The Comanche Nation News
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VOLUME 15 EDITION 10 Lawton, OK October 2014 LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 Shares the Life of One of America's Most Politically Influential Native Americans All-star filmmaking duo- -Comanche producer and director Julianna Brannum and executive pro- ducer Johnny Depp (Transcendence, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lone Ranger)--bring the story of politically influential Native American leader LaDonna Harris to Public Television stations nationwide with broadcasts beginning November 1. LaDonna Harris reshaped Indian Country both in America and abroad. A Comanche from Oklaho- ma, she helped convince the Nixon administration to return sacred land to the Taos Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, founded the Americans for Indian Opportunity in 1970, and be- came a vice-presidential nominee in 1980. LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 is a reflection of her political achieve- ments, personal struggles, and the events that led her to becoming a voice for Native people. Raised on a farm in Oklahoma during the Great Depression, LaDonna did not attend college. However, she studied and learned alongside her husband, Fred Harris, who would become a U.S. Senator. Upon his taking office, she too undertook a public service role. LaDonna is best known for her work in U.S. civil rights when she set the tone with a landmark legislation ini- tiative that returned land to the Taos Pueblo Tribe and Native tribes of Alaska. She also served a pivotal role in helping the Menominee Tribe re- gain their federal recognition. Her trailblazing efforts be- gan when President Lyndon B. John- son selected her to educate both the executive and legislative branches of U.S. government on the unique rela- tionship that American Indian tribes hold within our nation. This educa- tion course was affectionately called "Indian 101" and was taught to mem- bers of Congress and other federal agencies for over 35 years. La Donna Harris: Indian 101 is the first documentary about the Na- tive activist and national civil rights leader, LaDonna Harris. Brannum commented, "LaDonna's unique and bi-partisan approach to political and Proposed Bill Would Ban Native Mascots in Colorado; Sponsor Gets Hate Mail Simon Moya-Smith/Indian Country Today website: www.indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com 9/10/14 An elected official in Colo- rado has received an onslaught of hate mail since he announced his plan to introduce a bill to ban Native Ameri- can mascots throughout the state. House Representative Joe Salazar said most of the hate mail ac- cuses him of being politically correct and excoriates him for addressing the mascot issue instead of handling oth- er state matters. Salazar begs to dif- fer. “Now is the time to address issues that have been ignored for so long,” he said. His bill would require the more than one dozen schools in Colo- rado with a Native American mascot to change their logo and name or lose state funding, unless a school has an established relationship and permis- sion from an Indian nation. Salazar provided ICTMN with several of the emails he has re- ceived from constituents who oppose his bill. Some messages poke at Sala- zar for being too far on the left. “Isn’t there something more important you could be addressing [than] school mascots?” writes one. “It’s a waste of time, money and just plain stupid. But what should I expect from a Democrat?” Another person wrote to Salazar arguing he should focus on undocumented persons and likened Native American mascots to animals. “I think that your bill is out- rageous,” she wrote. “Do you really believe that schools are being deroga- tory because of their mascot name? If that is the case, then we shouldn't use animal names, cowboys, colors foods or anything as peoples feelings might be hurt. I mean, I love the color green so don't use it because it offensive to me. Mascot names have been around for many years, probably before you were born, and because one person gets upset it's all over. There are so many other issues that need to be ad- dressed such as illegals and you are worried about school mascots. If you used your time wisely this state may actually become better. Get some new issues to focus on, please.” Salazar said he has invited the opposition to a meeting on Sep- tember 10 at the Denver Indian Fami- ly Resource Center. He said the meet- ing is to provide the community with “ownership of the bill.” The meeting will be from 4:30-7 p.m. So far, he said, none of the opposition has accepted his invita- tion. “They’re not coming. We invite them to meet the community then they don’t want to show up. It’s a sanctimonious attitude,” he said. Former Colorado State Sen- ator Suzanne Williams, a Comanche, introduced a similar bill in 2010, but it was pulled in committee due to a lack of support. Salazar said he has no inten- tion of withdrawing the bill. He said he will push it all the way through the legislature. “I’m not pulling this bill,” he said. “It’s a different day here in Colorado.” Should the bill become law, one of the schools that would be required to change its name is the Lamar High School Savages. The school’s mascot is an Indian. Salazar said Lamar High School’s reluctance to change its name and logo is a prime example of why the bill is necessary. “There’s a lot of pride for being a Lamar Savage," Lamar City Councilman Kirk Crespin told The Denver Post. “Why should we have to go through the state to get a mascot approved that's been around for de- cades?” Salazar said the argument of school pride and tradition is a weak one. “It’s an appalling argument,” he said. “[The word ‘savage’] will never take on a new meaning. The defini- tion in itself is something that doesn’t connote anything positive.” Fred Harris, LaDonna Harris (Co- manche), and Wakeah Tabbytite in grandstands at a parade. Photo courtesy of LaDonna Harris. See HARRIS, Page 2 Vision Maker Media Press Release You see them everywhere. Homeless men and women walking the streets and chatting among the trees and at parks. Sometimes they live among their families, moving from house to house, helping their loved ones with what they can, and happy to have a comfortable place to eat and sleep. They are U.S. veterans, who served valiantly for our country, pro- tecting American with honor, and through heroic deeds. Now, after giving their youthful lives to the military branch- es, they are without homes, without steady meals, and do not know where they will lay their head to rest for the night. Members of local tribes and Veteran Affairs (VA) have been meet- ing for several months to organize a Stand Down for the American Indian, and other veterans in the Anadarko, Okla. area. “In military terms, a Stand Down is when military personal can come in from the field and get a hot meal, shower, and a time to rest and eat,” said coordinator, Mary Culley. The Stand Down will take place 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Iscani Gym 1 South Coronado Cir- cle, Anadarko, Okla. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. Pick up locations will be available to drive veterans who may not have transportation to the Stand Down. Veterans are asked to bring their DD 214 Forms, if available. Several services will be available for not only Native Vet- erans, but for all veterans, spouses or widows or veterans. Some of the services include housing assistance, emergency shelter and other social services, employment assistance, health screenings, hair cuts, and legal services. There will be personal care products, a clothing closet, surplus items such as blankets and boots that will also be given away. “There are a lot of veterans that does not know what the VA has to offer them,” said Commander of the Comanche Indian Veteran Asso- ciation (CIVA. “Many of the ones I talked to does not want to file a claim because they feel they did their job, and the VA does not owe them any- thing. But they do not know the ben- efits the VA can give them financially and medically.” Red Elk added Native fami- lies take care of their loved ones who are veterans, having them stay at their homes and live with them. “They do not consider themselves homeless, but they are, and this stand down can help them help themselves.” For more information, to donate to the Stand Down, or to set up a booth at the Stand Down, call Culley at (405) 626-3426. Stand Down is Set to Help Homeless Native Veterans By Jolene Schonchin/News Staff Photos by Paula Karty/News Staff Cowboys and cowgirls of all ages gathered Sept. 19-20 at the LO Ranch in Lawton, Okla. for the Arrington-McSpadden All Indian Rodeo Association Region 8 Finals to go Head-to-Head with live stock to qualify for the National Indian Rodeo Finals in November at Las Vegas, NV. See Page 10-11 for more action pictures and winners.
