8.5 inch x 11 inch paper with an official entry form attached to the back of the poster. entry forms are avail-able by contacting Housing or by downloading from the Housing website: www.mcnhousing.com.

entry deadline is feb. 19 at 5 p.m. and winners will be announced feb. 23. in each cat-egory 1st place will win a tablet, 2nd place a $100 viSa gift card and 3rd place a $50 walmart gift card. first place winners will advance to the regional Poster contest. first place regional win-ners will then advance to amer-ind’s national Poster contest for a chance to win a $1,000 cash prize.

return poster entries to: Mus-cogee (creek) nation Depart-ment of Housing, 2951 n. wood Drive, okmulgee, ok 74447. for more information contact: lenora crump at: 918.549.2568 or email: lcrump@mcn-nsn.gov.

in RegaRd to oBligations incuRRed

By tHe muRpHy case

by williaM breckinriDgeMuscogee (creek) citizen

okMulgee, oklahoma — i would like to propose that the Muscogee nation consider fund-ing the administration of our newly re-acquired tribal jurisdic-tion by collecting property taxes and sales tax revenue within our boundaries, as we are entitled to do. Since the transfer of author-ity was not legal we are in fact due compensation for a hundred years back taxes, plus reason-

able interest and compensation for lost revenue. it is inconceiv-able that we let this debt slide, but it is possible that we could pursue a revenue sharing com-pact with the bankrupt and often adversarial State of oklahoma. let your council representatives know that our land rights are sacred to us as Muscogee, and we expect justice not compro-mise. Mvto.

letteR to tHe editoR

by elvin ray buckMuscogee (creek) citizen

avenal, california — “Hensci” to all Mvskoke families, my prayers are extended to the creator he blesses you all with good health and happiness and protection through this winter time.

My name is elvin ray buck, i’m a proud Mvskoke man who is trying to preserve our native culture through language, our traditional ceremonies, corre-sponding to all Mvskoke elders who wish to keep that sacred fire going. “Mvto” to all who responded which was only few!

as an incarcerated native american here at avenal State Prison, avenal, california. i’m advocating to avenal State Prison administration that american indian men do have spiritu-ality, religious beliefs that we wish to practice and exercise our beliefs to pray to the creator of our understanding. we wish to have equal opportunity as all other main stream religious faith groups here at avenal State Prison has the same right to have weekly “prayer” services. but the native american population are only allowed “one religious ser-vice” per month to practice, exer-cise our beliefs.

is this not discrimination? nothing new to our native people across turtle island. through all the u.S. government tactics, through oppression, cul-tural genocide, historical trauma, boarding school era, their men-tality “kill the indian” save the man approach. even our tradi-tional ceremonies went under ground until the early 60s cul-tural revisal started to awaken. “wopila” to american indian Movement, civil rights kin-dled our sacred fires to burn in the open. i’m still advocating to “avenal State Prison” adminis-tration to allow equal opportu-nity to us native american men to practice and exercise our reli-gious beliefs.

i’m also sending prayers to the four corners of turtle island to ask for spiritual counsel, guid-ance to help support our voice for cultural preservation, reli-gious rights. Hopefully these words and prayers touch your hearts and maybe few “grass roots” would respond to help support our native rights. May the creator bless you all with strong hearts and happiness.

“Mvto”wopila Mitakvye oyasinelvin ray buck#av3852350 4-1-lP.o. box 903avenal, ca 93204

citizen VolleyBall playeR commits to uniVeRsity oF san FRancisco

by faitH (JacobS) PeMberton caStleS

Muscogee (creek) citizen

walnut creek, california — Muscogee (creek) citizen tanner Pemberton, a senior who grad-uates June 2018 was recruited to play both indoor and beach volleyball. tanner says, “being accepted by the university of San francisco was one of the proud-est days in my life.” tanner said she always dreamed of playing Division-1 volleyball and earning an academic scholarship. She has achieved both.

tanner is not only a talented

athlete but has also received the university of San francisco’s Pro-vost Scholarship for academics. She has worked hard to keep her grade point average above 4.0, play volleyball, and raise animals for showing in 4-H club and ffa at the calaveras county fair in california, near where she lives.

before stepping into her col-lege role, tanner will graduate with honors and has also been named to the all-academic and first all-league volleyball team in the california Mother lode conference.

tanner has also played club volleyball at the national and state level. She played in two uSa volleyball girls Junior national championships (open Division, the highest division) where her team placed 19th in the nation in indianapolis, indiana in 2016 and 13th in the nation in Minne-apolis, Minnesota in 2017. She is not six-feet tall so she plays libero, a defensive position in the back line, keeping the ball off the floor.

in the summer, tanner plays beach volleyball. She and her partner won the northern cali-fornia beach volleyball champi-onship in 2015. tanner skipped the 2016 season and returned in 2017 to win the northern cali-fornia beach volleyball tourna-ment again to qualify for the uSa beach volleyball Jr. tour Stop. She and her partner placed second, one place out of the uSa california cup State cham-pionship in Manhattan beach in Southern california.

