A rendering of the new Wahzhazhe Health Center that will be located on Main Street in Pawhuska, next to the Osage Nation Visitor's Center. Courtesy Photo |
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Strategic land purchases make way for sleek, new medical clinic At 65,000 square feet, the new clinic will be more than five times the size of the existing clinic that was built in 1977. The new clinic will be located on Pawhuska’s Main Street, next to the ON Visitor's Center.
Without fanfare, the Osage Nation has purchased a major swath of land on Pawhuska’s Main Street where it intends to build a soaring new medical clinic to replace unoccupied buildings. The Nation now owns all of the south side of Main from Lynn Avenue to Prudom, with the final piece of real estate closing on May 26, when it closed a deal to buy the 1.75 acres where the old Safeway grocery sits for $262,500. At 65,000 square feet, the new clinic will be more than five times the size of the existing clinic that was built in 1977 and has long been overcrowded. The clinic will span two city blocks currently occupied by the deteriorating Safeway and Moore’s Hardware stores; both are slated for demolition. Secretary of Development Casey Johnson said that he expects both sites to be razed by Oct. 1. The Nation started amassing land on Main by snapping up individual lots in various ways: Straight purchases from individuals, bidding at a foreclosure auction, swapping lots, and plucking others from probate sales. Those lots not earmarked for the clinic are reserved for the visitor’s center and, eventually, outdoor recreation. The Nation also has title to the former railroad right of way, where Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear had hoped to build a sports and health complex that would mesh with the clinic, but the Osage Congress shot down those plans. “If we get a new Congress and they’re supportive, we can quickly pull it back together,” Standing Bear said. “We’re not going to sit around and whine about it.”
At 2020 prices, the new clinic was expected to cost $25 million – a price tag that is likely to rise. The funding will come from a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that Health Authority Board Chair Cindra Shangreau said will be paid back through third-party billing – clinic revenue. In addition to being much larger, the new clinic will offer more services than the old clinic on the hill, adding physical and occupational therapy to its list of services, along with audiology, pediatrics, podiatry and additional diagnostics such as MRIs, according to the architectural renderings and plans by Erdman, a healthcare design firm based in Madison, Wisc. The clinic is expected to grow thanks to the new facility and its expanded services. On May 19, the Health Authority Board publicly met with Indian Health Service officials to explore a joint venture whereby the tribe would pay for the construction of the clinic and IHS would pay for the staffing. Shangreau was disappointed that the IHS process was slow and cumbersome, unlikely to work out until 2025 or 2027. Clinic Manager Kirk Shaw said that not only was the wait too long, but the IHS alternative was extremely competitive and there was no guarantee that the Osage Nation would be chosen for such a joint venture. The clinic project was a major goal of Dr. Ron Shaw, the former WZZHC chief executive and chief medical officer; he died before his dream could become a reality, but it will leave an indelible mark on Pawhuska’s downtown, replacing deteriorating commercial buildings with a modern, airy, sustainable building spanning the two blocks between Prudom and Rogers. While demolition for the clinic has not quite begun, the Nation has been tidying up the neighboring properties it owns. It recently demolished the former Smith house at the southwest corner of Main and Rogers, property for which it paid $192,500 in September 2021. Last year, it paid $21,000 for the house built by Charles C. Constantine – the 1920s’ proprietor of the theater that still bears his name – and demolished it. It also negotiated a swap for one parcel its needed in the area that was owned by Dollhouse Road Brewing, which agreed to swap the parcel for the vacant site of the old Hernandez restaurant on Mathews, which is close to the brewery. For the clinic site, the Nation paid to Terry and Beverly Moore $300,000 in March of 2021 for the former Moore’s Hardware property that lies on just over an acre of land, according to Osage County land records. The old Safeway, which was a Homeland store in its most recent incarnation as a grocery store before it became a supper club then saloon, has taken 18 months to buy, largely because it was snarled in three different estates in New York that had to go through probate, with all the attendant legal minutiae that added up to numerous delays. |
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Chilocco Indian School was a federal off-reservation boarding school established to house, civilize, Christianize, educate, and transform American Indian youth. Thousands of Native children and young adults passed under the school's entryway arch. In January 1884, Chilocco opened its doors in 1884 to 150 children from the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Wichita, Comanche, and Pawnee tribes. It closed in 1980. Photo courtesy Oklahoma History Center |
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Subpoena authority jeopardizes bipartisan support for boarding school Truth and Healing Commission
By Dustan Heistand Gaylord News
Efforts to create a federal commission to explore the legacy of the nation’s Indian Boarding Schools has hit a stumbling block. Subpoena authority is triggering warnings in a key House subcommittee as backers hope to advance a bill establishing the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools. The top Republican on the subcommittee said the bill could lose bi-partisan support. The commission is intended to work parallel to the Department of Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative which released its first report one day before the hearing. Rep. Tom Cole (R, Moore) is the top co-sponsor of House Resolution 5444 which was reintroduced by Rep. Sharice Davids (D, Kansas) on the National Day of Remembrance, Sept. 30, 2021. The bill currently has 57 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, including fellow Oklahoman, Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R, Stillwell). “Establishing the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy will provide an important step toward resolving and healing from one of our