Written By: Benny Polacca
(WOODLAND, Calif.) Amid a regional winter freeze that caused water damage to the aging building housing the Osage Nation’s culture and language entities in Pawhuska, the Wahzhazhe Cultural Center continues its preservation work efforts, including an education discussion here with California constituents.
<a href="https://osagenews.org/wahzhazhe-cultural-center-shares-plans-resources-at-nco-gathering/" target="_blank">Read this story on Osage News here.</a>
Three Wahzhazhe Cultural Center staff members, including Director Addie Hudgins, spoke to the Northern California Osage Fall Gathering on Oct. 6 during the day-long event which included fellowship, lunch and afternoon drum music from a local Indigenous group at the outdoor Nelson’s Grove park. Approximately 50 individuals, including Osages, and their families, attended the event, with people coming from the nearby Sacramento metropolitan area, San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma County and other California communities.
Hudgins mentioned the loss of the Pawhuska building – formerly known as the Nation’s Heritage Center – as demolition efforts started Sept. 30 and plans are underway to rehouse the two entities, which could take more than a year.
“Back in January of 2024, we experienced a freeze and our pipes burst,” Hudgins recalled. “When we have bad weather, we don’t go to work if the roads are bad, so when we came back on a Monday, we came in and the water was running, our floors were flooded, so we got that shut off, we got that handled, they started making a plan to get the water out, see what needed to be fixed, how we could move forward – Well – The next weekend, it froze again and when we came back after that freeze, we found that our roof was falling in and leaking. And so, then we found some spots of mold in the back of the building and throughout and it was determined that building was unsafe … by February we were moving out.”
Hudgins said the staff relocated to temporary work spots in Pawhuska, including the Tri-County Business Development Center and the Language Department staff relocated to a trailer on the Harvest Land property.
New offices for language and culture
In wake of the situation, the then-Eighth ON Congress appropriated $2 million for costs toward a new multi-purpose building to house the culture and language departments during the 2024 Hun-Kah Session.
“I’m thinking maybe a year, minimum, it’s taken six months just to get that building demoed, so that’s where we are,” Hudgins said. “All of our stuff, all of our supplies that we had on hand, we tried to get it out into the hands of constituents that needed things and the rest went to storage. Our library’s in storage and we are in office spaces, and we’re very spread out. It’s not an ideal situation – I’m glad that we have a space to be in – there’s not a lot that we can do, we can’t have classes when we don’t have any space, so for this fiscal year moving forward, what my plan is for our staff is to come to (public events) into the communities where our Osage people are and explain to you what’s going on, where we are, what it looks like moving forward.”
“We’re going to get out in the communities, we’re going to talk to people and we want to see what it is that you want from us – how can we help you? – And then we’ll take that back, take your comments back, put together a plan and maybe we can come back in the spring to implement that plan,” Hudgins said.
Also for the future, Hudgins said: “There is a plan out there for a museum expansion and a new Heritage Center that would house the cultural department, the language department and the Historic Preservation Office. It’s a three-story building and it’s got a big price tag. But we need your support to push our Congress and our Executive teams and let them know that’s something you feel is important.”
In 1938, the ON Museum opened as the Osage Tribal Museum on the Nation’s campus in Pawhuska and is the oldest tribally-owned museum in the United States.
“Both of the facilities have a big price tag,” Hudgins said. “The museum expansion probably has a $40 million price tag. The Heritage Center has a $40 million price tag … So it’s a big number, but at the end of the day, we always hear people talk about how language and culture are so important to us and that’s going to be the heart of your Nation.”
In addition to public interaction, Hudgins said “We’re going to go to some museums that house cultural items and see those and see what kind of things need to take place for us to get them back and get them in our museum.”
In response to an attendee question about repatriation efforts, Hudgins said those would be handled by the Historic Preservation Office or the museum.
Wahzhazhe Cultural Center work continues despite office relocation
Despite the current lack of a building, Hudgins noted the WCC work continues. “What we do is we assist people who are trying to learn how to make different parts of our traditional clothing and right now we are still doing that the best that we can on a one-on-one basis, which is great, but we’re only able to do that because we have a small office space to work in.”
Hudgins teaches weaving and has one workday dedicated to appointments and told the attendees she comes from the Pawhuska District, is a former Head Cook and is an aunt of current Pawhuska Drumkeeper Cole Burris.
WCC staff member and artist Jennifer Tiger also comes from the Pawhuska District and serves as a Committee Cook, as well as for previous Drumkeepers. “What I do for the Cultural Center is I run the library, so we have about 1,700 books and materials and a lot of it was Annette Gore’s personal books and the work that she did with a lot of the microfilm, National Archives, so she spent a lot of time getting microfilm from there that really documented our history. What I do on the side is I make jewelry and metalsmithing (including earrings).”
Leah Bighorse (Grayhorse District) also serves as a district cook and teaches sewing at the Cultural Center. “To learn to sew, you have to teach yourself, that’s how I was taught. My aunties sewed for me and then they got sick. When you’re sick, you don’t sew, if you’re not feeling well, you don’t sew. And I have a little-bitty room, so it’s one person, that’s it, at a time.”
Tiger added: “Leah’s being very modest, she can make blankets, ribbonwork, weave, and sew women’s shirts.”
Hudgins introduced more WCC staff that did not make the trip. “Sammy Lookout – he’s our cultural coordinator, he’s also a former Drumkeeper, he’s the Head Tail Dancer for the Pawhuska District and he is a Road Man for the Lookout Native American Church. Herman Sleeper – he’s from the Zon-Zo-Li^ District, he lives in Hominy, he’s on the committee there and his parents were both cooks. Isaiah Lasley – he’s from the Grayhorse District, he’s our audio-visual technician guy and he has his own podcast, so he knows (technical stuff). So we all have our little things that we do and we work great as a team.”
Hudgins also discussed the Osage language and cultural website online at <a href="http://www.osageculture.com/">www.osageculture.com</a>which includes various resources, including videos on culture, clothing and cooking traditional dishes.
“With some of our (American Rescue Plan Act) dollars, language and culture (departments) worked together and there’s several (Cultural Connection) videos on there we put together that have different (subjects): cooking demonstrations, there’s also a women’s dressing demonstration, a men’s dressing demonstration, there’s videos that talk about clans, clan names, funerals, baby cradleboards, so those are very good resources for you to use,” Hudgins said.
The Cultural Connection videos are also available on the Nation’s YouTube page under “Osage Nation Language and Culture Video Series” at: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/osagenationnsngovmedia">https://www.youtube.com/osagenationnsngovmedia</a>
To reach the Wahzhazhe Cultural Center, constituents can call (918) 287-5632 or email with questions to <a href="mailto:culturalcenter@osagenation-nsn.gov">culturalcenter@osagenation-nsn.gov</a>

