The Wah-Zha-Zhi Cultural Center will be hosting the 2nd Annual Cultural Walk Oct. 23 on the Mullendore Cross Bell Ranch, northeast of Pawhuska. Registration for the walk, which is an overnight trip, will be open from Aug. 15 through Sept. 15.

Check-In and safety orientation will be held at the Cultural Center in Pawhuska at 8 a.m. on Oct. 23. Coffee and donuts will be provided. Upon completion of orientation participants will be transported to the ranch and will walk to the campsite. A light lunch will be provided for participants. On the way to the campsite there will be small exhibits for walkers to learn about the rich history of the Osage people. After the camp has been set a traditional meal will be served for supper. The evening activities will include: Indian Dice, a Hand Game, story telling, and other fun activities. Breakfast will be served in the morning.

After breakfast, participants will break camp and walk from the campsite to the Mullendore family ranch where the Mullendore family is graciously hosting a meal. Travelers will then be transported back to the Cultural Center on Sunday, Oct. 24.

For more information please call the Wah-Zha-Zhi Cultural Center at (918)-287-5538 or visit our web site at www.osagetribe.com/cultural.

By Shannon Shaw
Osage News

The Osage Minerals Council has selected three members to be the OMC’s representation on the Nation’s five-member Trust Team. The trust team is made up of three OMC members, the principal chief and the speaker of the congress.

Dudley Whitehorn, Galen Crum and Cynthia Boone were unanimously voted in by the eight-member OMC July 21, and Whitehorn was voted to be the trust team chairman. They will join Principal Chief John Red Eagle and Speaker of the Congress Jerri Jean Branstetter.

According to the Memorandum of Agreement, signed and dated July 21, 2006, between the executive, congressional branch and the minerals council, the trust team was developed to establish clear lines of communication between the three.

The trust team monitors pending and future lawsuits against the United States or its officials concerning federal mismanagement of Osage tribal trust funds and assets, legislation concerning the settlement of such lawsuits as Cobell v. Kempthorne; and federal administrative actions concerning reform of trust management systems for tribes and Indians, according to the memorandum.

Salary reductions

OMC Councilmen Curtis Bear and Joseph “Sonny” Abbott have voluntarily taken pay cuts. Bear asked the council July 21 in their regular meeting to reduce his salary from $30,000 a year to $13,000 a year. Abbott cut his salary completely. Bear said in the meeting that in order to receive his disability benefits he cannot make an income of more than $14,000; Abbott said he did not need the extra money.

Audience members thanked the councilmen for reducing and returning their salaries to the Osage shareholders. The OMC receives their funding from the Osage minerals estate.

For more information on the OMC contact Miya McKim at (918) 287-5433 or e-mail her at mmkim@osagetribe.org.

Alex Stock, an up and coming Osage artist graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in December of last year. Her works can be found at her family's studio in the former Thunderbird bar on Main Street in Fairfax, Okla. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

By Benny Polacca
Osage News

FAIRFAX, Okla. – While technology buffs prefer the newest digital cameras to the old instamatics, Osage artist Alex Stock prefers to capture her images on canvas with oil paint.

“People have said painting’s dead and I’m like: ‘I’m going to hold onto an old idea of portraiture, it’s a moment you’re capturing,’” the 23-year-old said while sitting in the former Thunderbird bar along Main Street. She says painting is different because “photos flatten things. When you paint (images) from life, it’s different because you notice more details.”

Stock’s family, who ran the Thunderbird for three years, converted it into an art studio which is now used by Stock and her mother Wendy Ponca, also an artist who specializes in fabric and textile works. Several pieces of the bar’s furniture remain in the 1920s-era building alongside art equipment, supplies and several paintings placed against the wall.

Stock is also trained in drawing/ sketching, silk screen printing and fiber arts thanks to her studies at the Kansas City Art Institute. She graduated from KCAI last December with a Bachelor’s degree.

Stock is the third generation in her family to attend KCAI, which is a prestigious and private art school. “It’s hard to get into, if you can get in there, your chances for a master’s program are a lot (greater) too.”

