Tuesday, February 11, 2025
33.8 F
Pawhuska
HomeCommunityFour Osages recognized as 2024 AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honorees

Four Osages recognized as 2024 AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honorees

Eddy Red Eagle Jr., Cindra Shangreau, Mark Simms and Bobby Tallchief were recognized at the Nov. 6 luncheon event for their achievements, community service, and impact.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Four Osage Nation elders were celebrated here at the 16th annual AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honors at the First Americans Museum on Nov. 6.

2024 honorees Eddy Red Eagle Jr., Cindra Shangreau, Mark Simms and Bobby Tallchief were recognized at the Nov. 6 luncheon event for their achievements, community service, and impact. Red Eagle was unable to attend and the other three were present with their respective friends and family members where they were individually recognized and received a medallion for their honoring.

This year, AARP Oklahoma celebrated 48 Native American elders from 17 tribal nations across the state.

AARP Oklahoma State Director Sean Voskuhl welcomed the 300 attendees and said the Native American Elder Honors is also held in conjunction with Native American Heritage Month. “We’re just so thankful you’re here today to celebrate our elders who have spent a lifetime of service making our lives so much better,” he said.

“Altogether, we have recognized 700 elders since the inception (of the honors event),” Voskuhl said, noting those individuals represent Oklahoma’s 39 tribal nations over the past 16 years. “Our honorees’ actions bring hope to the hopeless, lighten the load of the heavy, and cultivate unity in our communities while inspiring new generations to become community builders.”

Dr. Steven Pratt (Osage), a 2012 AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honoree, delivered the ceremony invocation before the program’s start. According to AARP Oklahoma, this year’s honorees included educators, veterans, artists, tribal leaders, culture preservationists and everyday heroes in public service.

2024 Osage Elder Honorees and bios

Full blood Osage Eddy Red Eagle Jr. was honored as one of this year’s AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honorees on Nov. 6, 2024, at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. ECHO REED/Osage News

Edward “Eddy” Red Eagle Jr. is one of the last full-blood Osages. Red Eagle has served on the First Osage Nation Congress and as a Head Committeeman for the Pawhuska Inlonshka Ceremonial Dance. A former Pawhuska District Drumkeeper, he is an elder advisor. He is fluent in the Osage language and is currently on the ON Traditional Cultural Advisors Committee.

Married for 59 years, Red Eagle and his wife have two surviving children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Red Eagle is a name giver for the Zhi Zho Eagle Clan and a Road Man for the Red Eagle Native American Church in Barnsdall, one of only three NACs left in the Osage Nation. 

Cindra Shangreau was honored as one of this year’s AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honorees on Nov. 6, 2024, at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. ECHO REED/Osage News

Cindra Shangreau was born and raised on the Osage Nation Reservation, is from the Grayhorse District and belongs to the Ponca Peacemaker Clan. Her Wahzhazhe name is HumPaToKah. Shangreau earned a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford.

Much of her professional tenure was dedicated to serving as a pharmacist within the Veterans Administration (VA) Health Care System in Buffalo, N.Y. In 2015, Shangreau returned to her home state, assuming the role of a clinical pharmacist for the extended care unit/ palliative care unit at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System. Her leadership extended beyond her daily responsibilities, as she also served on the Oklahoma City VA American Indian Council until her 2018 retirement.

Recognizing her expertise and commitment to health care, Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear appointed Shangreau to the Osage Nation Health Authority Board in 2019 and she became its Chair in 2020. Concurrently, Shangreau and the Health Authority Board are supervising the construction of a new $18 million, 65,000-square-foot clinic in Pawhuska. Other projects being pursued are an $18 million five-building Counseling Center campus with adolescent, women’s and men’s primary residential treatment centers; an outpatient counseling facility; and a 12-bedroom sober-living home in Pawhuska. She is also engaged in building an $8 million, 18-bed assisted living facility in Hominy and a $3.5 million satellite clinic on the Osage Reservation in Skiatook. Blessed with three children and a granddaughter, Shangreau considers herself fortunate to follow in the footsteps of those who paved the way for her contributing to the enhancement of health care.  

Mark Simms was honored as one of this year’s AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honorees on Nov. 6, 2024, at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. ECHO REED/Osage News

Mark J. Simms is a citizen of the Osage Nation and is of Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Nation heritage. His tribal given name is Le-Ta-Xoh. In 1980, he founded Accent Pest Control, Inc., which grew to become the largest Native American independently-owned pest control company in Bartlesville. He also started two other businesses.