Wahzhazhe Cultural Center shares plans, resources at NCO Gathering

Osage News

News Organization 

(NATIONAL) Hurricane Milton continues to intensify over the southwest and is expected to move northeastward by the middle of the week, very heavy rainfall well ahead of Hurricane Milton will arrive across Florida with the threat of flash flooding, showers and thunderstorms expected for Ohio and Lower Great Lakes, and record-breaking heat will continue across California and the Southwest.
Hurricane Milton continues to intensify over southwestern Gulf of Mexico and is currently forecast by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to move northeastward towards the Florida Peninsula by the middle of this week. However, potentially significant flash flooding impacts are expected well ahead of the storm as anomalously moist tropical air and instability increase along a wavy frontal boundary draped across the southern Florida Peninsula. Separate waves of low pressure along this front will favor areas of very heavy to potentially extreme rainfall in a concentrated fashion across portions of South Florida through Monday and Tuesday. 
There is Moderate Risk of excessive rainfall (level 3/4) depicted over this region. 
Additional heavy rainfall more directly connected to Hurricane Milton will arrive by Wednesday, and going through Wednesday night, rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches with localized totals of 15 inches are expected. Please consult the latest NHC public advisories for the latest information on the expected track and impacts from Hurricane Milton. 
An upper-level trough and associated surface frontal system will pass through areas of the Upper Ohio Valley, Lower Great Lakes region and the interior of the Northeast going through Sunday night and Monday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will accompany the front, and there will be a concern for some severe weather especially this evening across areas of eastern Ohio, the northern West Virginia Panhandle, western Pennsylvania and western New York as the cold front arrives. 
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has highlighted a Slight Risk (level 2/5) of severe weather across these areas and mainly for the threat of large hail and damaging winds.
Meanwhile, a record-breaking late-season heat wave will continue through early this week across areas of central and southern California and the Desert Southwest as a ridge of high pressure aloft persists over the region. Forecast highs continue to soar into the upper 90s to low 100s outside of the immediate coastal areas of central and southern California, with high temperatures reaching as high as the low 110s for the interior portions of the Desert Southwest. Numerous daily record-tying or record-breaking high temperatures are expected to occur across the region going through Monday. Heat-related advisories and warnings are in place as this persistent level of major to extreme heat remains a danger to anyone without adequate air-conditioning or hydration, and for those spending greater time outdoors. 
While not quite as hot, highs will trend above average again for most of the rest of the Intermountain West as well, with highs in the 70s and low 80s for the northern Great Basin/Rockies and into the mid-80s for the central Great Basin. These very warm temperatures will also spread east out into the northern/central Plains through the early to middle part of this week. Some areas of the northern Plains by Tuesday and Wednesday will likely see high temperatures that are 20 to 25 degrees above average, with temperatures reaching the upper 70s and low 80s.

