Category: News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Aug. 20, 2018

 Jr. Miss Muscogee (Creek) Nation Tells Her Story as a Wildfire Evacuee 

OKMULGEE, Okla. – While attending Idyllwild Arts Summer Program in Idyllwild, Calif., Jr. Miss Muscogee (Creek) Nation Louisa Harjo and about 300 other students were unexpectedly asked to evacuate the Idyllwild Arts campus due to a rapid spreading wildfire.

Harjo, who has been pursuing her dream of one day working in the fashion industry, received a full-ride scholarship to the two-week Fashion Design Intensive program that hosts Pre-K to 12^th Grade students from across the world.

After only a short time at the camp, Harjo and the other students returned from a thrift shop to begin their first project when smoke became visible in the area.

“Then there was big smoke and it started to cover the sun so everything looked orange,” Harjo said. “All of us are fashion people and we thought it looked so cool and was such a good inspiration for us.”

But that motivation soon turned to panic. The fire continued to grow while alarms sounded in the area and staff began directing students toward the evacuation point.

Harjo said the fear transpired throughout the camp in a short time with staff advising students there was no time to return to the dorms to grab their belongings.

“There was so much going on at that time, ash was falling from the sky and my heart was racing because I didn’t know what to do,” Harjo said. “Then through the smoke we could actually see the fire. That’s when they told us to start walking and it was just really hot.”

The staff had an evacuation plan in place and was able to direct students to walk a mile and a half to the next town and with minimal cellphone signal, students began contacting their parents.

Harjo’s phone had 29 percent battery left when she contacted her mother, Cassandra Thompson, to let her know they were evacuating.

Thompson said once she heard from Harjo, she closely followed the news stations informing the fire was at zero containment starting with 25 acres and by the day’s end more than 13,000 acres had burned.

“It was hard not to have the news on because when she called they were walking and she said it was right there and the timeline coincided with what she was saying as far as the fire covering up the sides of the roads,” Thompson said.

Harjo said once they arrived at a high school at the bottom of the mountain, it began to thunderstorm and the smoke and ash created black rainfall that stained everyone’s clothing.

Fortunately, they were checked into a hotel late that night and were given clothing donations and several local entities provided breakfast and any help they could to assist the campers.

The fire was one of nine fires started by an arsonist, Brandon McGlover of Temecula, Calif., who was later detained by local law enforcement agencies.

Harjo said it was disappointing they were unable to complete the projects planned throughout the two-week course but said it was a lifechanging experience that has allowed her to grow as a person.

Harjo and Thompson believe the prayers from family, friends and church members allowed Harjo to be at peace throughout the tragic and unexpected events.

Idyllwild Arts advised parents they are working toward a resolution to make up for the activities and projects that were missed.

Harjo said it was a humbling experience that taught her about life survival and that from here on out she’ll be prepared and carry a bag of her necessities.

Harjo is back in school in Okemah starting her sophomore year. Sharing a summer break experience that not many others could match.

*Photos by: Louisa Harjo

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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug.14, 2018

CONTACT Kyla McKown
Public Relations Specialist
P.O. Box 580
Okmulgee, OK 74447
(918) 758-6599
MMcKown@muscogeenation.com

TULSA, Okla. – Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s River Spirit Casino Resort kicked off the annual meeting of the Department of Justice’s Native American Issues Subcommittee with welcoming remarks from MCN Principal Chief James Floyd on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018.

Floyd and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma and NAIS Chairman, Honorable Trent Shores, welcomed several U.S. Attorneys who serve districts with Native American tribes and in Indian Country.

The conference allows the Attorney General’s Advisory Subcommittee to strategize civil and criminal issues in Indian Country and provide the U.S. Attorney General with policy recommendations.

With the MCN consisting of more than 85,000 members and covering 11 counties in East-Central Oklahoma, Floyd thanked the subcommittee for its efforts to reduce violent crime and improve the welfare of Native American communities.

“I’m here this morning interested in issues that will be talked about during this meeting that are issues we deal with almost on a daily basis,” Floyd said. “We are not immune to violent crime.”

With more than 50 officers of the MCN Lighthorse Police Department and 34 active cross-jurisdictional agreements with cities, counties and the State of Oklahoma, Floyd expressed the significance of partnerships to minimize crime in Indian Country.

“The beauty of these agreements is to work cooperatively with other law enforcement agencies through East-Central Oklahoma in solving and working these crimes,” Floyd said. “We are continuing to increase partnerships with 10 more agreements. I think once that happens we will see an even better cooperative relationship with law enforcement agencies within the MCN jurisdiction.”

