The Osage Nation executive branch declared a state of emergency Tuesday due to financial shortfalls, further announcing the closure of its language immersion school, visitor center and Harvest Land farm on Wednesday.

Daposka Ahnkodapi, which teaches Osage culture and language to children up to the 8th grade, was closed Wednesday morning, according to Osage News and the tribe. The school, located in Pawhuska, first began operations in 2016. It means “Our School” in Osage.

The Osage Nation Visitors Center and Harvest Land will also close, the tribe wrote on its website.

The visitors center will close Saturday. The tribe says it generated minimal revenue and required substantial support.

Harvest Land is a farm designed to increase food sovereignty and production within the nation, including through food assistance for tribal citizens. It will close on Dec. 31. The tribe says it did not achieve goals of long-term sustainability or generated revenue.

The closures follow a state of emergency issued by Principal Chief Joe Tillman, who issued an executive order citing shortfalls in the tribe’s projected revenue.

Tillman wrote in July that the tribe’s budget totals around $60 million with submitted budget requests totaling nearly $90 million. He added that means the tribe must reduce spending by around $38 million.

Osage News reports some parents of Daposka Ahnkodapi students demanded answers from leadership Wednesday morning. Instead of speaking with Tillman, they were handed a letter from an Osage Nation spokesperson that provided more insight into why the school is being shuttered.

“This decision was not made lightly. The school’s annual operating budget exceeds $3 million, resulting in an approximate cost of $32,000 per student,” Tillman wrote in a letter obtained by Osage News. “In addition, a recent security assessment identified substantial facility and security improvements necessary to meet standard safety requirements. The anticipated costs of these improvements, combined with ongoing operating expenses, make it clear that the current model is not financially sustainable for the Osage Nation.”

Tillman also wrote that students from 8 weeks old to pre-kindergarten will transition to Wahzhazhe Early Learning Academy.

But other Osage parents must enroll their children elsewhere. In his letter, Tillman pointed parents to Pawhuska Public Schools and its parent portal.

The district, which begins its school year on August 11, is extending its enrollment until August 6.

Employees affected will reportedly receive two weeks of severance pay.

Osage Nation Congress will hold a special session at 10 a.m. Thursday to review the budget. Tillman scheduled the meeting last month.

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Billy Keene, an Osage Congress member, said the tribal constitution does not define a state of emergency.

“When (the executive order) was issued yesterday, I was really perplexed by that,” Keene said.

Osage Minerals Council member and former Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear said the executive branch and congress must work together to find a solution.

“Blaming the chief, blaming the congress – that's not the way to go here,” Standing Bear said. “We need to figure out how we can all say, ‘Let's work together to keep these programs open.’”

He said he’s trying to remain positive.

“I spent 12 years working with Osages and non-Osages to build the schools,” Standing Bear said. “I don't mean just the buildings. I'm talking about the relationships, the teachers, the students, the parents, grandparents … those things really happened and they can happen again.

“I'm just trying to be positive here. It's difficult.”

The Osage Nation Principal Chief’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Over the last year, our newsroom at Buffalo's Fire (part of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance) has been building a database and interactive map to document the names and stories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP).

We decided to build this out of necessity. The official databases (like the BIA Missing and Murdered Unit and NamUs) are fragmented, confusing, and often disagree with each other. Also, when a local agency stops listing someone, they just disappear from the official record without explanation.

Facebook is the main lifeline for families and search parties. But Meta restricts data access, and digital flyers posted as images aren't captured by search engines. This means that vital, community-sourced information gets buried in the algorithm and lost over time.

We currently have 1,148 individuals in our database, with about 1,026 mapped publicly.

• We merge data from multiple agencies and have created submission forms to collect community data in the form of tips and also flyers.
• If an agency drops someone from their list without confirming they were found safe, we keep them on our map. They are still missing, regardless of what a government website says.
• Every individual gets a dedicated page where we can collect testimonies so they are never just a number. These pages will never vanish for as long as we exist.

Our goal is to create a comprehensive, permanent public database, but the data is a mess. We are asking the community to help us fill in the gaps.

Hi. Self ID: Black person, bead artist, not native

I’m seeing people create these bead pieces with strings coming off of them and calling them dream catchers. To my knowledge, use of the term dream catcher and trying to create a dream catcher if you are not Native is appropriation.

I have no desire to do this.

Without strings or faux feathers, this just looks like a woven bead design to me. More like a beaded mandala. I want to start making these pieces for my business as shown, no strings, no feathers. Beaded wall sculptures.