Simms attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater for three years, majoring in business administration with a minor in psychology. He left OSU to serve in the U.S. Army. When he returned, he enrolled at the OSU Institute of Technology where he earned an associate degree in bookkeeping. In 1994, Simms was elected to the Osage National Council where he served as Speaker and finance committee member. Because of his business acumen, he was appointed as a member of the President’s Business Commission (2001-2009) during the George W. Bush Administration.

In 2006, the Osage Nation voters elected Simms to serve on the newly reformed government as a Congressman in the Legislative Branch for six years. Later, Simms was appointed to and served on the Nation’s Gaming Enterprise Board that oversaw the Nation’s seven Osage Casinos. In 2013, the Greater Tulsa Indian Affairs Commission presented Simms with the prestigious Dr. Ralph Dru Career and Professional Award. In 2020, the Bacone College Board of Trustees voted to confer an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters upon Simms for his lifetime of political, cultural, educational and social contributions to the welfare and well-being of the Osage Nation. Simms is president of the OnHand Osage Research Society, a 501c3 in Montgomery County, Kans.

Bobby Tallchief was honored as one of this year’s AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honorees on Nov. 6, 2024, at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. ECHO REED/Osage News

Bobby Eaves Tallchief was born in Wichita, Kans., and grew up in Pawhuska. Serving almost half a century in emergency services, he currently serves as the Osage Nation Emergency Management director. Tallchief worked for 35 years at the Pawhuska and Bartlesville fire departments and he retired from the Bartlesville Fire Department as captain and was the training officer. Today, he is a fire service instructor for OSU in Stillwater.

Tallchief oversaw the ON Wildland Fire Department from 2011 to 2015. Since then, he has expanded the scope of the Emergency Management Department to include a deputy director and an administrative assistant. Tallchief states his greatest career accomplishment was becoming a member of the Oklahoma Task Force 1, Urban Search and Rescue.

Tallchief’s ties to the Nation run deep as he and his family come from the Grayhorse District and he is active in the Inlonshka dances. As with many families, the Tallchiefs suffered the loss of loved ones and land during the times depicted in the movie “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Both Tallchief and his daughter appeared in the film. Married for 35 years, Tallchief and his wife have four children and four grandchildren. The life accomplishment he cherishes the most is being a husband, which led to being a father and ultimately, a grandfather. Tallchief is always eager to help the people of Pawhuska and the Osage Nation.  

In closing, Voskuhl said nominations for the 2025 AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honors will open in January. Previous year Osage elder honorees include business professionals, elected government officials, language teachers, cultural preservation enthusiasts, healthcare providers, educators and authors.

Bobby Tallchief, Mark Simms, Cindra Shangreau and Eddy Red Eagle Jr. were honored this year at the AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honorees luncheon on Nov. 6, 2024, at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. ECHO REED/Osage News

Past Osage AARP Native American Elder honorees are:

Darrell Boulanger, deceased
Jerri Jean Branstetter
Beverly Brownfield
Anita Fields
Margo Gray
Mary Gray-Bighorse, deceased
Charles Eugene “Chuck” Hessert, deceased
Denise Keene
Nancy Keil
Charles Lookout, deceased
H. Mongraine Lookout
Anita Lookout-West, deceased
Capt. Richard Luttrell Sr., deceased
Sheri Mashburn
Bill Mashunkashey, deceased
Cpl. John Henry Mashunkashey
Archie Mason
Franklin McKinley
Cmdr. James Norris
Dr. Steven Pratt
Charles Harold Red Corn, deceased
Kathryn Redcorn
Raymond W. Red Corn
Nicki Revard-Lorenzo
Mary Elizabeth Ricketts
Romaine Shackelford, deceased
George A. Shannon
Jerry Shaw, deceased
Dr. Ronald Blaine Shaw, deceased
Roberta Sue Slinkard
Martha Spotted Bear
Marvin Stepson Jr.
William “Kugee” Supernaw
Cecelia Irene Tallchief
George E. Tallchief, deceased
Tim Tall Chief
Candy Thomas
Judith “Judy” Mary Tiger
John Williams, deceased
Julia Wilson
Rosemary Wood

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.

Get the Osage News by email!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

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.

RELATED ARTICLES

In Case You Missed it...

Upcoming Events