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Osage Nation to break ground on new Judicial Branch building on Dec. 18

The groundbreaking will take place at 1 p.m. at 315 W. 11th St. in Pawhuska.

A groundbreaking ceremony for a new Osage Nation Judicial Branch courthouse is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 18 at 1 p.m. in Pawhuska.

The new courthouse building and groundbreaking location is on Nation-owned land at 315 W. 11th St.

Osage Nation government officials will be in attendance and the community is also invited to witness the commemoration for a new and more modernized building for the Judicial Branch operations. The forthcoming Judicial Branch building project seeks to replace the aging current roundhouse-type building on the Osage government campus where tribal court proceedings and court clerk and administration operations are located. The building also formerly housed other ON entities, including the Nation’s police department now in the Law Building on campus.

In recent years, the current courthouse building experienced closures due to rooftop rain damage as well as COVID-19 precautions during the earlier years of the pandemic.

Planning for a new Judicial Branch building came following the appropriations approval of appropriation bills to fund the preliminary costs.

During the 10th special session of the Seventh ON Congress in 2021, the Legislative Branch approved bill ONCA 21-81 (sponsored by then-Congressman RJ Walker) – An Act to authorize and appropriate $4 million to the Judicial Branch for improvements to the current Judicial Building and for the design, engineering and construction of a new Judicial building.

In a subsequent special session, the Seventh ON Congress also approved bill ONCA 21-109 (also sponsored by Walker, who is now Assistant Principal Chief), which authorized and appropriated $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding “for a new COVID-19 compliant Judicial (branch) building.” 

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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