Weather across America

National Weather Service- Tulsa

<h1>Written By: <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/author/katheryn-houghton/">Katheryn Houghton</a></h1>
(NATIONAL) Sara McGinnis was pregnant with her second child and something felt off. Her body was swollen. She was tired and dizzy.
<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/high-blood-pressure-hypertension-pregnancy-preeclampsia-maternal-mortality/" target="_blank">Read this story on KFF Health News here. </a>
Her husband, Bradley McGinnis, said she had told her doctor and nurses about her symptoms and even went to the emergency room when they worsened. But, Bradley said, what his wife was told in response was, “‘It’s summertime and you’re pregnant.’ That haunts me.”
Two days later, Sara had a massive stroke followed by a seizure. It happened on the way to the hospital, where she was headed again due to a splitting headache.
Sara, from Kalispell, Montana, never met her son, Owen, who survived through an emergency delivery and has her oval eyes and thick dark hair. She died the day after he was born.
Sara had eclampsia, a sometimes deadly pregnancy complication caused by persistent high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. High blood pressure makes the heart work in overdrive, which can damage organs.
Sara died in 2018. Today, more pregnant people are being diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure, a finding that could save their lives. Recent studies show the rates of <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.121.023791">newly developed</a> and <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/chronic-hypertension-pregnancy-doubled-us-2007-2021">chronic maternal high blood pressure</a> have roughly doubled since 2007. Researchers say the jump in cases is likely due in part to more testing that discovers the conditions.
But that’s not the whole story. Data shows that the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/maternal-mortality/php/pregnancy-mortality-surveillance/index.html">overall maternal mortality rate</a> in the U.S. is also climbing, with high blood pressure one of the leading causes.
Medical experts are trying to stem the tide. In 2022, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists <a href="https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-advisory/articles/2022/04/clinical-guidance-for-the-integration-of-the-findings-of-the-chronic-hypertension-and-pregnancy-chap-study">lowered the threshold</a> for when doctors should treat pregnant and postpartum patients for high blood pressure. And federal agencies offer training in best practices for screening and care. <a href="https://saferbirth.org/aim-data/impact-statements/">Federal data</a>shows that maternal deaths from high blood pressure declined in Alaska and West Virginia after implementation of those guidelines. But applying those standards to everyday care takes time, and hospitals are still working to incorporate practices that might have saved Sara’s life.
In Montana, which last year became one of 35 states to implement the federal patient safety guidelines, more than two-thirds of hospitals provided patients with timely care, said <a href="https://www.umt.edu/ccfwd/about_us/who-we-are/default.php?ID=6400">Annie Glover</a>, a senior research scientist with the Montana Perinatal Quality Collaborative. Starting in 2022, just over half of hospitals met that threshold.
“It just takes some time in a hospital to implement a change,” Glover said.
High blood pressure can damage a person’s eyes, lungs, kidneys, or heart, with consequences long after pregnancy. Preeclampsia — consistent high blood pressure in pregnancy — can also lead to a heart attack. The problem can develop from inherited or lifestyle factors: For example, being overweight predisposes people to high blood pressure. So does older age, and more people are having babies later in life.
Black and Indigenous people are far more likely to develop and die from high blood pressure in pregnancy than the general population.
“Pregnancy is a natural stress test,” said Natalie Cameron, a physician and an epidemiologist with Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, who has studied the rise in high blood pressure diagnoses. “It’s unmasking this risk that was there all the time.”
But pregnant women who don’t fit the typical risk profile are also getting sick, and Cameron said more research is needed to understand why.
Mary Collins, 31, of Helena, Montana, developed high blood pressure while pregnant this year. Halfway through her pregnancy, Collins still hiked and attended strength training classes. Yet, she felt sluggish and was gaining weight too rapidly while her baby’s growth slowed drastically.