Wendy Ponca is also a KCAI graduate like her father, Carl Ponca. “It’s one of the most recognized art institutes in the world like those in Paris and Athens,” she said, adding she also chose KCAI because it’s “close to home.” Ponca’s textile work includes making Osage regalia including otter hides for men, ribbons for women and woven belts.

Stock uses the bar-turned-studio to work and she’s invited fellow artist friends to visit her in Osage Country and to use the studio for their own work.

“A studio is more than just a space,” Ponca said. “You need a place to spend time by yourself. If you’re cooped up in a building, it’s not the same. Just like church, it’s got to be inspirational – that’s why some people paint outside.”

A self-portrait of Alex Stock sits on a stand by the front window next to a rectangular mirror, which she used as a guide for painting herself on canvas. “I’m a quick painter, but some people will take years on one painting,” she said.

Several portraits of friends and family painted by Stock are also in the studio. Those moments provided an outlet for Stock and her painting models to bond while she worked.

“I got into the habit of inviting friends over and they’d sit for three hours,” Stock said. “People have said they really enjoy it, there’s something about being immortalized in paint.”

‘Opportunity to express yourself’

Ponca, a former college art teacher, credits art outlets and schools with assisting people because “it’s a good opportunity to express yourself and it could help them – especially youth.” She is also a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. where she was an instructor from 1982 to 2000.

Stock initially attended Woodland High in Fairfax, but transferred to Santa Fe High School for her senior year to pursue a “bigger venue” with more art program opportunities and graduated in 2005.

At 21, Stock painted a scene of her family’s former New Mexico residence after she began having “weird dreams” which lasted over a month. “I dreamed I was shepherding children through the house.”

Stock began painting the dream sequence, which she learned was once “an old school house.” When the painting was finished, it depicted a two-story house with three groups of dark-haired children coming outside. Off to the side of the house are several animal tracks in the desert sand.

“After I finished painting, I stopped having the dreams,” said Stock who is considering moving back to Santa Fe. Early 20th century schools (government or church-funded) targeting Native American children hold a dark part in history because they were created as an attempt to assimilate Native students through mainstream education and the schools’ instructors shunned Native languages and culture while some school officials even abused the students.

The “house painting” is among several others inside the Thunderbird along with a “painting of dolls” in which Stock blends Russian and Native influences together.

Thirteen Russian Matroyoshka dolls are painted in different sizes and all are wearing Native clothing, regalia and have straight black hair. The Matroyoshka dolls are usually made in decreasing order and open in half so that one doll can be placed inside the larger one.

In another painting, Stock creates prints of two images which appear to be changing shapes while swimming or floating. The painting is a story about “two lovers who get separated. They become fish so they can meet together again,” Stock said.

Stock, Wendy and Carl Ponca are from the Grayhorse District. They are of the Ponca-Wash-Tage or Gentle Leader Clan and the Water People of the Hun-Kah Division. Wendy Ponca’s Indian name is Wah-Tsi-Wen (Star Woman) and Stock is Min-Ga-Shona (Star That Is The Sun).

Alex Stock, who graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in December of last year, painted this self portrait by studying her reflection in the mirror. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

Oil on canvas is Stock’s preferred choice of art medium and here she shows a painting of Native American-themed Matryoshka dolls, also known as Babushka dolls that decrease in size and stack inside one another. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

Several oil painting portraits by Alex Stock sit against the wall in her family's art studio in Fairfax. The paintings are of friends and family. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

Osage artist Alex Stock discusses her interest in oil painting at her family's art studio in Fairfax. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

Osage artist Alex Stock painted this image of her family's former residence in New Mexico. The painting is a depiction of a dream she had. The old house was once a school. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

Alex Stock discusses her art work at her family's art studio in Fairfax. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

A painting by Osage artist Carl Ponca hangs on the wall in the Fairfax art studio run by his daughter Wendy Ponca. Her daughter, Alex Stock, is also an artist. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

A painting by Osage artist Alex Stock hangs in her family's art studio in Fairfax. Photo by Benny Polacca/Osage News

The Osage Nation is announcing a one time community challenge matching grant. The grant is for a maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per community to encourage the development of permanent facilities for use by all Osage Reservation youth. This is to promote active lifestyles among reservation youth, aid in the prevention of diabetes or other diseases and to support the growth of our communities with the boundaries of the Osage Nation.