nation’s darkest periods,” Cole said when the bill was reintroduced. “This commission will build off Secretary Haaland’s Federal Boarding School Initiative by collecting documents and testimony outside the federal boarding school system,” Davids said. Cole is a member of the Chickasaw Nation, while Davids is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. The partisan warnings arose when the subcommittee held a hearing on May 12, 2022, to provide witness testimony to address the federally funded policies and assimilation of Native American people and culture by the United States. The hearing centered on testimony from Native voices who survived Native boarding schools, or are descendants of those who attended the schools. Ben Barnes, Shawnee Tribe chief and a descendant of Native boarding school survivors, told the committee that the importance of the would-be commission is incalculable. “As time continues to pass, we will lose the testimonies of survivors and more documents will become misplaced,” Barnes said in his testimony. “That is the importance of H.R. 5444. Creating a mandated commission empowered to locate every available record and ensure this history is preserved and made available for examination.” While bipartisan support exists for an investigation into the individual impact of the policies and assimilation of Native Americans, a lack of agreement exists amongst supporters of the bill as to the methods and powers available to investigators. The legislation currently includes subpoena authority to obtain the testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence. Acting Ranking Republican Member of the subcommittee Rep. Jay Obernolte R-(CA) believes the inclusion of subpoena authority is a reason for hesitancy. “So subpoena authority, while it might serve the goal of truth, might be adversarial to the goal of healing,” Obernolte said prior to witness testimony. “And I think that we should have that discussion because I am not sure that serves the purpose of the commission.” Since 1989, a total of 160 congressional commissions have been established. Of those, only 12 possess subpoena authority. “It’s absolutely necessary,” Parker said. “It’s why we worked with this bill to make sure that this information comes to the boarding school survivors and their families, and tribal nations and organizations who work for the healing and the truth of the Indian boarding school experience.” Despite hearing Parker’s explanation as to why subpoena authority was necessary, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R, California) continued to voice his concern about the bill granting subpoena authority, doubling down that the use of subpoenas would cause the process to become “adversarial.” Both Cole and Davids have emphasized that the purpose of the bill is not to elicit an adversarial response. Instead, both stress that the purpose is to provide answers for the individuals, families and communities impacted by federally funded Native boarding schools. “There are people that don’t like the stories, and they’re not going to want to willingly share,” Barnes said in an interview following his testimony. “And that subpoena power helps grease the wheels and helps get that information where it needs to be, so those tribal communities can discover the truth of what happened to our kids.” As the question over subpoena authority continues to develop into a partisan issue, Barnes remains hopeful that the bill will be passed during the current congressional session. “I don’t want to wait one more year, one more week, not one more day,” said Barnes. “I think the time to insist upon the answers is now. So, I have to believe this is the time, this is the one, this is the year.” Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
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Muscogee citizen brings healing to the Rez
Johnny Davis (Johnny Five) claims he has abilities to heal individuals
OWASSO, Oklahoma – Johnny Five (Johnny Davis), or J5 for short, traveled to the Reservation from Conway, AR for a day, to offer his psychic services to customers at Enhancements and Oddities. In a short time, his mid-afternoon sessions were booked completely. Reviews from his website, www.j5psychic.com, indicate that Johnny Five’s healing energy is a true force that people believe can heal their traumas. Davis works to release negative energy with his hands using crystals. He believes it is a holistic treatment for sexual abuse trauma, childhood trauma, or other forms of trauma that people may hold. There is an open door in the back of the store where J5’s clients were to go. Upon entering the room, it is well lit and airy. The crystals staged around the room bring a peaceful and calming energy to the center. A massage table stands draped in a purple cover that J5 has set up to perform energy extraction services. After asking the individual to remove their socks and shoes, he asks them to lie face down on the table. Starting with the feet, Davis holds crystals in the palm of his hands and places them in the middle of the feet. He closes his eyes, holding the crystals on the client’s feet. Davis becomes very still. He does this in several places, including the legs, lower and upper spine, and the neck. He asks the client to roll over and does the same thing on the forehead. According to Davis, the crystals act as mediums and store the energy drawn from the client. The whole process of energy extraction takes around 40 minutes. The experience of each client varies from case to case. According to Davis, some people may not react, while others may have an extreme reaction. “Most people feel something,” Davis said. “Energetic tingling, electric shocks, pulsating, movement.” One thing each client has had in common is overall soreness the next day. Megan, an Owasso local and store regular, decided she would schedule an appointment when she learned Davis would be working at the event. Megan has taken part in energy extraction services before, but this was her first time with Davis. “It was intense,” Megan said after her extraction. “As soon as it started, I felt vibrations in my feet and as he worked up my legs.” As a woman who deals with past sexual trauma, she thinks this technique works for her and her healing. Davis relates his practice to his native culture, although he was never aware of the traditions. He says, “He was different from others around him.” He believes anyone could be capable of energy extraction, something he has written about in his books. Traveling for services in the OK and AR areas is something Davis frequently does. He performs an array of services.