Collins said she was diagnosed with preeclampsia after she asked an obstetrician about her symptoms. Just before that, she said, the doctor had said all was going well as he checked her baby’s development.
“He pulled up my blood pressure readings, did a physical assessment, and just looked at me,” Collins said. “He was like, ‘Actually, I’ll take back what I said. I can easily guarantee that you’ll be diagnosed with preeclampsia during this pregnancy, and you should buy life flight insurance.’”
Indeed, Collins was airlifted to Missoula, Montana, for the delivery and her daughter, Rory, was born two months early. The baby had to spend 45 days in a neonatal intensive care unit. Both Rory, now about 3 months old, and Collins are still recovering.
The typical cure for preeclampsia is delivering the baby. Medication can help prevent seizures and speed up the baby’s growth to shorten pregnancy if the health of the mother or fetus warrants a premature delivery. In rare cases, preeclampsia can develop soon after delivery, a condition researchers still don’t fully understand.
<a href="https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/about-uspstf/current-members/wanda-k-nicholson-md-mph-mba">Wanda Nicholson</a>, chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts in disease prevention, said steady monitoring is needed during and after a pregnancy to truly protect patients. Blood pressure “can change in a matter of days, or in a 24-hour period,” Nicholson said.
And symptoms aren’t always clear-cut.
That was the case for Emma Trotter. Days after she had her first child in 2020 in San Francisco, she felt her heartbeat slow. Trotter said she called her doctor and a nurse helpline and both told her she could go to an emergency room if she was worried but advised her that it wasn’t needed. So she stayed home.
In 2022, about four days after she delivered her second child, her heart slowed again. That time, the care team in her new home of Missoula checked her vitals. Her blood pressure was so high the nurse thought the monitor was broken.
“‘You could have a stroke at any second,’” Trotter recalled her midwife telling her before sending her to the hospital.
Trotter was due to have her third child in September, and her doctors planned to send her and the new baby home with a blood pressure monitor.
<a href="https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/stephanie-leonard">Stephanie Leonard</a>, an epidemiologist at Stanford University School of Medicine who studies high blood pressure in pregnancy, said more monitoring could help with complex maternal health problems.
“Blood pressure is one component that we could really have an impact on,” she said. “It’s measurable. It’s treatable.”
More monitoring has long been the goal. In 2015, the federal Health Resources and Services Administration worked with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to roll out best practices to make birth safer, including a specific guide to scan for and treat high blood pressure. Last year the federal government boosted funding for such efforts to expand implementation of those guides.
“So much of the disparity in this space is about women’s voices not being heard,” said <a href="https://www.hrsa.gov/about/organization/bio-johnson">Carole Johnson</a>, head of the health resources agency.
The Montana Perinatal Quality Collaborative spent a year providing that high blood pressure training to hospitals across the state. In doing so, Melissa Wolf, the head of women’s services at Bozeman Health, said her hospital system learned that doctors’ use of its treatment plan for high blood pressure in pregnancy was “hit or miss.” Even how nurses checked pregnant patients’ blood pressure varied.
“We just assumed everyone knew how to take a blood pressure,” Wolf said.
Now, Bozeman Health is tracking treatment with the goal that any pregnant person with high blood pressure receives appropriate care within an hour. Posters dot the hospitals’ clinic walls and bathroom doors listing the warning signs for preeclampsia. Patients are discharged with a list of red flags to watch for.
Katlin Tonkin is one of the nurses training Montana medical providers on how to make birth safer. She knows how important it is from experience: In 2018, Tonkin was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia when she was 36 weeks pregnant, weeks after she had developed symptoms. Her emergency delivery came too late and her son Dawson, who hadn’t been getting enough oxygen, died soon after his birth.
Tonkin has since had two more sons, both born healthy, and she keeps photos of Dawson, taken during his short life, throughout her family’s home.
“I wish I knew then what I know now,” Tonkin said. “We have the current evidence-based practices. We just need to make sure that they’re in place.”
<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.

