By
Benny Polacca
Pending confirmation consideration by the Fourth Osage Nation Congress, eight individuals are now appointed to several boards and commissions.
Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear appointed the eight people (seven are Osage) and those appointment confirmations will be considered by the ON Congress when it meets for its first 24-day regular Tzi-Zho Session starting Sept. 2.
In the meantime, the appointees will serve interim terms and took oaths of office at the tribal courthouse in Pawhuska.
Norman Akers, Jerry Shaw, Mary “Liz” Ricketts, and George Shannon are appointees for the Traditional Cultural Advisors Committee.
Akers is a seasoned painter and currently an associate professor of visual arts at the University of Kansas. He holds a master’s of fine arts degree from the University of Illinois and has had his painting works on display in art galleries, museums, exhibitions and shows throughout the country. Akers (Grayhorse District) has also taught at other art schools including the Institute of American Indian Arts, Oklahoma State University and UI-Urbana-Champaign.
Ricketts is a former Pawhuska District head cook who served for two Drumkeepers. She recently retired as executive director of the Housing Authority of the Osage Tribe after 27 years of service. During her work tenure, Ricketts established a 501©(3) for the entity to become a community development financial institution known as Osage Financial Resources Inc. to make financing available to Native Americans. Also during her work, 600 mutual-help homes for Osage citizens were built and the deeds to those homes were conveyed last year.
Shaw, who served on the 31st Osage Tribal Council, is a history and minority studies instructor at Wichita State University with 43 years of college teaching experience including Native American history and culture. A former Grayhorse District Head Committeeman, Shaw also served as water boy, whipman and committeeman during the In-Lon-Schka dances. Also during his tribal council service, Shaw was instrumental in establishing the current ON Language Department.
Shannon is retired from the banking business where he worked as a trust officer for two California banks and worked as vice president and trust officer for the Fourth National Bank in Tulsa. Shannon, a U.S. Army veteran, also worked as a business consultant for Oklahoma tribes including the Osage Nation, Cherokee Nation and Choctaw Nation. Shannon is a member of the Hominy In-Lon-Schka committee and chairman of the Mary Morrell Russell Descendants Inc., the family’s Native American Church.
Belle-Renee Wilson (Hominy District) is appointed to the second alternate seat on the ON Election Board. Wilson’s professional experience includes working as a volunteer or director of Family Services at U.S. Air Force bases including Davis-Monthan in Tucson, Ariz., and two in the United Kingdom while her husband served as an Air Force Lt. Colonel. She also worked as a cashier/ main banker at the Osage Casino predecessor Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino in Hominy and worked as a service representative for a North Chicago credit union.
Tulsa-based attorney Dawn Pratt Harrington (Osage) is appointed to the ON Gaming Enterprise Board. Harrington is a University of Tulsa law school graduate and her work experience includes serving as attorneys general for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and Osage Nation under the former government system and served as state board president for the American Indian Chamber of Commerce. She is currently the executive director for T.K. Wolf Inc., a counseling and consulting firm, and she also practices law focusing on crime, juvenile, tribal and gaming issues.
Attorney, consultant and former ON District Court judge Marsha Harlan (Osage) is appointed to the ON Gaming Commission. Harlan holds a TU law degree and lives in Park Hill, Okla., where she is a founding partner of Indian Collaborative Consultants LLC and she is also a partner for law firm Legal Advocates for Indian Country, LLP. Harlan also holds several judiciary roles for other Oklahoma tribes including: Pawnee Nation Supreme Court Justice; District Court Judge for the Kickapoo Tribe; District Court Judge for the Seminole Nation; and Supreme Court Judge for the Miami Tribe.
Nancy Pillsbury Shirley is appointed to the ON Foundation Board. This is the second time Shirley is being considered for the Foundation Board after a previous appointment by former Principal Chief Jim Gray was voted down by the First ON Congress in 2009. Shirley, a Ladue, Mo., resident, is currently president of the Pillsbury Marketing Company and is owner of The Tara Plantation. Shirley’s nonprofit activities include serving as executive vice president and treasurer of the Ed & H Pillsbury Foundation; Board Chairwoman for the Winter Opera St. Louis; and board member for the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home.
Harlan, Harrington, Wilson, Akers, Ricketts and Shannon took their oaths on Aug. 20 at the ON tribal courthouse. John “Trey” Goldesberry, recently appointed to the gaming board, took his oath on Aug. 14.
Shaw and Shirley took their oaths of office at the courthouse on Aug. 28 along with attorney Drew Pierce, who is appointed to the ON Supreme Court.
Original Publish Date: 2014-09-02 00:00:00
