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Hominy Village residents vote for Village Committee members

Winning their election bid is Alecia Hutchens, William Shadlow, Junitress Smith, Everett Waller and Hannah Waller

HOMINY VILLAGE – Osage residents here voted in the five-member Village Committee election held May 8 with two first-time members and three winning re-election.

Village residents elected Alecia Hutchens and Hannah Waller for the first time and re-elected William Shadlow, Junitress Smith and Osage Minerals Council Chairman Everett Waller to the committee. Also referred to as the five-man board, the committee members must be village residents, and each serves a two-year term per the 1964 Hominy Village Constitution.

That evening, the Wahzhazhe Elections Office staff and board members assisted in providing election materials, counted the voted ballots and announced the winners as done in several recent village elections. Residents came to the village community building for the election starting at 6 p.m.

Election Supervisor Alexis Rencountre asked the residents for nominees and started a list of names voiced by the residents. A total of eight residents were nominated with the five top-vote getters and fellow nominees Diana Hogan, Jeffrey Willcox and Christel Jones.

Hominy Village residents confirm their residence before voting in the May 8 five-member Village Committee election. The Wahzhazhe Elections Office staff and board assisted with the election. BENNY POLACCA/ Osage News

Assistant Election Supervisor Courtney Piearcy and board members Shannon Lockett (chair), Terry Hazen (vice chair) and Belle Wilson also accompanied Rencountre in conducting the village election. At the request of the former village committee, the Wahzhazhe Elections Officials assisted with the village election after signing a memorandum of agreement with the committee on May 6.

This year, the election officials brought laptop computers and a printer used to create ballots with nominee names at the building. Those ballots were then printed and given to residents for voting once their village residency was confirmed.

Residents received nearly two hours to vote, and others arrived at the building to vote later during that time. Shortly after 8 p.m., the election officials started counting votes and Rencountre announced the results.

In first place, Hutchens received the most votes (17) and then Shadlow received 16. Smith and Everett Waller tied for third place with each receiving 13 votes and therefore winning the third and fourth places. Hannah Waller, who is Everett Waller’s daughter, came in fifth with 11 votes. The remaining results were: Hogan (10), Willcox (8) and Jones (3).

Everett Waller thanked the election officials for their work and expressed congratulations to the winners, noting most are second or third-generation board members in their respective families.

At a later meeting, Hutchens said the new board met and held an officers’ election to choose the posts. Hutchens said she is the current Village Committee Chair; Shadlow is Vice Chair; Smith is Treasurer, Hannah Waller is Secretary and Everett Waller is a Village Committee member.

The results of the Hominy Indian Village Committee 2024 Election. 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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