Growing Stronger Together: May Across Indian Country
Happy May, Crosswinds Community,
May brought growth, gathering, remembrance and celebration across Indian Country, and Crosswinds was grateful to be there for many of those moments.
This month, our team continued to bloom through storytelling, podcasting, community events and training through our StoryKeepers program.
We kicked off May at the Tulsa Indian Club Spring Festival, where we connected with Native organizations, community members and vendors from across the area. It was a great reminder of how much strength, creativity and connection already exists within our communities.
May is also a time to recognize Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. On May 5, Trista Vaughn and Russell Sun Eagle attended the National Day of MMIP Awareness event at the Oklahoma Capitol, hosted by the Cheyenne and Arapaho MMIP Chapter. Advocates, families and lawmakers gathered to discuss the impact of MMIP in Oklahoma and the work still needed to address the crisis.
[VIEW THE FULL PHOTO ALBUM HERE]
Crosswinds News also spoke with Ronna Stone, a Chippewa Cree survivor of sex trafficking and years of abuse. Stone shared how the abuse began when she was a child and teenager, leading to years spent on the run from the man who harmed her and circumstances that eventually put her behind bars. Recently released from prison, Stone is now rebuilding her life through Inside Out Re-Entry Services and training as a chef through the Belle’s Kitchen Program.
Alongside remembrance, May also brought moments of joy and celebration. Native American restaurant Nātv celebrated Mother’s Day weekend with a buffet brunch pop-up. While the restaurant is still looking for a permanent home, the team served the community during a meaningful weekend focused on honoring mothers and families at Mother Road Market.
Community events continued with a special evening at Magic City Books on May 28 to celebrate the publication of Tilton and Grace Entokah: An Osage Story, written by Osage citizen Anthony Lookout before his passing earlier this year. Lookout’s wife, Kathy, and daughter, Maddie Habeck, carried forward his efforts to see the book published. The event included a panel discussion on the book and the importance of preserving Osage history, with Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear among the panelists.
In other literary news, NDN Girls Book Club came to Oklahoma. The Native women-led organization, which promotes Native authors and stories, gave away thousands of free books during stops in Tahlequah, Okmulgee, Carnegie, Ada and Durant.
May is also a time of celebration for the Indian Health Care Resource Center, which marks 50 years of serving patients in Indian Country. On May 30, IHCRC will hold its sold-out Dance of the Two Moons fundraiser at River Spirit Casino Resort, and Crosswinds is proud to be a sponsor.
MORE LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS
From the Tulsa Arts Commission: At a recent Tulsa Arts Commission meeting, commissioners raised concerns that proposed Route 66 “Unifier” designs do not adequately reflect the Native communities represented in Tulsa, which sits within the Muscogee, Cherokee, and Osage reservations. The commission unanimously recommended that the designs incorporate more Indigenous representation, though it remains unclear whether the state and design team will adopt those changes.
From the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma Tulsa Chapter: At this month's luncheon, business leaders discussed how Tribal Nations are driving Oklahoma’s economic growth through investments in industries such as aerospace, artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and skilled trades. Panelists emphasized the importance of partnerships and community engagement, while chamber members recognized support for the Murrow Indian Children’s Home and welcomed new Native-owned businesses and organizations from across the state.
From the Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission: At this month's meeting, members reflected on the growing impact of Tribal Nations across Oklahoma and celebrated the achievements of 201 Native graduating seniors from Tulsa Public Schools. Commissioners also shared plans for this year’s Native American Day celebration, themed “Sovereign Roots, Shared Future,” with Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols serving as parade marshal and Dr. Jessica Moore Harjo selected as the featured artist
From the State of the Tribal Nations luncheon: Crosswinds posted recaps of the third annual event's Tribal Leadership Panel and Partners in Prosperity Panel
From the Tulsa Indian Club: The Tulsa Indian Club welcomed their incoming 2026-2027 Tulsa Powwow Princess Katie Fields Alexander. Katie will be officially crowned at the 74th Annual Tulsa Powwow on July 25th.
Catalyst News, a sister organization of Crosswinds, also celebrated a milestone in supporting cultural identity in young people this month, debuting the new Rooted Together Toolkits and delivering them to families to begin testing them. The toolkits include cultural learning activities for Muscogee children ages 0 to 5 and are designed to help families connect more deeply with Muscogee culture, language and traditions.
In addition to our news coverage, the Crosswinds team spent time training members of the StoryKeepers cohort in multimedia reporting. The in-person training covered video storytelling and podcast production, giving participants more tools to share stories in their own voices. We cannot wait to publish stories from our cohort members.
Our Native News and Events podcast continued this month with headline updates and community member highlights.
On Talking Winds, we got to know more about Crosswinds News Senior Journalist Rachael Schuit and David “Hank” Bible, owner of Southwest Trading Company in Tulsa’s Meadow Gold District.
You can listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
Crosswinds was also grateful to receive a $10,000 award from the Alliance for Social Trust to support the development of a matriation workshop in collaboration with Words of the People. The organization recently held a summit in Chicago focused on building trust in communities across the country. Rachael Schuit attended on behalf of Crosswinds, where she learned from other organizations and shared more about how Crosswinds is working to build trust through community-centered news.
And we received exciting news from the Local Media Association. Crosswinds won first place in the Journalism & Storytelling Innovation category for our MMIWG2T Historical Reporting Project and third place in Audience & Community Engagement for our Listening and Learning Tour. We are deeply grateful for this recognition and proud of the community-rooted work these projects represent.
Finally, don’t forget to visit the Crosswinds Calendar to find Native events happening across northeast Oklahoma.
Upcoming events include:
- June 2: Native Culture Make and Take
- June 13: Toompalli’ Festival
- June 15–16: Sovereignty Symposium
- June 24: Native American Community Center Listening Session
Thank you for your continued support, Crosswinds Community. We look forward to sharing more stories, events and updates with you in June.
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