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Former Osage museum researcher appointed to Pawnee City Council

Osage citizen Lou Brock is now serving on the Pawnee City Council after being appointed to fill a vacant council seat.

Brock is serving the remainder of a two-year term on the eight-member City Council after receiving a unanimous vote for his appointment from fellow council members. Brock’s appointment was listed on the council’s Aug. 3 meeting agenda and he will be one of two council members representing Ward 4.

“What caught my eye in filing for the part-time (council) position was that both seats were vacant, as of June’s regularly scheduled council meeting, as one of the councilmen moved to Ward 1, and the other resigned,” Brock said. “Only two people filed (I, being one of them). I hand-delivered my resume and a letter, a day later, stating that my wife and I have been (city residents) since June 2000 and I’d like to learn a little more about my own city through its government. I did explain in my letter to the mayor and the council that ‘even between earthquakes, (my wife Rosie and I) plan to stay (in Pawnee) for a few more years.’”

Brock is joining the city government less than four months after retiring from the Osage Nation’s tribal museum where he worked for about 10 years, according to his LinkedIn page. Brock worked under former museum director Kathryn Red Corn mostly as a senior researcher where he helped keep inventory of museum items and visited with countless guests through the years as he educated them and gave tours throughout the Osage Tribal Museum in Pawhuska.

Brock also helped develop and researched Osage history data for The Osage Timeline, which was published in 2013 and 2014 by the Tribal Museum and contains 100-plus pages of history information on the Osage.

Regarding his council tenure, Brock said: “My main goal is to finish the two-year term and assist in new and existing goals, learning from the mayor, the other members of the council, the city employees and those living in the ward to whom I represent. I’ll be checking on any committees that the councilmembers have, and will do my best to be on one or two of them.”

Before working for the Nation, Brock put in 30 years with Southwestern Bell Telephone/ SBC Communications in several positions including senior stenographer and records clerk for various entities.

Brock’s other claim to Osage fame is showcasing his musical talent in Osage-focused events, which included serving as co-composer for Wahzhazhe: An Osage Ballet. He’s also served as the piano player and singer for “The Lord’s Prayer” at past events including the three most recent inaugurations of elected Osage Nation officials. 

Brock said his work with the Nation did not have anything to do with deciding to start city municipal government service. “I’ve admired my former director, Kathryn Red Corn as a councilwoman for the 1st and, now, 3rd Osage Minerals Council; Rosemary Wood, a councilwoman back in the 29th and 30th Osage Tribal Councils: and of course, my late father, Wheeler Brock, was councilman on the 24th Osage Tribal Council,” he said.

“Of working for both Southwestern Bell/SBC Communications, Inc. and the Osage Nation, so far, the statement that my father made before his passing in 1977 continues to remind me of why I’m here,” Brock said. “It was my signature line, quoting, ‘Do as much for yourself as you can. Help is fine, but nobody owes you more than you owe yourself.’”

   

 

 


By

Benny Polacca


Original Publish Date: 2015-08-20 00:00:00

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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