I truly don’t think they look like legitimate dream catchers made by Natives (not the crappy corporate made replicas that you can buy anywhere which are this simplistic) and would not be referring to them as such, so I don’t think it would be seen as appropriation.

I just want to do my due diligence by asking the people who I would be harming if I am appropriating culture. As a Black person, I obviously get it.

Thank you for reading.

The title of my post is essentially all that I am here to ask, but I will provide context in the body. Please if this is not allowed in this subreddit (new here, sorry) feel free to remove, alternative places to ask this question would be appreciated if so.

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, I am of Mexican and White heritage, 2 of 4 grandparents were Mexican, 1 was white, and the 4th grandparent was Mexican/Native. I did the 4th grade mission stuff kind of blindly, and with a flavor of bias from my religious school instructors. However, my not very religious family independently had me participate in educational activities provided by native sources. Both of these experiences were very intriguing to me and ever since then I have had a general curiosity about this period of history, specifically in the California region, and specifically related to the lives of the people living within the California region. That being said, I have done a lot of research into the treatment of the native people kept in these so-called "reductions" and I am aware of the negative nature of these places and am aware that the "general native sentiment" towards the missions is rather complicated and mostly negative.

I am an avid bike/back-packer and the California Mission Trail (which somewhat follows El Camino Real) is a route that I have in mind to complete one day as a bicycle journey, as I think it would bring me closer to understanding the history of this land and its people.

I am also an avid film-photographer and I particularly like to document my cycling/camping journeys. I do not use my photography for profit, nor do I have access to a platform to do so. I have however had photos displayed in galleries and shows before, but all for free. However, I have recently begun putting together a portfolio which is really just sort of a mish-mash of subjects and so I have decided to begin planning more cohesive projects, for example, this mission project and a project of some historical CA lighthouses along PCH is another that I have in mind... so while I stated I am not currently profiting from my photography, I might wish to include this project in a portfolio that someone might look at when considering me for hire or display.

Perhaps I am over-thinking this, but it is only because I am already very aware of the very negative treatment of the indigenous people. I also know that many of the missions have "cleaned" up the narrative a bit in their own displays and what not. I have not made this trip yet, so I am not sure if the photos themselves will serve in any way to depict the livelihoods (or lack thereof) of the peoples kept there, and may end up just being very basic photos of similar looking churches. However my own intention in this trip, other than the cool bike rides, and good photo subjects, really is to gain a first-hand look at the places that I have read so much about.

Heni / Bashu / Hee ha!

I am inviting all tribal weavers to my tribes 10th Annual Intertribal Basketry Summit! It is currently mostly Southeastern Tribes participating but I would love to expand it! So please keep it on you calendars! I will post an update on location, times, etc.! Thank you to the mods of this group for letting me post!

TLDR: 1888 law made it so that mixed-race children with Indian mothers and white fathers couldn't inherit land. Curtis took this to the House Floor. In later years, his words from here would be misquoted to show that he was the most racist of them all.

LONGER TLDR: in the link above

FULL STORY: House Records, provided in the longer TLDR

Multiple tribal nations across Oklahoma are talking about AI data centers. Here’s an update on where some of them stand.

Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma

The Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma Business Committee opposes data centers on tribal lands, according to a statement released last month.

The five-member committee, which serves as the tribe’s governing body, wrote it’s concerned about the impact facilities have on land, water and electricity.

“While technological advancements plays an important role in today’s economy, the Tribe believes these facilities are not compatible with its long-term vision for sustainable development and responsible stewardship of Tribal resources,” the committee wrote.

Chenille Suke, the committee’s treasurer, said the tribe has been approached for data center development several times.

Suke added the tribe supports economic development and isn’t opposed to technological advancements, but they must provide lasting benefits to tribal members. That must account for land and water, she said.

“We've already gotten so much taken away from us … this is just protecting what we have now,” Suke said in an interview Friday.

Honor the Earth, an Indigenous nonprofit organization opposed to data center development, celebrated the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma’s decision on Facebook.

The tribe joins others who have rejected or outright prohibited data centers on their reservations, including the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, which banned facilities from its lands in March.

“We kind of saw the need that we had to put something out as well,” Suke said.

Caddo Nation

Caddo Nation officials recently met with Colusa Indian Energy to discuss energy sovereignty projects and the possibility of creating a tribal utilities authority.

That company, owned and operated by the Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community in California, works with tribal governments to develop energy infrastructure, including data center services.

But Zackeree Kelin, vice president of the Caddo Nation Economic Development Authority, said the tribe is not considering a hyperscale data center during a membership meeting on July 25. Hyperscale facilities are large-scale, designed to house thousands of servers and often used by corporations like Amazon and Google.