To be eligible for this grant applicants must be located within the physical boundaries of the Osage Nation, which includes the communities of Pawhuska, Wynona, Barnsdall, Avant, Skiatook, Prue, Osage, Fairfax, McCord and Shidler. (Osage County communities only), must be submitted by local community governments, community foundations, or recognized and established community organizations, and only monetary dollar for dollar donations will be matched. Donations of real estate or personal property cannot be counted as matching funds. (Funds to be matched may not originate from the Osage Nation Government, its entities, or its wholly owned businesses.)

For further information or to request an application packet please contact Lynette Miles at (918) 287-5383 or Otto Hamilton at (918) 287-5584.

Deadline for submission is August 27 at 4:30 p.m., there are no exceptions.

Scott BigHorse, Candidate for Assistant Principal Chief

By Shannon Shaw

Osage News

Scott BigHorse is ready to bridge the gap between the Executive Branch and Congress if elected assistant principal chief.

His experience as a state legislator, in which he served a two-year term from roughly 2007 to 2009, will bring invaluable experience and contacts to the new administration, whether it’s John Red Eagle or Tim Tall Chief, he said.

The runoff election is July 19.

Correctional facilities

Besides being a state legislator for two years, BigHorse has carved out a place for himself in Oklahoma correctional facilities. For 13 years he worked at the D. Conner Correctional Center (DCCC) located outside of Hominy and for nine years he contracted with the state by opening the only Co-Facilitated Juvenile Detention Center in the state.

He’s been named Correctional Officer of the Year twice, once for DCCC and the second for Division I Institutions which covers approximately 12 institutions, he said. In 2003 he was promoted the Director of the Juvenile Detention Center to Assistant Director for the Youth Services of Osage County which has five programs within it.

He’s active in the community in which he sits on the Pawhuska City Planning and Zoning Board; he’s the current Chairman of the Friends of the Osage Language, Inc.; he’s a member of the board of directors for the Edwin Fair mental health and he’s a Peace Officer, certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training.

Osage community

BigHorse has always been active in the Osage In-Lon-Schka dances and other Osage traditions, he said.

“I have participated in our In-Lon-Schka dances since I was a baby and have grown up in that way of life to the point that it has affected the way I conduct myself when dealing with any situation,” BigHorse said. “[Just as in the In-Lon-Schka] we all have a job to do and we must focus on that job rather than trying to micromanage or worry about everyone else’s job.

“For instance, I want to be your assistant principal chief, I don’t want to be your principal chief during this administration nor do I want to be your director of operations, chief of staff or member of congress,” he said.

He also pointed out that when it comes to the In-Lon-Schka the Osage people put their personal or family differences aside because those differences have no place in the In-Lon-Schka.

“Our government should not be run around personality differences but for the best interest of our Osage people and our Osage government which is much bigger than the sum of individuals serving our government,” he said. “We must begin to put those personality differences aside when we are working for our people in the capacity of an elected official or Osage Nation employee.”

Legislative experience

As a former state legislator he said he is the only candidate that has real experience working within a three-branch government system.

“As a state legislator I joined the National Conference of State Legislators and then joined their Native American Caucus where we developed policy to be sent to Washington, D.C., for bill consideration,” he said. “While a member of the Native American Caucus I chaired the Environment and Natural Resources Committee and Co-Chaired the Transportation Committee.”

From that experience he said it will be his job as assistant chief to explain the intent of legislation to the executive branch through discussions with members of congress and to explain any problems the executive may have with items of legislation.

“I will not participate in the personality conflicts that have plagued our current congress but will work with the executive branch and the principal chief to do what is best for our people and our government,” he said. “This means that I will not take any side but that of our people when congress is divided.

“I will not take a side voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a tie simply because of who may have sponsored the legislation on the table.

“I believe my experience in the Oklahoma State Legislature will help me to do an exemplary job as assistant principal chief when discussing and debating legislative items,” he said.

Policy

His policy ideas focus on making the Osage government more effective and more transparent, he said.

