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HomeGovernmentBusinessFormer Minerals Councilwoman Marsha Harlan reappointed to Gaming Commission Board

Former Minerals Councilwoman Marsha Harlan reappointed to Gaming Commission Board

Harlan took her oath of office on July 29, 2022.

Former Osage Minerals Councilwoman Marsha Harlan is now serving again on the Osage Nation Gaming Commission Board.

Pending confirmation by the Eighth ON Congress, Harlan will serve a second term on the three-member Gaming Commission Board. She previously served on the board from 2014 to 2018 after Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear appointed her at the time and she was reappointed in July.

Harlan, an attorney, consultant and tribal court judge, served on the Minerals Council after winning the 2018 election and did not seek a second four-year term. As an interim member, Harlan fills a board vacancy after Larraine Wilcox stepped down from service earlier this year.

The newly seated Eighth ON Congress convenes for its first Tzi-Zho Session starting Sept. 6. During the 24-day fall session, the Congress will consider and approve the Nation’s 2023 fiscal year budgets, as well as consider appointees for confirmation to serve on the Nation’s boards and commissions.

Elizabeth Hembree, executive director for the Gaming Commission office, said Harlan joined the board for its July 5 teleconference meeting. Gary Weyl is serving as board chair and Tammy Baldauff is vice chair after the board held its recent officer elections, Hembree told the Gaming Enterprise Board in her update on July 27.

On July 29, Harlan took her oath of office to start serving as a Gaming Commission board member at the ON Tribal Courthouse with Trial Court Associate Judge Lisa Otipoby-Herbert presiding.

According to Osage law on the Gaming Commission Board, three Osages serve as commissioners and those individuals serve three-year terms from the dates of Congressional confirmation.

Also, according to Osage law, the Gaming Commission is charged with regulatory duties of the Nation’s Gaming Enterprise and the Commission body requires a quorum of two individuals present to consider and take action on duties including: holding hearings, changing license fees, approving or executing contracts, approving the Commission’s annual budget before submission to the Principal Chief, and amending, repealing or supplementing the rules and regulations of the Commission.

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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