Tuesday, February 11, 2025
33.8 F
Pawhuska
HomeCommunityTree of Gifts delivers to more than 150 families this Christmas

Tree of Gifts delivers to more than 150 families this Christmas

The level of participation from volunteers and community donations received was unprecedented this year. “The Christmas spirit is here,” said Andrea Kemble, director for Osage Nation Financial Assistance office.

More children participated in the Tree of Gifts program this year than usual, said Amber Price, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) coordinator at the Osage Nation Financial Assistance office.

Price is also the point woman who runs the Tree of Gifts program which spans the reservation, from Webb City to Sand Springs, back to Okesa and more.

More than 188 children received gifts this holiday season, according to Financial Assistance Director Andrea Kemble, who noted that 45 children also received winter coats.

Seventy-three households also received boxes or baskets of food during the gift drop.

The gift preparation began at the end of October when the names of children went up on paper ornaments hanging on a tree in the Financial Assistance office.

Beneath the name and age of the child, each ornament held a wish list that donors from across the Osage Nation citizenship and reservation could take with them as they shopped.

Kemble said some donors buy everything on the wish list, while others may focus on providing certain items such as clothes. The department—and countless volunteers throughout the Nation—fill in any gaps, as needed, to make sure each child has a nice Christmas.

The Osage Nation Financial Assistance Department helped several families with children keep their Christmas tree full of gifts. From left, Amy Mashunkashey Neel, Andrea Kemble, Linda Arnold, Amber Price, Nikia Parker, Timothy Lookout and Brynn Parker. ECHO REED/Osage News

On the Thursday before Christmas, the gift delivery process began early in the morning as Kemble headed out to get food baskets which would go to women during the gift drops. Meanwhile, 14 volunteers prepared to drive out, loading their cars with gifts.

Over four days, the drivers delivered gifts across the Osage reservation, going to residences in Pawhuska, Okesa, Bartlesville, Wynona, Hominy, Skiatook, Sand Springs, Sperry, Burbank, Shidler, Webb City, Fairfax and Ralston.

It was the culmination of a two-month-long process to provide eligible Native households with holiday assistance and to make sure no one was left out, Financial Services also reached out to families who would qualify. They did so by contacting those who received income-related services from other Nation departments as well as getting some names from community partners.

“The hardest part is just keeping everything straight,” said Price. On the first morning of the deliveries, she was looking for one of the many numbered bags filled with presents and labeled with its ornament. It was bag #127 she was hunting for, but it was nowhere in sight.

Crystal Free, a program volunteer from Financial Assistance, looked with Price until they found it, and then it was time to head out.

There were extra unwrapped gifts still left in the office, in case last-minute requests for help came in and the department had to get something together, said Kemble.

With help from Bobby Tallchief, Director of Emergency Management, the Financial Assistance department connected with the Citizen Potawatomi tribe, which donated pallets of games and toys as well as some clothing.  

In addition to the games, a box of coats sat in the back, put together by Osage OSU football player Mason Gilkey and his brother Jamison Cass. Coats not needed in 2024 will be distributed in January at a coat drive, Kemble said.

Among the gift wish lists, coats and clothes were among the many needed items. One boy’s ornament included wishes for socks, bath toys, winter clothes and push toys in addition to a balance bike. It was the 119th labeled ornament and like all the others, it was placed on a black bag containing wrapped gifts ready to be set out.

Price, Kemble and members of their team worked through the weekend to complete the gift drops and their office did not settle back down until the following Monday.

They were grateful for help from many sponsors, including the Osage Nation workforce. Help in its various forms also came from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Osage Casino workforce and its patrons. The Wahzhazhe Health Center (WZZHC) employees helped as well as archives, social services, housing, shipping and receiving and other departments, Kemble said.

The health system employees helped Financial Assistance wrap gifts, for instance, Kemble said, and the Osage Casinos hosted a toy drive in each casino and dropped the unwrapped toys off every day.  

Ministerial Alliance, a program in Pawhuska, helped by connecting children to the program who may have been displaced. The Wahzhazhe Early Learning Academies (WELAs) helped by identifying children who may have needed clothes or supplies.

So many people helped, Kemble said. “The Christmas spirit is here.”

Together, the community pulled every name and list together, with donors from out-of-state Osage citizens to two elderly ladies who came in and made a contribution in the spirit of gratitude after overcoming recent health issues.

“They wanted to express a charitable act,” Kemble said.

In those 13 reservation cities and locales, with every gift, that Christmas spirit is felt. And for all involved, this Christmas was a little brighter.

Brynn Parker and Amber Price deliver gifts on Dec. 19, 2024. ECHO REED/Osage News

Author

Get the Osage News by email!

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

Chelsea T. Hicks
Chelsea T. Hickshttps://osagenews.org
Title: Staff Reporter
Email: chelsea.hicks@osagenation-nsn.gov
Languages spoken: English
Chelsea T. Hicks’ past reporting includes work for Indian Country Today, SF Weekly, the DCist, the Alexandria Gazette-Packet, Connection Newspapers, Aviation Today, Runway Girl Network, and elsewhere. She has also written for literary outlets such as the Paris Review, Poetry, and World Literature Today. She is Wahzhazhe, of Pawhuska District, belonging to the Tsizho Washtake, and is a descendant of Ogeese Captain, Cyprian Tayrien, Rosalie Captain Chouteau, Chief Pawhuska I, and her iko Betty Elsey Hicks. Her first book, A Calm & Normal Heart, won the 5 Under 35 Award from the National Book Foundation. She holds an MA from the University of California, Davis, and an MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts.
RELATED ARTICLES

In Case You Missed it...

Upcoming Events