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Comanche Newsletter
Transcript of The Comanche Nation News
VOLUME 15 EDITION 10 Lawton, OK October 2014
LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 Shares the Life of One of America's Most
Politically Infl uential Native
Americans
All-star filmmaking duo--Comanche producer and directorJuliannaBrannumandexecutivepro-ducer JohnnyDepp (Transcendence,Pirates of the Caribbean, The LoneRanger)--bringthestoryofpoliticallyinfluential Native American leaderLaDonnaHarristoPublicTelevisionstations nationwide with broadcastsbeginningNovember1. LaDonna Harris reshapedIndianCountryboth inAmericaandabroad. A Comanche from Oklaho-ma, she helped convince the Nixonadministration to return sacred landto the Taos Pueblo Indians of NewMexico, founded theAmericans forIndianOpportunity in1970,andbe-came a vice-presidential nominee in1980. LaDonnaHarris:Indian101isareflectionofherpoliticalachieve-ments, personal struggles, and theevents that led her to becoming avoiceforNativepeople.Raisedonafarm in Oklahoma during the GreatDepression,LaDonna did not attendcollege. However, she studied andlearned alongside her husband, FredHarris, who would become a U.S.Senator.Upon his taking office, shetooundertookapublicservicerole.LaDonnaisbestknownforherworkinU.S. civil rightswhen she set thetonewitha landmarklegislationini-tiative that returned land to theTaosPueblo Tribe and Native tribes ofAlaska.Shealsoservedapivotalrolein helping theMenomineeTribe re-gaintheirfederalrecognition. Her trailblazing efforts be-ganwhenPresidentLyndonB.John-son selected her to educate both theexecutiveandlegislativebranchesofU.S.governmentontheuniquerela-tionship thatAmerican Indian tribeshold within our nation. This educa-tioncoursewasaffectionatelycalled"Indian101"andwastaughttomem-bers of Congress and other federalagenciesforover35years. LaDonnaHarris:Indian101isthefirstdocumentaryabouttheNa-tive activist andnational civil rightsleader, LaDonna Harris. Brannumcommented, "LaDonna's unique andbi-partisan approach to political and
Proposed Bill Would Ban Native Mascots in Colorado; Sponsor Gets Hate Mail
Simon Moya-Smith/Indian Country Today website: www.indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com 9/10/14
Anelectedofficial inColo-radohasreceivedanonslaughtofhatemail sincehe announcedhisplan tointroduceabilltobanNativeAmeri-canmascotsthroughoutthestate. House Representative JoeSalazarsaidmostofthehatemailac-cuseshimofbeingpoliticallycorrectandexcoriateshimforaddressingthemascotissueinsteadofhandlingoth-er statematters.Salazarbegs todif-fer.“Nowisthetimetoaddressissuesthathavebeen ignored for so long,”hesaid. His bill would require themorethanonedozenschoolsinColo-radowithaNativeAmericanmascottochangetheirlogoandnameorlosestatefunding,unlessaschoolhasanestablished relationship and permis-sionfromanIndiannation. Salazar provided ICTMNwithseveraloftheemailshehasre-ceivedfromconstituentswhoopposehisbill.SomemessagespokeatSala-zarforbeingtoofarontheleft. “Isn’ttheresomethingmoreimportant you could be addressing[than] school mascots?” writes one.“It’sawasteoftime,moneyandjustplainstupid.ButwhatshouldIexpectfromaDemocrat?” Another person wrote toSalazar arguing he should focus on
undocumented persons and likenedNativeAmericanmascotstoanimals. “Ithinkthatyourbillisout-rageous,”shewrote.“Doyoureallybelievethatschoolsarebeingderoga-torybecauseoftheirmascotname?Ifthatisthecase,thenweshouldn'tuseanimalnames,cowboys,colorsfoodsoranythingaspeoplesfeelingsmightbehurt.Imean,Ilovethecolorgreensodon'tuseitbecauseitoffensivetome.Mascotnameshavebeenaroundformanyyears,probablybeforeyouwere born, and because one persongets upset it's all over.There are somanyotherissuesthatneedtobead-dressedsuchas illegalsandyouareworriedaboutschoolmascots.Ifyouusedyourtimewiselythisstatemayactually become better. Get somenewissuestofocuson,please.” Salazar said he has invitedtheopposition toameetingonSep-tember10attheDenverIndianFami-lyResourceCenter.Hesaidthemeet-ingistoprovidethecommunitywith“ownershipofthebill.”Themeetingwillbefrom4:30-7p.m. Sofar,hesaid,noneof theopposition has accepted his invita-tion.“They’renotcoming.Weinvitethem to meet the community thenthey don’t want to show up. It’s asanctimoniousattitude,”hesaid.
FormerColoradoStateSen-atorSuzanneWilliams,aComanche,introducedasimilarbillin2010,butitwaspulled in committeedue to alackofsupport. Salazarsaidhehasnointen-tionofwithdrawingthebill.Hesaidhe will push it all the way throughthe legislature.“I’mnotpulling thisbill,” he said. “It’s a different dayhereinColorado.” Should the bill becomelaw, one of the schools that wouldberequiredtochangeitsnameistheLamar High School Savages. Theschool’smascotisanIndian.SalazarsaidLamarHighSchool’sreluctancetochangeitsnameandlogoisaprimeexampleofwhythebillisnecessary. “There’s a lot of pride forbeingaLamarSavage,"LamarCityCouncilman Kirk Crespin told TheDenverPost. “Why shouldwehavetogothroughthestatetogetamascotapproved that's been around for de-cades?” Salazarsaidtheargumentofschoolprideand tradition isaweakone.“It’sanappallingargument,”hesaid.“[Theword‘savage’]willnevertake on a newmeaning.Thedefini-tioninitselfissomethingthatdoesn’tconnoteanythingpositive.”
Fred Harris, LaDonna Harris (Co-manche), and Wakeah Tabbytite in grandstands at a parade. Photo courtesy of LaDonna Harris.
See HARRIS, Page 2
Vision Maker Media Press Release
You see them everywhere.Homelessmen andwomenwalkingthe streets and chatting among thetreesandatparks. Sometimestheyliveamongtheirfamilies,movingfromhousetohouse,helpingtheirlovedoneswithwhat theycan, andhappy tohaveacomfortableplacetoeatandsleep. TheyareU.S.veterans,whoservedvaliantlyforourcountry,pro-tecting American with honor, andthroughheroicdeeds. Now, after giving theiryouthfullivestothemilitarybranch-es, they arewithout homes,withoutsteadymeals,anddonotknowwheretheywilllaytheirheadtorestforthenight. MembersoflocaltribesandVeteranAffairs(VA)havebeenmeet-ingforseveralmonthstoorganizeaStandDownfortheAmericanIndian,and other veterans in theAnadarko,Okla.area. “Inmilitary terms, a StandDowniswhenmilitarypersonalcancomeinfromthefieldandgetahotmeal,shower,andatimetorestandeat,”saidcoordinator,MaryCulley. The Stand Down will takeplace 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 7 at theIscani Gym 1 South Coronado Cir-cle,Anadarko, Okla. Lunch will beservedat11:30a.m. Pick up locations will beavailabletodriveveteranswhomaynot have transportation to theStandDown. Veteransareasked tobringtheirDD214Forms,ifavailable. Several services will beavailable for not only Native Vet-erans, but for all veterans, spousesorwidowsorveterans.Someof theservices include housing assistance,emergency shelter and other socialservices, employment assistance,healthscreenings,haircuts,andlegalservices. Therewillbepersonalcareproducts, a clothing closet, surplusitemssuchasblanketsandbootsthatwillalsobegivenaway. “TherearealotofveteransthatdoesnotknowwhattheVAhasto offer them,” said Commander oftheComanche IndianVeteranAsso-ciation (CIVA. “Manyof the ones Italkedtodoesnotwanttofileaclaimbecause they feel theydid their job,andtheVAdoesnotowethemany-thing.Buttheydonotknowtheben-efitstheVAcangivethemfinanciallyandmedically.” RedElkaddedNativefami-liestakecareoftheirlovedoneswhoare veterans, having them stay attheirhomesandlivewiththem. “They do not considerthemselves homeless, but they are,and this stand down can help themhelpthemselves.” For more information, todonate to theStandDown,or to setup a booth at the StandDown, callCulleyat(405)626-3426.
Stand Down is Set to Help Homeless Native Veterans
By Jolene Schonchin/News Staff
Photos by Paula Karty/News Staff
Cowboys and cowgirls of all ages gathered Sept. 19-20 at the LO Ranch in Lawton, Okla. for the Arrington-McSpadden All Indian Rodeo Association Region 8 Finals to go Head-to-Head with live stock to qualify for the National Indian Rodeo Finals in November at Las Vegas, NV. See Page 10-11 for more action pictures and winners.
October 2014 2 The Comanche Nation News
Comanche Nation Offi cialsChairman
WallaceCoffeyVice Chairman
MikeMackMahsetkySecretary/TreasurerJerryTahsequah
Committeeman No. 1JonathanPoahway
Committeeman No. 2SonyaNevaquaya
Committeeman No. 3HarryMithlo
Committeeman No. 4ClydeNarcomey
Tribal AdministratorWilliamOwens
To contact offi cials:ComancheNationP.O.Box908
Lawton,Okla.73502TollFree:(877)492-4988
Physical Address584BingoRd.
Lawton,OK73505
Member of the Native American Journalist Association since 2001
Member of the Society of
Professional Journalists since
2010
THE COMANCHE NATION NEWS
Theaward-winningComanche Nation News,theofficialcommunicationof theComancheNation, is available atnochargeuponrequest.Thedeadlinetosubmit information for theNovembereditionisnoonOctober15.Donationstohelpcoverthecostofprintingandmailingarewelcome.
Contact:TheComancheNationNews
P.O.Box908Lawton,Okla.73502-0908
Telephone:(580)492-3386Fax:(580)492-3709Emails:[email protected]@comanchenation.com
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• PaulaKarty,Assis.Editor,Reporter,Photographer-Email:[email protected](580)492-3383
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• The Milestones Page(Birthdays,An-niversaries,Engagements,MemorialPictures,Weddings,Births) are bysubmission only.ThePassings aresubmittedbytheComancheNationFuneralHomeorbytribalmemberson a funeral home letterhead.TheMilestonesPageisfortribalmembersonly.TCNN publishes all servicesconductedbyTheComancheNationFuneralHomewithout discretion.Obituaries are written for tribalmembersonly.
• TCNNwillprintaComancheorga-nization’s annual event flyer oncefree of charge as a courtesy to ourtribalorganizations.Theguidelinesforflyersubmissionare:Pow-wowflyershavetobefromanestablishedComancheorganization.Therehastobecontactpersonandnumberontheorganization’sannualflyer.
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DEMOCRAT FOR HOUSE DISTRICT 63A moderate Democrat who believes in the Constitution and that the Government should work for the people.
