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Primary Election candidates pick April 4 Election Day campsites

Election campsites are a longstanding tradition in Osage elections. Candidates often serve meals throughout the day, hand out candidate souvenirs, speak with voters and sometimes have singers and dance.

All six candidates seeking Osage Nation office in the April 4 Primary Election plan to have Election Day campsites at the government campus park to meet and greet voters.

On Jan. 31, the Wahzhazhe Elections Office staff and board members held a drawing for Election Day campsite locations at the outdoor park.

Principal Chief candidates Geoffrey Standing Bear and Joe Tillman were in attendance while Angela Pratt attended virtually. Assistant Principal Chief candidates Joseph Thornton, Thomas Trumbly and RJ Walker all attended as well.

Candidates for the Osage Nation’s 2022 Primary Election attend an Election Day campsite drawing conducted by the Wahzhazhe Elections Office on Jan. 31 in Pawhuska at the Nation’s campus park. BENNY POLACCA/Osage News

Gathered underneath the largest of three permanent arbors at the park, Election Supervisor Alexis Rencountre told the candidates that all six candidates submitted applications for the campsites and there are 29 total campsite locations available at the park. In past elections, the three marked campsites with arbors are typically the first ones picked, with the largest arbor next to the parking lot picked first.

Rencountre held up six pieces of paper with the candidates’ names printed on them and folded each piece similarly and placed them into a clear plastic hopper for the drawing.

Rencountre announced Pratt’s name as the first drawn. Pratt, who could not attend due to family illness at the time, appeared by FaceTime on Walker’s cell phone to view and pick from the camp locations. She picked the large main arbor for her campsite.

Afterward, Rencountre drew Walker and Standing Bear’s names to pick campsites. Walker chose the south arbor location and Standing Bear drew the north arbor location.

Trumbly, Thornton and Tillman all picked uncovered campsite locations next to the large arbor. Tillman and Thornton will be to the south of Pratt and Trumbly will be north of her campsite.

Rencountre reminded the candidates of campsite rules, including: Open campsite dimensions are 20 feet by 20 feet; refer to a provided list of what is allowed/ not allowed on campus property; size dimensions of a tent (if candidates choose to set one up at their campsite); and specified set-up and teardown times before and after Election Day.   

Another campsite drawing will be held later for the June 6 General Election candidates, which will include the certified Congressional candidates and those running for eight available seats on the Osage Minerals Council. A separate Minerals Council election will also be held June 6 with only shareholders voting in that respective election.

Alexis Rencountre, Osage Nation Election Supervisor, places pieces of paper printed with 2022 Primary Election candidates’ names into a hopper with Assistant Election Supervisor Courtney Piearcy helping mix the names during a Jan. 31 drawing for Election Day candidate campsites. BENNY POLACCA/Osage News

Author

  • Benny Polacca

    Title: Senior Reporter

    Email: bpolacca@osagenation-nsn.gov

    Instagram: @bpolacca

    Topic Expertise: Government, Tribal Government, Community

    Languages spoken: English, basic knowledge of Spanish and French

    Benny Polacca (Hopi/ Havasupai/ Pima/ Tohono O’odham) started working at the Osage News in 2009 as a reporter in Pawhuska, Okla., where he’s covered various stories and events that impact the Osage Nation and Osage people. Those newspaper contributions cover a broad spectrum of topics and issues from tribal government matters to features. As a result, Polacca has gained an immeasurable amount of experience in covering Native American affairs, government issues and features so the Osage readership can be better informed about the tribal current affairs the newspaper covers.

    Polacca is part of the Osage News team that was awarded the Native American Journalists Association's Elias Boudinet Free Press Award in 2014 and has won numerous NAJA media awards, as well as awards from the Oklahoma Press Association and SPJ Oklahoma Pro Chapter, for storytelling coverage and photography.

    Polacca earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and also participated in the former American Indian Journalism Institute at the University of South Dakota where he was introduced to the basics of journalism and worked with seasoned journalists there and later at The Forum daily newspaper covering the Fargo, N.D. area where he worked as the weeknight reporter.

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Benny Polacca
Benny Polaccahttps://osagenews.org

Title: Senior Reporter

Email: bpolacca@osagenation-nsn.gov

Instagram: @bpolacca

Topic Expertise: Government, Tribal Government, Community

Languages spoken: English, basic knowledge of Spanish and French

Benny Polacca (Hopi/ Havasupai/ Pima/ Tohono O’odham) started working at the Osage News in 2009 as a reporter in Pawhuska, Okla., where he’s covered various stories and events that impact the Osage Nation and Osage people. Those newspaper contributions cover a broad spectrum of topics and issues from tribal government matters to features. As a result, Polacca has gained an immeasurable amount of experience in covering Native American affairs, government issues and features so the Osage readership can be better informed about the tribal current affairs the newspaper covers.

Polacca is part of the Osage News team that was awarded the Native American Journalists Association's Elias Boudinet Free Press Award in 2014 and has won numerous NAJA media awards, as well as awards from the Oklahoma Press Association and SPJ Oklahoma Pro Chapter, for storytelling coverage and photography.

Polacca earned his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and also participated in the former American Indian Journalism Institute at the University of South Dakota where he was introduced to the basics of journalism and worked with seasoned journalists there and later at The Forum daily newspaper covering the Fargo, N.D. area where he worked as the weeknight reporter.

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