“As a tribal member I would like to see in some form every stream of revenue that comes into the nation (with exception to the minerals estate) and some form of where every stream of revenue leaves the nation and why,” he said. “I work in a business that is audited from four to six times a year on both financial condition and program records, needless to say I believe in being up front and above board with any and all audits.”

He said during his time as a state legislator he formed many valuable contacts within the state to help the principal chief in his decision-making processes.

He is the great grandson of Andrew and Laura BigHorse on his father’s side and the great grandson of Tobe and Mary Trumbly Pearson on his mother’s side. His Osage name is Ki-He-Kah Tah and he is from the Wa-Ka-Ko-Li’n district in Pawhuska. He has been dancing and singing for 40-plus years and he also attends the Native American Church and the Catholic Church.

An election-themed cake sits at the campaign camp of election candidates Danette Daniels, Talee Redcorn, Gregory Woodell, Robert Martin, Jewell Purcell and Kathryn Red Corn on June 7 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

By Ruby Murray
Osage News

On Election Day congressional candidate Daniel Boone fulfilled his campaign promise “to put a meat pie in your mouth, strawberry pop in your hand, and a smile on your face.”

Other candidates for Osage government had varied strategies for feeding voters on Election Day. Some considered voter preference for traditional Osage food, others considered the need for diabetic dessert choices and some went with a more contemporary flare.

The weather played havoc with congressional candidate Anthony Webb’s plans. Wind blew away supplies at Webb’s Grayhorse camp requiring a last minute shopping trip for Webb and his wife. Anticipating high temperatures, congressional candidate Randolph Crawford brought thirty bags of ice and lots of water as well as a barbecue lunch.

Candidates provide choices for lunch and dinner

Voters had choices of barbecue, fruit, vegetables, frybread at lunch and more choices for dinner. Minerals Council candidate Joseph “Sonny” Abbott Jr. served a cake topped with the Osage Nation seal and cookies with a Team Osage logo.

Assistant Chief candidate Amanda Proctor was serving steam fry, corn soup and frybread from the White Eagle community for the evening meal. A group of candidates including congressional candidate Danette Daniels and minerals council candidates Talee Redcorn, Jewell Purcell, Gregory Woodell, Robert Martin and Kathryn Red Corn planned a dinner including ham and a specially decorated “ballot cake.”

Congressional candidate Johnny Williams planned to serve Indian hotdogs in the afternoon, which is a hotdog inside of a piece of frybread topped with a choice of veggies and sauce.

Vance Wyrick, a congressional candidate from Florida, set up with boxes of donuts.

Jake Heflin, a congressional candidate from California, enlisted Ben Conley of Barnsdall to prepare lunch. While the slow cooker – big enough for fifty turkeys, according to Conley – slow cooked 50 pounds of brisket and pork for voters.

Dudley Whitehorn enlisted Hominy committee cook Suzi Hamilton to cook fry bread at his camp on Election Day. Robby Corcoran barbecued pulled pork and chopped brisket for his uncle Raymond Red Corn, running for re-election to the ON Congress.

Jeff Irons said that since so many candidates were feeding people lunch, he brought vegetable relish trays. Chico Sellers provided desserts, including sugar free pie and fruit. Sellers said he was concerned about cooks having to prepare frybread in the expected high temperatures. John Free Jr.’s wife Cindy served grape lemonade and fresh fruit salad and decorated her table with calla lilies.

Candidates and voters reminisce

As they visited, candidates and voters reminisced about past elections. Mineral council candidate Cynthia Boone remembered when people spread blankets all over the grounds. “We played Indian dice until the wee hours. You had to count the ballots by hand,” she said.
Leonard Maker remembered when there was a traditional Osage feast. Robin Maker said he remembered when there was one tent on Election Day and buffalo meat pies.

This year candidate’s tents spread to the north side of the Osage Tribal Museum. Abbot remembered attending the elections in 1961, when he was first old enough to vote. “It was crowded into the evening and we had Indian dancing,” he said.

As candidates accepted well wishes from supporters, some voters struggled to make last minute decisions. While it’s unsure whether a good meal can sway a voter, it’s sure that voters can eat to their heart’s content.

