july 2012

PR SRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDPERM

IT NO 49STIGLER, OK 74462

VOLUME 12 EDITION 7 Lawton, OK July 2012

P.O. B

ox 908L

awton, O

K 73502-0908

Honorable Judge Lujan Rules Court Order Dismissed Due to Lack of Jurisdiction

Over 100 tribal mem-bers made the journey up the Medicine Bluffs, June 20, fol-lowing the footsteps of thou-sands of Comanche’s who walked the same trail up to the sacred mounds since time im-memorial. The gathering was a humble one, because all pres-ent came to pray of the Coman-che Nation. The day of Comanche Nation Chairman, Wallace Coffey’s, Inauguration Cer-emony June 9, he announced he was going plan a Day of Prayer, as he did when he was in office in 2009. The forceful winds of 30 mph on top of the bluffs did not hinder the gathering. Peo-ple sat at the edge of the bluffs, admiring the beautiful scene below, and feeling the sense of peace and serenity that sur-rounded them. Chairman Coffey gath-

ered the crowd around and shared a brief history of the bluffs. “Young men would come up here for three days to pouhahantes, to have a vision,” said Coffey, “His family would camp on the bottom. Imagine all below filled with Comanche camps,” he said. Twana Spivey, who joined Coffey in the fight to halt construction on the bluffs, also spoke of the history of the area. “There was a shift in the earth thousands of years ago, and these bluff walls rose up from the ground. It is a geo-logical wonder,” he said. Kiowa Chairman, Ron Twohatchet, was in attendance, and he shared his stories of how the bluffs are a part of the Kiowa history. “I remember (the late) Billy Evans Horse talking about the bluffs,” he said.

As people joined hands to form three layers of cir-cles, the praying began. Some prayed out loud; some prayed silently; some prayed in the Comanche language; and some prayed in English. Tears were shed and the sounds of snif-fling noses were also heard as over one hundred prayers were said to Ta Ahpu. Following the prayers, tribal members expressed their thoughts and feelings about the future of the tribe, and for Chairman Coffey call-ing for this Day of Prayer to come about. Others expressed themselves through Comanche hymns and other native lan-guage songs. At noon, the group began their journey down the mound, collecting sage and In-dian perfume that were abun-dant.

Comanche tribal members sit on the edge of the south Medicine Bluff, awaiting the gathering of tribal members to come together for a moment of prayer. The Medicine Bluffs have been a place where Comanches camped and prayed, well before the establishment of Ft. Sill Military Base.

Story and Photos by Jolene Schonchin/News Staff

Grasping the Roots of Tradition to Pray for the Future of the Numunu

By Jolene Schonchin/News Staff

Access to voting and voter registration for Native Americans is nearing a “civic emergency” and the nation’s leading tribal advocacy organi-zation has called for immediate action. Addressing tribal, state, and federal government offi-cials, Jefferson Keel the Presi-dent of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), outlined a set of solutions to increase access to the ballot box and voter registration for American Indian and Alaska Native voters. In addition to grassroots voter registration ef-forts, Keel called for the Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities to be added to the list of federal and state government service providers, which serve as voter registration sites. “Over the last century since securing our rightful place at the ballot box, Native people have remained one of the most disenfranchised group of voters in the United States. Today as a result, only two out of every five eligible American Indian and Alaska Native vot-ers are not registered to vote, in 2008 over 1 million eligible Na-tive voters were unregistered,” said Keel, President of NCAI, the nation’s oldest and most representative tribal advocacy organization. “This should be considered a civic emergency – we should all be concerned: American Indians and Alaska Natives, tribal governments, state and federal governments, ordinary citizens. Today I’m of-fering a set of concrete actions we can take now to change this situation.” Early in 2012, during NCAI’s State of Indian Na-tions Address, Keel called for the largest Native turnout in history. In remarks delivered at NCAI’s Mid Year Conference, he focused on the role of every-day citizens to register voters and that call for Indian Country to participate in Native Vote, NCAI’s national non-partisan campaign. In his address he highlighted three opportunities for tribes and Native citizens to make Indian Country’s voice heard in 2012 and beyond. Keel announced a new partnership with national non-profit Rock the Vote, a part-nership that allows the Native Vote campaign to provide re-sources for online voter regis-tration through NativeVote.org. Keel also announced, “Rock the Native Vote Youth Week” September 24-28, 2012, co-

Access to Elections and Voter

Registration a “Civic Emergency”

for Native Americans says NCAI President

Thom WallaceCommunications DirectorNational Congress of American Indians

See PRAYER, 5

See VOTE, Page 4See COURT, Page 4

The Comanche Nation PIO is proud to announce to readers of The Comanche Na-tion News (TCNN) that they have been notified of winning seven awards in the Native American Journalist Asso-ciation (NAJA) 2012 Media Awards, Division 4. The di-visions are categorized by the circulation number of the newspapers. “We are very proud and excited to win the awards,” said Jolene Schonchin, Direc-tor of the PIO Dept., and Edi-tor for TCNN. Paula Karty placed third in the Best Sports Story category for the article, “Leg-end in her Own Time- Carol Martinez Sets and Still Holds Area Record in Women’s Bas-ketball.” The article ran in the September 2011 edition. Jolene Schonchin placed third in the Best News Story category for the article, “They Did It Again- The Wild Band of Comanches Crowned Southern Drum Champions at Gathering of Nations.” The ar-ticle ran in the June 2011 edi-tion. Jolene Schonchin placed first in the Best Envi-ronmental Story category for the article, “Baby Steps for Big Effects- Tribal Employ-ees Made Aware of Recycling Plastics Through the Environ-mental Program.” The article ran in the August 2011 edition. Jolene won second place in the Best Feature Photo category for the picture titled “Food, Festivities, and Fun at the Comanche Nation Fair.” The picture ran in the Octo-ber 2011 and is a photo of men Gourd Dancing. Paula Karty placed sec-ond in the Best Sports Photo category for the picture titled, “8 Second Ride.” The photo ran in the October 2011 edi-tion, and is a photo of the Co-manche Nation Fair’s Bull Riding event. Jolene Schonchin placed first in the Best News Photo category for the pic-ture titled, “Electrifying.” The photo ran in the March 2011 edition and is a photo of the Comanche Nation Law En-forcement’s Taser Class. TCNN placed third in Best Newspaper Layout The NAJA Media Award Ceremony will take place Aug. 3 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. during the UNITY Journalist Convention, which is a gather-ing of minority journalists.

TCNN Wins Seven Media

Awards Places for

Stories, Photos, and Newspaper

LayoutBy Jolene Schonchin/News Staff

In a packed courtroom on June 22, tension was high as tribal members awaited for the verdict of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Court of Indian Offens-es, as to whether the Honorable Judge Lujan has the jurisdic-tion to reinstate the five tribal members who filed in court to be recognized as the current Co-manche Business Committee; Ed Eschiti, Robert Tippeconnie, Ron Red Elk, Darrell Koseche-quetah, and Yonavea Terry, as well as Robert Komahcheet, JR as the Tribal Administrator. Representing the six tribal mem-bers was the law firm of Hobb, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP. Representing the Co-

manche Nation and speaking on behalf of the Comanche Na-tion Chairman, Wallace Coffey, and Tribal Administrator, John-ny Wauqua, was the law firm Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. As Walter Echo Hawk first took the floor, he request-ed the motion to dismiss the case due to lack of jurisdiction, which was filed by Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. He had stated that he wanted to resolve the juris-diction issue first before going further into the case. Jim Goodman, also rep-resenting Crowe & Dunlevy, PC, stood next and explained that he was going to point out three legal reasons why the

court did not have jurisdiction over the case. The first point was Comanche Nation Resolution 36-11,which is the Tribal Court Civil Jurisdiction Ordinance of 2011, which states this ordi-nance shall not be interpreted to grant the tribal court jurisdiction to adjudicate election disputes or internal tribal government disputes. That means this ordi-nance specifically preserves the sovereignty immunity of the Co-manche Nation from suit within the Courts of Indian Offense. The second point was U.S. Code of Federal Regulations 25.11-118, which states that the

THE COMANCHE NATION NEWS

The award-winning Comanche Nation News, the official communication of the Comanche Nation, is available at no charge upon request. The deadline to sub-mit information for the August edition is noon July 16. Donations to help cover the cost of printing and mailing are welcome.

Contact:The Comanche Nation News

P.O. Box 908Lawton, Okla. 73502-0908

Telephone: (580) 492-3386Fax: (580) 492-3709Email: [email protected]

TCNN Staff• Jolene Schonchin, Editor, Reporter,

Photographer-Email: [email protected] Num-ber-(580)492-3382

• Paula Karty, Assist. Editor, Reporter, Photographer- Email: [email protected] Telephone Number-(580)492-3383

• Candace Wilson, Reporter, Photographer Email:[email protected] Telephone (580) 492-3385

• Candace Todd, Administrative Assistant-Telephone Number (580)492-3386

• News items of interest to the local and American Indian community are welcome.

• Photographs will be copied and will become the property of TCNN. To return original photographs, send a self-addressed stamped envelope. Do not send faxed photographs or newspaper copies of photographs.

• The Milestones Page (Birthdays, An-niversaries, Engagements,Memorial Pictures, Weddings, Births) are by submission only. The Passings are submitted by the Comanche Nation Funeral Home or by tribal members on a funeral home letterhead. The Milestones Page is for tribal members only. TCNN publishes all services conducted by The Comanche Nation Funeral Home without discretion. Obituaries are written for tribal members only.

• TCNN will print a Comanche orga-nization’s annual event flyer once free of charge as a courtesy to our tribal organizations. The guidelines for flyer submission are: Pow-wow flyers have to be from an established Comanche organization. There has to be contact person and number on the organization’s annual flyer.

• We reserve the right to edit all material. Letters or articles that contain libelous information, slan-der, or personal attacks will not be printed. Letters to the editor must be signed with a legible name. The letters to the editor or articles con-tained in the The Comanche Nation Newsdoesnotreflecttheopinionsof the PIO staff.

Comanche Nation Officials

Chairman Wallace CoffeyVice Chairman

VacantSecretary/Treasurer

VacantCommitteeman No. 1




Vacant

Tribal AdministratorJohnny Wauqua

Tocontactofficials:Comanche Nation

P.O. Box 908Lawton, Okla. 73502

Toll Free: (877) 492-4988

Physical Address584 Bingo Rd.

Lawton, OK 73505

Member of the Native American Journalist

Association since 2001

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists since 2010

July 2012 2 The Comanche Nation News

Government

We Need to Hear From You! You are Invited to Participate in a Study

There is a vaccine to prevent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections in young males and females but few people have their

children take the shots. We need Comanche Indian girls and boys, ages 13-18, and legal guardians of Comanche Indian youth ages 9-18 to tell us how we can make it easier for our children to

get the vaccine. Come & give your input on how we can keep our Indian

children safe. We will have 6-8 people in a group to discuss the HPV vaccine.The meeting will last about 2 hrs.

Light refreshments and a $30 Wal-Mart gift card will be

provided to thank you for your time. When: When it’s Convenient for You

Where: Local in the Lawton Area For more information, please contact:

Dr. Valerie Eschiti (580-512-7280), Stacey Sanford, LPN (580-713-2026) or Leslie Weryackwe (580-713-2285)

Consents for the research project are available for you to read ahead of time through Dr. Eschiti, Stacey Sanford, & Leslie Weryackwe. We will have consents at the event for you to sign. The project is for boys and girls ages 13 to 18 years old, as well as men and women who are caregivers of youth ages 9-18 years old. Funding for the research project is provided by the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center/Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, Oklahoma City, OK. The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. IRB #16347

Mission of the Comanche Nation

The mission of the Comanche Na-tion is to promote and preserve the culture, history and traditions of the Comanche people, and to further promote and encourage pursuits relevant to an efficientgoverning body, a viable economic base and measures designated to enhance social and cultural activi-tieswhichwillreflectourheritageand assure the continued develop-ment and success of the Nation and its members.

