Community Connection

Listening, learning and building stronger pathways to information, resources and community participation

Over the years, Crosswinds has evolved to also serve as a community connector, creating opportunities for Native residents, families, organizations, leaders and allies to gather, share information, learn from one another and strengthen their communities.

Through community listening, research, convening, journalism and public education, we identify information gaps, make trusted resources easier to find and shape our journalism and programming around what the community says it needs.

From Listening to Action

Our work begins by listening to what Native communities in northeast Oklahoma want and need from local news and information.

What we hear directly shapes our journalism, events and programs. It helps us identify which stories need attention, where information is missing and how Crosswinds can better serve Native residents and families.

Listening and Learning Tour

Crosswinds conducted a year-long Listening and Learning Tour across the Muscogee, Cherokee and Osage reservations. The tour included both rural and urban stops.

Native community members had the opportunity to meet with the Crosswinds team and share what they wanted from local news, what information was difficult to access and what would help them feel more informed, represented and connected.

These conversations have guided our journalism and contributed to the creation of the Native News and Events Podcast, the Native Community Events Calendar and other community-centered programming.

Native Tulsa Information Ecosystem Assessment

Building on the Listening and Learning Tour, Crosswinds completed a Native-focused Information Ecosystem Assessment for Tulsa County.

The assessment examined how Native residents find, share and evaluate information; which sources they trust; where information gaps exist; and how local organizations communicate with the community.

Crosswinds shared the findings during a public virtual event. What we learned also helped shape the Native News and Events Podcast, created in response to community members who said they prefer receiving news and information through video.

Crosswinds Calendar

Our community surveys and conversations highlighted how difficult it can be to find Native events, programs and opportunities in one place. We created the Crosswinds Community Calendar to help address that gap by bringing together information from Native-serving organizations, tribal and non-Tribal government agencies, and community groups. Community members can easily see what is happening across the region, while organizations and agencies can submit events to help more people stay informed, connected and involved.

Tulsa Indian Community Center Initiative

Crosswinds is part of a broader community-led effort to develop a Tulsa Indian Community Center. We help gather community feedback, share updates and create opportunities for Native residents to participate in the planning process.

In 2026, Crosswinds hosted a community listening session where residents shared what they would like to see offered and included at the future center.

A separate nonprofit organization is being formed to lead the development and operation of the Tulsa Indian Community Center. Crosswinds will continue supporting the work through community engagement as the organization takes shape.

Building What Comes Next

The listening, research, journalism and community programming Crosswinds has completed so far have revealed a continuing need: Native residents need stronger and more consistent pathways to trusted information, resources and opportunities.

Crosswinds is developing the Urban Native Community Network (UNCN) as the next step in this work.

The UNCN would serve as a community-powered information and connection network for Tulsa’s urban Native community. It would create a two-way connection among Native residents, tribal departments, Native-serving organizations and Crosswinds as a Native-led information hub.

A central part of the UNCN would be a paid group of trusted community members, known as Tulsa Urban Native Connectors. These Connectors would help identify questions and information gaps, share verified resources and opportunities and guide Crosswinds’ community information work.

Potential components of the UNCN include community-informed and community-created storytelling, youth participation, public education and the Native News and Events Podcast.

The UNCN would make resources, services, cultural activities and opportunities easier for Native residents and families to find, understand and access.

Help Shape What Comes Next

Community knowledge and input will continue to guide Crosswinds’ local news coverage, events, programming and development of the Urban Native Community Network.

Connect with Crosswinds to share a question, identify an information gap, suggest an issue that needs greater news coverage, submit an event, invite us into a community conversation or explore opportunities to partner with us.