State Representative & Candidate for Governor of Oklahoma Joe Dorman, Juan Rodriguez & State Senator Randy Bass
Juan Rodriguez is a retired fi refi ghter that understands the hard work ethics apparent in the residents of District 63. He
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socialissuesmadeheramuch-lovedandwell-respectediconinWashing-ton.Notonlywassheamajorforcein Indian Country, but the medialoved her and high-level politicianssoughtherinput." Heldinthehighestregard by her colleagues for countless so-cialandhistoricalachievements,La-Donnaisnowpassingherknowledgeon toanewgenerationofemergingIndigenous leaders. With participa-tionfromstudentsworldwide,Harrishas created an educational programthattrainsNativeprofessionalstoin-corporatetheirowntribes'traditionalvalues and perspectives into theirworkwhile building a global Indig-enouscoalition. LaDonna Harris: Indian101--which received major fund-ing from theCorporation forPublicBroadcasting(CPB)andVisionMak-erMedia--isanofferingofPBSPlus.This one-hour documentary will beavailabletopublictelevisionstationsnationwide October 31, with rightsbeginning November 1. This pro-gramissuggestedforschedulingforNativeAmericanHeritageMonth. For viewing information inyour area, please visit www.vision-makermedia.org/watch.
HARRISContinued From Page 1
Julianna Brannum, Comanche, is the documentary fi lm maker for LaDonna Harris: Indian 101.
JULIANNA BRANNUM COMANCHE
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER JuliannaBrannumisadocu-mentary filmmaker based inAustin,Texas.Herfirstfilm,TheCreekRunsRed,wasselectedtoairinFall2007onPBS’snationalprime-timeseries,"Independent Lens." In early 2008,she co-produced a feature-lengthdocumentary with Emmy Award®-winningproducer,StanleyNelsonforPBS’sWeShallRemain—a5-partse-riesonNativeAmericanhistory.Theepisode, “Wounded Knee,” chron-icled the siege of Wounded Knee,South Dakota, in 1973 led by theAmericanIndianMovement. In 2007,Ms.BrannumwasselectedasaSundanceInstitute/FordFoundation Fellow and has beenawarded grants from the SundanceInstitute’sNative Initiative,NationalGeographic, ITVS, the OklahomaHumanities Council, Vision MakerMedia,and theSundanceDocumen-taryFundforherlatestdocumentaryLaDonnaHarris:Indian101.InApril2008, shewasawardeda fellowshipfromtheRockefellerFoundationandtheTribecaFilm Institute in supportof the film. Brannum also spent 8yearsworkingasafilmprogrammerforAFIFEST,theLosAngelesFilmFestival, and Film Independent be-foreproducingprogramsforDiscov-eryChannel,HGTV,A&E,BravoandPBS. Brannum is a graduate ofthe University of Oklahoma andwasawardedthe2008DistinguishedAlumniAwardfortheCollegeofArtsandSciences.SheisamemberoftheQuahadabandoftheComancheNa-tionofOklahoma.
September Monthly Comanche Business Committee Meeting Fails to Terminate Staff
Themeetingwas called toorder at 10:35 a.m., by ChairmanWallaceCoffey. Secretary-Treasurer, JerryTahsequah,conductedrollcall. Allwere present but Vice-Chairman,MackMahsetky. Coffey told how the Co-manche Nation College will be oncontinuedaccreditedstatus. Coffey did a overview ofthe ShoshoneReunion and theCo-mancheNationFair. Coffey also talked aboutthe abundance of school suppliesthatweredonated to theComancheNation from the Comanche NationCasinos. All the school supplieswere taken to area schools, aswellasRiversideIndianSchoolasdona-tionsonbehalfoftheComancheNa-tion. AmotionwasmadebyTah-sequahtoapprovetheminutesfromtheAugust monthly CBC meeting,seconded by Committeeman No.3HarryMithlo;motioncarries4/0/1. A motion was made byCommittee personNo.2 SonyaNe-vaquaya to approve ResolutionsNo.72-14 thru No.85-14, secondedbyMithlo;motioncarries5/0/0. A motion was made byTahsequah to approve ResolutionNo.86-14 Renewal for UINKOT,secondedbyMithlo;motioncarries
5/0/0. Committeeman No.4,ClydeNarcomey,broughtaresolu-tiontothefloortoterminateTribalAdministrator (TA), Will Owens,and Capitol Improvement (CIP)Director,LouieMcCarthy.Therea-sonbehindthisresolutionisfortheover spending of allocated budgetonbehalfofMcCarthyandOwens,allowingof the over spending andsigning contracts on behalf of thetribewithouttheCBC’sknowledge. Coffey stated that if thereisanyonetoblameitshouldbetheCBC.Theyaretheoneswhoallo-catedfortheoverbudgetingtobuyabuildingforthemedicalprogramsof the tribe. Theoverspending inquestion was to do repairs on thebuildingsothatthebuildingwouldbebroughtup to the state, county,andcitycodesCoffeyadded. Tribal member, EleanorMcDaniel, addressed the com-mittee stating that Narcomey wasover-stepping his boundaries bytryingtoterminatetheCIPDirector.McDaniel brought forth a contractthat was signed by Narcomey fortheTombstone Project. McDanielstatedthatNarcomeydoesnothavethe right to sign any contracts onbehalfof the tribewithout itbeingbroughtbeforetheCBCsothattheCBCwouldhaveknowledgeofany
contracttobesignedonbehalfoftheComancheNation. ChairmanCoffeystatedthatthe CBC can not terminate a tribalemployee; that is the duty of theTA.TheCBCcannotterminatetheTA,buttheycansuspendthepersonholding that position. Coffey alsobroughttoNarcomey’sattentionthathe did not followpolicy andproce-dures himself by not getting threebids for the Tombstone Project andhealsodidnotbringthecontractbe-foretheCBC,butwentonaheadandsigned the contract on behalf of theComancheNation. Nevaquaya suggested thattheresolutionbetabledsothatitcanbediscussedandtheCBCwouldhaveabetterunderstandingoftheresolu-tionsotheycandecideonwhichwaytheywouldvote.Narcomeydeclinedtohavetheresolutiontabled. The resolution failed togetaseconded,atwhichtimetheresolu-tionofficiallydiedonthefloor. Coffeymadeamotiontogointo executive session andwas sec-ondedbyTahsequah;motioncarries5/0/0.
By Paula Karty/News Staff
Courtesy Photo
October 2014 3 The Comanche Nation News
ComancheYouth
SpotlightShea
Mihecoby This month’s spotlight fea-tures Shea Mihecoby of Walters,Okla.MihecobyisthesonofSidneyandTanishaMihecoby,thegrandsonof Lawannah Mihecoby and greatgrandsonofWesleyandImogeneMi-hecoby. Mihecoby is 12-years-old,and currently attendsWalter’s Mid-dleSchoolwherehecanboastofhisacademic skills, postingA’s andB’sonhisreportcards.Mihecobylovessportsandisacompetitoratalllevels.Heisthecurrentstartingoutsideline-backer for theWalters Blue Devils.Sheaisalsothepitcherforthecom-
petition baseball team the WaltersMustangs.Mihecobyrecentlyhithisfirsthome run, at280 footwhopperacrossthecenterfieldfenceinRyanOklahoma. InApril of 2012, Sheaandhisfather,Sidney,madetheirbigscreendebutasextras in thenation-wide release of the baseball movie“Home Run,” starring Scott ElrodandVivicaA.Fox. Mihecoby is hard throw-ing righthandedanda successbothon and off the field. Please joinIAMNDN in wishing Mihecoby anoutstanding2014–15season.