Just as Comanche Chief, Ten Bears, led the tribe through unsettling times in the late 1860s, his legacy, Wal-lace Coffey, is doing the same. Winning the seat of Chairman of the Comanche Nation for an unprecedented fifth time, he adamantly took the Oath of Office June 9 at the Inaugural Ceremony held at Watchetaker Hall. Coffey won by nearly 57 percent of the June 1 votes in the primary election, which is something that has not oc-curred in several years. He was the previously elected as chair-man in 1991, 1993, 2003, and 2006. “I am inspired by our

past chiefs,” Coffey said dur-ing his address to the estimated 200 members of the general counsel who were present. “I want to take care of our people, as they did.” He expressed his con-cern over the situation of the tribal government, saying he knows the tribe has tremen-dous issues and challenges that need to be faced. He thanked outgoing Comanche Nation Chairman, Johnny Wauqua, for his service and loyalty to the Comanche Nation, and added he looks forward to working with him as the Tribal Admin-istrator. Coffey said he will ad-dress the General Council in

October about a bond to allow development around the Red River Casino, and that the an-nual per capita checks will not be affected by the expansion. He congratulated the Comanche Nation College on the long awaited North Ameri-can Higher Learning Commis-sion’s recommendation for ac-creditation. As people lined up to shake the hand of Coffey, pic-tures of his leadership during his past years as chairman were presented on two screens. Some of the dignitar-ies and representatives pres-ent included Ft. Sill Garrison Commander, Col. Paul S. Hos-senlopp, Lawton City Council-

man, Bill Shoemate, Kiowa Chairman, Ron Twohatchet, Apache Chairman Don Haban-as Jr. , Seminole Chief, Kel-ley Hainey, and OU Football legend, Joe Washington. Cof-fey, with the help of his wife, Debbie, and the outgoing First Lady, Virginia, gave the visi-tors a gift of appreciation for attending the event. He spoke with Col. Hossenlopp about a Day of Prayer for the Comanche tribe June 21 on top of Medicine Bluffs, in which Coffey fought for its preservation in 2009. He told the audience the tribe needs prayers.


TakingtheOathofOfficefortheFifthTimeCoffey Wins Chairman Position in Primary Election

Wallace Coffey repeats the words of former Comanche Chairman, Johnny Wauqua, June 9, during the Inaugu-ralCeremonyofCoffey.HewontheseatofChairmanoftheComancheNationby56%,withfiveothercandi-dates on the voting ballot.

Tribal members line up to shake hands with Coffey and to congratulate himonhisunprecedentedfifthtermasChairman.

CIVAbringintheflagsduringtheinaugural.

Seminole representative, Kelley Hainey, receives a Comanche Pend-letonfromtheformerfirstladies. Former Comanche Chairman,

Johnny Wauqua, speaks to the audience


During the June 2 con-tinuation meeting of the Gen-eral Council, a motion was passed from the council floor to fire law firm, Hobb, Straus, Dean, and Walker, and to hire another law firm, at will. The new law firm that represents the Comanche Na-tion is Crowe and Dunlevy, P.C., and they have been busy since coming aboard. The lawyers, led by 39-year experienced council, Wal-ter Echo Hawk, have been te-naciously preparing for the two cases that will define the future of the Lords of the Plains.

Award Winning Background

According to the firm’s Press Release Kit, Crowe and Dunlevy, P.C., has a myriad of awards that verifies their ex-cellence in law and litigation. Among the individual attor-neys winning awards such as

legal representative, Michael McBride, Receives Award for Distinguished Service--August 19, 2009; Huneryager Receives Hermes Award--July 26, 2009; and McBride Presented with FBA Award --April 23, 2009, among others. The law firm itself has stacked its awards of excel-lence such as 67 Crowe & Dunlevy attorneys honored by “Best Lawyers in America” 2011--August 4, 2010 U.S.News - Best Law-yers highly ranked Oklahoma law firm Crowe & Dunlevy in the 2011-2012 "Best Law Firms" standings. Crowe & Dunlevy received Tier 2 rank-ings nationally for three prac-tice groups and a Tier 3 rank-ing for one. Locally, the firm had the most first-tier rankings of any law firm in Oklahoma, with 70 practice areas in Okla-homa City and Tulsa combined

receiving this honor. Chambers USA 2011 and 2012. Since 1990. Cham-bers has published the world’s leading guides to the legal profession and has built a reputation for in-depth, objec-tive research. Chambers has a team of 100 highly qualified full-time researchers who con-duct thousands of interviews with lawyers and their clients worldwide. Working with their editors, they identify and rank the world’s best lawyers (i.e. those who perform best ac-cording to the criteria most val-ued by clients such as technical expertise, business acumen, prompt delivery, value for money). On the basis of this re-search, Chambers holds award ceremonies to honor outstand-ing practitioners around the world. The current, 18th edi-tion of The Best Lawyers in

Comanche Nation Hires Attorneys Crowe and Dunlevy, P.C.

Meet Walter Echo Hawk

Walter Echo Hawk wears four hats: (1)Justice, Su-preme Court of the Pawnee Na-tion; (2) Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, a brand new national and permanently endowed foundation to support Native art and culture; (3) Of Counsel, Crowe & Dunlevy, Oklahoma’s oldest and larg-est law firm; and (4) Adjunct Professor, Tulsa University School of Law (2010). From 1973-2008, he was a staff at-torney of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), where he represented Indian Tribes, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians on significant le-gal issues during the modern era of federal Indian law. A lawyer, tribal judge, scholar, author, and activist, his legal experience includes cases in-volving Native American reli-gious freedom, prisoner rights, water rights, treaty rights, and reburial\repatriation rights. He is admitted to practice law be-fore the United States Supreme Court, Colorado Supreme Court, Oklahoma Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eighth, Ninth, District of Columbia, and Tenth Cir-cuits, and a host of federal Dis-trict Courts. His work includes: * Currently, he represents the Sealaska Corporation and sev-eral Tlingit clans and Indian tribes to repatriate various sa-cred objects and objects of cul-tural patrimony. * 1990-1994: He represented the Native American Church of North America to secure passage of the American In-dian Religious Freedom Act Amendments of 1994 to pro-tect religious use of peyote by Indians.* 1986-1990: He represent-ed Indian tribe clients to ob-tain legislation for the Native American repatriation move-ment. His legal/legislative work included: (a) precedent setting legislation in Nebraska (1989) and Kansas (1988) di-

recting museums to return and rebury dead bodies and grave objects to Tribes of origin; (b) the 1989 reburial agreement with the Smithsonian Institu-tion enacted into the National Museum of the American Indi-an Act; (c) the 1986-1990 leg-islative campaign culminating in the passage of Native Amer-ican Grave Protection and Re-patriation Act (NAGPRA).WORKEXPERIENCE:

LEGAL As an attorney, Walter Echo-Hawk represents Indian tribes on important legal is-sues. Since 1973, he has liti-gated and lobbied extensively on Native rights. Much of that work occurred during pivotal years when America witnessed the rise of modern Indian na-tions. As American Indian tribes reclaimed their land, sov-ereignty, and pride in a historic stride toward freedom and jus-tice, Walter worked at the epi-center of a great social move-ment alongside tribal leaders on many issues, visiting Indian tribes in their indigenous habi-tats throughout North America. He was instrumental in the passage of landmark laws--like the Native American Graves protection and Repatriation Act (1990) and American In-

dian Religious Freedom Act Amendments (1994). Exam-ples of Walter’s recent work in 2010:• A month-long trial to quan-tify Klamath Indian water rights for hunting, fishing, and gathering. The case preserves a treaty protected way of life in an awesome indigenous habi-tat.• He represented Tlingit tribes and clans of southeast Alaska to repatriate sacred objects and cultural patrimony, helping to secure favorable rulings by the NAGPRA Review Committee.• He taught law at University of Tulsa College of Law.• New publications include (1) a book on federal Indian law, In The Courts of the Con-queror (2010); (2) a chapter on aboriginal land rights in Com-ing to Terms: Aboriginal Title in South Australia (2010); and (3) a thought-provoking ar-ticle, “Under Native American Skies” (2009) about the need for a land ethic. Currently, he is of counsel to the Crowe & Dun-levy law firm, Tulsa, Oklaho-ma. Echo-Hawk assists the In-dian and gaming law practice group in one of the largest and oldest law firms in the State of Oklahoma.

ARTS AND CULTURE Echo-Hawk is the Founding Chair, Board of Di-rectors, Native Arts and Cul-tures Foundation: This is the nation’s very first national, permanently-endowed founda-tion devoted to funding, pro-moting, and preserving Native American arts and cultures. In 2009, NACF opened its doors with a multi-million dollar permanent endowment. The Foundation makes grants to Native artists and culture bear-ers, gives financial support for Native art and culture organi-zations, helps bring Native arts and cultures to the forefront of American and international venues, and helps roll back by-gone policies of the 20th cen-tury to stamp out Native Amer-ican cultures, languages, arts, and religions.

PUBLIC SPEAKING Walter Echo-Hawk is a Native American speaker and author. He enjoys a distin-guished legal career protecting the legal, political, property, cultural, and human rights of Indian tribes and Native peo-ples. Articulate and versed, he has delivered keynote speeches on a wide variety of Indigenous topics over the years, involving the arts and culture, history, law,

America (2012) names 65 Crowe & Dunlevy attorneys and has distinguished 16 Crowe & Dunlevy attorneys as Best Lawyers' 2012 of the Year. Best Lawyers is the old-est and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. For a quarter cen-tury, Best Lawyers has helped lawyers and clients find legal counsel in unfamiliar jurisdic-tions or unfamiliar specialties. Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by con-ducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidential-ly evaluate their professional peers. For the new U.S. edi-tion, more than 50 percent of the lawyers listed in Best Law-yers cast more than 3.1 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in the same and related specialties. Super Lawyers 2011

and Oklahoma Rising Stars 2011—Super Lawyers maga-zine names attorneys in each state who received the high-est point totals, as chosen by their peers and through the in-dependent research of Law & Politics. Rising Stars names the state's top up-and-com-ing attorneys. Super Lawyers magazine names attorneys in each state who received the highest point totals, as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics. Rising Stars names the state's top up-and-com-ing attorneys. Super Lawyers magazine is published in all 50 states and reaches more than 13 million readers. Super Law-yers magazine is published in all 50 states and reaches more than 13 million readers.

religion, environment, cosmol-ogy, and human rights. He has made major public speaking appearances in South Africa, Turkey, Egypt, Philippines, Canada, and throughout the United States. He is currently on a book lecture tour for his new book, In the Courts of the Conqueror: The 10 Worst In-dian Law Cases Ever Decided (2010). Walter speaks exten-sively and appears in film and radio to educate the American public about tribal life, culture, and indigenous justice. Aside from his national book tour for his new book, he appeared in The Making of NAGPRA, a new film about the Native American repatriation move-ment produced by the National Park Service in 2010, and sev-eral national radio programs . Always thought -provoking, inspirational, and sometimes provocative, he explains com-plex issues in a professional, but easily-understood style. Walter has been fea-tured on numerous television newscast and radio interviews on state and national news, in-cluding ABC’s “Good Morn-ing America,” CNN News, CBS News, and local TV news programs in Hawaii, Colora-do, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Kansas, Nebraska, California, Indiana and else-where, including miscella-neous national and local radio interviews, including NPR’s “Native America Calling,” “Morning Edition” and the “Michael Jackson Show.” In addition, he has been featured in numerous misc. newspaper and magazine in-terviews on national and local newspapers, including Time, Newsweek, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and Indian Coun-try Today.