Barbecue shredded pork sits at a candidate campaign campsite during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Sweet delicious M & M cookies, brownies and chocolate walnut cookies sit at a candidate campaign campsite during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Shredded beef and smoked polish sausage is offered to voters and spectators at the campaign campsite of Principal Chief Jim Gray on June 7 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Fresh watermelon and grapes are offered to voters and spectators at the campaign campsite of Amanda Proctor and Galen Crum on June 7 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Golden brown frybread is served with food at the candidates' campsites during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

A fresh salad awaits hungry voters and spectators at the candidates' campsites during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Corn soup, an Osage favorite, sat at the food tables of many candidates' campsites during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Barbecue brisket is one of many foods offered to voters and spectators during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Meat gravy sits at the campaign campsite of Amanda Proctor and Galen Crum during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

A vegetable tray sits on a table at Jeff Irons campsite on June 7. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

A photo of Matthew Littleton in his Osage clothes is just one of the many photos in the exhibit “Homecoming” by Jeffrey Newbury, opening at 5 p.m. at the Lloyd Gallery in downtown Pawhuska tonight. The exhibit runs through July. Courtesy Photo/Jeffrey Newbury

By Ruby Murray
Osage News

The Osage elections aren’t the only thing going on in Pawhuska Monday.

Photographer Jeffrey Newbury will be opening his photo exhibit titled, “Homecoming,” at the Lloyd Gallery located at 107 east 6th street at 5 p.m. in downtown Pawhuska and ends at 8 p.m. The exhibit will run through July.

“What I learned doing this project is that Pawhuska and the Osage Nation is a community,” Newbury said. “They have all the aspects of a community – of a family – all the complications and the one-ness. I could see people respected each other.”

Newbury, who is based in San Francisco, spent five to eight days shooting Osages and terrain in 2007. “Homecoming” is a selection of images from hundreds he took while working on the Osage Nation’s 2008 tribal calendar. He feels that the current exhibit opening tonight is a powerful statement of the essence of modern Osages.

“This is a very limited number of images,” Newbury said of the selection. “I don’t want people to wonder why they aren’t in the show. I chose these as the strongest images from an artistic point of view.” Newbury, who has three degrees in photography, specializes in environmental portraits, but this is the first time he attempted to represent a community.

Most of the images are portraits and Newbury feels they reveal a cross section of Osages such as Osage sculptor John Free, members of the Osage Nation’s government, and such images of Osages like Jessica Moore who was Miss Indian Oklahoma at the time. “You can see she cares about how she represents her people,” Newbury said.

One of Newbury’s favorite images was shot five days before Louis Daley left to serve in Iraq with the United States Air Force. Newbury photographed Daley standing in front of the mounted Osage warrior mural in Hominy.

“I love that portrait,” Newbury said. “You have a new Osage warrior – going to Iraq – standing in front of an old Osage warrior going up against the Whites to defend his land. And now the warrior is fighting for the United States . . . You have all these levels. These are heart-felt things.”

Gallery hours are weekends and by appointment at (405) 850-6377.

Charles Red Corn and Osage Minerals Council Candidate Kathryn Red Corn walk into the candidate campsites during the June 7 election in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

By Benny Polacca
Osage News

A morning thunderstorm passing through the Osage Nation did little to deter early voters and candidates from coming to Pawhuska to cast their ballots and set up the campaign camps to visit with fellow voters.

Thunder echoed overhead while rain fell at 7:30 a.m. – a half-hour before the voting poll opened at the Tribal Administration Building – making for slippery and muddy driving conditions across Osage County. The rain started to let up shortly after 9 a.m. with cloudy skies predicted through the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

“I didn’t let it stop me,” said Sandy Johnson who braved the rain while driving from his Kansas home. “It was raining hard coming from Coffeyville.”

Matthew Wyrick voted around 9 a.m. and said the wait line “wasn’t too bad” to vote, which had about 10 people in it at the time.

“It didn’t take long,” Wyrick said of the voting process which took 10-15 minutes for him, which he described as a steady flow.

Wyrick, whose father is Osage Nation Congressional candidate Vance Wyrick, helped set up his father’s campaign camp alongside the other candidates amid the muddy ground which caused their vehicle to get stuck while unloading the canopy and supplies.

