FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 2, 2018
Five Muscogee (Creek) Citizens Honored for “Native American 40 Under 40”
TULSA, Okla. – Five Muscogee (Creek) citizens represented the Nation as 2018 recipients of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development “Native American 40 Under 40” award during the Oct. 30 ceremony at River Spirit Casino Resort, which recognized this year’s honorees.
This year’s awards gala, “Impacting Generations: Honoring a Decade of Exceptional Service and Leadership”, commemorated the National Center’s 10th year of the awards, which honors 40 Native Americans under the age of 40 who have made a significant impact on their communities through their role in the business profession.
The awards ceremony was part of the National Center’s Native Edge Institute training on procurement that brought past and present Native American 40 Under 40 honorees together for networking, professional development and mentorship opportunities.
The 40 businessmen and women were selected for their dedication and devotion in work such as healthcare, tribal government, non-profit organizations, journalism, finance among others.
The five citizens recognized this year were Lauren King of Seattle, Wash.; Rebecca Landsberry of Los Angeles, Calif.; Elsa Lowe of Okmulgee, Okla.; Mekko Tyner of Kiefer, Okla.; and Nathan Wilson of Okmulgee, Okla.
King is an attorney at Foster Pepper PLLC where she practices Indian law relating to cultural resource litigation and treaty rights and chairs as the Native American practice group for the Seattle firm. She is also a board member for the Seattle Indian Health Board and the Northwest Tribal Court Judges Association and formerly served as a chair for the Washington State Bar Association Indian Law Section.
Landsberry is the executive director of the Native American Journalists Association, a non-profit organization that advocates for free press in Indian Country. She previously worked as the editor of Muscogee Nation News for the tribe’s media outlet. She also serves as an elected representative for the Mvskoke Media Editorial Board, which is an independent tribal agency of the Nation.
Lowe works for MCN as a Project Coordinator managing the Native Youth Community Project grant and supervising Education Advisors and Cultural Specialists. Her work also entails working with three school districts to create college and career pathways for Native students.
Tyner also works for the tribe as the registrar at the College of the Muscogee Nation. He is also a graduate of Haskell Indian Nation University and the University of Kansas School of Law.
Wilson is another honoree whose dedication and devotion is to working directly for the tribe. For the past 11 years, he has worked for the MCN Citizenship Department where he has spent the last six of those as Director. His role in the department has led to improvements in the tribe’s enrollment process through advanced technologies in citizenship.
The NCAIED is a non-profit organization that has assisted tribes and their entities with economic and business development for the past 40 years.
For more information on the 2018 class of the “Native American 40 Under 40”, visit the organization’s website at www.ncaied.org.
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