EDUCATION BA, Political Science Oklahoma State University (1970) JD, University of New Mexico (1973)TION BA, Political Science Oklahoma State University (1970) JD, University of New Mexico (1973) TRIBAL AFFILIATION Enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma

Story and Photos from Walter Echo Hawk Press Kit

Story by Jolene Schonchin/News Staff

Pawnee Kitkahaki Dance, 2010


Numu Zumba is the name of the Zumba workout class, instructed by tribal mem-ber, Julia Manzke, and they know how to “jam.” The en-ergetic and rhythmic students took center stage during half-time of the 580 Girls Roller Derby June 9 at the Comanche County Fairgrounds, to show the audience how fun Zumba can be. The 20-minute perfor-mance was filled with a wide range of finger snapping, hip moving songs that spanned from hip-hop to Latin music. The group of 15 shimmied, shook, and swayed to the music

Comanche Nation Gaming recently received a clean audit from the Nation Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) for the second consec-utive year. The NIGC audit is a congressionally mandated au-dit of tribal compliance. More specifically, the scope of this audit is centered on the key re-quirements of the Indian Gam-ing Regulatory Act (IGRA) and NIGC regulations. The outcome of this audit were re-ported to the Secretary of the Interior and will also soon be available for review by the U.S. Congress and the public. The audit reviews Co-manche compliance in the pe-riod of January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. The NIGC reported that Comanche Nation Gaming was fully com-pliant in the areas of adhering to the Department of Interior approved Gaming Compact, and the NIGC approved Gam-ing Ordinance. Additionally, the report stated that Coman-che Gaming was compliant with the requirements of sub-mitting fingerprints to the NIGC (part of the employee background check process), submitting all required NIGC fees, NIGC worksheets, an-nual audited financial reports and Minimum Internal Control Standards (MICS) agreed-upon procedures reports. Lastly, the NIGC reported that Comanche Gaming was compliant in hav-ing each casino property fully licensed by the Comanche Na-tion Gaming Commission. This is the second clean

audit for Comanche Gaming from the NIGC in as many years. The NIGC reported that Comanche Gaming was also in compliance, in all the same ar-eas, in a similar report for the 2010 calendar year. Apart from the NIGC audit described above, NIGC investigators occasionally conduct on-site reviews of the Gaming Commission’s background and licensing de-partment. Such a review was conducted by an NIGC field investigator on April 25, 2012. As a result of this re-view, the Gaming Commis-sion was commended by the NIGC. NIGC Regional Direc-tor, Tom Cunningham, stated in a letter to the Gaming Com-mission, “The NIGC wishes to recognize the Gaming Com-mission’s attention and efforts in conducting thorough back-ground investigations. These efforts protect the integrity of the gaming operations and re-duce risk to the operation and casino employees.” As evident from the re-cent NIGC audits and on-site reviews, Comanche Nation Gaming compliance with fed-eral laws and regulations has never been healthier. The Co-manche Nation Gaming Com-mission and the Gaming Board of Directors continue to work diligently together to ensure that the Comanche Nation’s gaming operations are efficient in providing essential revenue to the Nation and its members, while always ensuring regula-tory compliance.

fun working out.” Numu Zumba student, BJ Anderson, said, “ We prac-ticed the routine for a while, and we had fun.”

with smiles on their faces. “It looked like they were having such a good time,” said one unknown spectator. “I wish I could have that much

Numu Zumba Class Performs at Comanche County FairgroundsStory and Photos by Jolene Schonchin/News Staff

Numu Zumba class participants perform a workout routine during half-time of the 580 Girls Roller Derby, proving working out can be fun.

Comanche Gaming Receives A Clean Audit for Second

Consecutive Year

inciding with National Voter Registration day on Septem-ber 25. The week of events across the country will engage tribal schools and Native youth programs in a range of civics education, including a tribal specific supplement to Rock the Vote’s Democracy Day class. Participants, such as lo-cal chapters of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, will educate Native young people about the power of civic engagement and the importance of registering their parents, family members, and one day, themselves, to vote. He also highlighted the “Tools for All” partnership initiated with State Voices – a national civic engagement net-work. The partnership offers the chance for tribes to access voter outreach tools that can identify tribal members who need to register and encourage all tribal citizens to make their voice heard.

“Finally and most importantly, our federal and state govern-ment partners should provide the same voter registration services offered in other gov-ernment facilities. That’s why today I’m calling for state election officials to work with tribes and the federal govern-ment to ensure tribal citizens are offered the chance to vote when they visit an add Indian Health Service (IHS) facility,” stated Keel. President Keel cited a new report released by Dēmos, a multi-issue national organi-zation, outlining Native voter disenfranchisement and pro-posing IHS facilities as logical sites for voter registration. The report, Ensuring Access to the Ballot for American Indians & Alaska Natives: New Solu-tions to Strengthen American Democracy, states that “Ap-propriate IHS facilities should be designated as official voter registration agencies along

the same lines as state based public assistance agencies are now designated under the Na-tional Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Keel announced he is sending a letter in support of the idea directly to every indi-vidual IHS facility, along with a copy of the report. In the letter, Keel writes, “The Indian Health Service is a key agency in de-livering on the federal govern-ment’s trust responsibility to tribes. As outlined in the report, IHS facilities, conveniently and centrally located in many tribal communities, are ideal voter registration sites. Joining other federal and state agen-cies in offering this service to clients will make a large im-pact in tribal communities, in the national Native Vote and in furthering the fulfillment of the federal trust responsibility.

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Court of Indian Offenses may not adjudicate an election dis-pute, take jurisdiction over a suit against a tribe. That means CFR Court lacks the jurisdiction over disputes except by clear and un-equivocal grants of jurisdiction and waivers of immunity. The third was Resolu-tion No. 3-12 created by the six recalled tribal members at a meeting of their own on May 19, 2012 at the Janice Pewe-wardy Softball Field, west of the Comanche Nation Complex. Goodman stated that the resolu-tion waived the tribes sovereign-ty immunity and is limited due to lack of wording, and that the court must take that into consid-eration without making assump-tions or “filling in the blanks." James Burson of Hobb, Straus, Dean, and Walker, LLP took the floor and stated that they believe the court does have jurisdiction, and that the recall meetings held in April and May 2012 are invalid, through the ac-tions of Wauqua. At this point Echo Hawk asked if Burson was going to start stating any lawful facts and Judge Lujan said he would al-low Burson to go on, but that he would have to start stating law-ful fact at some point. Burson further stated that according to the Comanche Nation Constitution, a govern-ing body consists of five council members. If there are less than five members, it is considered a non-functioning government. He added that he had filed an injunction for the June 30 elec-tion, on the grounds that they can prove to the court that the recall meetings were invalid therefore leaving no reason to have an election to select a new CBC, and his clients could resume their positions on the

board. Lujan began his verdict by explaining that the court is a court of limited jurisdiction, bound by 25 CFR 11-118. He has gone to Appellate Court over his court decisions in the past. “I will not violate the law to enforce the law,” said Lu-jan. He rendered his decision to dismiss the court order based on no jurisdiction. The ruling dismisses the court order which recognizes five tribal members: Eschiti, Tippeconnie, Red Elk, Koseche-quetah, and Terry, as Coman-che Business Committeemen (CBC); and it also cancels the CFR Court from recognizing Komahcheet, JR as the Tribal Administrator. “With his ruling today, Judge Lujan has given the Co-manche Nation the stepping stone we need to move forward in our fight for Tribal Sover-eignty. It is a major victory for the Comanche Nation people and all Native American Tribes across the Nation,” said Chair-man, Wallace Coffey. “I have said all along that the Comanche Nation’s sovereignty in the United States refers to the inherent authority of indigenous tribes to govern themselves,” said Tribal Admin-istrator, Johnny Wauqua. "The people and I want to thank Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. attorneys, Walter Echo Hawk, Michael McBride, and Jimmy Goodman for working with both myself and the Tribal Adminis-trator in resolving this situation, but we're not done we have more work to do," said Chairman Cof-fey.


Esa Rosa Descendants PowwowJuly 28, 2012

3 p.m.-11 p.m.

Watchetaker Hall Comanche Nation Complex

Nine miles north of Lawton, Okla.

All Gourd Dance

Birthday Celebration For

Jennifer Whitewolf- Esa Rosa PrincessSusan Whitewolf

Helen (Peanut) WhitewolfHead Staff

Jennifer Whitewolf- Esa Rosa PrincessMaster of Ceremonies -- John David Wahnee--Lawton, Okla.Master of Ceremonies -- Cy Ahtone-- Elgin, Okla.Head Singer -- Daniel Cozad -- Anadarko, Okla.Head Man Dancer -- Butch Tahsequah -- Lawton, Okla.Head Lady Dancer -- Beverly Chasenah -- Lawton, Okla.Arena Director -- Freddie Banderas -- Lawton, Okla.Security -- John Chasenah -- Lawton, Okla.Co-host -- Wahnee Family -- Lawton, Okla.

Public Welcome

Invitations to all Tribal Club Princesses and OrganizationsVendors Welcome-- Set-up Fee

Supper will be served

For more information, call Frank Whitewolf- (580) 678-1540; Gordon Whitewolf- (405) 933-2019; Kenneth Capes- (580) 483-5591

No Drugs or Alcohol allowed. Not responsible for accidents or thefts

It has been one year since Chad Tahchawwickah made his comic debut at the Comanche Nation Princess So-rority Comedy Night, and look-ing back, he could not be more satisfied. The young Comanche man, who is from the Yapa Tuka Band, and a descen-dant of Comanche War Chief, Wildhorse, has been busy mo-tivating youth, preserving the Comanche songs, and helping fellow Native people, the best way he knows how, through his gift of communication. He is quick to laugh, and to make others laugh. “I love getting people to laugh, especially if they are having hard times,” he ex-plained. “For that quick sec-ond, I made them forget their troubles, enjoy themselves and lift their spirits. It’s worth it to me.” He recently traveled to Dallas, TX to help in a fund raiser for some Native youth raise money to travel to Chi-cago, Ill. He also had the oppor-tunity to speak to teen youth from the Rosebud Sioux tribe in Mission, SD. He focused on topics that hit the heart of the students; bullying, gangs, sui-cide prevention, and domestic violence. Knowing the suicide rate statistics are high on res-ervations, he said he asked the educational staff what kind of after-school programs were provided for students. He was saddened to find out, due to lack of funding, they were al-most non-existent. “I did not talk to them like other motivational speak-ers,” he said. “I sat down with them and I spoke at their level. I could tell by their expressions they were listening to me, and they were comfortable around me.” He said many students opened up to him and asked for his advice and guidance. He spoke at six schools, including St. Frances High School and the Juvenile Detention Center. He stays busy market-ing for upcoming shows, net-working, and getting his name out there to the comic venues. He sees the comic scene cur-rently not being popular in Oklahoma, and the Native comic scene is even smaller, but Tahchawwickah also sees many Native owned casinos picking it up in the west coast.

