Turtle Island Travels: July at Crosswinds
Happy July, Crosswinds Community!
We hope your summer has included time with family and friends and perhaps a few of the many gatherings happening across northeast Oklahoma.
July carried the Crosswinds team from Tulsa to Massachusetts, Mi’kma’ki and Portland. Along the way, we continued reporting on issues affecting Native families, showing up at community events and exploring how our work can support connections here in the heart of Indian Country and beyond.
Listening, Learning and Reporting
Just before July began, Crosswinds celebrated the conclusion of the Native News & Events Podcast pilot with a live screening and community focus group.
It was wonderful to gather with listeners, hear what they enjoyed and learn how future episodes could be even more useful. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped us test this new way of sharing Native news, events and opportunities. We are working hard to build out the future of this podcast!
Crosswinds Admin
We also reported on the ongoing effort to create an intertribal Native American community center in Tulsa. During a June listening session, community members and local leaders discussed possible locations, partnerships, funding opportunities and their hopes for a welcoming space shaped by Native people.
Crosswinds will continue reporting on the planning process and sharing opportunities for the community to participate.
Rachael Schuit
Rachael Schuit continued our reporting on Native youth homelessness by speaking with Felix Clary, a Chickasaw Nation citizen who is also Cherokee and Choctaw.
Clary shared his experience of becoming homeless in his early twenties, the barriers young people encounter while seeking stable housing and potential solutions Tribal Nations and community organizations could explore. Crosswinds plans to continue covering this issue and the culturally informed responses that could help.
Culture and Connection Close to Home
Russell Sun Eagle attended the July 1 opening of Palomino Books and Music in Tulsa’s Kendall Whittier neighborhood.
Owners Paloma Lopez and Agalisiga Mackey created the multilingual bookstore as a cultural gathering place for Indigenous and Hispanic community members. The space includes books, music and a listening room for performances, poetry readings and other events.
Rachael Schuit
The Crosswinds and Talking Circle teams were also grateful to have a booth at the 74th Annual Tulsa Powwow. We enjoyed meeting families, watching the dancers and singers and inviting young people (and a few grownups!) to create their own stories at our zine station.
Thank you to the Tulsa Indian Club, our volunteers and everyone who spent time with us. More photos coming soon!
Ahead of the powwow, Russell spoke with Tulsa Indian Club Chairman David Bible about what first-time visitors can expect. Bible explained powwow traditions, the roles of the drum and emcee and important etiquette surrounding photography, dancing and entering the arena.
Russell Sun Eagle, Report for America Corps Member
More Local Highlights
- Tulsa Arts Commission: Russell attended the commission’s July meeting, where members reviewed designs for the Route 66 Traffic Control Box Art Wrap Project and received updates on other public art initiatives. Commissioners also voted to support Tulsa’s application to host the National Folk Festival.
- American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma: At the Tulsa Chapter’s July forum, panelists discussed access to capital, grant readiness, business planning and the State Small Business Credit Initiative.
- Native American Community Committee: Brittany Harlow attended the July luncheon, where Teresa Runnels shared information about the Tulsa City-County Library’s American Indian Resource Center and its signature programs honoring Native writers and community leaders.
Connections Across Turtle Island
Crosswinds co-founders Kelly Tidwell and Brittany Harlow traveled to Massachusetts and Mi’kma’ki, in what is now Nova Scotia, during July.
Brittany continued learning about her Irish, Acadian and Mi’kmaq family lines while visiting places connected to her ancestors and their migrations. The journey is part of an experiment in exploring personal rematriation as a path toward deeper connection, responsibility and allyship.
The work asks what may change when people learn where their own families came from, what they continue to carry with them, and how their histories intersect with the lands and communities around them. Brittany is documenting the journey through her series, “What We Carry With Us: Rematriation After Migration.”
Brittany Harlow
A new Crosswinds story also explores connections that existed across Turtle Island long before the borders of the United States and Canada.
Rachael Schuit and Troy Littledeer reported on Welcome to Turtle Island, a glass-art exhibit created by Canadian artists Melinda Robertson and Shannon Monk. The work highlights Indigenous Nations’ longstanding governments, cultures, trade networks and family connections across modern international boundaries.
While Brittany and Kelly traveled east, Russell Sun Eagle and Trista Vaughn traveled west to Portland, Oregon, for the Indigenous Journalists Association’s Indigenous Media Conference.
They connected with other Native journalists, participated in training and learned more about the reporting and media work happening throughout Indian Country.
Crosswinds would also like to congratulate Osage News Editor Shannon Shaw Duty, who received the IJA-Medill Milestone Achievement Award and the Minnie Two Shoes Award for Excellence in Tribal Media.
Congratulations, Shannon!
Celebrating the Crosswinds Team
July also brought national recognition for Crosswinds and our team.
Crosswinds earned third place in the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Awards’ Solutions Journalism category for Returning to Balance: Harm Reduction in Native Communities, reported by Rachael Schuit.
Crosswinds Admin
The series examined how Native cultural identity is helping improve outcomes in youth suicide prevention, substance-use recovery and healing from domestic violence. Rachael also recently completed training to become a certified trainer for the Solutions Journalism Network.
Great work, Rachael!
Crosswinds was also named a finalist for two LION Publishers Sustainability Awards:
- Operational Resilience
- Community Engagement
The recognitions reflect both the organizational systems our team has worked to build, and the reporting, events and resources developed through our Listening and Learning Tour.
Winners will be announced in September.
Looking Ahead to August
August begins with an important milestone: Crosswinds News and its parent company, Talking Circle, are celebrating eight years of journalism, storytelling, engagement and cultural work.
We are grateful to everyone who has read, shared, supported or participated in our work. Stay tuned for more about how we are celebrating and how you can help us build the next chapter of Crosswinds.
Applications are also due for our the second StoryKeepers cohort. This cohort will focus on STEM reporting and help Native youth develop skills in media, interviewing and storytelling. Participants whose stories are published through the program will receive stipends.
The application deadline is August 1.
Make Your Voice Heard in Tulsa’s Police Chief Search
The City of Tulsa is inviting residents to help identify the qualities and priorities they want to see in Tulsa’s next chief of police.
A public Community Listening Session will be held on Tuesday, August 4, from 5:30–7 p.m. at Edison Preparatory School, located at at 2906 E. 41st St., Tulsa
This opportunity is particularly important in light of Crosswinds’ previous reporting. When Tulsa’s last police chief was selected in 2024, Indigenous representation appeared to be absent from the citizens panel involved in the interview process. Questions from Crosswinds about how Native perspectives were included had not been answered when our report was published.
Brittany Harlow
RSVP TO THE COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSION HERE
August Community Calendar
There's a full month of events coming up, with more added every day:
- August 1: Resilience Through Tradition Cultural Day at Hardesty Regional Library in Tulsa.
- August 1–2: Red Earth Festival at the Oklahoma City Convention Center.
- August 4: Tulsa Police Chief Community Listening Session at Edison Preparatory School.
- August 31–September 2: The Gathering Business Summit at River Spirit Casino Resort.
These gatherings and many more can be found on the Crosswinds Calendar.
Crosswinds Admin
Thank you for being part of the Crosswinds journey and for supporting our Native-owned, family-owned organization.
Every story read, event attended, post shared and membership started helps us continue carrying stories from the heart of Indian Country.
With gratitude,
The Crosswinds News Team