tanner has plans to be a doctor after she earns her bach-elor’s degree. She wants to help native american people to have more and better medical ser-vices. She has developed a strong work ethic to achieve her goal and wants to set an exam-ple for young people by show-ing them that hard work achieves dreams.

tanner comes from a long line of Muscogee (creek) hard workers. She is the daughter of Muscogee (creek) citizen brad Pemberton, ncaa all-ameri-can Second team, all-Southland baseball team at lamar univer-sity, beaumont, texas; and five-time world finalist in long Driv-ers of America, finishing number 11 in the 2004 world long Drive golf championship finals at Mesquite, nevada.

tanner is the granddaugh-ter of faith (Jacobs) Pember-ton castles, a graduate and Hall of fame recipient at chilocco indian School and John f. ken-nedy School of law. tanner is the great granddaughter of Johnny and edith walker Jacobs, both bacone college students in their early years, residents at Pierce oklahoma for over 50 years. She is the great-great granddaugh-ter of Sampson and Salina Jones Jacobs also of Pierce; and the great-great-great granddaugh-ter of eddie walker, a translator for Mcintosh county courts; and great-great-great granddaughter of wilson Jones aka crazy Snake.

in January 2000, the year of tanner’s birth, chitto “crazy Snake” Harjo was voted Mus-cogee (creek) citizen of the cen-tury, an advocate for treaty rights.

cole applauds passage oF tRiBal

laBoR soVeReignty act oF 2017

reP. toM cole MeDia releaSe

waSHington – congress-man tom cole (ok-04) released the following statement after the House passed S. 140, the tribal labor, water and lands Pack-age. this legislative measure packages three critical bills that promote tribal self-governance over tribal resources, lands and business regulations. included in this package is the tribal labor Sovereignty act, of which cole is an original co-sponsor of.

the tribal labor Sover-eignty act of 2017 ensures that the national labor relations

act does not apply to any enter-prise or institution owned and operated by an indian tribe and located on tribal land. it pre-vents the national labor rela-tions board (nlrb) from using wrongful jurisdiction over tribal businesses that operate on tribal lands. this will allow tribes to establish their own labor rela-tions standards, uphold tribal sovereignty and protect self-gov-ernance on tribal lands.

“for almost 14 years, my col-leagues and i have fought to protect tribes from the federal overreach of the national labor relations board and to return their original exempt status from the national labor relations act established more than 80 years ago,” said cole. “the subjec-tive practices that the nlrb has imposed on tribal businesses the past 14 years severely vio-lates the right that tribes have to self-governance and sovereignty. the passage of the tribal labor Sovereignty act will restore the authority previously afforded to tribes to self-govern commercial activity on their own lands, as well as protect and respect their right to sovereignty.”

read more on the tribal labor Sovereignty act of 2017: www.congress.gov/bill/115th-con-gress/house-bill/986?q=%7b%-22search%22%3a%5b%22hr+986%22%5D%7D&r=1.

ltpd decemBeR police RecoRds

by Mcn ligHtHorSe tribal Police DePartMent

okMulgee, oklahoma — the Muscogee (creek) nation lighthorse tribal Police Depart-ment report for December 2017 was submitted to Mvskoke Media.

the report can be viewed by scanning the code with a mobile device, or by visiting: www.mvskokemedia.com/ltpd-decem-ber-police-records-2/

contact ltPD at: 918-732-7800. in an emergency, contact ltPD at: 877-547-3390.

• P.O. B Ox 5 8 0 - O k M u lG ee , O k 74 4 4 7 • 918 .7 32 .7 7 2 0 • M v SkO k eMed I A .CO M • @M v SkO k eMed I A

Page 8 cenvPâkenThe Mvskoke News

In Memoriam

Jimmie JackJimmie Jack, a resident of

Dustin, oklahoma, passed away Jan. 6 in Henryetta, oklahoma at the age of 67. He was born oct. 18, 1950 in Hanna, oklahoma to Mitchell Jack and louma (Pigeon).

Jimmie was a member of the first baptist church in Dustin.

He loved playing horseshoes, softball and the casino. He dearly loved spending time with his family and friends and loved his dogs. He was considered a truly caring person.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Marilyn Jack; brothers Joseph Jack, erick Jack and elmer Jack; and sisters Jea-netta Jack and Joanne Jack.

Jimmie is survived by his daughter Melody Joslin and Daniel leon woods of bristow, okla-homa; grandchildren Haley Joslin and austin Joslin of bristow, soon to arrive great-grandson Daylen richard king of bristow; three sis-ters leeann Jack of Hanna,

angela Jack of Dustin and Pau-line Hart of Morris, as well as a host of other relatives and friends.

a wake service was scheduled Jan. 9, at the Jack family Home in Hanna.

funeral Services were sched-uled for Jan. 10 at the Jack family Home in Hanna. interment fol-lowed at Jack family cemetery. Services were under the direction of integrity funeral Service in Hen-ryetta.

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