For more information on Johnny Five, visit his website listed above. |
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Quapaw Nation Business Committee Members Secretary-Treasurer Guy Barker, Lloyd Buffalo, Zack Turley, Chairman Joseph Tali Byrd, Michelle Newton and Vice-Chairwoman Callie Bowden meet with first responders after signing a first-of-its-kind pension plan for EMS workers in Indian Country. |
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Quapaw Nation creates pension plan for public safety employees, first-of-its-kind in Indian Country
QUAPAW, Oklahoma – The Quapaw Nation approved a first-of-its-kind pension plan for first responders in Indian Country during May’s monthly Business Committee meeting. The new defined benefits plan matches or rivals the pension plans of other emergency personnel in the state of Oklahoma. This helps the Quapaw Nation remain competitive in recruiting and retaining first responders in an industry that, like others, has struggled to maintain proper staffing levels. Staying competitive in recruiting first responders and emergency personnel helps keeps all Ottawa County citizens safer. The plan was approved by the Business Committee, 6-0. “The Quapaw Nation continues to take a greater role in public safety and serve all Ottawa County citizens,” said Quapaw Nation Business Committee Chairman Joseph Tali Byrd. “Our expanded criminal jurisdiction and cross-deputization agreements are going smoothly, and soon, we’ll assume management of the new Ottawa County Emergency Operations Center, which houses the county’s 911 dispatchers. We touch so many aspects of people’s lives, so it’s imperative we have the tools to keep everyone across Ottawa County safe, whether or not they’re Native American. And in a rural area with backroads and terrain like Ottawa County, response times are crucial, which means recruiting EMS professionals is crucial. So providing a pension is an important and necessary part of our public safety plan.” A pension for Quapaw Nation Department of Public Safety employees is unique in Indian Country and results from years of work led by Business Committee member and licensed paramedic Zack Turley. Turley is also a longtime employee of the Quapaw Nation’s Department of Public Safety. “I’m licensed in fire/rescue, emergency management and other aspects of public safety, and have proudly served the Quapaw Nation Fire and EMS programs for nearly 15 years. Our department has made incredible gains over the years, but a pension program was critical to remain competitive with other departments,” Turley said. “For years, we tried to get our tribal public safety personnel into the same pension system as other public EMS employees in Oklahoma, but we came across legislative roadblock after roadblock with state lawmakers. Ultimately, the Quapaw Nation decided that building our own pension plan was more logical and productive. I’m proud we created a plan that works for our employees and is an attractive recruiting tool. I’m grateful my colleagues and I were able to work together to make this happen.” Quapaw Nation Department of Public Safety employees eligible for the pension program includes those in the Fire, EMS, Marshal Service and Emergency Management Groups. In many ways, the plan’s basic structure mirrors the most popular features of the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement System plan (“OKFPRS”). Full retirement is open to those 50 and older who have 20 years of credited service. Other factors also make an employee eligible for retirement. Existing employees will receive a full briefing on the new plan, but supervisors and human resources employees are available for questions. Additionally, existing 401(k) plans are eligible for transfer to a privately managed retirement plan. “Being the first tribe to develop this type of qualified benefits plan was a strenuous process,” Turley said. “We spent a year-and-a-half working on this, but it was worth it. We now have a pension plan that is fully competitive with state and federal agencies.” As the Quapaw Nation continues to expand its footprint in northeast Oklahoma, Chairman Byrd says he sees this as another way to help other tribes, no matter where they are. “Our hope is this will be a roadmap for other tribes in Indian Country to adopt public safety employee pension plans,” Byrd said. “It’s one more way to exercise tribal sovereignty by caring for our own people and our non-Native neighbors, just as we have for hundreds of years.”
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| Adam Proctor | Native Oklahoma Magazine | 918.409.7252 |
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