Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication

Gaylord News
Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication

Gaylord News
Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication

Gaylord News
All content by Nancy Marie Spears
The Kaw Nation’s Sacred Red Rock called “Iⁿ ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe, was a place of cultural ceremony and gathering for the Kaw people prior to removal to Oklahoma in 1872. The stone was moved from the Kaw’s homelands near the Kansas River and Shunganunga Creek, just outside Topeka, to Robinson Park in Lawrence, Kan., as part of Lawrence’s 75th anniversary celebration in 1929, and was fitted with a plaque celebrating the pioneers of Kansas. (Photo provided by James Pepper Henry.)

Oklahoma tribes increasingly reclaim out-of-state ancestral homelands: “We Are Still Here”

Nancy Marie Spears
May 2, 2022
Oklahoma Indian Country. (Oklahoma Department of Transportation).

Oklahoma’s tension with tribes attracts attention of western states

Nancy Marie Spears
March 3, 2022
Governor Kevin Stitt (Provided)

Supreme Court denies overturning McGirt 31 times

Nancy Marie Spears
January 24, 2022
(Left) First grade yearbook photo of Oney M. Roubedeaux at the Concho Indian Boarding School in 1970, (Provided); (Right) headshot of Roubedeaux, (Provided).

Alumni support Haaland’s boarding school initiative: “Boarding schools were a learning experience”

Nancy Marie Spears
December 10, 2021
Jennifer and Chad Brackeen speaking with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (Provided)

Indian Child Welfare Act experts say state statutes could protect Native families

Nancy Marie Spears
November 15, 2021
Gov. Reggie Wassana, right, and Lt. Gov. Gib Miles stand together shortly after their reelection the night of Nov. 2. (Photo provided by Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes)

Cheyenne and Arapaho governor is first to be elected for second term in tribe

Nancy Marie Spears
November 3, 2021
Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police gather at the River Spirit Casino in preparation for collaborative efforts with the Tulsa Police Department to respond to citizen demonstrations after the killing of George Floyd. (Jason Salsman/Muscogee Nation)

Tribal law enforcement officials say McGirt strengthening public safety systems in Indian Country

Nancy Marie Spears
November 2, 2021
Marilyn Vann became the first woman of Freedmen status to be appointed to a board position in the Cherokee Nation tribal government in 2021. She is also president of the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association. (Provided)

Cherokee Freedman woman discusses new position, Freedmen rights

Nancy Marie Spears
October 28, 2021
Jackson Perryman, great-grandfather of Sharon Lenzy-Scott, was an original Dawes enrollee. Perryman’s father, Sandy Perryman, came to Indian Territory about 1829. (Provided)

Oklahoma tribes’ Freedmen descendants hopeful for increased care by Indian Health Service

Nancy Marie Spears
October 28, 2021
The upcoming Wilma Mankiller quarter design. (U.S. Mint Department)

Female leaders in Oklahoma tribes say Cherokee chief Wilma Mankiller was inspiring

Nancy Marie Spears
October 26, 2021
Source: Oklahoma Department of Transportation and U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Quapaw Nation’s reservation affirmed as Indian Country under federal law

Nancy Marie Spears, Gaylord News
October 21, 2021
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.,Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner and other Cherokee Nation leaders including the tribe’s Language Department gather at Sequoyah's Cabin Museum to sign the Sequoyah Day proclamation. (Provided)

Tribal members across Oklahoma reflect on Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Nancy Marie Spears
October 20, 2021
Mining debris is all that remains more than a decade after Picher, Oklahoma, was declared unlivable and evacuated by the U.S. EPA. (Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality)

Quapaw Tribe awaits action on bill to settle environmental damages

Nancy Marie Spears
October 6, 2021
-Joy Harjo signs into the Poetry and Literature Center's historic guest book as the nation's 23rd poet laureate. (Shawn Miller/Library of Congress)

Oklahoma native Joy Harjo rings in third term as US poet laureate

Nancy Marie Spears
September 28, 2021
Kim Duncan’s three adopted daughters, from left, Shalyn, Shyanne and Shelbi, sit smiling with their watermelon in the summer heat. (Photo provided)

Oklahoma organizations, foster families react to developments in Supreme Court’s review of Indian Child Welfare Act

Nancy Marie Spears
September 21, 2021
Native Organizers Alliance volunteers meet with candidates at the Native American Presidential Forum in 2019. From left, Jennifer Bailey, Jasha Lyons Echohawk, volunteer; Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, former Seattle Mayor candidate Colleen Echohawk, volunteer; and Cherie Thunder, volunteer from the Menominee Reservation of Wisconsin. (Provided/ Jennifer Bailey)

Oklahoma attorneys, advocates reflect on new Native American Voting Rights bill

Nancy Marie Spears
September 14, 2021
The Federal Emergency Response Agency is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. (Gaylord News/ Zaria Oates)

Former FEMA director reflects on 9/11 as 20th anniversary approaches

Zaria Oates and Nancy Marie Spears
September 10, 2021
Janie Simms Hipp, a Chickasaw woman from Idabel, was named chief law officer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For the first time in history, an indigenous woman is overseeing agriculture law in the United States. (Provided/ Janie Simms Hipp)

Chickasaw woman, Oklahoma native named to key USDA post

Nancy Marie Spears
September 2, 2021
U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin reported he is safe and headed home after reports that he made a second attempt to gain entry to Afghanistan.

