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Osage Congress approves $10,000 donation to Marine Corps League Detachment

The Fifth Osage Nation Congress voted to adjourn its third special session on Dec. 6 after considering several legislative matters including a $10,000 appropriation to the Marine Corps League Detachment.

On Dec. 2, the Congress voted to pass bill ONCA 17-08 (sponsored by Congressman Ron Shaw), which is a supplemental appropriation bill adding $10,000 in tribal funds to the 2017 fiscal year budget for cultural donations. The Congress passed the cultural donations budget (ONCA 16-119) during the Tzi-Zho Session, but the Marine Corps League donation was inadvertently left out, prompting the filing of ONCA 17-08.

Shaw said the $10,000 is the same amount of donation money the Marine Corps League has received in each of the past three fiscal years from the Nation. The Marine Corps League Osage Detachment commandant is John Henry Mashunkashey who served during the Vietnam War while he was in the Marines Corps.   

According to a Congressional fiscal analysis of ONCA 17-08, the Marine Corps League detachment comprises 73 members, including 40 Osages. Shaw said the Marine Corps League is a service-oriented organization for those who served in the Marines, which uses donated money for outreach events such as helping disabled veterans receive handicap equipment. In prior years, the Marine Corps League also participated in toy drives to provide Christmas presents to needy children and participated in veteran recognition events including parades.

Congresswoman Shannon Edwards noted the Marine Corps League donation is not specified for a single detachment and said there are other detachments including one at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. “that I know is a keeper of Osage culture and artifacts at their facility… We know that a contribution to them would be a contribution to helping preserve Osage culture, Osage history.”

ONCA 17-08 passed with an 11-1 vote with the “no” vote from Edwards. Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear signed the bill into law on Dec. 6.

The updated cultural donations budget for FY 2017 is now $84,500. Other military-oriented/ cultural entities receiving donations from this budget include the Harold Bigheart Smalley American Legion Post 198, the Hominy and Grayhorse War Mothers organizations and the three Osage district drumkeepers.


By

Benny Polacca


Original Publish Date: 2016-12-15 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 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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