Deadly High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Is on the Rise

KFF Health News

Written By: <a href="https://theblackwallsttimes.com/author/eddie-washington/">Eddie Washington</a>
(TULSA, Okla.) In an interview with the Black Wall St. Times, the creator of Black Broadway Tulsa, fresh off a production of “A Raisin in the Sun,” shares why he’s chosen to make the city his permanent home.
<a href="https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2024/10/02/black-broadway-tulsa-debuts-powerful-performance-of-a-raisin-in-the-sun/">Read this story on The Black Wall Street Times here.</a>
Imagine traveling 1500 miles from California to a place where you have never been and have no family to be a founding member of a program that pays you to move to their city to be part of the community for at least one year.
For Obum Ukabam, it has been five years since he relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma. He’s a founding member of <a href="http://www.tulsaremote.com/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=BWSTsite&amp;utm_campaign=BWSTimesFeatureStory2024&amp;utm_content=obum-feature-article">Tulsa Remote</a> and one of the first Black members to take the journey to Tulsa to be a part of the rapidly growing community and city.
“I stayed in Tulsa because of the community, first and foremost, because of the opportunities to increase my quality of life while also helping to increase others’ quality of life in the community. I love to serve, and I love to work with kids,” Ukabam told the Black Wall Street Times.
Ukabam founded Black Broadway Tulsa along with the late Justin Daniels. The two shared the vision of bringing theater to Tulsa’s youth and primarily Black and underserved communities.
The company debuted its flagship show, “A Raisin in the Sun,” in late September and the first weekend of October.
Lorraine Hansberry wrote the play “A Raisin in the Sun,” and it debuted in 1959, with a film adaption in 1961 starring Sidney Poitier. 
The play is about a Black family in Chicago in the 1940s who are trying to improve their lives after the death of the family patriarch. The play explores themes of racism, housing discrimination, and assimilation and how the family’s dreams are affected by their financial situation.
How much a dollar cost?
Ukabam portrayed Walter Younger, a 35-year-old man grieving his father’s death while desperately trying to lift his family out of poverty. As a chauffeur for wealthy white men, Walter sees the life he wants but can’t attain. He believes the $10,000 insurance check from his father’s death will finally change everything.
Walter plans to invest the money in a liquor store, but his mother, Lena, wants to use it for a down payment on a house in a white neighborhood. Walter’s wife, Ruth, supports Lena because they need more space for their son, Travis, who sleeps on the couch. Meanwhile, his sister Beneatha dreams of using the money for medical school.
As the tension over the insurance money builds, each character’s desires and motivations come to the forefront, highlighting the complex dynamics within the Younger family.
While Walter’s ambition drives the central conflict, Lena, Ruth, and Beneatha each play pivotal roles in shaping the family’s future. 
Their differing perspectives on the use of money reflect their dreams, values, and struggles, adding depth to the story and intensifying the emotional stakes of the play.
How the Black Broadway Tulsa Cast Brought Emotion to Life
Each character brings deep emotion to the play. Walter, feeling overlooked, constantly seeks validation as the man of the house and resents that no one listens to him.
Nicole Billups, who played Lena, shared that she drew from personal grief, having lost her uncle just before rehearsals.
“I felt like at least working through the grief of that in real-time while I was working on the show, I felt like that was also something that was kind of in line with Lena,” she told the Black Wall Street Times.
Though Billups is only 32, she embraced the mother role with the support of director David Harris.
“As far as Lena being younger, I was like, I have seen this woman before, and I think a lot of us have been raised by this woman before, or met this woman before. So, there was a lot, at least within my own personal family, that I felt like I could pull on,” Billups added.
Anna Joie, who played Ruth, spoke about the emotional weight of her role.
“Every night was a very emotional experience, and I think that speaks a lot to, first of all, the incredible writing on Lorraine’s part, and second of all, just the great directing that we had from David Harris.”
Anna added that Harris created a safe environment for the actors to explore their characters’ emotions and bring them to life.

