Symposium to reflect on the past while looking toward future for Indigenous Tulsans

(TULSA, Okla.) Two days of impactful conversations, panels, and presentations are coming back to Tulsa on October 4th and 5th. 

Verified News Network (VNN) Oklahoma will be hosting the Indigenous Roots American Indian History Symposium for the second year with a unique focus on history, health, and the events that have shaped the lives of Indigenous Tulsans and Northeast Oklahoma. 

VNN Oklahoma is excited to have Cara Jade Myers, a citizen of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and a descendent of the Kiowa Tribe, as this year’s keynote speaker. 

Myers played Anna Brown in Martin Scorsese's “Killers of the Flower Moon”.

“This event is important, because a lot of us are trying to revive our culture, and a huge part of that is our health,” Myers told VNN Oklahoma. “We can't dance if we're sick, we can't teach our stories under addiction. We can't make the next generation stronger if we're fighting our demons.”

A main goal of the symposium is to foster in-depth conversations about historical events and the health impacts from some of these events that continue to impact Northeast Oklahoma’s Indigenous communities today.

The event will feature the “Roots & Records: Digging Into the Allotment Era” workshop conducted by Native author and historian J.D. Colbert (Muscogee, Chickasaw, Cherokee and Citizen Potawatomi) and Lucinda Hickory Research Institute (LHRI) Founder and researcher Tatianna Duncan (Muscogee and Cherokee), as well as experts from the Tulsa City-County Library discussing how attendees can research Oklahoma history and their own. 

There will be panels about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and VNN Oklahoma’s historical reporting project as well as boarding school history. 

And this year’s symposium will also focus on some of the ways health issues impacting Indigenous communities are being addressed through traditional knowledge. VNN Oklahoma’s Rachael Schuit will share findings from the “Returning to Balance” Solutions Journalism project and the culturally informed solutions that are being used to address suicide, substance use, and domestic violence. 

“I'm a huge advocate for mental health,” said Myers. “I am very open about my struggles, because I want others to realize that talking about it and asking for help is the strongest thing you can do. Natives have always been community centered, so relying on our traditions, and our people is how we heal.”

The Sunday portion of the symposium will include a community conversation with the following leaders, looking to learn more about how Indigenous inclusion can be improved on the city, county and state levels:

Amanda Swope, Director of Tribal Policy and Partnerships, City of Tulsa

Winnie Guess Perdue, Cherokee Commissioner, Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission

Dode Barnett, Muscogee (Creek) National Council Representative, Creek District Seat A

Joe Deere, Cherokee Nation District 13 Tribal Councilor

Rep. Melissa Provenzano, House Assistant Minority Leader, OK House District 79

Stacy Laskey, Osage Commissioner, Greater Tulsa Area Indian Affairs Commission

This conversation will also allow Indigenous Tulsans and Tulsa County residents to share their concerns with leaders and discuss ways to address historic injustice and include Indigenous Tulsans on the path forward. 

Prior to the conversation, VNN Oklahoma’s Brittany Harlow will conduct a presentation about the City of Tulsa’s origins and its connection to the Allotment Era. 

VNN affiliate Catalyst News will also be on site, conducting a listening session for non-Native parents who are raising Indigenous children. 

“We are all a part of this amazingly rich and beautiful culture that was stripped from us, we became lost,” said Myers. “Through events like this, we are reclaiming what was taken. We are resilient, and we will only be stronger the more we rely and help each other.”

More information about the Indigenous Roots symposium can be found here. 

VNN Oklahoma is grateful to Native Oklahoma Insurance, Advancing Democracy, Tinker Federal Credit Union, Oklahoma State University, and Enbridge for supporting the work our organization does and making events like this symposium possible.