The conference, which continues through Wednesday, Aug. 15, will continue Day Two of the meetings hosted by Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Okla.

The conference discussions highlight the U.S. DOJ Programs and Policies to Reduce Violent Crime and Substance Abuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

Monday’s topics included marijuana in Indian Country, special law enforcement commissions and law enforcement resources, as well as drug take back efforts, financial fraud enforcement and communication in Indian Country.

With interest in the welfare of 573 federally–recognized tribes across the U.S., 39 of those residing in Oklahoma and 14 in the Northern District of Oklahoma, Shores said it’s a government-to-government relationship between each tribe to investigate and reduce crime and drug abuse in the communities.

“One tribe we work with on a frequent basis is the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Chief Floyd and Creek Nation Lighthorse, are wonderful partners for the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” Shores said. “It is on a regular basis that we will have multijurisdictional task forces that we combine our collective resources to investigate and find justice for victims of violent crime here in the Northern District of Oklahoma.”

Shores said the NAIS has identified four priorities for justice in Indian Country, reduce violent crime; reduce drug trafficking and substance abuse; identify additional law enforcement resources for Indian Country and identify white-collar crime prosecutions.

Floyd ensured the tribe’s support in the DOJ’s effort to reduce criminal matters in Indian Country.

“The tribal perspective is we have a special relationship with the U.S. Government and have for several hundred years and we continue to have that relationship,” Floyd said. “We are just as much a part in these issues as Department of Justice, especially in the last year or two with the listening sessions nationally and various topics we’ve participated in and we anticipate that we will also be working to be a part of the issues that they raise and give our perspective.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 5, 2018 

Nancy Mason
Director of Mvskoke Nation Youth Services
918-549-2557
NMason@muscogeenation.com

Muscogee (Creek) Nation Receives $18,150 Grant for Mvskoke Nation Youth Services Project

OKMULGEE, Okla. – The Muscogee (Creek) Nation recently received a $18,150 grant from the First Nations Development Institute of Longmont, Colo. This award will support the efforts of the MCN’s Mvskoke Nation Youth Services through a 12-month project, Connect the Disconnect.

Nancy Mason, Director of Mvskoke Nation Youth Services, said in 2017, MNYS conducted a survey of youth and adults to determine challenges youth face and solutions to address those challenges.  A significant number of respondents felt there was a lack of cultural connections and that youth could overcome many challenges if they were connected to culture.

“We often say culture is prevention because those cultural ties create protective factors for our youth,” Mason said. “The Mvskoke Nation Youth Council has been very purposeful about focusing on culture and has even camped out at the Phillip Deere Roundhouse a couple times to learn from the elders more about the Mvskoke way of life.”

Mason said the Connect the Disconnect project will allow the program to reach even more Mvskoke youth through activities and providing resources.

As part of the project, the Mvskoke Nation Youth Council’s Culture and Language Committee will create monthly social media campaigns aimed toward Muscogee (Creek) citizens, ages 12-24, to promote opportunities and offer cultural knowledge of the program.

The grant funding will also assist the program in providing three one-day events to 150 Mvskoke youth to teach the Mvskoke language, practices and activities.

Lastly, the funding will go toward allowing 50 Mvskoke youth to attend an overnight camp hosted by the Youth Steering Committee and Muscogee (Creek) elders as an opportunity to promote traditional ecological and cultural exchange.

MNYS was created in 2014 to engage Mvskoke youth in activities that will allow them an opportunity to contribute to the communities and Nation.

The program’s goal is to provide resources and support for tribal youth, as well as advocacy, on local, state and national levels through a variety of programs and events.

For more information on MNYS programs and services, visit http://mvskokeyouth.wixsite.com/mvskokeyouth or contact Nancy Mason at 918-549-2557.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 11 , 2018

Muscogee (Creek) Nation Files Lawsuit Against Indian Health Service for 9 Years of Underpayment of Funds

OKMULGEE, Okla. – The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma against the U.S. Indian Health Service demanding $94 million in government funding for the 2006 to 2014 fiscal years.

The lawsuit comes after MCN has worked effortlessly the past three years to reconcile the underfunding of indirect contract support costs with IHS for IHS programs and services.

However, after no resolution with IHS, the MCN has filed a formal complaint stating the government had not been reimbursing the MCN with adequate contract support costs funding by miscalculating MCN’s revenue received from avenues such as third-party insurance.

MCN Principal Chief James R. Floyd came into his administration in January of 2016 with the Nation in a healthcare deficit that needed immediate attention. While doing so, Floyd, along with MCN Secretary of Health Shawn Terry and staff, noticed the miscalculations, which were traced back to 2006.