Oklahoma

Black Broadway Tulsa debuts powerful performance of “A Raisin in the Sun”

The Black Wall Street Times

Written By: Braden Harper
(OKMULGEE, Okla.) The first annual conference centered around energy and agriculture, “Growing Power: A Climate, Nutrition &amp; Food Sovereignty Summit” will take place on Nov. 7-8. 
<a href="https://www.mvskokemedia.com/growing-power-a-climate-nutrition-food-sovereignty-summit-set-for-nov-7-8/">Read this story on Mvskoke Media here.</a>
The event will bring together Indigenous leaders, agricultural experts, and climate activists from across the United States to address the urgent challenges of climate change, food security, and nutrition in Indian Country. The two-day event will be held at the College of the Muscogee Nation and is expected to draw participants from all parts of the region.
Day one of the summit, set for Thursday, Nov. 7, will feature discussions on the history of unique corn varieties, the importance of pollinators to Indigenous food systems, and the benefits of living off the grid. The afternoon will focus on the future of GMOs, the Oklahoma Mesonet as an agricultural resource and the protection of water in Indian Country. The day will close with a unique networking event and dinner. The location has yet to be anounced.
On Friday, Nov. 8, the summit continues with a discussion on combating obesity and diabetes through traditional alternatives and an urgent call to action to address climate change. The day will end with a speaker roundtable and networking lunch.
With a packed agenda of presentations, roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities, the summit aims to empower participants to address the pressing issues of food sovereignty, climate resilience and empowering our citizens to be successful in the new economy.
To register for the event, please visit <a href="http://whova.com/portal/registration/falco_202410" target="_blank">http://whova.com/portal/registration/falco_202410</a> or contact Christopher Azbell at <a href="tel:918-549-2861">918-549-2861</a> or via email at cazbell@cmn.edu for more information. 
Please note that there are limited spots available and the conference is free of charge.
This article includes minor edits including reformatting to third person.

Growing Power: A Climate, Nutrition & Food Sovereignty Summit Set for Nov. 7-8

Mvskoke Media

(TULSA, Okla.) A third person has died following heavy morning fog in Green Country last week. 
Tulsa Police Department said 43-year-old Krystal Martin was driving on US-412 between the west leg of the IDL and Gilcrease Museum Road on Wednesday, September 25, when she lost control of her vehicle and rolled it multiple times.
We’re told the wreck happened at around 7:30 a.m. 
Martin passed away from her injuries one week later on Wednesday, October 2. 
Her family said she was able to save seven lives through organ donation. 
Martin was a longtime resident of Broken Arrow where she served as a Girl Scout troop leader. 
Two other people also died last week during the heavy fog. 
Oklahoma Highway Patrol said 45-year-old Christopher Dallis and 26-year-old Jarrett Sites, both of Broken Arrow, collided on US-412 at South 4415 Road a mile east of Catoosa just after 4 a.m.
Dallis died at the scene. Sites later died at the hospital. 
National Weather Service - Tulsa issued an alert around 2 a.m. that morning, stating visibility could be as low as a quarter mile or less in some areas. A Dense Fog Advisory was issued and then later expanded across a greater area and extended to 10 a.m.

