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Photo Courtesy: Library of Congress Written By Noel Lyn Smith (OKLAHOMA) Ronald Barnett recalled a time in 2022, when he stood on a patch of eastern Oklahoma land that once belonged to his great-great-great-uncle. “It was just like a one room hut, and the fireplace was right
Crosswinds Special Edition Newsletter
Hello Crosswinds Community! We are pleased to bring you the first edition of Crosswinds Monthly. The Crosswinds News team has been working nonstop since we announced our rebrand from Verified News Network (VNN) Oklahoma to Crosswinds News last month. In case you missed it, the big announcement happened during our
Crosswinds Special Edition Newsletter
At Crosswinds News, honoring Native American heritage is part of our mission 365. This work is woven into everything we do: every season, every story, every day. November marked the completion of the first phase of our Solutions Journalism “Returning to Balance” series, created to uplift the cultural strengths and
Editorial
In July 2025, Crosswinds News began working with women incarcerated at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center and Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Oklahoma, listening to pitches for editorial (opinion) stories, providing feedback, and offering editing support. This is one of those stories. Written By: Crystal Avilla I spent the last
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But Oklahoma law enforcement is learning collaboration with tribal police can make a difference. Written By Carrie Johnson (PAULS VALLEY, Okla.) Faith Lindsey was 17 when she went missing. At the time, she was working at a Sonic drive-in and was in a difficult and contentious relationship. On October
Crosswinds Special Edition Newsletter
The 2025 Indigenous Roots American Indian History Symposium brought together 150 people from across Oklahoma and beyond to learn and build toward a stronger, more just, more inclusive future. From the opening prayer to the final words of reflection, community hearts carried every conversation, song, and shared meal. It was
(TVLSE, Okla.) A new season has arrived for Verified News Network (VNN). After seven years of steady innovation and collaboration, the Native-owned, independent media organization VNN is embracing a powerful transformation, carried by the winds of change and guided by the same values that have grounded it since the
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Written By: Chelsea T. Hicks | Osage News (OSAGE RESERVATION) Candace Shelton is the granddaughter of full blood Osage Mary Elkins, and the daughter of Mary Jacqueline Elkins Shelton. Mary Elkins died young at the age of 30 in 1932, and Shelton has long wondered what happened to her grandmother. Read
OklahomaNative news
On Sept. 8, the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education voted to prohibit discriminatory school branding and begin removing Native American mascot imagery at Webster and Central schools. Pictured are some of the supporters who helped make this change possible. Written By: Russell Sun Eagle and Nico Berlin (TULSA, Okla.
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Written By Sarah Liese (Twilla) | KOSU Radio (GROVE, Okla.) Six years after Aubrey Dameron, a 25-year-old transgender Cherokee woman, disappeared from a popular summer destination on the Cherokee Nation reservation, multiple law enforcement agencies in the state have worked on her case. Yet, no details regarding her death
Photo Courtesy: Muscogee Nation Written By: Rachael Schuit, Brittany Harlow, Russell Sun Eagle (MUSCOGEE RESERVATION) An agreement was reached between the Muscogee Nation and the City of Tulsa, ending a jurisdictional legal battle that began in November of 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, the City of Tulsa will
On June 3, 2025, VNN | VNN Oklahoma President and CEO Kelly Tidwell (Muscogee and Cherokee) sent the following letter to Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols, requesting a meeting to discuss how the City plans to acknowledge and respond to the injustice it helped facilitate against Indigenous people during the Allotment and