“If that’s the only thing that happens today, I’ll be happy with that,” Matthew Wyrick said with a laugh.

“This weather threw everything off,” Vance Wyrick said while at his campsite. He said his Yukon got stuck in the mud while backing it up to his campsite, but was able to move it when the rain stopped.

Campsite volunteers also worked to help an ice truck stuck in the mud at the campsites nearby while Congressional candidate Jake Heflin fixed campaign signs to hang from the canopy at his campsite.

“It’s a great day to visit with all the Osages… It’s a blessing,” Heflin said of the weather. “When it rains, it’s a new beginning.”

The weather service is predicting mostly cloudy skies with a 40 percent chance of showers this afternoon and a high near 85. The rainfall amount could total between a quarter and a half-inch. Tonight it will be partly cloudy with a low of 70.

Voters head into the Tribal Adminstration Building to vote in the June 7 election. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Part of a canopy is mangled at the candidates campsites following an early morning thunderstorm on June 7 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Muddy tire tracks mark the path of vehicles unloading supplies at the election candidates camps on June 7 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

A campsite canopy tarp lies on the ground covered with rain water at the candidates campsites in Pawhuska during the June 7 election. A morning thunderstorm moved through the area that morning. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

2010 National Indian Taco Championship kicked off on May 15 in downtown Pawhuska. The winners were (from L to R) Third place winner Ramona Horsechief, Second place winner Brian Lookout and First place winner Debra Lookout. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

By Benny Polacca
Osage News

Osage tribal member Debra Lookout took the top prize in this year’s National Indian Taco Championship for the second time in four years. It’s a moment that is literally a dream come true.

Lookout, whose Indian taco dish was voted best out of 13 entries during the May 15 event in Pawhuska, won $1,500 for her win and said one of her children shared a recent dream that Lookout won the contest.

“My daughter said she had a dream that I won last week,” Lookout said as she shook hands and hugged passers-by who congratulated her after the contest winners were announced. “I knew I had competition this year, so I practiced, I used different types of seasonings and cheeses.”

This year’s runners-up are fellow Osage Brian Lookout, who runs a catering business and took second place, and last year’s top winner Ramona Horsechief (Pawnee/ Cherokee), a caterer who also provides ministry service, won third.

For her Indian taco dish this year, Lookout practiced by using several seasonings in the taco ground beef and even cooked her beans a few nights in advance so they would be creamy. “I try to use the leanest type of meat,” added Lookout, who is a nurse with the Osage Nation Diabetes Program.

Lookout started sharpening her culinary skills as a child because she cooked for her siblings while her mother worked late. “I’ve been cooking since I was nine. My mom worked several jobs” to support the family, she said.

Lookout’s father also supported her growing culinary skills by taking her to bookstores where she bought cookbooks.

In 2007, Lookout took first place in the competition. She also took second place in 2005, and her dessert taco plate won second and her traditional Indian taco plate won third in last year’s competition.

2010 marks the sixth year of the National Indian Taco Championship. Amid cloudy skies with the threat of rain looming that day, several hundred people attended the event held on Kihekah Avenue in front of the Triangle Building where the competition’s 13 entrants set up booths to cook and sell their Indian taco dishes to the public and judges of the competition.

Each contest entrant cooked and prepared several of their taco dishes for the judges to sample and critique. Members of the public were invited to participate as judges after paying a $5 fee in which they sampled taco dishes from each entrant.

The dishes were judged on presentation and overall taco, said Mary Jane Mashunkashey, who was in charge of making the judging arrangements. This year’s competition only judged traditional Indian tacos and did not have a dessert taco category.

The final round of judging, which determined this year’s results featured a local celebrity panel comprised of county and tribal government officials, those seeking election this year, and business leaders, including Osage Nation Assistant Principal Chief John Red Eagle, Congresswoman Jerri Jean Branstetter and Congressional candidate John Free and Assistant Principal Chief candidate Scott BigHorse.

This year, “all of the finalists were very close – within three points of each other,” Mashunkashey said calling the winners this year a “difficult decision” for the judges.

Brian Lookout said he was “pleased and very happy” with the results and won $1,000. He credited the help he received from his volunteer workers that day because they worked with him in 2008 when he won first place.