United States of America

Third person dies following heavy Green Country fog

Brittany Harlow

(TVLSE, Okla.) 17-year-old Albert Mekko, who died at Carlisle Indian School in 1881, finally returned home Tuesday. Seminole Nation in partnership with Muscogee Nation, Tulsa Police, Strong Hands, and grassroots organizers took part in a motorcade from Council Oak Park, a sacred Muscogee site, to Seminole Nation to get him there.
“Today, for the first time in around 140 years, we’re bringing one of our students back home,” said Rev. Chebon Kernell, ceremonial leader and Albert’s relative. “And it’s really an emotional time.” 
Kernell said Albert was forced to go to Carlisle in 1879. 
“This is really a time of joy, but it’s also a time of sorrow because the fact and the reality remains that none of our children should ever have been taken from our homes,” Kernell said. “And today we are working with all of our entities all across the United States and First Nations communities in Canada to bring all of our children home.”
<a href="https://app.verifiednews.network/articles/share/3695" target="_blank">Related Story: “Every Child Matters Honor Walk” happening Monday in Seminole Nation</a>
Albert is one of three known Seminole children to have died in Indian boarding schools. 
Seminole Chief Lewis J. Johnson, who is also related to Albert, told VNN Albert’s father was a respected leader among the Muskogean people, both Seminole and Muscogee (Creek). 
The Nations still share many similarities, as Seminole Nation is derived from bands of Muscogee people who left Georgia and Alabama during the 18th Century to resettle in Florida. 
We’re told the process of the Office of Army Cemeteries returning deceased children from Carlisle began in 2015, following a visit from Sicangu Youth Council of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. 
“I was the assistant chief at the time and through our historical preservation office, there was a gentleman named Ted Isham and then later David Frank was involved with several others,” Johnson said. “They had touched base with the Seminole Nation about a Seminole young man being at the Carlisle Cemetery. So it started from there. And many of the tribes were returning those children or students that were buried there and taking them back home.” 
Albert will be reinterred within four days of his return to Seminole Nation, as per his family’s wishes.
Johnson said at least one other Seminole child, Wallace Perryman, is still at Carlisle and they are also working to bring him back.

Child who died at Indian board school returned to Seminole Nation 

Written By: Thomas Jackson
(OKMULKE, Oklv.) The Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s National Council held an emergency session at the Mound Building on Sept. 24.
<a href="https://www.mvskokemedia.com/changes-made-to-mcn-funding-agreement-with-the-united-states/" target="_blank">Read this story on Mvskoke Media here.</a>
The council addressed the following legislation, the interpretation of which is attributed to language in the bills:
TR 24-115 A Tribal Resolution of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation authorizing the Principal Chief to execute an updated compact of self-governance for the purpose of amending the multi-year funding agreement between the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the United States of America was passed by the council. The resolution was sponsored by Representative Nelson Harjo Sr. of the Okmulgee District. It passed with a vote of 10-0. 
The resolution alters the agreement the Muscogee (Creek) Nation has with the United States in regards to funding.
NCA 24-122 A law of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation approving a continuing budget ordinance and providing for appropriations and authorization for expenditures for FY 2025 was passed by the council. The resolution was sponsored by Representative Randall Hicks of the Okfuskee District and co-sponsored by Representative Robert Hufft of the Tulsa District. It was passed with a vote of 7-3, with Representative Joyce C. Deere of the Muskogee District, Representative Sandra Golden of the Okfuskee District, and Representative Robyn Whitecloud of the Okmulgee District voting against the legislation. 
The law provides funding for all three branches of the government of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation until the council can review and approve of the comprehensive annual budget for FY 2025.
To view the full agenda, visit: <a href="http://mcnnc.com/" target="_blank">mcnnc.com</a>.