“I just talk about my life and be myself on stage,” he said. “Now it is paying my bills.” Besides making people laugh, he has a very humble and respectful side to him, es-pecially when it comes to his Comanche upbringing. He said he enjoys singing the Coman-che songs he grew up with, whether it is powwow songs or Comanche hymns. “I learned the songs from my dad, grandpa and grandma. I went to church with them where they sung Coman-che hymns,” Tahchawwickah explained. “I think everyone in Comanche Country learned the songs the same way, at pow-wows and at church.” He was asked by some tribal members throughout the years to make a CD of Coman-che hymns, but he was reluc-tant to because the songs were composed by elders of the tribe, and he did not want to disrespect anyone by making money off of songs that were not his. But after becoming a father of six children, his mind began to see it in another way. While living in Ponca City, he would visit his family in Cache and attend church where he grew up. He noticed the Co-manche hymn singers were becoming fewer every time he visited, and that troubled him.“I want my children and other Comanche kids to hear these songs. They are the ones who will keep the songs alive in Comanche churches for future generations,” he explained. After praying about it, and thinking about it, he decid-ed to compose a CD of Coman-che hymns. Because he did not want to disrespect the families of the ones who composed the songs, he said half of his earn-ings from the CD go back to the church. “When you buy a CD, you can go to my website and download the translation of the songs for free,” said Tahchaw-wickah. “My website is www.just2keen.com.” He said he has many things on his website, in which he will add T-shirts in the near future. To purchase a CD, or to book Tahchawwickah for a performance, contact him at (580) 704-8285, or email him at [email protected].

Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.Philippians2:4- The United Methodist Action Reach-out Mission by Youth (U.M ARMY) is show-ing their generosity and kind-ness to tribal elders by making their homes, and their lives, better through home repair. The Texas based youth program has been established since 1979 and live up to their mission, “To provide Christ-centered, quality youth work camps that serve people in need and promote spiritual growth and leadership development in youth.”

The group of students has been busy throughout the month of June providing home improvement for tribal elders such as Jewel Tieyah, Delores Aitson, Pratt Wauqua, Sylvia Wermy, and Marlene James. They have performed tasks for the tribal seniors such as paint-ing, repairing wood, building wheel chair access, and trim trees. “I think what they did is fabulous,” said elder, Delores Aitson. “I had to pull myself up on my steps because of my bad knees. I was so happy when they knocked on my door and said they were going to install a rail and ramp. They also put

a hand rail on my storm cellar steps. I am getting around a lot better now.” The UM ARMY re-cruits thousands of youth and adults to leave home and spend a week at a United Methodist church where they promote free home repairs for home-owners who are physically un-able or financially unable to make needed repairs. The group gathered June 21 at the Centenary Unit-ed Methodist Church in Law-ton, Okla. to celebrate their work efforts and visit with the Comanche elders they helped.

Chad Tahchawwickah Releases Hymn CD; Travels to Speak

with Native Youth


Growing up singing Comanche hymns with his dad and grandparents, Tahchawwickah records CD to use as a learning tool for young singers.

Texas Church Youth Group Fix Up Homes of Tribal EldersStory and Photos by Jolene Schonchin/News Staff

The United Methodist Action Reach-out Mission by Youth (U.M ARMY) repair the home of Sylvia Wermy. The group traveled to local communities to help those who are not physically able to perform the home improvement tasks.

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo


Programs Since June 1, the Co-

manche Nation Police Depart-ment (CNPD) has received over $300 in counterfeit money from the Comanche Nation ca-sinos and processed the money into evidence. The range for counterfeit money has varied from $5 through $100 bills. “We don’t see $300 in counterfeit currency in a year” Comanche Nation Detective Kieran Daly said.

Having over $300 in counterfeit money in less than a 14-day time span is unusual. CNPD have contacted other law enforcement agencies in the area about the counterfeit situation.

CNPD also discovered that some of the same serial numbers found on the counter-feit money they received have been circulated throughout Comanche County in separate counterfeit cases.

CNPD contacted the

Counterfeit Money in Casinos, According to Tribal Police

The Comanche Nation Diabetes Program just recently finished their 2012 Workout Warriors Challenge II pro-gram. The eight-week exercise pro-gram required participants to sign up and get a health screen-ing, which measured the par-ticipants: height, weight, BMI (Body Mass Index), body fat percentage, glucose (sugar), cholesterol, blood pressure, and for diabetics-HbA1c (av-erage blood sugar level for the last 3 months). The challenge required participants to exercise three times per week for a minimum of 50 minutes a session (150 minutes a week) for eight-weeks. Participants had the option to exercise at the Co-manche Nation Fitness Center, Julia Mantzke’s Numu Zumba, or exercise programs put on by the Comanche Nation Diabetes Program staff at the Comanche Nation Complex. The program had 97 participants sign up and get health screened, but when the 8 weeks was complete, only 30 completed the challenge. Health and Fitness Pro-motions Coordinator, George Tahdooahnippah was happy with the success of the pro-gram. “The first Workout Warrior program in 2012 had 101 people sign up and 21 peo-ple complete it (21%). 2012 Workout Warrior II had 97 sign

up and 30 complete it (31%). We had a 10% increase in our program. Our goal is to make our Comanche people aware of the health problems that plague us all. We also gather a lot of important data that needs to be addressed. For instance, we got averages for the Comanche participants in the two Workout Warriors pro-grams for 2012. Our Workout Warriors program data shows that the average Comanche is obese with a Body Mass Index of 34. A BMI of 25 and higher is overweight. A BMI over 30 is obese, which is a classified disease. We as a people are putting our health and wellness on the back burner. Diabetes is here. We need to fight this issue head on. Fight it with physical activity!” Workout Warriors Challenge II’s Most Weight Loss and Most BMI Loss win-ner, Stephanie Lewis is mak-ing a change in her life with increased physical activity and healthier food choices. She explained, “Julia Mantzke has really helped in-spire her with her Zumba class-es and she is a really great mo-tivator.” She also said, “I am eating portion control meals,

no seconds, more vegetables, and drinking nothing but wa-ter.” Stephanie also said she has a great support staff of peo-ple exercising with her with the Numu Zumba. They all push each other to succeed and they all exercise 4-5 days a week, consistently. Tim Johnson was the weight loss runner up, losing 15.5 lbs. Tim was inspired by the Workout Warriors program name and thought he was in excellent shape, until he seen his actual blood sugar read-ing and body fat analysis. Tim said, “My numbers opened my eyes because they weren’t as good as I thought they were. I realize I need to lose more weight.” Jolene Schonchin also participated in the program and was runner up in the Most BMI Loss. Schonchin said, “All of the Workout Warriors partici-pants need to be commended for their dedication to the chal-lenge of exercising and eating healthier. To lose even one pound is a lot of work. I now make working out a daily rou-tine.” The 2012 Workout Warriors Challenge II program was a success. The 2012 Workout Warriors Challenge 3 will be-gin July 9th and 10th with sign ups and pre screening at the Comanche Nation Fitness Center.

Over 100 lbs. are Lost Through the 2012 Workout Warriors Challenge II

• Nancy Alandzes• Francis Attocknie, III• Kimberly Blackstar• Lizzie Blackstar• Verna Cable• Carolyn Codopony• Tanya Codynah• Carlene Collins• Hah-Tee Delgado• Chris Devine• Desiree Devine• Misti Devine• Lena Farris• Asaan Fife• Teka Henry

• Tim Johnson• Jennifer Justice• Angelena Ketner• Tammy Lechich• Stephanie Lewis• Paula Mallow• Julia Mantzke• Sherry Pueblo• Anna Roubideaux• Jannetta Slaughter• Gene Sovo• Mia Tahdooahnippah• Trenell Tahdooahnippah• Jonathan Thode

2012WorkoutWarriorsIIParticipantswhocompleted8WeekChallenge:

Sign up for the WoW3 Challenge July 9-10 at the Comanche Nation Fitness Center, 904 SW

F. Ave., Lawton

Federal Secret Service and have scheduled a training/meeting session for their offi-cers as well as other agencies in the area that include Federal, Local, and State.

The Comanche Nation Casinos lost profit when the counterfeit money had to be removed from the casinos in-ventory and turned over to the Secret Service as evidence.

There are numerous Federal Laws against know-ingly possessing counterfeit money and/or producing coun-terfeit money with the intent to defraud.

Violations of these laws could land the accused up to 20 years in prison and/or stiff fines if convicted. If you suspect anyone with producing counterfeit money, please call your local law enforcement or Crime Stoppers, (580) 355-INFO.

Zumba class

Numu Zumba

Submitted by George Tahdooahnippah/Diabetes Awareness Program

The Insanity Workout class is a popular one at the Comanche Nation Fitness Center during the Workout War-rior Challenge.

Tim Johnson, losing 15.5 lbs., is the runner up for Most Weight Loss

The Insane Abs class is another popularclassatthefitnesscen-ter.

Submitted by Comanche Nation Police Department


People,Places and Things Happening

Photo by Candace Wilson/News Staff

A PLACE TO PRAY. During the month of April, a plan was born tobuildachapel,andwasfinallycompletedJune14intheLawtonIndian Hospital. The chapel was furnished with 10 chairs donated by the Comanche Nation. Marlyn Daukei Henderix said “It was a family project, something to give to the people.” After Eddie Onco blessed the chapel with cedar, he preceded to cedar anyone that wanted to be cleansed. He had each person face the east, the way the sun raises for a new day.

The directors of the American Indian Exposition are providing an opportunity for spectators to save money during the 81st Annual event, scheduled for Aug. 8-11 in Anadarko, Okla. The public can pur-chase a bracelet for $10, which will provide access to parking, and admission to the dances at the Caddo County Fairground Grandstand for all four nights. “It will save people money,” said Comanche Di-rector, Beth Giles. “Even if someone does not attend all the nights, they can give it to a family member or friend for them to attend.” The American In-dian Exposition will kick off the festivities with a parade 10 a.m. Aug. 8 in downtown Anadarko. There will be night-ly performances and dance contests 8 p.m. throughout the week at the county fairgrounds grandstand. A second parade will take place 10 a.m. Aug. 11 in downtown Anadarko. To purchase a brace-

Redbird

The Kiowa Tribe Head Start Program is accepting applica-tions for the 2012-2013 school year for the Center- Base and Home-Base. Applications can be picked up at the KCA Head Start Center at 1401 N.E. Law-rie Tatum Road, Lawton, Okla; Little Rabbits Center at 1602 American Street, Anadarko, Okla; and Kiowa Tribe Head Start Office, Kiowa Tribal Complex Carnegie, Okla. from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday or go to www.kiowa-tribe.org for enrollment appli-cations. Kiowa Tribe Head Start is a federally funded program which provides comprehensive health, education, nutrition, social services, parent involve-ment and other services to chil-dren ages 3 to 5 years and their families. Head Start also pro-vides services to meet the spe-cial needs of children with dis-abilities. Children who attend the program will participate in a variety of educational activi-ties and enjoy playing indoors and outdoors in a safe environ-ment. Documents needed in-clude birth certificate, income verification, immunization re-cord, CDIB (if applicable) and health insurance. The Head Start program does not discriminate against Race, Color, Sex, National Ori-gin or Disabilities. This program is not just for Native Americans. Everyone is welcome to apply for enroll-ment! Anyone can participate! For additional informa-tion or applications call (580) 654-2544 or (580) 654-2300 ext. 359.