Courtesy Photo
Submitted by the CN Prevention and Recovery Program Staff
Comanche Nation’s Annual Halloween Safe House
6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.Oct. 30th
Comanche Complex
TreatsGames
Haunted House
October 2014 4 The Comanche Nation News
Programs
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Mihesuah Elected to Boards at 20th Biennial National Indian Council on Aging Conference
Mihesuah
The Comanche Nation El-dersCounciltook28ElderstoPhoe-nix,Ariz., to attend theNational In-dianCouncilonAging(NICOA).ThegrouplefttheComplexSeptember1,drove toAlbuquerque, N.M., wheretheystayed thenight,andarrived inPhoenixonSeptember2. Registration began 8 a.m.September3,;howeverthereweresomany people registration carried onintotheGeneralSession,whichbeganat9a.m.withawelcomefromEddieTullis, Chairman, NICOA Board ofDirectors; and Randella Bluehouse,ExecutiveDirector,NICOA. PostingofColorsby IraH.HayesAmericanLegion,Pos84,Na-tional Anthem by Rebecca Norton.The morning session speaker was arepresentative from theSocialSecu-rity Administration, who providedinformation onMedicaid,Medicare,andSocialSecurityPrograms,includ-ingfraudandseniors. The afternoon session wasapaneldiscussiononTheValueandFutureoftheSeniorCommunitySer-viceEmploymentProgram(formerlyknownastheGreenThumbProgram).Itisaserviceandwork-basedtrainingprogramforolderAmericans,gearedto increase self-sufficiency and the
numberofelderswhogetjobs. The Regional Caucus Vot-ingSessionsbeganat2:30p.m.Thearea the Comanche Nation EldersCouncil is a part of is the SouthernPlains Region which includes Kan-sas,Western Oklahoma, and Texas.TheRepresentationfortheSouthernPlainsRegionwasAnitaJohnson. The first item on the Cau-cusagendawastheelectionofanewBoard of Director’s RepresentativefortheSouthernPlainsRegion.AdeleMihesuahwastheonlycandidatethatturnedinalltherequireddocumenta-tionbythedeadline.Johnsonstated,Mihesuah had won the election byacclamation. Johnson stated therecouldbenominationsfromthefloorifthecaucusvotedtodoso.Thecon-sensuswassinceMihesuahhadwonby acclamation, then there was noneedfornominationsfromthefloor.MihesuahwasnamedthenewSouth-ernPlainsRepresentative,andgaveabriefaddresstothecaucusmemberspresent. Johnson then proceededwith thenext order of business, go-ing over 12 resolutions, asking fordiscussion and suggestions on each.Johnson read the resolutions, andtherewasadiscussionfromthefloor,
noteswere takenbyaNICOAclerkandpre-sented in the caucusnotes to the Board ofDirectors.Johnsonan-nouncedtheNICOAispreparinganewsetofBy-Laws which werebeing worked on bytheExecutiveDirectorand the Legal Team.The last revision was2006. The new revi-sion should be avail-ableforthe2016con-ference.TheBy-Lawsmust cover all States,having to research le-galitiesforeachState.ThereisgoingtobeaWhite House Coun-cil onAging meetingand to get input fromNICOA. The caucusbroke intogroupsandgave input on variedtopics that were ofconcern to seniors.TheCaucusconcludedat approximately 4:45p.m. Thatevening,therewas a Cultural Din-ner, with the Invoca-tiongivenbyComan-che elder and ViceChairperson for theComanche Nation El-ders Council, VivianHolder. During andafterdinner,therewasentertainment fromamong the NICOAattendees, includingsinginganddancing. September4,Cyn-thia LaCounte, Di-
rector ACL/A0A, Spoke about theAdministration on Aging and Ad-ministration on Community Living.LaCountesaidNoraSouperhadbeenhired(twoweeksago)by theWhiteHouse for theWhiteHouseCouncilonAging Representative for NativeAmericans. Some of the items areIncomeSecurity,ElderJustice,LongTerm Care, and Health Planning,thesearecalled“Buckets”andneedto fill the “Bucket” with your con-cernstobepresentedtoSouper.TitleVIfundinghasbeencutby$87,000;even so they are still going to findways to provide meals, if the cutscontinue,thatwon’tbepossible. The Older Americans Actof1965targetedthefrailestfirst;themostruralfirst;thepoorestfirst;nonEnglish speakersfirst, less educatedfirst-thatfitsNativesFirst.Nextwasa panel discussion onAgency Net-work Services. Following was Dr.BabakNayeri,ExecutiveConsultantAZ HealthAging, who gave a pre-sentation on Falls Prevention, ThePathwaytoHealthyLiving. Atnoon,therewastheHon-oring Elders/Veterans and Sponsor-ship Luncheon.All Veterans nameswere called and asked to stand andwere given flag pins to thank themfortheirservice.AmongtheVeteranshonored were Raymond Almanza,PhillipHendrix,Jr.,KennethCoose-woon,KennethKarty, from theCo-mancheNationEldersCouncil.Theafternoonwas filledwithWorkshopSessionsforallparticipants. As the new representativefrom the Southern Plains Region,AdeleMihesuahattendedtheSpecialBoardMeeting,whereshewasswornin as a NICOA Board Member.Atthatsession,officerswerealsoelect-ed.TheSecretaryfortheBoardstatedshecouldnolongerserveinthepo-sition. So Eddie Tullis, Chairman,askedfornominations.Heaskedthenew Board Members (three new)
whether they had any experience inthat position. Mihesuah stated shewas currently the Secretary for theComanche Nation Elders Council.She was nominated, a second wasmade,andMihesuahwasvotedinasSecretaryfor theBoardofDirectorsfor NICOA. The term for NICOABoardMembersisfouryears.Therewere1,394registeredattendees. September5,startedwithaSpiritual Breakfast with presentersgiving spiritual messages to the at-tendees. Among the entertainment,theComancheNationEldersCouncilSingerssangtwosongsinComanchefortheattendees. As a side-trip, the Coman-cheNationElders visited theHeardMuseum in Phoenix. The trip wasarranged by Garrison Tahmahkera,whoarrangedfortheirownpersonalguide,ElaineWeston. That evening there was anInter-TribalFashionShowwithover50 entrants. Representing the Co-mancheNationintheFashionShowwereRitaCoosewoon,VivanHolder,andAdeleMihesuah. TheComancheNationwasrepresentedineveryareaoftheCon-ference; Cultural Dinner InvocationbyVivianHolder;electionofSouth-ernPlainsBoardofDirectors,AdeleMihesuah;andelectionofSecretaryof the NICOA Board of Directors,Adele Mihesuah; honored VeteransRaymonds Almanza, Kenneth Co-osewoon, Phillip Hendrix, Jr., Ken-neth Karty; singing hymns at theSpiritualBreakfastbytheComancheNation Elders Singers; participationin the Inter-TribalFashionShowbyRitaCoosewoon,VivianHolder,andAdeleMihesuah. On September 6, the Co-mancheNation Elders started homefrom theNICOAConference, arriv-inghome the eveningofSeptember7.
Submitted by the Comanche Nation Elders Council
October 2014 5 The Comanche Nation News
People, Places and Things Happening
The Moscow Ballet willmakeastopinLawtononNov.28topresentthe"GreatRussianNutcrack-er"throughits"DancewithUs"edu-cational program, and 24 local chil-drenhavebeen selected to takepartintheproduction. Dancers, ages 7-16, wereselectedattheLawtonBalletTheatrelastweekbyMoscowBalletauditiondirector,VanessaHehn ofGermany.They were cast as children, mice,snowflakesandangelsafterperform-ingsequencesofchoreography. DancersincludeLaurenPe-ver, Kami Brannam,Abigail Sadler,Ellaina Greene, Catherine Roller,BrynnRuple,KelseyMcIsaac,ClaraPaige Williams, Amaya Price, Jae-lynn Brock, Jadyn Herbert, NeahTavai, Lyssa Harris, Aubree Lloyd,EstherG. Johnson,HannahLivings-ton, Kylee Puccino, Sara Durbin,DanikahHarris,BrileyClark,DaynaHruby, Solei Niusulu, and LaurellaiShreffler. "I think thiswill be agoodlearningexperienceforthedancers,"Hehnsaid."They'reworkingwithmenow,andit'salwaysinterestingwhenyou work with someone you don'tknowandlearnstepsthatyou'venev-erknown." Students will receive onlya handful of rehearsals with Hehn.LawtonBalletTheatre artisticdirec-torKatieVeenhuizenwilloverseethe
restofrehearsalsuntilthedayoftheshow.Veenhuizenwilldirectherownversion of "TheNutcracker" inDe-cemberbutneitherinstructoriscon-cernedwithrepetition. “TheMoscowBallet’s‘Nut-cracker’ is totally different than thegeneral ‘Nutcracker’ in America,”Hehnsaid.“Everythingisabitdiffer-ent.Wedon’thavesugarplumfairy,wehaveallvariations in thesecondhalf.It’snotlikeyouwillbegoingtosee“TheNutcracker”twice,becauseitisn’tthesameballet.Eventhemu-sic is different-Katie’s is fast whileoursisalittleslow.” Exclusive to the “GreatRussianNutcracker” is theDove ofPeacewith a 20-footwingspan cre-atedbytwowingspancreatedbytwodancers moving as one; life sizedMatrushkadolls; andwhimsical 10-foottallsilkpuppets. The “DanceWithUs” pro-grambringslocaldancersonstagetoperformsidebysidewith40profes-sional company members. The pro-gramhasbeeninplaceformorethan20years and included theparticipa-tionof60,000childrenacrossNorthAmerica. Tickets to the performancestart at $30.Discounts are availableforGirlScouttroops,groupsof10ormore,seniors,militarypersonnelandAAAmembers.Forinformationvisitwww.nutcracker.com
Comanche Tribal Member, Aubree Lloyd, right, with Vanessa Hehn, left, of the Moscow Ballet Company, was one of the 24 local children from Lawton, Okla. to be selected for the Moscow Ballet, “Great Russian Nut-cracker,” to be presented in Lawton on Nov. 28. Lloyd is the daughter of Levi and Nicole Lloyd of Lawton and the great-granddaughter of Jack Codopony of Apache, Okla.
Courtesy Photo
By Tiffany Martinez, The Lawton Constitution/ Sept. 20, 2014 Edition
Lloyd to Perform with Moscow Ballet in November Through ‘Dance With Us’
Student Program
S & J MOTORS... We Finance ...
8023 State Highway 17 ∙ P.O. Box 557Elgin, Oklahoma 73538
Find Us On Facebook!!