Oklahoma congressman headed home after attempting to enter Afghanistan

Nancy Marie Spears and Zaria Oates
August 31, 2021
Patients are served at the Chickasaw Nation Emergency Operations Facility, 1300 Cradduck Road in Ada. Photo from the Chickasaw Nation.

Oklahoma tribes pivot to booster shots in COVID-19 battle

Nancy Marie Spears
August 30, 2021
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Language Department staff: Left to right, back row: Carol Whiteskunk, Jazmine Johnson, Michael Elizondo, Brendan Haag and James Sleeper; Left to right, front row: Regina Youngbear, Rebecca Risenhoover, Shaynna Walker and Michelle Johnston.

Tribal nations ramp up, reflect on language preservation efforts after American Rescue Plan allocation

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
March 30, 2021
A Choctaw language lesson. Photo by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma tribes making plans to use American Rescue Plan funds in Native language programs

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
March 30, 2021
Tom Hanks gets his picture with the Kiowa cast and Dorothy WhiteHorse DeLaune from the film "News of the World." Photo by Lynda DeLaune.

Kiowa elder bonds with 10-year-old actress on ‘News of the World’ movie set

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
March 15, 2021
Dorothy WhiteHorse DeLaune and Gary Tsoodle pose for a picture together on the set. Photo by Lynda DeLaune.

Oklahoma actor ‘stood a little straighter’ after learning he would play Kiowa chief

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
March 15, 2021
Record snow and cold kills Kiowa Tribal Member

Record snow and cold kills Kiowa Tribal Member

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
February 22, 2021
The CDC vaccine tracker showing Oklahoma’s vaccine distributions as of Feb. 15. Graphic by Jessie Christopher Smith, Gaylord News

Oklahoma vaccinations pushing forward despite record winter storm

Jessie Christopher Smith and Nancy Marie Spears
February 21, 2021
Oklahoma Kiowa Tribe volunteers load free food into a recipient’s car after severe weather conditions hit the state. (Photo courtesy the Kiowa Tribe)

Oklahoma tribe volunteers pass out food boxes, supplies amid harsh winter weather

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
February 18, 2021
Citizen Potawatomi Health Services workers give out COVID-19 vaccinations on Jan 22. Photo courtesy Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Native American nations step up to protect their own

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
January 28, 2021
Cherokee Tribe details its COVID-19 vaccination plan. Source: Cherokee Tribe

Tribes preparing for vaccine distribution

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
December 11, 2020
Alyssa Landry, left, and Alexis Martinez prepare to leave the University of Oklahoma for Thanksgiving break. Zaria Oates/Gaylord News

Some students struggle with calendar changes caused by pandemic

Zaria Oates, Nancy Marie Spears, and Jim North
December 9, 2020
The Comanche Nation Smoke Shop logo. Gaylord News photo courtesy of the Comanche Nation Smoke Shop Facebook page.

Hearing set in suit against Comanche tobacco shops

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
December 1, 2020
The entrance to Nappy Roots Books, located at 3705 Springlake Dr. in Oklahoma City. (Gaylord News/Nancy Spears)

Nappy Roots: Black-owned bookstore becomes a site for advocacy, activism

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
November 30, 2020
The Cherokee Nation will allocate COVID-19-related funding toward improving healthcare facilities.

Cherokee tribe using COVID-19 funds to improve health facilities

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
September 9, 2020
Kiowa Tribe Chairman Matthew Komalty sits next to Angela McCarthy, Kiowa legislative speaker, with members of the tribe’s executive branch and legislators during a discussion earlier this year about tribal safety during early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. Photo courtesy of The Kiowa Tribe

Court order blocking COVID-19 funds spending by Kiowa tribe lifted

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
August 28, 2020
Chairman Komalty (pictured, center) sought injunction over concern about COVID-19 exposure. Photo courtesy of the Kiowa Tribe.

Kiowa Chairman’s impeachment hearing delayed

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
July 30, 2020
Kiowa Tribe Chairman Matthew Komalty sits next to Angela McCarthy, Kiowa legislative speaker, with members of the tribe’s executive branch and legislators during a discussion earlier this year about tribal safety during early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. Photo courtesy of The Kiowa Tribe

Kiowas seeking to impeach chairman

Nancy Marie Spears, Reporter
July 23, 2020
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