Kiowa Tribe Head Start Program

Enrollment for 2012-2013 School Year

The Lawton weather-ization program can help to re-duce your energy consumption by 10% to 40%. The Great Plains Im-provement Foundation's Weatherization program offers free assistance to low-income residents of Comanche County to help reduce the wasteful use of energy escaping from your home. The types of Weather-ization work includes: stopping air infiltration through the ap-plication of caulk and weath-er-stripping, replacing broken window glass, patching holes in exterior walls, insulating the ceiling and walls, install-ing compact fluorescent lights (CFL) tune-ups and minor re-pairs on heating and cooling systems, and repairs that will result in improving energy ef-ficiency. The Weatherization program can help to reduce your energy consumption by 10% to 40%. Applications can be picked up at Great Plains Improvement Foundation's of-fice at #2 S.E. Lee Blvd. Suite 200, Lawton Okla. Each appli-cant must complete an applica-tion, provide proof of income and provide a 12-month history of electric and gas bills. Appli-cants cannot exceed the income eligibility requirements listed.1. Income Qualifying 2. Application Required3. No Cost to You

. Services Provided: o Air Leakage Reductiono Ceiling Insulation o Weather-stripping o Window Glass Repair o Heater Tune-ups o Energy Saving Light bulbs In order to be eligible for the Weatherization assis-tance program your total house-hold income must be below the following:INCOME GUIDELINES1 $21,6602 $29,1403 $36,6204 $44,1005 $51,5806 $59,0607 $66,540

The applicant must be a home owner.

Evelyn Monetathchi Raises Funds for Jewish

Scholarships

Monetathchi

The Bat Mitzvah of Evelyn Joyce Monetathchi was held on May 19, at Temple Si-nai in Palm Desert, Cali. Monetathchi is the

Pocowatchit named Employee of the Month

Pocowatchit

Tribal member Gloria Pocowatchit was named the April 2012 Nursing Employee of the Month. Pocowatchit is current-ly a Health Technician at the Lawton Indian Hospital.

Native American Academic Program

Helps Students Complete Degrees

According to a Press Release received by East Cen-tral University, it’s been a year since East Central University (ECU) began its own Native American Academic Service program to ensure that Na-tive American students stay in school and complete their de-grees. So far, the results have been encouraging, but its di-rector want more students and families to be aware that ECU has an on-campus liaison for students. The goal of ECU’s program is to serve 18 percent of ECU’s enrollment - Native American students - both in and out of the classroom in order to make sure their col-lege careers are a success, said Renee Hogue, ECU’s director of Native American academic services. That means providing cultural learning experiences as well as academic services for those students. “We are partnering with the Chickasaw Nation’s Divi-sion of Youth and Family to develop the ECU-Chickasaw Learning Community,” Hogue said. “We’re working with Chickasaw students to provide them with additional cultural and service learning opportu-nities. This gives them a way to become involved on campus as well as in their tribe. Hope-fully, this is just the beginning. We’re looking to develop part-nerships with other tribes.” Cultural learning op-portunities usually draw a large number of students, she said. Through the partnerships, Hogue has helped organize informal classes to teach col-lar beading and how to make puckertoe moccasins. She re-cently has organized stickball games which are held on the ECU lawn. Hogue is co-sponsor of

ECU’s Native American Stu-dent Association (NASA). For the university’s Native Ameri-can Heritage Month last No-vember, she and tribal partners planned a trip to the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur. She and NASA invited Native American artists and artisans to display and discuss their work. They also organized a film series, cultural food event, peyote stitch class and perfor-mances by dancers and drum-mers. Hogue, who is Chicka-saw and Caddo, is no stranger to student retention efforts. ECU had begun a program to get these cultural and academic efforts underway in 2009 with a two-year federal grant, the Native American Voices Proj-ect, which she directed. When the grant ended last year, ECU decided to continue the reten-tion efforts through the Native American Academic Service office.

Students Learn to Grow Their Own Vegetables

Micah Anderson be-lieves everyone should eat more fresh vegetables. But, he takes it a step farther by teach-ing students to actually grow the vegetables they eat. His position as the Plasticulture Coordinator at the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) puts him in contact with thousands of kids who have never planted a seed. He aims to change that by at-tending events like the recent Apache Tribe Environmental Field Day sponsored by the Apache Tribe. The outdoor event gave students a chance to make pots out of newspa-per, full the pots with soil and then plant a melon or pepper seedling. The newspaper pot can be planted directly into the garden to decompose in the soil. With water and sunshine, the seedlings will produce nu-tritious cantaloupes, honeydew melons, bell peppers or hot peppers for the student garden-ers to share with their families. Anderson’s work typi-cally focuses on adults who

Micah Anderson, helps a stu-dent plant a melon seedling in a newspaper pot at the Apache Tribe’s Environmental Field Day.

CONGRATULATIONS

Kristin GuyerSandia High School

American Indian Expo Directors Sell Bracelets; Announces Comanche

Expo Princess

let, contact Giles, or any of the Expo Directors. Representing the Co-manche Nation at this year’s celebration is Angel Rainheart Redbird .County Weatherization

Program Helps Low Income Residence

daughter of Judith Monetath-chi. She was born in Ran-cho Mirage, Cali., on July 20, 1991. She lives in Cathe-dral City. She currently at-tends James Workman Middle School. She is a member of the Associated Student Body and the school band. For her Mitzvah proj-ect, she decided to raise mon-ey for scholarships for Jewish summer camp.

want to grow vegetables on a commercial basis. ODAFF awards grants to qualifying applicants who intend to mar-ket vegetables from gardens at least one-quarter acre in size. The three-year grants provide for Anderson or a contractor to come to the grant recipi-ent’s property and create raised soil beds covered with plastic sheeting and equipped with ir-rigation drip lines laid directly under the plastic. Vegetable seedlings are planted in holes punched through the plastic. Using less water is one of the chief benefits of this type of gardening. The plastic cover also acts as a mulch that inhib-its weed growth and moderates the soil temperature to extend the growing season into the fall and allow planting to occur earlier in the spring. Farmers using the plasticulture system enjoy faster crop growth ac-cording to Anderson and may be able to bring crops to mar-ket as much as two weeks ear-lier then those using traditional farming systems. During the seven years Anderson has coordinated the plasticulture program, he es-timates he has installed 370 gardens and given that many people or more an opportunity to derive income from the sale of their vegetable specialty crops. The programs centers on under-served farmers who own 40 acres or less. To learn more about the plasticulture program or apply for a plasticulture grant, go to www.ok.gov/mktdev/plasticul-ture or call Micah Anderson at (405) 522-5595.

ComancheOfficesClosefor Holidays

The offices of the Co-manche Nation will be closed July 4 for the Independence Day holiday. Offices will re-open 8 a.m., July 5. The tribal offices will also be closed on July 20 for Comanche Chiefs Day. Offices will re-open 8 a.m. July 23.


MilitarySubmitted by Lanny Asepermy

The Code Talker Rec-ognition Act of 2008 was intro-duced in the House (Congress) on December 13, 2007, passed by the House on September 2, 2008, passed by the Senate on September 30, 2008, cleared the White House also on Sep-tember 30, 2008, presented to the president on October 6, 2008 and signed by President George W. Bush and became Public Law No. 1110-420 on October 15, 2008. This law authorizes the award of the Congressional Gold Medal to

Obverse (front) preferred image of Comanche Code Talker Congres-sional Gold Medal shows an image of the “Spirit Talker” monument with the words NUMUNU (People) and COMANCHE CODE TALK-ERS.

Reverse (back) preferred image of Comanche Code Talker Congres-sional Gold Medal shows the mili-tary insignias of the 90th Division (on top left - this is the unit the World War I Code Talkers served), and the 4th Infantry Division (on top right - this is the unit the World War II Code Talkers served), it also shows mounted horseman with lance (the Comanche Nation logo), the words ACT OF CON-GRESS 2008 AND WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II are dis-played with the Comanche words PUHIHWITEKWA EKASAHPA-NA which loosely interpreted means “Metal Telephone Soldiers”

World War I Code Talkers

As we well know the Comanche Code Talkers of World War II have been pre-sented many accolades since the state of Oklahoma con-ducted a Code Talker Recog-nition Ceremony at the state capitol on November 3, 1989. It was during that ceremony that the French government awarded them the Chevalier de I’Ordre National du Mer-ite (Knight of the Order of National Merit). In 2002 a 280 page book call COMAN-CHE CODE TALKERS was written and published by Wil-liam Meadows. The next year, 2003, two monuments were dedicated to the Code Talk-ers, one at Camp Beauregard, La., and the other at the Na-tion Complex. On October 15, 2008 President Bush signed into law the Code Talker Rec-ognition Act of 2008 awarding the Code Talkers the high-est Congressional award, the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. The Oklahoma Mili-tary Heritage Foundation in-ducted the Code Talkers into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame in 2011. All worthy and well deserved accolades because these Comanche sol-diers, who served with the 4th Signal Company of the 4th In-fantry Division, used the Co-manche language to confuse the Germany Army on the bat-tlefields of Europe when they intercepted military messages they could not understand. Their contribution saved many Allied lives and had a role in winning the war in Europe. The World War II Code Talkers were not the first Tele-phone Warriors as the Choc-taws lay claim to that. 19 Choctaw soldiers were detailed toward the end of the World War I and used their language to help turn the tide of battle during the Great War. They contributed greatly to victory in Europe. After hearing of the success of the Choctaws Code Talkers the commander of the 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Division used four Comanches to send and receive military

messages with much success. An article in the June 1919 edition of the Oklahoma City Times reads “Of recent date showed the picture of Calvin Atchavit, who had just re-turned from France. Calvin’s picture is given because he is one of who the Belgian Gov-ernment gave a War Cross in recognition of his service in talking over the phone dur-ing fighting times when the Huns were tapping the lines trying to get the orders of our Army. Calvin’s Comanche tongue helped the Allied Army send messages which German ears could not understand. We are glad that Calvin can be in the home land again.” Who did Calvin Atchavit send and receive messages from? They were most likely George Clark, Gilbert Pahdi Con-woop, and Samuel Tabbytosa-vit as these three men were also assigned to the 357th Infantry Regiment. These men trained at Camp Travis, Texas, outside of San Antonio and were shipped to Europe on June 19, 1918 - they arrived in Liverpool, England 11 days later. They changed ships and landed at Aigney-le-Duc, France shortly thereafter - they saw their first combat on the nights August 21-22, 1918. They fought in two major battles, St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne, and many other skirmishes. The St. Mi-hiel Battle lasted from Septem-ber 12-19 and resulted in over 7,000 Allied casualties and losses. The Meuse-Argonne Battle lasted from September 26 to November 11, 1918 and resulted in 187,000 Allied ca-sualties and losses including 117,00 Americans. It is con-sidered the bloodiest battle in US military history. Atchavit (on September 29, 1918) was wounded at St. Mihiel while Conwoop (on October 25, 1918) and Tabbytosavit (was reported in hospital on Sep-tember 29, 1918 recovering from wounds) were wounded during the Meuse-Argonne battle. It was most likely dur-ing the Meuse-Argonne battle

these men used the Comanche language to send and receive military messages. All four men were drafted into the military, Con-woop on May 18, 1918, Tab-bytosavit on May 19,1918 and most likely Atchavit and Clark about the same time. Atchavit was discharged on June 19,1919 at Camp Bowie, Texas, Clark on July 17,1919, Conwoop was discharged at Camp Travis, his discharge date is not known and Tabbyto-savit was discharged at Camp Pike, Ark., his discharge date is also not known. Atchavit was born on June 20, 1893 and died on Oc-tober 9, 1943 (age 50) and is buried at Highland Cemetery; Clark was born on 1896 and died on 1944 (age 48 or 49) and also buried at Highland; Conwoop was born on July 4, 1895 and died on February 2, 1962 (age 66) and is buried at Deyo and Tabbytosavit was born on May 25, 1896 and died on March 20, 1970 (age 73) and is buried at Walters. These four men are re-cipients of the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.ASSISTANCE IS NEEDED- if you are a child, grandchild, great-grandchild, brother, sister,nephew or niece of these four men PLEASE CON-TACT the Comanche Code Talker Liaison, Lanny Aseper-my, at (580) 588-2377 or (580) 678-4629.