Phone (580) 492-5900Fax (580) [email protected]
AND THE WINNER IS......GEORGIA GIBSON. The Yellowfish De-scendants has a raffle in August., to help raise money for it’s annual pow-wow in May. Gibson was the winner of a cedar box. The Yel-lowfish Descendants would like to thank all who purchased tickets.
The Comanche Nation-al Museum and Cultural Center(CNMCC)will temporarilycloseaportionofitsgalleryOctober6-16,2014. “Thetimehascometore-movetheComancheCodeofHon-or exhibit,” said Candy Morgan,CNMCCActingDirector. Theexhibit,whichwasex-tendedpastitsAugust30thcomple-tion date to accommodate visitorswho attended the recent Shoshon-eanReunionandComancheNationFair,hasbeenondisplayforoverayear. “We’re going changethings up a bit. We like to keepthingsfreshsothatourvisitorswillkeepcomingback,”Morgansaid. During the transition,mu-seumstaffwillpaintthegalleryandrearrange displays. The front gal-lery, which houses the museum’shistory section, will remain openduringthetransition. “We figure it will takeaboutaweekandahalf toget ev-erything situated,” Morgan said.“TheComancheCodeofHonorex-hibit iscomingdownbut thatdoesnotmeantheCodeTalkersarecom-pletely going away. Their story isanimportantpartofComancheNa-tionhistorysotherewillalwaysbeaCodeTalkerpresence inourgal-lery,”Morgansaid. Once the exhibit is re-moved, the museum will displaysomeofitsotherhistoricalartifacts,as well as Comanche artwork thathas never been shown in the mu-seum. “These changes are inpreparationforournexteventwhichwillbeaContemporaryComancheart exhibit this spring,” Morgansaid. CNMCCis locatedat701NWFerrisAvenue,directlybehindMcMahon Auditorium. For moreinformation about museum, call580-353-0404, or visit www.co-manchemuseum.com.
Comanche National Museum Renovates
TheAnnualChocolate Fes-tival is fast approaching onOctober14,2014(5:30p.m.to7:00p.m.)withtheChocolateAuctionstartingat6:00p.m. at the Anadarko CommunityLibrary (ACL) located at 215WestBroadway,acrossthestreetfromtheCaddo County Courthouse and nexttotheRedskinTheatre. ThisfundraiserishostedbytheFriendsoftheAnadarkoCommu-nity Library, a 501(c)(3) non-profitorganization, which is dedicated forthepurposeoffocusingpublicatten-tiononlibraryservicesandneeds. The Friends demonstratetheirstrongcommitment to theACLbyorganizingandrunningtwo(2)an-nualeventsinthespring,theAnnualBooksaleand in the fall, theAnnualChocolate Festival; funds raised attheseeventsarethengrantedbackto
theAnadarkoCommunityLibraryforprogramming initiatives and libraryimprovements.Tickets can be purchased at the Li-braryoranymemberof theFriendsorganization. Tickets for this event are$7,whichincludesentrytotheeventand auction for a chance to place awinningbidonanyoftheChocolateMasterpieces. The ticket also in-cludes six (6) tastes selections fromthetableshostedbylocalgroups,or-ganizationsandbusinesses. This year’s color theme is“Red,WhiteandBlue”. FormoreinformationaboutticketsorhostingatablefortheAn-nualChocolate Festival, contact theLibraryatyourdiscretionduringnor-malbusinesshoursat(405)[email protected].
Anadarko Holds Annual Chocolate
Festival
National ArtCompetition Aims to
Raise Awareness, Com-bat Suicide Among
Native Youth – deadline Oct. 31
FlyingWithEagles,a501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicat-ed to developing Native Americanyouthaspeer leaders tocombatsui-cideandsubstanceabuse,announcedthe launch of their first ever NativeAmericanYouthArtCompetition. The competition is opento all Native American youth andyoungadultsage21andunder.Thecontestantsarenotrequiredtobeanenrolledmemberofafederallyrecog-nizedtribe. The first project is design-ing the featured artwork for a soon
tobereleasedlineofsweatshirts,teeshirts,hatsandotherclothingitems.Applicantswillbeprovidedwithanoutlineof theprojectandaretoaddtheir creativity and originality. ThecontestclosesOct.31,2014. Thejudgesaretheexecutivecommitteeandpastpeerleaders.Itisanticipatedthenewclothinglinewillbe available for the upcoming holi-dayseason. “I’m confident that the op-portunity tohave theirnameassoci-atedwithaspecificclothinglinewillbe very exciting and offer on-goingdesignopportunities.Ilookforwardtoseeingtheircreativity,”saidBlairGilbert, Flying With Eagles execu-tivedirector. An application form, com-petition guidelines and awards in-formationisavailablebysendinganemail to: [email protected] Contact:BlairGilbert(215)872-8300 Flying With Eagles wascreatedbyyouth, foryouth. NativeAmerican youth develop peer lead-ership skills through a journey ofawareness, discovery, preparationandchallenge. According to a study bythe IndianHealth Service, teen sui-cide amongNativeAmerican youthis three times the national averageand alcoholism for the same groupismore than 600 times the nationalaverage. FlyingWithEaglesthroughitsyouthpeerleaders,addressestheseissuesatthecommunitylevel.Manyof theyouthhavegrown tobecomenotonlypeerleadersintheircommu-nitiesbutalsopresentersof thepro-gram.www.FlyingWithEagles.org
Courtesy Photo
Text the Letters PIO to number 89800 or CNWEB to 89800 and
receive text messages about Comanche Nation Events
and Announcements
October 2014 6 The Comanche Nation News
MilitarySubmitted by: Lanny Asepermy/CIVA
21st CODE TALKER MARKER PLACED
OnAugust 20, 2014mem-bersandAuxiliaryoftheComancheIndian Veterans Association placedthemarker ofCodeTalkerWelling-ton Mihecoby at the Memory Gar-densCemeteryinFarmington,NM.
Placement of markers oneach Code Talker grave site cameaboutafterRoderickRedElk’smili-tarymarker was stolen in 2012. AreplacementmarkerwasorderedandplacedathisgravesiteinApril2013at Deyo Mission Cemetery. CIVACommander and Red Elk’s son,George Red Elk, felt all the CodeTalkersshouldhaveamarkeridenti-fyingthemasCodeTalkersandCon-gressional Gold Medal recipients.TheDepartment ofVeteransAffairsdenied the request forbronzemark-ersduetolackofdocumentation.Itwasdecidedtoplacegranitemarkersateachgravesite–themarkerswereorderedfromLawtonMonumentandplacedinAprilandMay2014for19Code Talkers at the Walters, LittleWashita,SaddleMountain,Fletcher,Highland,DeyoandPostOakCem-eteries. Markers have now beenplaced at the final resting placesof 21 of the 22CodeTalkers. Thelastremainingmarker isforCharlesChibittywhoisburiedatFloralHav-enCemeteryinBrokenArrow,Okla.Due to cemetery protocol at bothMemory Gardens and Floral Havencemeteriesgranitemarkersarenotal-lowed–thecemeterystaffforMihe-coby’smarkerrequestedaflatbronzemarkerandChibitty’smarkerisintheprocessofbeingordered.Theplace-mentdatewillbeannouncedlater.
The children of Wellington Mihe-coby, Nona Reed, Mona Selph and Mike Mihecoby in photo taken No-vember 11, 2011 at the OK Military Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Edmond
ThefamilyofMihecobyre-quested a placement date ofAugust30th to commemorate their father’sbirthday.DaughtersNonaReedfromBaldwin,KS andMona Selph from
Albuquerque and son Mike Mihe-coby from Farmington hosted theCIVA. When the CIVA arrived attheirhotelinAlbuquerqueonAugust29th the Mihecoby family had giftbagswithaphotoof their fatheroneach bag that were filledwith vari-ousgoodiesforeachattendeeintheirrooms. A number of friends andfamilyoftheMihecobyfamilywerein attendance during the ceremonyincludingafewtransplantedComan-ches located from the Farmingtonandsurroundingarea.Theceremonyitself, like all previous placementceremonies,consistedofanintroduc-tionbytheCommander,aprayerbyChaplain Jimmy Caddo, a smokingand prayer byColorGuardCoordi-nator JoseGallegosandacoupleofComanchehymnsbyHistorianRog-erTehauno.After the ceremony thefamily provided a meal at the Sun-RayPark&CasinonearFarmington.After themealRedElk presented ared EaglePlumeonbehalfofChris-telWilkerson (Nona Reed’s daugh-ter) for her military service as anArmyMilitary Policeman. Christelis the only descendent ofMihecobyto serve in themilitary– itwasan-othermemorable day for the familyofaCodeTalker. Onthedownside, theCodeTalker bus broke down justwest ofAmarillo on the return trip onAu-gust 31st. Another bus picked upthe stranded travelers and they allreturned safety back in ComancheCountry shortly before 2 a.m. Thespiritofthe“mission”wasundaunteddespitethedelayofreturninghome.Alliswell.
