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Three Osages to be honored at 14th Annual AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honors

The event will take place on Nov. 9 at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

Margo Gray, John Henry Mashunkashey and Judy Tiger will be honored at the 14th Annual AARP Oklahoma Native American Elder Honors on Nov. 9 at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City.

Since 2009, the annual event previously known as AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors has recognized more than 650 elders from Oklahoma’s 39 tribal nations. Each year the celebration honors 50 Native American elders who have positively impacted their country, state, communities and Indian Country.

AARP Oklahoma state director Sean Voskuhl said, “These honorees are beacons of hope and inspiration and embody AARP’s mission and vision, as they inspire others to serve. The Native American elders we recognize are an extraordinary example of the difference that we all can make in others’ lives and in the vitality of our communities.” 

Among the honorees are traditional speakers, veterans, environmental activists, tribal leaders, tribal attorneys, cultural and spiritual leaders, physicians and storytellers. It is the largest gathering of its kind in the state.

Gray is a culturally active member of the Pawhuska District. She has 18 years of Law Enforcement and over 20 years of private business experience in civil engineering and strategic business consulting. An Osage shareholder, she also served on the 4th Osage Minerals Council from 2018-2022.

Mashunkashey is a culturally active member of the Pawhuska District. He is a Vietnam Veteran and sits on the Osage Veteran Memorial Commission and was part of the planning of the Veteran Memorial that is an award-winning structure. He is a member of the VFW in Pawhuska.

Tiger is a culturally active member of the Grayhorse District. She attended Chilocco Indian School where she met her husband Jim and together raised three children. A culture keeper, she has been a cook for the Inlonshka dances and is a ribbonwork seamstress.

For more information contact Mashell Sourjohn at (405) 715-4474 or msourjohn@aarp.org

Author

  • Shannon Shaw Duty

    Title: Editor

    Email: sshaw@osagenation-nsn.gov

    Twitter: @dutyshaw

    Topic Expertise: Columnist, Culture, Community

    Languages spoken: English, Osage (intermediate), Spanish (beginner)

    Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage from the Grayhorse District, is the editor of the award-winning Osage News, the official independent media of the Osage Nation. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Peoples Law. She currently sits on the LION Publishers board of directors, the Freedom of Information Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists, and she is also a member of the Pawhuska Public Schools Board of Education. She served on the Board of Directors for the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) from 2013-2016 and served as a board member and Chairwoman for the Pawhuska Johnson O’Malley Parent Committee from 2017-2020. She is a Chips Quinn Scholar, a former instructor for the Freedom Forum’s Native American Journalism Career Conference and the Freedom Forum’s American Indian Journalism Institute. She is a former reporter for The Santa Fe New Mexican. She is a 2012 recipient of the Native American 40 Under 40 from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. In 2014 she helped lead the Osage News to receive the Elias Boudinot Free Press Award. The Osage News has won Best Newspaper from the SPJ-Oklahoma Chapter in their division the past five years, 2018-2022. Her award-winning work has been published in Indian Country Today, The Washington Post, the Center for Public Integrity, NPR, the Associated Press, Tulsa World and others. She currently resides in Pawhuska, Okla., with her husband and together they share six children, two dogs and two cats.

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Shannon Shaw Duty
Shannon Shaw Dutyhttps://osagenews.org

Title: Editor

Email: sshaw@osagenation-nsn.gov

Twitter: @dutyshaw

Topic Expertise: Columnist, Culture, Community

Languages spoken: English, Osage (intermediate), Spanish (beginner)

Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage from the Grayhorse District, is the editor of the award-winning Osage News, the official independent media of the Osage Nation. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Peoples Law. She currently sits on the LION Publishers board of directors, the Freedom of Information Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists, and she is also a member of the Pawhuska Public Schools Board of Education. She served on the Board of Directors for the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) from 2013-2016 and served as a board member and Chairwoman for the Pawhuska Johnson O’Malley Parent Committee from 2017-2020. She is a Chips Quinn Scholar, a former instructor for the Freedom Forum’s Native American Journalism Career Conference and the Freedom Forum’s American Indian Journalism Institute. She is a former reporter for The Santa Fe New Mexican. She is a 2012 recipient of the Native American 40 Under 40 from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. In 2014 she helped lead the Osage News to receive the Elias Boudinot Free Press Award. The Osage News has won Best Newspaper from the SPJ-Oklahoma Chapter in their division the past five years, 2018-2022. Her award-winning work has been published in Indian Country Today, The Washington Post, the Center for Public Integrity, NPR, the Associated Press, Tulsa World and others. She currently resides in Pawhuska, Okla., with her husband and together they share six children, two dogs and two cats.
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