Calvin Atchavit George Clark

awarded to an individual or group who performs an out-standing deed or act of service to the security, prosperity and nation interest of the United States. Comanche member, John Plata, represented the Co-manche and Kiowa Code Talk-ers during meetings with the Commission of Fine Arts on April 26 and May 17, in Wash-ington D.C., to finalize the de-sign of the Gold Medals. The final preferred designs have been approved and in an email from Betty Birdsong, form the US Mint, she stated “The next step is preparing the memo to the Secretary of Treasury for approval of the recommended designs. After the Secretary approves this memo, the de-signs will go into the produc-tion phase. I’ll let you know when this occurs, Concur-rently, you will be contacted by our Legislative Director who will direct you through the rest of the process.” The final preferred ob-verse and reverse Congressio-nal Gold Medals designs are shown above.

The Code Talker Recognition Act

the Comanche Code Talkers of both World War I and World War II. There are 13 tribes on this Act - Assiniboine, Chip-pewa/Oneida, Choctaw, Co-manche, Cree, Crow, Hopi, Kiowa, Menominee, Missis-sauga, Muscogee, Sac and Fox and Sioux. A total of 112 Code Talkers have been identified in-cluding four Comanche World War I talkers, Calvin Atcha-vit, Gilbert Conwoop, Samuel Tabbytosevit and George Clark and 14 Comanche World War II talkers, Charles Chibitty, Haddon Codynah, Robert Holder, Forrest Kassanavoid, Wellington Mihecoby, Perry Noyabad, Clifford Ototivo, Simmons Parker, Mervin Per-mansu, Elgin Red Elk, Rod-erick Red Elk, Larry Saupitty, Morris (Sunrise) Tabbyetchy and Willis Yackeschi. The Congressional Gold Medal is an award be-stowed by 2/3 majority vote of the US Congress and along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Presidential Citizens Medals is the high-est civilian award of the Unit-ed States. The decoration is

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Comanche Indian Veterans Association36th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony

CIVA princess, Chelsea Sapcut, performs a special sign language to the song “Hero” for the honored veterans.

Comanche Nation Princess, Kris-ta Hubbard, sings a Comanche Hymn and invited all those who knew the hymn to sing along.

The family of the late Col Raymond C. Portillo, US Marine Corps, WWII, were present at the CIVA Memorial Day Ceremony for a Special Recogni-tion.

Honored veterans for the CIVA 36th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony were LtCol Dave S. Portillo, US Ma-rine Corps and SGT Malcom Taunah US Marine Corps and OK Army National Guard.

A Memorial Wreath was placed on the court yard of the Comanche Nation Complex by CIVA Auxiliary.

SGT Malcom Taunah was presented with a monogrammed Comanche Nation pendelton blanket for his services in the US Military. Taunah served in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War.

LtCol Dave S. Portillo was presented with a monogrammed Comanche Nation pendelton blanket for his services in the US Military. Portillo served in the Global War on Terror-Iraq.

CIVA Historian, Lanny Asepermy speaks to the crowd about the CIVA Memorial Day Ceremony and talks about the honored veterans.

Photos by Paula Karty/News Staff


MilestonesHappy Belated Birthday

Amanda Whitewolf, June 7Paula Chibitty-Wolf, June 7Richard Bread, June 10Stephen Whitewolf, June 11Barbara Asepermy, June 16

Happy Birthday

Rodney Lewis, July 1Johnny Poolaw, July 2Arlene Timbo, July 3Micah Minthorn, July 3Christopher Beaver, July 3Greg Topetchy, July 4Shavonn Lewis, July 5Terisa Brinkman, July 6Austin Wolf, July 7Arlene Schonchin, July 8Leesa St Clair, July 8Mark Spencer Yackeschi, July 8Christine Brinkman, July 9Ginger Poemoceah Guttierez, July 9Joseph Tahsequah, July 10Terry Brinkman Jr., July 11Linda Pewewardy Minthorn, July 11 Baydon Lewis, July 15Zeldina Viddaurri-Floyd, July 15Anthony Pewewardy, July 16Tiffany Certeza, July 18Amber Hedge, July 19Amylee Turtle, June 19Brittany Avery-Huggins, July 19Meka Viddaurri, July 20Cayla Ketner, July 22Isabella Alyssa Codynah, July 22Timothy Lana Ototivo, June 22Thoteseyah Poemoceah, July 23Trevor Pewewardy, July 23Gus McCarthy “Papa”, July 24Tara Wallace, July 25Terry Poemoceah, July 26Robert Oldbear Sr., June 30Jennifer Whitewolf, July 31

Anniversaries

Donnie & Arietta Viddaurri-Patton- July 1

Married 32 years

Steve & Anita Viddaurri-Mann- July24

Married 34 years

Don’t Forget to submit milestones for those special loved ones; Just married, Anniversa-ries, Birth Announcements, Birthdays etc.

Deadline for August 7/15/12

Call Public Information Office

(580) 492-3386Email:

[email protected] mail:

Comanche Nation/PIOP.O. Box Box 908Lawton, OK 73502

Happy Belated BirthdayTerry Brinkman Jr.

June 11

Happy BirthdayChristopher Beaver

July 3

Happy BirthdayTerisa Brinkman

July 6

Happy BirthdayAustin Wolf

July 7

Happy BirthdayChristine Brinkman

July 9

Happy BirthdayJoseph Tahsequah

July 10

Happy BirthdayAmber Hedge

July 19

Happy BirthdayCayla Ketner

July 22

Happy BirthdayIsabella Alyssa Codynah

July 22

Happy BirthdayTrevor Pewewardy

July 23

Happy BirthdayGus McCarthy “Papa”

July 24

Happy BirthdayTara Wallace

July 25

Happy BirthdayAlejandro Camacho

July 25

Happy BirthdayNadia Tenequer

July 25

Happy BirthdayGreystone Komahcheet

June 29

Happy Fathers Day Ronald K. Pekah Sr.

Even though your looking down on us now, we still want to tell you Happy Fathers Day.We will always love you dad, & your memories will always be

with us. From: Lil Ron, Arthur,

Madlyn, Christine & Stephanie

Happy Fathers Day Nathan Lopez

Love your wife Candice Duarte Lopez

and Nathan Jr Lopez

Happy Anniversary

Monte & Ronna Potts

July 25Married 15 years

Taleliah Coralyn Tahhahwah

Born:April 26, 201210:47pm7lbs’ 1oz’ & 21in’To:Shandi&Edward

Nonee Dayton Keel Born:May 30, 20124lbs’ 12oz’ & 18.5in’To:Elvis&Rachel Keel

Dedicated to allGrandma’s & Grandpa’s

In Loving Memory &

Happy Birthday Momma

Billie June Karty From:

Bill Jr & Family

Happy Birthday In Heaven...

If roses grow in heaven, Lord please pick a

bunch for me, Place them in my Grandma’s

arms and tell her they’re from me.

Tell her I love and miss her, and when she turns

to smile, place a kis apon her cheek, and

hold her for awhile, be-cause remembering her is easy, I do it everyday,

but theres an ache in my heart, because I miss

her more each day, Happy Birthday in

heaven...

Billie June Karty July 3, 1930- April 14,

2012

Don’t Forget to Follow Us

On Facebook

Facebook/TheComancheNationNews

Happy BirthdayGinger Poemoceah Guttierez

July 9

Happy BirthdayArlene Schonchin

July 8

In Loving Memory Welcome HomeCongratulations

Happy BirthdayRay Pekah

Happy BirthdayAndre’ Connywerdy

Happy BirthdayCheyenne Pekah Pewewardy

July 28

Happy BirthdayAnthony Pewewardy

July 16

CORRECTION:FrancisAttocknieIII’snamewas misspelled in the June issue to TCNN. TCNN apologizes for the error.


Obituaries

Martinez

Georgenia “Gina” Lynn Martinez

Funeral for George-nia Lynn Martinez, 52, Wal-ters, was June 1, at the Walters Community Center with, Pas-tor Videll Yackeschi officiat-ing. Prayer service was May 31, at the Walters Community Center. Burial was at Wal-ters City Cemetery in Walters, Okla., under direction of Co-manche Nation Funeral Home. Martinez was born on November 8, 1959 in Lawton, Okla., to Harold Dean Marti-nez Sr. and Barbara Jo Karty Martinez. She died May 27, at home. Martinez graduated from Fort Sill Indian School in 1978. She was a founded member of the West Side Bap-tist Church of Walters. She was the manger at the Red Riv-er Smoke Shop and Comanche Bingo. She had to stop work-ing due to health problems. She enjoyed playing sports, watching her nieces and neph-ews play sports, and going to church activities. She is survived by her four sisters: Donna Ahdosy, Leanna Martinez, and Brenda Martinez all of Walters, and Pamela Vargas and Abel of Temple, two brothers: Harold Dean Martinez of Albuquer-que, New Mexico and George Martinez and Carol of Temple, one aunt: Joella Cullen of Henderson, Nev., two uncles: Delbert Karty and Michael Karty of Walters, her step-fa-ther: Winfred “Bud” Yackes-chi, 14 nieces and nephews: 17 great nieces and nephews, Spe-cial brothers-in-laws: Curtis Grant, Dewey Ahdosy, Moose Hall, and Abel Vargas, many co-workers, friends, and other relatives.

Burgess

Gary Burgess Funeral for Gary Bur-gess was June 7, at Comanche Nation Funeral Home Cha-pel with Rev. Videll Yackes-chi officiating. Burial was at Highland Cemetery under the direction of Comanche Nation Funeral Home. Prayer service was June 6, at Comanche Nation Funeral Home Chapel. Burgess passed away on June 1, in Oklahoma City, Okla. He was born on Febru-ary 20, 1972 in Lawton, Okla., to Teddy Burgess and Ramona Pahcheka. He was a member of the Comanche Nation of

Oklahoma and Mt. Scott Co-manche Methodist Church. He was raised at Elgin and gradu-ated from Elgin High School in 1990. He is survived by his son: Brandon Burgess of Beth-any; parents: Teddy Burgess Sr. of Lawton and Ramona Pahcheka and husband Paul of Cache; brother: Teddy Bur-gess Jr. of Lawton; his com-panion Mary Anquoe of Law-ton; nephew: Teddy Burgess, III; niece: Aubry Burgess. He is preceded in death by his brother: Angel Burgess; Maternal grandparents: Mel-vin and Yvonne Wahahrockah; Paternal grandparents: Earl and Daisy Burgess.

Roberts

Kevin Roberts Funeral for Kevin Rob-erts, age 40 of Oklahoma City was June 8, at the Comanche Nation Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Leonard Presley officiating. Burial was at Fair-view Cemetery in Apache un-der the direction of Comanche Nation Funeral Home. Roberts was born on July 25, 1971 to Noven and Alva Roberts in Lawton, Okla. He graduated from Eisenhow-er High School and attended Cameron. He was a member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma, Comanche War Dance Society and Esa Rosa. He enjoyed pow-wows, play-ing Gameboy, and watching wrestling. He is survived by Mom and Pops: Deanie and Al-len Wittwer of the home; sis-ter: Cleta Roberts-Sawyer of Apache; three nieces: Larissa Josey and husband, Shelby Jo-sey of Apache, Jessica Sawyer and Maggie Sawyer of Apache; two great nieces: Kodee and Kallee Josey; numerous un-cles, aunts, cousins and way too many friends to mention but you know who you are. He is preceded in death by his father: Bert Roberts; paternal grandparents: Ewell and Dessie Roberts; maternal grandparents: Mac and Ber-nice “Bunny” Howry and great grandparents: Chief and Ester Pahdopony; twin brother: Ber-tel Ray Roberts.