CIVA Auxiliary and veterans that attended the Wellington Mihecoby marker placement in Farmington NM, from left to right Phyllis Mahset-ky, Mison Noriega, Beverly Caddo, Beverly Chasenah, Georgia Sapcut, Lucinda Pueblo, Sandra Gallegos, Linda Tehauno, Roger Tehauno, Jim-my Looking Glass (from Shiprock NM), George Red Elk, Jose Gallegos, Baliente Herrera, Ron Mahsetky, Flavio Noriega and Jimmy Caddo. The Reverend Videll Yackeschi, his wife and son accompanied the CIVA. Har-old Parker drove the Code Talker bus.
REMEMBERING OUR HEROES PAST TO
PRESENT These are brief militarybio’swithphotosofafewofourCo-mancheveteransofWorldWarIandWorldWarII.TherearealsophotosofafewotherComanchesthatservedorarecurrentlyservingwithhonor. Sixty known Comanchesserved duringWorldWar I – 59 intheArmyand1intheNavy.Thirty-sixweredraftedandtenenlisted.Itis unknown the induction status ofthe remaining fourteen.Most likelyFrank LeBarre, who entered theArmyin1917,wasthefirstComan-che to serve. Twenty-threeComan-che served in Europe, eight werewoundedinaction.
Private Hugh C. OtipobywasdraftedintotheArmyonJune24,1918andwasassignedtothe34thDivisionatCampCody,NM.HewasthensenttoCampDix,NJarriving inAugust1918.OnSeptember15,1918hear-rived at Liverpool, England aboardtheUSSHelena–inlateSeptemberhearrivedinFranceasamemberofCompany L, 164th Infantry, 1st In-fantry Division (the Big Red One).PVTOtipoby fought in the lastma-jorbattleofWorldWarI, theBattleofMeuse-ArgonneForest.The“BigRedOne” defeated 8GermanDivi-sionsinthebloodiestbattleofWorldWarI. Shortlythereafterthe1stIn-fantryDivisionwerethefirsttocrosstheRhineRiverintoGermany.PVTOtipobyreturnedtoCampDix,NJinFebruary 1919 and was dischargedonMarch13,1919atCampFunston,KS.HisfinalrestingplaceistheOti-poby Cemetery located on the FortSillMilitaryReservation. PVTOti-pobywas born in 1895 and died in1968.
Private Will Henry (Woonervatah) PermansuwasdraftedintotheArmyon June25,1918and sent toCampCody,NMthenontoCampDix,NJbefore departing, on October 15,1918,toFrance.WiththeArmisticesigned onNovember 11, 1918 PVTPermansuwasnotonanybattlefront.He most likely performed occupa-tiondutyinGermanyuntilreturningto the US onMay 31, 1919. PVTPermansu was discharged on June16,1919atFortWorth,TX.Hisfinalrestingplace is at theWaltersCem-etery.Hewasbornin1895anddiedin1954.
Private John Oscar Wahkahquah aka Oscar John Wahkahquah wasdrafted into the Army on May 31,1918 and assigned to the 22nd USEngineersatCampSheridan,IL.OnJune 29, 1918 he sailed for FranceandtookpartintheBattleofMueseArgonne. After the signing of theArmistice he performed occupationduty in Germany. He was neitherwoundednorgassed.Hearrivedbackin theUS on July 4, 1919 andwasdischargedonJuly15,1919atCampPike,AR. His final resting place isDeyoCemetery. PVTWahkahquahwas born on August 20, 1889 anddiedonSeptember11,1973.Notethe48-starflaghe’sholding.NOTE: Otipoby and Wahkahquahwerepartof the largestbattle inUSmilitary history that involved 1.2millionAmericansoldiers. Thebat-tlelastedfromSeptember26toNo-vember11,1918.26,277Americanswerekilledandanother95,786werewounded. Both the American andGermanArmiesfirstusedtheBrown-ingautomaticrifleduringthisbattle.
Photo, taken, most likely in early 1918, of Comanches prior to induction into the Army. It was taken at Fort Sill Indian School. From left to right: Dewey Maddox, Thompson Wermy Pekah, Casey Tomah, Samuel Pewe-wardy Sr, Guy Powetowaup, John Pahdopony, Jacob Wahkinney, James Wermy Pekah, John Wahkahquah, John Saupitty, Samuel Tahmahkera, Herbert Homovich, Sam Tabbytosavit, Edward Clark, Bert Cable, Royce Tiddark, Albert Nahquaddy Sr., Calvin Atchavit and Mikey Tahdooah-nippah.
From left to right: Mikey Tahdooahnippah,William Tarcy-pokeahdooah, Abner Coosewoon,Jerry Saupitty and James Tahkof-per
TwohundredandseventeenComanches served in the militaryfrom 1941-45. Six were killed inaction and two others died of com-bat wounds – eighteen others werewounded in action including twowhowerewounded twice.Fiveoth-erswereprisonersofwar.
Private First Class Capps Tehauno servedintheArmyfrom1941-45.HeservedintheEuropeanTheaterwithHQ’s, 131st Ordnance/MaintenanceBattalion, 9th Armored Division.PFCTehaunoarrived inEnglandonAugust27,1944andontoNormandy,FranceonSeptember25,1944. Hewas part of the seize at Bastogne,duringtheBattleoftheBulge,wheretheAmericanForceswerecomplete-lysurroundedbytheGermanArmy.OnMarch7,1945hewaspartoftheAmerican Forces that captured theLudendorff Bridge, which crossedthe Rhine River into Germany, atRemagen.WhileatRemagenhewit-nessedthefirstjetaircraftusedinthewar.Hetoldhisfamilythattheirwasa loud“boom”andwhenhe lookedskywardhesawaGermanjetflyoverthe bridge. PVTTehauno served 11months and 27 days in Europe andearned the European-Middle East-ern-AfricanCampaignMedalwith/3Battle Stars. His final resting placeistheLittleWashitaCemetery.PVTTehaunowasbornonApril 2, 1920anddiedonMay10,1999.
Tech Sergeant Robert P. Chahtin-neyackque served in the ArmyAirForcefrom1942-45 inboth theEu-ropean and Pacific Theaters. Hewas a radioman, gunner and me-chanic aboard a B-25 LiberatorHeavyBomber.OneofthebasesheservedatinEuropewasTorrettoAir-field, Italy.Afterflying the required50 missions in Europe (he flew on51 missions) that earned most air-craftcrewmen“ground”dutyTSGTChahtinneyackque was sent to Tez-por, India where he flew missionsover the “Hump” (the HimalayanMountains).HetrainedatWendover,UT. TSGT Chahtinneyackque wasawarded both the European-MiddleEastern-African and Asiatic PacificCampaign Medals, the Air Medalwith/3OakLeafClustersandtheAirCrewman Badge. He was born onMarch30,1922anddiedonDecem-ber11,2004–hisfinalrestingplaceisHighlandCemetery.
Staff Sergeant Haddon NauniservedintheArmyfrom1943-46.HiswasaHeavyMachineGunnerwiththe8thCavalryRegiment,1stCavalryDivi-sion in the Pacific Theater. He waspartoftheinvasionforcesatSalamiBeachonLosNegrosIsland,MangusIslandandLeyte,PhilippineIslands.He and unitwere involved in someoftheheaviestfightinginthePacificas they fought theirway the PalaceGrounds in Manila, PI liberatingthe Philippines of Japanese control.After thewarheperformedoccupa-tion duty inTokyo, Japan (after theAtomic Bomb was dropped). Hewas awarded the Combat Infantry-man Badge and the Asiatic PacificCampaign Medal. SSG Nauni wasborn on February 7, 1919 and diedonMarch12,1987–hisfinalrestingplaceisHighlandCemetery.
October 2014 7 The Comanche Nation News
SP3 Raymond AlmanzaArmy National Guard 1954-56
Served in Japan
PFC Darren AsepermyOKARNG 1984-91
Field Artillery Crewman
ABH3/C Christopher BradyNavy 1995-98
Cpl Darrel ChrismonMarine Corps 1968-70
Vietnam War
MSgt Albert Clark Jr.Air Force 1951-72
Vietnam War
Sgt. Richard “3” CodoponyAir Force 1966-68Served in England
Sgt. George DelawareArmy 1983-96
Persian Gulf War
SSG Charles EatmonArmy 2001-active duty
Iraq-twice wounded
LCpl Glen Heminokeky Jr.Marine Corps 2011-active duty
Fleet Marine
SP5 Frankie HaishArmy 1969-70
Served in Korea
LCpl Rondo HarmonMarine Corps 1992-95
Fleet Marine
Sgt. Daniel JacksonArmy 1999-92 & USAR 1992-98
October 2014 8 The Comanche Nation News
Dear TCNNLetters to the Editor
Dear,TCNN Many thanks to thefollowing: Comanche Nation News for the D-Day publica-tion in memory of our coun-try’s fallen heroes and thoseof our allies, also. Thanks toLannyAsepermyforhisneverendingserviceinhisdesiretohelpothersthroughtheCIVA.Lanny, you are a special sol-dier!The tribute to the fallenwarriorsofWWIIwhohelpedturn the tide for thewarwasoutstanding. The family ofJohnnieMichaelRivaswishestothankyouandallothersthatour son, Ryland, was invitedtoattendandbeapartof thememorialservice. Praise the Lord forthe“CodeTalkers”whohelpedturnthetideinWWII.Thede-scendants of the code talkerswerebeautiful in theirregaliaaswastheComanchePrincesswhoexpressedherselfsowellinherwords.Thewordsspo-kenby thedescendants’weremeaningful and showed theirlove for their honored familymemberaswellasforanyyouwillremainspecialtothemasyouwilltowardthem,also. The ministry of theCIVA is a blessing to otherswith their visit to those whoareshut in.ThankyoutoMr.George Red Elk and CIVAmembers who came to visitand pray…you are indeed aspecial people living in thetryingtimesoftoday’sworld!MayGodblessyouallgreatly.