Although the underfunding of contract support costs had occurred for years, Floyd said there is very loose correlation, if any, to the previous deficit.

However, since then, the MCN has been out of deficit for some time, has corrected its calculations for IHS contract support costs and has been receiving the correct reimbursement.

Floyd, who was a former IHS upper management employee for 11 years, was familiar with the calculations of contract support costs and had witnessed similar cases with IHS and other tribes.

With the filing of the lawsuit, the Nation has been able to get a firm that is working on contingency, which will not cost the Nation anything if the case does not prevail.

“We feel comfortable that we will prevail in the case,” Floyd said. “We have a very good firm and for the citizens, it is not cutting out of healthcare money to pay for the cost of the suit. They’re working on contingency. So, if we don’t prevail we’re not out any money.”

Because of the funding shortage in administrative support costs, the MCN healthcare system had to use funding from patient care to make up for the difference.

If the Nation prevails in the suit, the MCN citizens and patients will benefit from the $94 million in money to be paid back.

Terry said it’s an everyday struggle to provide the resources and level of care that the citizens deserve because the U.S. Government funds IHS at about 30 percent of need.

“This lawsuit going back to 2006 is us trying to ensure that we’re maximizing the amount of funds we are eligible for,” Terry said. “It’s our responsibility to make sure we’re maximizing that and stretching those dollars as far as we can but at the end of the day, we want IHS fully funding so that our people can be taken care of at the level that they deserve.”

MCN Attorney General Kevin Dellinger, MCN First Assistant Attorney General Lindsay Dowell and Lloyd B. Miller and Rebecca A. Patterson of Sonosky Chambers Sachse Endreson & Perry, LLP, are representing the Nation in the MCN v. Alex Azar et al case.

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 OKMULGEE, Okla. – United National Indian Tribal Youth has named its Class of 2018 25 Under 25 Native American Youth Leaders.

This is the third class for UNITY, which is a nationally recognized program honoring Native American and Alaska Native youth who have shown leadership in their communities and tribes.

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation is being represented by four youth citizens this year: Nancy Deere-Turney, 23, of Okmulgee, Okla.; Jay Fife, 18, of Preston, Okla.; Ashleigh Fixico, 21, of Seminole, Okla.; and Maddie Lamb, 19, of Tahlequah, Okla.

According to the UNITY website, UNITY’s mission is “to foster the spiritual, mental, physical and social development of American Indian and Alaska Native youth and to help build a strong, unified and self-reliant Native America through greater youth involvement.”

The organization combines more than 160 youth councils across the U.S. representing tribal youth.

The Mvskoke Nation Youth Council has played a prominent role in the Muscogee (Creek) youth and has been involved in the UNITY organization.

Mvskoke Nation Youth Services Director Nancy Mason has worked closely with these youth.

“We are so excited to have members of the Youth Council selected for this honor,” Mason said. “Overall, we can’t believe that four members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation were chosen in this group of 25.”

Mason said one of the things the MCN program tries to do is connect youth with resources and opportunities.

Three of the four award recipients are members of the Mvskoke Nation Youth Council.

“What is exciting for me is that even though these four were selected, I know that there were many other Mvskoke youth who applied,” Mason said. “Sometimes, having the courage to try is half the battle with young people and it makes me really happy to see them try.”

This year’s 25 Under 25 award recipients will be recognized at the National UNITY Conference July 5-9, 2018 in San Diego, Calif.

The event is expected to host more than 2,000 youth and attendees from the U.S. and will include speaking events, trainings and workshops for the tribal youth.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2018

Eco Barnett/MCN Public Relations Summer Youth

OKMULGEE, Okla. – The Mvskoke Loan Fund is looking to help out local businesses by offering its final Business Boot Camp training, which will be teaching how to utilize social media in marketing.

Social media is becoming more accepted as a means of both personal and business communication. The notion of opting out of social media is hazardous as someone will have something to say about a business perhaps in a Yelp review or online forum. The best way to preserve that a business is presented in a positive light is to become engaged in social media by the business themselves. On a business’s own social media channels, an owner can present the message of products and services offered and provide more control of the narrative by telling their story and highlighting what the owner feels is important at that time. It could be a current special offering, a sponsored event, a satisfied client story, etc.

The Mvskoke Loan Fund is also sponsoring coffee at “Talk Local at the LOKal” each Wednesday morning for the month of June at the LOKal Restaurant in downtown Okmulgee, Okla., which is where Mvskoke Loan Fund Chief Executive Officer Christopher Coburn said Green Country Technology Center’s Small Business Services hosts its weekly networking session.