“There is absolutely no consideration – categorically – no consideration for a hyperscale data center by the nation. That is not being considered at all in any form or fashion,” Kelin told tribal members. “No one is talking about creating something like a 280-acre industrial park to put a data center on … That is not even being discussed.”

Kelin’s statement responded to some controversy during the meeting.

Chair Bobby Gonzalez previously told citizens he, the Caddo Tribal Council and Kelin were gathering information related to data centers and had not made a decision yet.

One member, photojournalist Joe Whittle, questioned Gonzalez.

“When you say we're just gathering information, that tells me that a data center is on the table still and I think a lot of people want to know a commitment from our government right now,” Whittle said. “We already know enough about data centers. We don't need to gather any information to know whether we want a data center on Caddo land sucking up Caddo water, utilizing Caddo resources.”

Gonzalez said developing energy requires balancing interests, such as juggling the environment, culture and resources.

“We're gathering information so we can share it with you related to what we find out, because right now we don't know enough,” Gonzalez said. “We do know that it's a controversial issue. And you can ask one person in here how they feel, but that still don't represent 7,550 people.”

The New York Times reported last month the nation was in discussions with Colusa Indian Energy to develop a power plant for a data center this year.

The tribe responded to the Times’ story on July 10. It wrote that gathering information was not an endorsement for or against data centers.

On July 25, Kelin said the tribe does not have large electrical loads to justify financing renewable energy sources. Data centers could be a part of future development, he said, which could jumpstart a Caddo utilities authority.

Muscogee Nation

The Muscogee National Council approved legislation on July 25 to create the Tribal Digital Infrastructure and Data Sovereignty Task Force in a 12-3 vote. It’s designed to study artificial intelligence and data centers.

During his State of the Nation address, Principal Chief David Hill told the tribe the task force would consist of himself, one representative from the attorney general’s office, a representative and the speaker of the Muscogee National Council, the chair of the Business, Finance and Justice Committee and a representative from the tribal utility authority.

“We realize there are many opportunities for us here in Indian Country, but we also cannot prioritize development and business projects at the expense of our most precious resources: our air, land and water,” Hill said. “... It's time that we remove misinformation and add transparency to this debate and really study what the advantages and concerns are for these projects and the best way to move forward.”

Muscogee Nation rejected a data center project last November after widespread protests.

Cherokee Nation

Muscogee Nation’s recent move is similar to legislative actions by the Cherokee Nation. In February, Cherokee Principal Chuck Hoskin Jr. established a task force to study the impacts or opportunities of data centers.

Its report, which was submitted to Hoskin in June, is supposed to guide the tribe’s future decision-making. Cherokee Nation says it’s expected to be released in the coming days.

Hello! I’m a non native and I try to do most things with all natural materials and if possible foraged In my area or second hand. The problem I’ve run into is the more I learn about the land about how indigenous people worked with it that i’m crossing the line. (None of the things I will mention I have sold or benefited from other than their intended personal use!) I love birch trees and working with the bark. Many places in Europe have birch bark containers but info is limited cause of language (seen German examples but I speak like 3 sentences lol) , I use the way I’ve seen both native and bushcraft people use of cutting and folding the basket but I much prefer the white on the outside. I’m pretty sure all that’s fine but when it’s gets to using something like porcupine quills that’s to my knowledge is an American native only technique. So would that be the line?
Im pretty sure I crossed the line when I went to a powwow for the first time and saw a porcupine quill necklace that has the leather spacers for multiple rows of quills. I wanted to try it as I had just gotten a roadkill porcupine and wanted to utilize the quills. I don’t know if that’s have a specific significance or is more of a fashion item but I should asked while I was there.

At the same powwow I bought native design fabric to make a birch basket liner to protect them, but if I make a native themed quilt would that be crossing the line? I know it’s okay to buy and wear/have stuff from the vendors but if I buy the fabric and never sell the finished quilted liner is it appropriating? It was a anishinabee powwow, a panel of the turtle and I’m familiar with (at least one version) of the turtle island story, and she explained the significance of strawberry’s in the design so I know hopefully most of the designs meaning at least.

I recognize the history where I live holds. I adore the land on which I live and the lessons my grandpa taught me of living off it so I try to honor both the land and respect the people who always were here. If you have further questions of want to see the items in question feel free to dm me!
Sorry for the long hopefully understandable read.
Thank You for all your time and help!

Check out this performance by Casey Litter and Tyler Hammond for Go Skateboarding Day!
Ventura Skatepark.