Pahcoddy

Wayne “Chicken Wayne” Pahcoddy

Wayne “Chicken Wayne” Pahcoddy, 72 of India-homa passed away May 26 at his home with his loving fam-

ily by his side. Funeral service was May 31, at the Comanche Na-tion Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Nick Tahchawwickah and Rev. Matt Asetamy officiating. Burial followed at Deyo Mission Cemetery under the direction of Comanche Na-tion Funeral Home. Prayer service was May 30, at the Comanche Na-tion Funeral Home Chapel. Pahcoddy was born on September 25, 1939 in Law-ton to Albert and Lily (Poco) Pahcoddy. He attended Post Oak School at Indiahoma for nine years and graduated from Cache High School. He met his wife Ethel Betsillie in Hunt-ingpark, Cali., and they got married in 1961. While they lived in California he worked as a blacksmith. The family moved back to Indiahoma in 1966. He worked at Tip Top Laundry, City of Lawton and then drove a school bus and was a custodian for Indiahoma Public School for many years. He was a member of the Comanche Nation of Okla-homa, Indiahoma First Baptist Church and Cache First Church of the Nazarene. He served on the Comanche Business Com-mittee for nine years. Pahcoddy enjoyed playing softball, spending time with his family especially his grand kids and great grand kids. He loved to watch west-ern movies, soap operas and Spanish TV. He was a avid fan of Indiahoma basketball and OU sports. He is survived by: two daughters and a son-in-law; Ethel Lou and Jon Katvala of Indiahoma, Rosie Werito of Lawton; a sister and brother-in-law: Alice and Billy Wermy of Cache; caregivers: grandson, Joseph Johnston and Martin Johnston of the home; seven grandchildren: Mesha Con-chita, and Joseph Johnston, Rachael, Ricky, and Jasper Werito and Joni Boyd; 12 great grandchildren; Esperanza, Ale-jandro, Modesto, Silas, Nicole, Anabah, Avien, Nia, Raymond, Elyscya, Chris and John; many nieces, nephews, friends, other family members and extended family. He is preceded in death by his: wife, Ethel Pahcoddy, parents: Albert and Lily Pah-coddy; brothers and sisters: Dixie Wermy, Roxie Plumlee, Juanita Tahah, Spencer Lee Pahcoddy and James Tahpay.

Norma Jean Pewo-Chalepah

Funeral for Norma Jean Pewo-Chalepah, 47, of Apache was May 31, at the Comanche Community Center in Apache, with Rev. Marvin Delaware and the Rev. P. Wayne Townsend, officiating, and Certified Lay Speaker Terry Ware. Prayer service was May 30, at the Comanche Commu-nity Center. She was born May 14, 1965 in Dallas, Texas to Robert “Bobby” Pewo and the late Es-ther Anguiano Pewo. She went to be with the Lord on May 27. She was an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation of Okla-homa. She attended church at the Apache Reformed Church. She graduated from Apache High School, in 1983. She received her Business and

Information Processing certifi-cate and a Computer Technolo-gy certificate both from Caddo-Kiowa Vocational Technical School, Fort Cobb. She re-ceived a Cashier/Checker Training certificate from Great Plains Area Vo-Tech, Lawton. She worked several years with the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, as a Staff Accoun-tant in the Finance Depart-ment, a Clerk-typist, with the Summer Youth Program, and a Secretary for the Economic Industrial Corporation Office. She also did odd jobs and al-ways gave a helping hand to family and friends. She married Kimit Chalepah Sr., on February 12, 1986. They had three children born to this union. She is survived by her father, of the home; daugh-ter Kim Renee Chalepah and companion Heath Morrison, Anadarko; two sons, Kimit Wayne Chalepah Jr., and com-panion Staci Kaye, Fort Riley, Kan., and Korey Chalepah, Apache; sisters and brother-in-laws: Wilma and Alva Dee Tsoodle, of Apache; Susan and Troy Marlowe, Garland, Texas; Lydia Gracia, Oakcliff, Texas; Kemberly Simmons Tsoodle, Apache; Lisa Mithlo, Apache; Toni Weryackwe, Ariz., Glori-etta Beartrack Ahtone, Apache; Leslie Parker, Lawton; Joyce Nevaquaya Harris, Apache; Renita Chalepah, Mountian View; Tracy Poafpybitty, Law-ton; Elfreda Chalepah, Moun-tain View; and Alice Garcia, Garland, Texas; brothers and sister-in-laws: Camilo and Betty Garcia, Garland, Texas; David Garcia, Garland, Texas; Billy and Tracy Pewo, Anadar-ko; uncles: Dusty and Sandy Miller, Fort Cobb, and Gar-land Miller, Chichasha; aunts: Juanita Mae and LeRoy Sneed, Oklahoma City, Jackie Miller-Edwards, Norman; Delores Poafpybitty, Apache, Dora Pewo, Apache; many nieces and nephews; Precious moth-er-in-law: Libby Tonahcot, Mountain View; grandchil-dren: Junelle Mae Chalepah, Aiyanna Renee Morrison, and Niyah Ann Morrison, DeVohn Pew, Kalestha Pewo, Aaron Pewo, Vincent Pewo, Ava Vita Azul, Logan Azul. She was preceded in death by her mother; two sis-ters, Mary Barrientos, Bobbie Jo Pewo; two brothers, Dan-iel Gracia Jr., Wilson Aaron Pewo; her maternal grandpar-ents: Camilo and Lydia Angui-ano; her paternal grandparents: Alice Pewo Miller and Clifton Miller, and Wilson Ahboah; father-in-law, Jerry Ware.

Warthen-Coots

Cecilia Mae Warthen-Coots

Frederick

Phyllis (Apauty) Fredrick

Funeral for Phyllis Apauty Fredrick, 74, Walters, Okla., was June 20, at Coman-che Nation Funeral Home Cha-pel, Lawton, with Lena Calfy officiating. Prayer service was June 19, at the funeral home. She was born January 19, 1938, in Cache, to Adaline (Hahnee) and Vandal Apauty. She married George Fredrick, September 6, 1957. She was a member of the Comanche Nation and also of Kiowa descent. She was also a member of the Emerson Church of the Nazarene. She enjoyed spending time with her family, grandchildren, great grandchildren, listening to Co-manche hymns and The Gaith-ers. She enjoyed watching the Oklahoma Sooners, Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers. She is survived by her four daughters: Paula Fredrick, Lorrie Fredrick, Brenda Fred-rick all of Walters, and Patricia Shepherd and her husband El-vis of Monclova, Ohio. Eight grandchildren: Nicole (Shep-herd) Elton, Stacie (Shepherd) Knapp, Kristi Shepherd, Cari Shepherd, Debra Fredrick, Shawnta Fredrick, Lottie Sur-les and Lamont (Bob) Sulres II; great grandchildren: Kirrah Fredrick, Jaeden Fredrick, Pay-ton Elton and Sophia Knapp; sister, Eva Kopaddy; brothers: Arnold Apauty and wife Rusty, Curtis Apauty and wife Jeanie, and Roland Apauty and wife Ramona. She is preceded in death by husband, George Fredrick; parents, Vandal and Adaline (Hahnee) Apauty; brothers: Loui Van and Claude Vandal (CV) Apauty; sisters: Joanna and Lorene Apauty, Velma and Calvin Pohawpatchoko; Rhoda Mae and Jimmy Jack Tahpay; Cora and Luther Pohawpatcho-ko; daughter, Debrea Fredrick and son John Fredrick.

Cecilia Mae Warthen-Coots, 58, Shawnee, Okla., en-tered into this world on Octo-ber 18, 1954 and went home to our Father on June 13. Graveside service was

June 16, at Fairview Cemetery, Shawnee, Okla., under the di-rection of Comanche Nation Funeral Home. She leaves behind two children, a son, Jerry Rigg and spouse Sharon of Pink, Okla., daughter, Jamie Jackson and spouse Bart of Norman, Okla., four grandchildren, Joel, Kevin, Erika, and Jace; sister, Rhonda Montgomery of Shaw-nee; two nephews and one niece and many great nieces and nephews. She also leaves behind many family members in the Lawton area. She was preceded in death by her parents: George and Laura Warthen; husband, Joe Irvin Coots, grandchild, Jude Robert Jackson, brothers, Roland “Duke” Torralba, Al-bert Torralba and Joseph Earl Dupoint.


Sports

JIM THORPE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONS. The Oklahoma Intertribal Softball team won the Jim Thorpe 18-and-Under Tournament. The team included tribal member Sydney Wahkinney.

Tribal member, Heather Bennett, or “Kitt Viscous” on

the track, plays for the Lawton Roller Derby Team, the 580 Girls, and she will do what it takes inside the oval track to get points for her

team. The 580 Girls played against the SOS Team June 9 at the Great Plains Coliseum in Lawton, Okla., and it was an action-packed game from beginning to end. As the points grew with each completed lap,

the hard hitting players pushed, pulled, crunched, and rammed their opponents with no mercy. Skaters slid across the cement floor, but as fast as they fell, they were up again, determined to win. The 580 girls defeated the out-of-town team. Getting injured is part of the game, as Kiowa/Otoe teammate, Dawn Toppah Park-er, or “Rezindin Evil,” knows firsthand. She is out for the sea-son due to a broken ankle. Roller derby action on the track is fast, full-contact skating sport, played on a flat, oval track, in which points are scored by lapping members of

CRUNCH TIMELawton’s 580 Girls Roller Derby Team are Fearless on the Floor


An SOS team member gets double crushed by 580 Girls June 9 at the Great Plains Colliseum.

Using her shoulder to ram an SOS team member, the 580 Girls earn more points before the half.

The 580 Girls create a wall to prevent their oponent from passing.

Pushing their way through the blocks, the 580 Girls rack up points to win , ----.

the opposition. A team consists of up to 14 players, with up to 5 on the track at any given time. To begin, four blockers and a jammer from each team line up behind their starting points, the blockers at a line 30 feet ahead of the jammers. A single whistle from the referees starts the pack rolling and once it moves past the front line, the jammers are signaled to take off with a double whistle blast. Points are scored by lapping members of the oppo-sition – one point apiece – so the jammers begin picking up points on their second pass

through the field of blockers. The initial, non-scoring pass matters because the first jam-mer to cleanly navigate the pack is awarded ‘lead jammer’ status, giving her the ability to end the jam at a time of her choosing. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. If you think you got what it takes to be on the 580 Girls team, tryouts will be held July 1 at 2507 SW Washington Ave. in Lawton. They are also looking for volunteers, refer-ees, and non skating officials. Their next challenge will be July 14 when they take

on the ICT Roller Girls from Wichita, Kan. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the action begins at 7 p.m. Proceeds will toward the Lawton Food Bank. Ad-vance tickets are $10 at the Great Plains Coliseum Box Office, 920 SW Sheridan, or go to www.580girls.com. Tick-ets will be $12 the day of the game. Other games will be Aug. 11 when they play in the Red River Roller Derby, and Sept. 22 when they take on OKCRD Lightening Broads. Both games will be played at the Great Plains Coliseum.

CONGRATULATIONS TO WOOLDLAND HILLS. Woodland Hills Midgets made it to the City of Lawton Championship baseball game on June 9. They received the Runner-up trophy after losing to Flower Mound. 11 year old Brayden Halberg, front row far left., was the starting pitcher for Woodland Hills getting nine strikeouts in the Championship game, and closing out the season with a total of 115 strikeouts. He is a member of the Comanche tribe.