Again, thank you from the family of Johnnie Rivas;
Louis Rivas, Charlotte Mor-ris, Mary Plata, Tommie
Rivas & all other.
DearTCNN, TheSeymour/Oberlyfamilies are deeply apprecia-tiveforallthewordsofkind-nessextendedtothefamily,thevisits and for the love showntousduringthisdifficulttime.Thankyoufor theverybeau-tiful flowers sent in memoryof our Mother, Grandmother,
Aunt and dearest Sister: Jac-queline (Jackie) Seymour, atherfuneralservice. Thank you every-one foryourkind thoughtful-ness. Our special thanks tothe members of the BrownChurch,Walters,Okla.,foralltheirhelpandprayersandforthedeliciousfood.Thankyouto the following: Joyce Mat-thewsandtheComanchePrin-cess Sorority, Primary CareHospice of Lawton, Oklaho-ma, Comanche Nation Gam-ing, Personal Touch HospiceofWalters,Oklahoma,DelphaTopetchy Stewart, OklahomaCity, Helen Hardin, Chicago,Illinois and the 2nd IndianPresbyterian Church of Ka-miah,Idaho.
Thank you, Margrett Oberly Kelly (for
the families)
DearTCNN,PROPOSEDCOUNCIL
RESOLUTIONTOAUTHORIZEAFOREN-SICAUDITOFPROCURE-
MENTCONTRACTS
WHEREAS, theTraditionofSovereigntyof theComancheNation since time immemo-rial, which long predates theexistenceoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica,establishesthein-herent sovereign powers andrights of Comanche self-gov-ernment;and
WHEREAS. the ComancheTribalCouncilistheSupremeGoverning Body of the Co-mancheNation inaccordancewithArticleIV,Section1,ofthe Comanche Constitution;and
WHEREAS, the ComancheNation has gaming fundedand federal funded programswhich require compliancewith Comanche procurementpolicies and procedures andapplicablefederallawascon-tained in theCodeofFederalRegulations(CFR);andWHEREAS, construction
projectsofaboutFourMillionDollars ($4,000,000.) for theyears 2008-2012 were donewithoutbids(andhavinggonetooneContractor)andwithoutComancheBusinessCommit-tee Approval. Smaller con-tractsweredone,whichresult-ed in poor workmanship anduncompleted projects. Thisinformation was distributedbyaComancheNewsletterbysix (6) formerCBCmembersin2012. Morecontracts, in-cluding the Waterpark waterwell contract, were done in2013-2014 in the same ille-galmanner,whichresulted inlarge Comanche Unemploy-mentandlayoffs.TheCapitalImprovementBudgetforCon-struction Projects was $4.8Million Dollars OverbudgetforFY2013andFY2014.$1.5MillionDollarsOverbudgetinFY2013and$3.3MillionDol-lars Overbudget in FY2014.;and
WHEREAS,theneedtocor-rect this unaccountability, toprevent further violations,andtoassurecompliancewithComanche and Federal pro-curement laws, demands athorough federal criminal in-vestigation to obtain forensicprosecution evidence, docu-ments, invoices, payment re-quests, invalidcontracts, can-celled checks and notarizedtestimonialaffidavits.
NOW THEREFORE BE ITRESOLVED, the ComancheCouncil authorizes a Foren-sic Audit of federal fundsand tribal government, gam-ing and enterprise funds andauthorizes federal criminalinvestigatorstocollectallnec-essary pertinent informationandevidencefromanyandalltribalentitiesand/orenterpris-es, and theFinley andCookCPAFirm. TheaboveProposedRes-olution was presented at aCBC Meeting on Septem-ber 6, 2014. The Resolutionwas not approved. However,
CBC Resolution No. 87-14was passed, during the Ex-ecutive Session at the sameCBC Meeting on September6, 2014, to prevent or banisha certain Contractor, namedJake Sharp, from contractingwith the Comanche Nation.He is also mentioned in theabove Proposed Resolution.In addition, CBC ResolutionNo. 80-14was approved at aMeetingonAugust2,2014,toApproveDisciplinaryActionsof theCBC. ThisResolutionstatesthattheCBCdeterminesthat any tribal employeewhouses their position or author-itytoawardorobtaincontrac-tual agreements with entitiesof questionable character, orsolicitfororreceivegifts,gra-tuities, favors, entertainment,loans, or any other thing ofmonetaryvalue, shallbe ter-minated immediately. BothCBC Resolutions Nos.80-14and 87-14 were initiated andpresentedbyClydeNarcomey,amemberoftheCBC. ACBCAction,ataCBCMeetingonThursday,August14, 2014, authorized the TaxCommission to transfer $2MillionDollars to theCapitalImprovementAccountorPro-gram,withoneCBCMemberwhovotedagainstthisAction.The $2 Million Dollars wasnot approved by ReferendumVote for the Annual Budget,as required by theComancheConstitution. Thus, this Actionis invalid and should be re-pealed. Thiswillprevent theCapitalImprovementProgramfromexceedingtheBudgetinthefuture.Itwillalsopreventuse of the Tax Revenue as aSlush Fund. In order for theCBC to legally approve thisAdditional Budget, the Co-mancheConstitutionhastobeamendedtogivetheCBCthisauthority.EachCBCMembertakes anOath ofOffice,withahandontheBible,tofollowtheConstitution.ArequestwasmadetoplacetheProposedCouncilResolu-
tion to authorize a ForensicAudit,ontheCouncilAgendaonApril 18, 2015. Thiswillalloworprovideanopportuni-tyforallComancheMembers,whowantAccountability andincreasedComancheEmploy-ment, to represent themselvesand to authorize a FederalCriminal Investigation. TheCBCcanandshouldauthorizea Forensic Audit before theApril18,2015CouncilMeet-ing.
UNBUDGETEDNETGAMINGREVENUE
ANALYSISYEARS2004TO2014
2004 21,723,000Asepermy Exit Letter, May,2012
2005 28,422,000ActualAuditReport
2006 37,004,000ActualAuditReport
2007 46,156,000Asepermy Exit Letter, May,2012
2008 48,535,499Audit in Comanche News,Jan.,2009
2009 46,541,000Asepermy Exit Letter, May,2012
2010 42,616,561Audit in Comanche News,May,2011
2011 50,713,708Un-Audited Figures show2011wasalmost19%higher than 2010, Comanche News,Jan.,2012
2012 60,998,695Un-Audited Figures. CEO,ComancheNews,Dec.,2012
2013 61,000,000Estimated
2014 61,000,000
Estimated 507,795,463 G R A N DTOTAL–ActualandEstimat-edNetGaming Note: 2004 t 2010NetReve-nuesarebasedondocumentedoractualAudits.
Thomas Narcomey, Comanche Member
DearTCNN, As a non-resident(e.g.,out-of-state)tribalmem-ber I appreciate receivingtribal news, updates and an-nouncements in The Coman-che Nation News. As an, unsolicited,newspaper format comment,Ibelieveeditorialand letters-to-the-editor sections wouldallow theEditor(s) toexpresstheir views on current tribalissues and invite interestedreader members a chance toexpresstheirviewsinanopenforumdialog.Forexample,IbelievethecurrentComancheBusiness Committee is doinganoutstandingjobofleading,guidinganddirecting theCo-mancheNation. Aswith anyorganization the membershipand the Nation can individu-ally and collectively, will ac-complishgreatthingsifwefo-cusonthegoodoftheNationasawhole. The history ofTexasand the American southwestwas indelibly stamped by thefootprints of the Comanchepeople. Now, the ComancheNationhasachancetocontin-ue this legacy into the futureifweprudentlyseizeregionaland national business oppor-tunitiesthathavethepotentialof catapulting the ComancheNation to the forefront of thefederalcontractingarena.Wecurrently have the chance tostamp another constructiveComanche footprint on thehistoryofAmerica.
Phil Howry, OwnerPHIL HOWRY CO.
“To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.” -Tia Walker
Comanche Nation Elder Day
December 12, 2014
Comanche County Coliseum
920 S. Sheridan Rd., Lawton, OK
Arts & Craft Vendors can set up on a First-Come-First-Serve Basis the morning of Dec. 12.
Bring your own table and chairs.