Changes made to MCN funding agreement with the United States

(NATIONAL) In this powerful episode of The 1 Girl Revolution Podcast, we’re joined by Melissa Skeet, better known as SkeetFighter. Melissa is an unstoppable force who has turned her passion for trail rollerskating and her own survivor story into passion, resilience, and advocacy for others – specifically Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons. 
<a href="https://1girlrevolution.com/melissaskeet/" target="_blank">Listen to 225: SkeetFighter/Raising Awareness for MMIP - Melissa Skeet here</a>
Melissa is Diné, born on the Navajo Nation and grew up at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Melissa received her undergrad at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ, and started her career path in Victim Assistance. In 2017, Melissa survived Domestic Violence, where she almost lost her life; and around that time, Melissa discovered that roller derby and she says roller derby and the other athletes saved her and brought her back to life. Her love of the outdoors combined with roller skating turned into her passion for trail skating. Now she’s using her love of trail skaring to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) on a nationwide trek.  
In this conversation, Melissa opens up about her own life and journey, she talks about her nickname SkeetFighter, and how she’s using her love of trail skating to advocate for and help others. Join us as we dive deep into Melissa’s incredible story of perseverance, resilience, and the power that we each have to change the world.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
*Melissa’s inspiring life story; 
*How she got the nickname SkeetFighter and how she’s using her platform to help others;
*About Melissa’s incredible nationwide trek – trail skating across America – to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP);
*Stories of the people and families who have been helped through Melissa’s work and journey:
*And so much more!
Connect with Melissa:
*Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/skeet_fighter" target="_blank">@skeet_fighter</a>
*Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SkeetFighter" target="_blank">Skeet Fighter</a>
*TikTok: @skeet_fighter
*YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@SkeetFighter" target="_blank">@SkeetFighter</a>
*Support Melissa via GoFundMe: <a href="https://gofund.me/81eb0580" target="_blank">GoFundMe Link</a>
*<a href="https://www.nativehope.org/melissa-skeet-dine#skeetfighter" target="_blank">Watch the SkeetFighter documentary</a>
Be sure to follow The 1 Girl Revolution Podcast for more inspiring stories like Melissa’s!
Listen and Subscribe: Don’t miss this inspiring episode – and so many others! Listen to The 1 Girl Revolution Podcast on #ApplePodcasts, #Spotify, #YouTube, and subscribe to stay up-to-date with our latest episodes. Join the movement to empower girls and change the world, one story at a time!

1 Girl Revolution: SkeetFighter/Raising Awareness for MMIP - Melissa Skeet

1 Girl Revolution

(NATIONAL) Additional heavy rains possible across portions of the Central Appalachians, record heat to continue across California into the Desert Southwest, and an elevated to critical fire weather threat continues from the Plains into the Great Basin. 
The mid to upper level closed low initially across the Ohio to Tennessee Valley region will continue to be a heavy precipitation producer over the next two days as it pushes very slowly eastward and begins to weaken.  
Areas of moderate to heavy rain are expected on the east and northeast portion of this circulation where sustained low level east southeasterly flow in an axis of much above average moisture values. These values will impact areas of the Central Appalachians from West Virginia into northwest Virginia and far western Maryland.  
Across these areas, additional rainfall totals of 1 to 2 inches are possible, with localized totals approaching 5 inches. These rains will be falling across areas that have received very heavy rains over the past several days.  With soils saturated and stream flows well above average from these recent rains, flash and river flooding will be a significant concern, with flood watches currently in effect across these regions.  
The good news is that this mid to upper level low will weaken and push off the Mid-Atlantic coast by late Tuesday and early Wednesday, bringing a period of much drier weather for this area.
No let up in sight to the potential for record heat across large portions of California into the Desert Southwest over the next few days.  An upper ridge is forecast to re-strengthen from California into the Great Basin and Desert Southwest, supporting an expansion of major heat risk conditions across much of California into southern Nevada and southwest Arizona.  
High temperatures are expected to be 10 to 20 degrees above average both Monday and Tuesday across these areas, supporting the potential for numerous record high temperatures. Excessive heat warnings are currently in effect across western to southwest Arizona into far southern Nevada and portions of southeast California, while heat advisories are in effect over portions of coastal central to northern California.  
These Excessive Heat Warnings and heat advisories are currently affecting nearly 21 million people.
An elevated to critical fire weather threat will continue into Monday from portions of the Northern Great Basin/Northern Rockies, eastward into the Northern to Central Plains.  
A fast moving strong cold front will be moving eastward across these areas with gusty winds both ahead of and behind this front. Little if any precipitation is expected with this front, with the low relative humidities and high winds contributing to the significant threat of fire weather conditions. Currently Red Flag warnings are in effect across these areas, affecting over 3 million people.