Lookout runs Ah-Tha-Tse Catering and prepares food and hors d’oeuvres for various special events.

“We’ll try again next year,” Ramona Horsechief said after winning $500 for her Indian taco dish. “Either way, I won,” she said of this year’s taco covered in chili with buffalo meat, ground sausage and ground beef.

Horsechief and her husband work with One Spirit Praise, a Native American Christian music ministry and she provides food for the events. Horsechief, who has more than 20 years of cooking and culinary school experience, said her group visits with all groups of people, including those attending rehabilitation and serving time in prison or juvenile centers.

Several people immediately lined up at Debra Lookout’s food stand after the results were read. Lookout said she and her work crew battled a frenzy in setting up their food stand that day and she got little sleep the night before.

“It was unorganized, but as the day went on, it evened out,” Lookout said. “We were just blessed – I couldn’t do this without my daughters.

I told my daughters if I won, I’d get them a trampoline and a dog,” said Lookout, “And something for myself.”

Next year’s National Indian Taco Championship is slated for the third weekend in May in Pawhuska.

Ryan Red Corn addresses the crowd during the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

(L to R) Osage Nation Assistant Principal Chief Candidate Scott BigHorse, KC Bills, Kyle Tipps and James Redbird perform during the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Attendees dine and listen to the entertainment during the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

A finished Indian taco awaits customers at the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Biff and Mary Olsen talk to attendees at their food stand during the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Marilyn Booth smiles while preparing frybread at the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Fixings for Indian tacos await hungry attendees at the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Ben Jacobs, who runs Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery in Denver, prepares an Indian taco at the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Debra Lookout turns a piece of frybread over while cooking at the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Mary Jane Mashunkashey provides an update on the judging process at the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Brian Lookout heads to the judges station with a tray of Indian tacos he prepared for the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Ramona Horsechief turns in 11 Indian tacos she prepared for judging during the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Scores of Indian taco entries await judging during the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Osage Nation Assistant Principal Chief John Red Eagle (second from left) and Scott BigHorse, who is running for Assistant Principal Chief in the 2010 election, sample and judge Indian taco entries during the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Attendees dig in and enjoy their Indian tacos during the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Attendees of the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship in Pawhuska listen as the winners were announced on May 15. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Ramona Horsechief accepts her third place check prize at the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship from Berbon Hamilton who was the event's co-chairman. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Brian Lookout smiles after taking second place in the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15. Lookout's food stand helpers Johnna Johnson and Marilyn Booth (in pink shirts) follow him. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

Debra Lookout reacts after hearing she won first place in the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship on May 15 in Pawhuska. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

(L to R) Ramona Horsechief, Brian Lookout and Debra Lookout stand with their checks after winning the top spots in the Sixth Annual National Indian Taco Championship. Event workers Berbon Hamilton and Mary Jane Mashunkashey address the crowd. Photo by Chalene Toehay/Osage News

John Michael Montgomery

TULSA, Okla.-Singer-songwriter John Michael Montgomery will play live at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 22, at Osage Event Center.

John Michael Montgomery’s multi-platinum blockbuster albums have topped the country and pop charts. His dozen albums have resulted in 15 No. 1 singles, over 15 million albums sold and three Country Music Association Awards and more. His romantic ballads, adult contemporary songs and vocal style remain grounded in country tradition. His debut album Life’s a Dance in 1992 produced the only one million-seller on the country charts by a new artist that year with hits like “Top Five” and “I Love the Way You Love Me.”

His 1994 album Kickin’ It Up launched three number one country hits – “I Swear,” “Be My Baby Tonight,” and “If You’ve Got Love.” A self-titled 1995 follow-up also topped the country charts with smash hits including “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” and “I Can Love You Like That.”

Montgomery founded his own label, Stringtown Records in 2008 and released Time Flies which produced a Top 30 hit “Forever.”

Tickets to the concert start at $30. They can be purchased at the Osage Event Center box office at L.L. Tisdale Parkway and 36 Street North or by calling the box office at (918) 699-7667.

Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino-Tulsa is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. For more information, visit www.milliondollarelm.com.

For more information contact Chris Barton at 699-7875 or chris.barton@milliondollarelm.com