October 2014 9 The Comanche Nation News
MilestonesHappy Belated Birthday
Cameron Rodriguez, September 13Nathan Lopez, September 14Jimmy Ray Caddo, September 16Tracey Avila, September 17
Happy Birthday
Angel SatoeBrown SuedeDesire’ Attocknie Francis Attocknie IIIHah-Tee DelgadoIda Fae BointyLeslie Kay SpringerSelma Connywerdy-HerreraMatthew Pohocsucut, October 2Ariana Parker, October 3Laura Phillips, October 4Michael Sean Cook Jr., October 4Rance Pollard, October 4Krista Hubbard, October 5Llori Celeste Goombi, October 6Karen Samis, October 7Trenton Connywerdy, October 8Wayla Wauqua, October 9Cheryl Connywerdy, October 10Jolene Schonchin, October 12Vickie Toahty, October 12Victor Cambell, October 12Aaron Koomsa, October 13Annjaleah Lowe, October 13Sandy Schico, October 14Chucky Schico, October 16Stephaine Rodriguez, October 18Renea Toahty, October 20Susie Hubbard, October 25Teresa Sumka, October 25Shawna Hawzipta, October 28Jay Martinez, October 29Angel Thompson, October30Saadia Thompson, October 31
Anniversaries
Candice Durant & Nathan Lopez Sr. September 22~Married 5 years
Lester & Jennie KosechataSeptember 29, 1989~Married 25 years
Wedding Announcement
Derris Smith & Pauline SatoeJoined in Marriage September 4, 2014
Passings
Dora “Zola” Ware PewoMarch 12, 1947-August 16, 2014
Happy Belated BirthdayTracey Avila
September 17
Happy Belated BirthdayJacoub Meech Tahsequah
September 27
Happy BirthdayAngel Satoe
In Loving Memory Frankie Lee RedboneBirthday~October 1
Happy Belated BirthdayLittle Karyleen Redbone
September 12
Happy BirthdayOpal Jerre Gore
October 1
Happy BirthdayJana Redbird
October 3
Happy BirthdayRuby-Jewels Ahhaitty Wilson
October 3
Happy BirthdayDaniel Saupitty Jr.
October 9
Happy BirthdayDalilah Grace Allen
October 13
Happy BirthdayLorrie FoxOctober 13
Happy BirthdayDanny Held October 18
Happy BirthdayZayden Roberts
October 20
Happy BirthdayChris DeVine
October 24
Happy BirthdayNakoa Tahhahwah
October 20
Happy BirthdayEmanuel Tahhahwah
October 12
Happy BirthdayNahmie Banderas
October 12
In Loving MemoryVIOLETTA RAE
“PEPPER”GONZALES
NOVEMBER 30, 1967-OCTOBER 3, 2011LOVE AND MISS YOU
VERY MUCH.LOVE, MOM, MARCY, DINO, LORRIE DAWN,
KENDALL, AND FAMILY
In Loving Memory
October 19, 1964-October 3, 2004Rodyney Lukens
Its hard to believe you been gone for 10 years,
But your having another Birthday with our Lord Jesus in heaven. I love &
miss you~Aunt Betty
Happy Anniversary
Kenneth & Christy Laurenzana
September 29
Married15 years
Happy Belated BirthdayEmily Nami-Joyce “Emo” Niedo
September 26
Happy BirthdayRenea Toahty October 20
Jolene Schonchin October 12Vicki Toahty October 12
October 2014 10 The Comanche Nation News
2014 AMAIRA RodeoSept. 19-20 RegIon 8 fInAlS In lAwton, ok
Before the rodeo began, flags of the United States and the Comanche Nation were brought into the arena. Bringing in the United States flag was Morgan Tossee Sr., right, of the Comanche Nation and bringing in the Comanche Nation flag was Travis Codynah, also of the Comanche Nation, who were both taking pride in their tradition dressed in Comanche tribal regalia. Both men wore tribal war bonnets, bone breast plates, men’s buckskin leggins and beaded moccasins.
Women’s Break-Away brings a exciting event to the rodeo world. The Native cowgirls show they have skills as well as the men when it comes to roping.
Saddle Bronc riding is a old favorite to the rodeo arena. The cowboys try to hang on with one hand while riding some of the most aggressive horses in hopes to advance to the final money ride.
Comanche Nation Princess, Kim-berly DeJesus, renders her version of the National Anthem, during the opening ceremony performances.
Fancy Dancer, Frank Swift, stops on time as he performs a exhibition dance for the crowd before the ro-deo begins.
Calf Roping is another old event to the rodeo world. The cowboy shows the determination on his face as he races to try and throw the calf down and tie it’s legs together in record time, while his horse backs away keeping the rope tight so that the calf won’t be able to get away. The cowboy must be quick and accurate and his horse must be able to know exactly what to do in order to advance to the final go around.
Dressed in red to honor the military are the persons whom made the AMAIRA Region 8 Finals rodeo possible. This team, mostly Comanche tribal members, along with INFR (Indian National Finals Rodeo) board members, worked diligently to bring cowboys and cowgirls from all over the Southwest to Lawton, Okla.
October 2014 11 The Comanche Nation News
Mutton Bustin at it’s best during the Region 8 Finals.
Native cowboys from all over the southwest region were participat-ing in the Region 8 final rodeo.
Team Roping is another old time favorite. This cowboy is called the Header in which he ropes the head of the steer. This cowboy roped this steer in the first try.
Cowgirls also participate in the Barrell Racing event. This cowgirl and her horse makes the final turn around the barrell and races back pass the timer within a matter of minutes.
The Foot Race had crowd participation of ladies taking off their shoes, putting them in a pile on one end of the arena, and racing to find their shoes and being the first one back to the opposite end ot the arena.
Cody ParkerBareback Champion
Gulley FunnellSaddle Bronc Champion
Addee CarderLadies Break Away
Jimme Beth HefnerLadies Break Away Champion
Brenton HallJr. Break Away Winner
Jimmy QuallsSr. Breakaway
Stewart GulagerSteer Wrestling
Casey StoneSteer Wrestling
Jimmy ThomasTeam Roping
Scott Dailey/Phillip McCoyTeam Roping
Short Foreman/Joel MakerSr. Calf Roping
Mick Foreman/Joel MakerSr. Calf Roping Champions
Shane Koepnick/ Shane Koepnick/Brenton Hall Tiffany TeeheeAll Around Cowgirl
Jade ThompsonCalf Roping
Kayla GreenwaltJr. Barrels
Halle TathumJr. Barrels Champion
Ty CunninghamJr. Bulls
Nathan BurkhalterSr. Bulls
Region 8 Champions Going to the November National Indian Finals
October 2014 12 The Comanche Nation News
Want to Start a Business?Need Money to Expand Your Business,
Including Arts & Crafts Businesses ?Call (580) 351-9951
Comanche Nation Revolving Loan Program
The Comanche Nation’sEdith Kassanavoid Gordon LivingCenter held a OPEN HOUSE onSeptember 22 at 11 a.m.The centeris located at 1001 SE 36th street inLawtonOkla. TheopenhousebeganwithaprayergivenbyChairman,WallaceCoffey.Theprayerwas followedbythe welcoming address from TribalAdministrator,WilliamOwens. Coffey also gave some re-marksofthenewcenter.Hesaid“Wehave chosen this place to introduce
you to our Assisted Living Center.OurIndianartistsseemtogetbetterandbetter.TimSaupittydrewapic-ture of Edith Kassanavoid Gordon,andI’mverypleased.” “Our Indian people livelong;theydeserveagoodprosperouslife, and they deserve a good end-ing. So take a tour, enjoy yourself,getachancetorelaxandjustseethebeautyofthisplaceandthecomfortof it.When we talk aboutAssistedLiving who knows I might be hereone of these days.Thankyou to all
thatcameandyouwillseethisisjustthebeginning.It’sstartingoutsmallandthenweregoingtoprogressandmakeitbiggersomeday,”addedCof-fey. Coffey was also followedby Comanche Business Committeemembers Harry Mithlo and ClydeNarcomey. Mithlosaid,“We’remakingplansforourelderpeople.It’slikeabigcircle theComancheNationhasbeenmaking,andithasfinallycomearoundtohelpingoureldersandput-
tingaplaceupfor themwhere theycangooutbacktowheretheycamefrompeacefully. I thankyouforbe-ingherewithus andhaving agoodtimeto.” The new facility is a greatexpansionofwhatour tribal leadershavemadepriority. Introduction of staff andboard members were announced.The include: Melanie Lewis, JoniRamirez, Felesia James, Loyce Sul-livan,andLisaYackeyonny. Following the opening re-
marks groups led by staff membersweregiven toursof the facility.Thefacilityincludeseightrooms,afam-ilyroom,diningroom,kitchen,con-ferenceroom,andnursingareas. Theopenhouseendedwithlunchbeingservedatnoon. The assisted living centeris now accepting applications. Formore information call Joni Ramirez@(580)699-3736.
Edith Kassanavoid Assistant Living
Center Holds Open House
Story/Photo by Stacey Heminokeky/News Staff
Chairman Wallace Coffey, right, tells the Open House visitors how pleased he is with the artwork that hangs throughout the walls of the Edith Kassanavoid Assisted Living Center.
He highlighted one painting in particular of Edith Kassanavoid Gordon, which was painted by Award-Winning Comanche Artist, Tim Saupitty, that hangs on the wall in the
Family Room, which they were gathered.