Networking events provide the opportunity for businesses to highlight what they do and for participants to learn whom in the community offers various products and services in the local economy. It also provides a forum to get to know other business owners, learn of opportunities to work together on projects, find sales leads, or learn from others experience.

“Social media classes will address basic platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook,” Coburn said. “LinkedIn especially in business is important for learning and sharing good ideas. I might even teach a class later on leadership, featuring some TED talks and other management topics.”

Social media classes explain the importance of being an active presence with social media as a key part of a business’s marketing and promotional strategy.

If you’re interested in expanding your business skills, the Mvskoke Loan Fund would like to invite you to attend its final series of Business Boot Camps for Social Media and Marketing or our Networking for Success courses.

The Business Boot Camps covering social media and marketing will be held June 14, July 12, Aug. 6 and Sept. 13^, in Okmulgee, Okla., at the MCN Housing Building Conference Room- First floor from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The Business Boot Camps Networking trainings “Networking for Success” will be held July 24 and Aug. 21, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the MCN Housing Building – First Floor.

Limited seating is available for each event.

For more information and to reserve a seat, please contact the Mvskoke Loan Fund at 918-549-2603.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2018

OKMULGEE, Okla. – As part of the 40^th Annual Mvskoke Festival, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation announced the 2018 Living Legends inductees.

The Living Legends induction was created in 2005 by former MCN Principal Chief A.D. Ellis.

The inductees are Muscogee (Creek) citizens who are 55 years of age or older and were nominated for their contributions to the Nation on local, national and international levels through a variety of capacities including traditional, professional, education and more.

This year’s inductees include: Scott Roberts of Oklahoma City, Okla., Thomas Yahola of Wetumka, Okla., Richard Wesley Larney of Henryetta, Okla., Edna Belcher of Eufaula, Okla., and Dr. Kelly Roberta Moore of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Roberts is being honored for his traditional Mvskoke pottery of the Late Woodland and Mississippian period. He is the last living Muscogee (Creek) who knows how to replicate this traditional artwork. He will be starting an apprenticeship mentoring other Muscogee (Creek) citizens this summer in a two to three-month training.

Roberts has received numerous awards for his work in art shows throughout the U.S.

Yahola, Mekko of Tallahassee Ceremonial Ground, retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and received Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army.

He served 11 terms on the Muscogee (Creek) National Council and four terms as Speaker, as well as one term as Second Speaker. He is also the Commander of the Mvskoke Nation Honor Guard, which he established within his 27 years of service to the Nation in a variety of capacities.

Larney retired as Henryetta Chief of Police after 27 years of service and received Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army.

Larney served on a number of boards across the MCN jurisdiction including CREOKS Mental Health Board, Lions Club, Masonic Lodge, Okmulgee County Jail Board and many others.

He also served as Henryetta Mayor for eighth years and City Councilman for six years. Larney was a Muscogee (Creek) National Council member 1978-1980 and 1982-1984, as well as Muscogee (Creek) Nation Lighthorse Chief during the Chief Claude Cox Administration.

Belcher is being inducted for her service to the Nation and Eufaula community throughout her lifetime. She began her career as a cook at the Fountainhead Lodge for 20 years and then worked with Eufaula Bingo.

In 1987, she was approached by Vann McIntosh, Superintendent of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Eufaula Dormitory, to work in the kitchen. Belcher worked 27 years before retirement at the dormitory and left a loving and nurturing legacy to hundreds of children.

Belcher was a charter member of the Eufaula Indian Community and served as the first chairman, as well as 19 years as EIC Treasurer. On Oct. 27, 2016, the EIC honored Belcher by naming the EIC Nutrition Center the Edna Belcher Elder Nutrition Center for her service to the citizens, community and the Nation.

Moore has spent her medical profession contributing to the Nation and Native Americans to improve physical, mental and spiritual health. She began her career as a pediatrician working at several Indian Health Service facilities across the country serving 20 years.

Moore served as Captain in the United States Public Health Service and received a number of awards and recognitions including Association of American Indian Physician’s American Indian Physician of the Year Award, Public Health Service Crisis Response Service Award, PHS Achievement Medal, as well as many others.

She has continued her advocacy for Native American children and adults with diabetes and has helped bring national attention to the concern of Type 2 Diabetes in childhood obesity through a number of publications.

The five inductees will be honored at the Living Legend Ceremony Thursday, June 21, 2018, at 5 p.m. at the Mvskoke Dome in Okmulgee, Okla. Dinner will be served directly after the recognition.

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