Courtesy Photo

Courtesy Photo


Dear TCNNLetters to the Editor

Dear TCNN,

I have always been ap-preciative/proud Comanche! Due to my present cir-cumstances “Incarcerated” does not hinder the fact I am somebody; somebody with a vision and belief in God. At this time I’d just like to voice a thought/opinion. I had been checking this one particular team for a while. This is a special group of young men, I personally call them “Jesus babies”, in spiri-tual level sessions with Jesus there is certain names for each. Example R. Westbrook- over comer, K. Durant- Confidence, S. Ibaka- Protection, J. Harden- Sanctification. This list goes on all in all Jesus never fails These guys are on Rich sacred grounds , Oklahoma why not bless them with in-vitation to the Comanche Fair where the Numunu is in their element a simple advertise-ment in a newspaper, if I was out I’d tweet them. Just a thought/vision about the Lords of the Plains welcoming the Thunder.Respectfully, Ada Cozad Wil-lis Protection, J. Harden- Sanc-tification. This list goes on all in all Jesus never fails

Respectfully, Ada Cozad Willis

DearTCNN,

Please feel free to use the enclosed story I have writ-ten for several year for San Quentin News and have taken a journalism course and would be honored if you would use my story. If there is any story that you would like for me to generate concerning incarcer-ated Natives or the Califor-nia Prison system in general please let me know, my uncles Ben and Sam Trevino are bur-ied in the Comanche Veterans Cemetery and I am a direct de-scendant of Tabbananika and I would be honored if you would accept stories from me on an intermediate basic.Thank you for your consider-ation Daniel TrevinoContributing Writer- Tatsinupi

Productions Source, Writer Daniel Trevino

Native Americans in-carcerated in the state of Cali-fornia, both men and women turn to traditional methods to heal and change their lives. The Sweat Lodge, drum ceremony and bead-ing help Natives from various tribes learn traditional methods for healing themselves and the bring them into glance with Mother Earth. While Comanche men and women are a small percent-age of the overall Native popu-lation in California’s prison system, several use traditional cultural methods to atone for their criminal behavior. Doing so they follow in the steps of our spiritual Elders who were lost to us through as-similation. While incarcerated Na-tive people must fight for the right to practice our ancient re-ligion as the dominant culture does not and cannot understand our spiritual practices.

Dear TCNN,

Eck Kah Ka:(Greetings All): It is my great honor to share with you the news of the hatching of the first Bald Eagle produced in captivity by a Fed-erally Recognized Tribe. The Comanche Nation through our Sia: Eagle and Raptor Program has now produced both spe-cies of Native Eagles: Golden Eagles via artificial insemina-tion in 2010 and now the Bald Eagle on April 13, 2012. Although Sia Directors have produced over three hun-dred eagle offspring in captiv-ity since 1972, the hatching of Native Eagles under the cap-tive propagation amendment to our Native Religious Use Permit (sometimes referred to as the “Aviary Permit”) is his-toric. The efforts of Sia/Co-manche Nation are dedicated to the benefit of all Federally Recognized Tribes. Although this informa-tion was shared with Region 2 Native American Liaison by our Sia interns on the day the

eaglet hatched (17 days ago) with a live link, it seems this historic event was not passed on by that office. Please en-joy the attached YouTube con-densed video of the hatching as well as the still images of this eaglet. The cultural and po-litical importance of a Native American Tribe producing both Bald and Golden Eagles in captivity under the author-ity of our Native Religious Use Permit comes at a time when many outside of our cultures

perceive the relationship of Native Americans and Eagles as one that only calls for the death of an eagle. Numunuh (Comanche) efforts are dedi-cated to the ethic that we live at a time in history when an Ea-gle no longer must forfeit his/her life in order to benefit the spiritual and ceremonial needs of our People. We remain committed to bringing new Eagle life for-ward. Please watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2PLtxgFzPo&feature=email

Respectfully,Wahathuweeka

William VoelkerDirector/Founder

Sia:TheComancheNation Eagle & Raptor

Program P. O. Box 341

Cyril, Oklahoma 73029

www.comancheeagle.org


warded with the Graduate of the Year award. One person was selected from each gradu-ation field: High School, Gen-eral Educational Development (GED), Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, and Job Placement and Training. Lind-sey Kosechata, graduated from Randlett High School received Graduate of the Year. Clarissa Sorrow received Graduate of the Year for General Educa-tional Development. Denise Poemoceah graduated from University of Oklahoma Health Sciences and received Gradu-ate of the Year for her Bach-elor’s Degree. A University of Central Oklahoma graduate, Beth Price, received Graduate of the Year for her Master’s Degree. For Job Placement and Training, from San Diego Mirama College, Christopher Cordts received Graduate of the Year.

sign language. The CIVA proceeded from of the ballroom, the Mis-tress of Ceremonies, Mia Tah-dooahnippah, informed people of the meal catered by Sodexo of Cameron University.

During the meal, around 200 guests enjoyed the piano and violin melody per-formed by Travis Komahcheet, and his daughter, Olivia.

The Motivational speakers were teacher / artist, Terry Gomez, and counselor, Ronald Wahkinney. Gomez sprung laughter and under-standing from the audience as she spoke of the obstacles she overcame to become the ac-complished woman she is to-day. Gomez shared her amazing trip to Europe, and the meeting of the Pope, head of the Ro-man Catholic Church. Gomez also informed with audience to never give up on them selves in whatever they may choose

The Comanche Nation Higher Education Program held its 2012 graduation Ban-quet May 25 at the Cameron Ballroom in Lawton Okla. The banquet was held to honor the high school graduates, students who received their completion of general education develop-ment certificate, college gradu-ates, and students who com-pleted the Job Placement and Training program. As the sound of Nu-munu drums filled Cameron’s ballroom, the flag bearers, Co-manche Indian Veterans As-sociation (CIVA) followed in and in stood saluting as the flag song was sung by Norman Nauni. The Numunu present stood in respect to our nation’s flag. Shortly thereafter, the Comanche Nation Princess, Krista Hubbard, sang the Star Spangled Banner, and CIVA princess, Chelsea Sapcut, per-formed the Lord’s Prayer in

to do with their lives.Wahkinney shared his

story with the viewing of a Power Point presentation that presented statistics of drug abuse in all age groups. Wah-kinney encouraged everyone to say “no” to drugs and alcohol. Wahkinney explained his life before becoming a counselor, which was not the typical life of someone that would have his profession. With his words he hoped to strengthen those who desired a better life.

Tahdooahnippah next announced the award recipi-ents as the Comanche Nation’s former Tribal Administrator, Will Owens, presented the awards.

The Dorothy Lauren-tino Scholarship was awarded to Allison Sain, graduate from Fletcher High School, Evelyn Mithlo, graduate from Cache High School and TeAda Short, graduate from Wayland Baptist

University. The Laurentino Schol-

arship was named after Doro-thy Sunrise Laurentino. Lau-rentino served as a teacher for 34 years and, she is the only Native American to be intro-duced into the National Teach-ers Hall of Fame. As a child, Laurentino sat outside Cache school on the steps everyday wanting to attend public school other Native American chil-dren attended Fort Sill Indian School in Lawton. Her parents took action for their daughter to be allowed to attend public schools in Oklahoma. In 1918, the Oklahoma Supreme Court allowed all Native American Children to attend the pub-lic schools in Oklahoma. It is a great honor to receive The Laurentino Scholarship, for it was named after a remarkable woman.

Students were selected by a Point System to be re-

Director of the Comanche Nation Prevention and Recovery Center, Ronald Wahkinney reads the Drug abuse statistics for all age groups.

Terry Gomez moving the audience with her motivational speech.

The Dorothy Laurentino Scholarship winners for 2012 from left to right; Evelyn Mithlo; Allison Sain; TeAda Short.

The ComanChe naTion higher eduCaTion’s graduaTion BanqueT“greaT Things have small Beginnings.”

Chris Cordts received his award (laptop) for Graduate of the Year in Job Placement and Training.

Clarissa Sorrow received her award (laptop) for Graduate of the year for attaining her GED.

Lindsey Kosechata the High School Graduate of the Year, she hopes to become a surgeon.

Beth Price graduated from University of Central Oklahoma with her Master’s Degree and received her Graduate of the Year Award a laptop.

Denise Poemoceah attended University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, she awarded with a laptop for being Graduate of the Year.

Story and Photo by Candace Wilson/ News Staff

The Comanche Na-tion Public Information Office educated 48 students from the three Lawton high schools June 10 at Cameron University. The students were participating in the university’s Upward Bound Program, which gives students an opportunity to earn col-lege credits during the summer months.

PIO Director, Jolene Schonchin, presented a Pow-erPoint presentation about the history of the Comanche Na-tion, followed by a 20-minute presentation from the Coman-che Nation Princess, Krista Hubbard, about the Comanche buckskin dress and its acces-sories, and provided a dance demonstration for the student

audience. The singers shared the Comanche Flag Song with the youth, who stood reverent dur-ing the singing. This was fol-lowed by other song and dance demonstrations. The Chibitty family demonstrated the Ea-gle Dance and Shield Dance. Other demonstrations were the men’s traditional dance,

women’s cloth dance, and the round dance. The students ea-gerly participated in the round dance, smiling and recording it on their phones and I-Pads. The singers of the eve-ning were: Gene Sovo, Tim Monoessy, Kevin Sovo Sr., Gaylon Motah, and Joel Mo-tah. The dancers were: Krista Hubbard, Diana Doyebi, Mel-

anie Motah, Leonard Isaiah Chibitty, Nicholas Chibitty, Rita Coosewoon, Cy Ulloa Chibitty, Avery Motah, Adam Ulloa Chibitty, Gaylon Pah-docony, Leonard Chibitty, and Adrian Camerena.

Cameron University’s Upward Bound Students Learn About the Comanche Culture


Leonard Chibitty, left, and Gaylon Pahdocony demonstrate the traditional dance June 10 to Cameron Univer-sity’s Upward Bound students.

Women bow their heads to the honor beats of the women’s dance demonstration.

Comanche Princess, Krista Hub-bard, answers questions from the student audience about her buck-skin dress.

The Shield Dance was demon-strated by the Chibitty family. They also demonstrated the Eagle Dance.

The Upward Bound students par-ticipate in the Round Dance, led by Rita Coosewoon, right .


A prayer circle of over 100 people was formed on the top of the South Medicine Bluff.

Walking up the mound was a challenge, but seveal chose to make the trip instead of riding the golf carts that were provided.

Tribal elder, Thomas Blackstar, cedared people off as they come from the top. The afternoon came to a conclusion with lunch and fellowship.

History of Medicne Bluffs

According to the Co-manche Nation Historic Pres-ervation Office’s information, the area of Medicine Mounds Ranch. Rancherias De Coman-che in the Clay county, Texas area in 1786, and the Pease River (near present-day Ver-non, Texas) in 1789 are illus-trated on a map drawn by Fran-cisco Xavier Fragoso. These are assumed to represent Kot-soteka encampments. By the 1840s, the area of the Medicine Mounds was within the territo-ry of the Nokoni division, with the Kotsteka to the west, the Penateka to the south, the Te-newa to the east, and the Yam-parika to the north.

Other maps also docu-ment the mounds and the presence of Comanche in the vicinity of the ranch. For ex-ample, although some of the geographic details are incor-rect, the U.S. Army map at the Texas State Archives of Lt. Col G.P. Buell’s expedition to Indian Territory in 1874 illus-trates the mounds, and a trail (Comanche?) passing just east of them. The 1841 New Map of Texas (also at the Texas State Archives) illustrates a Coman-che village just north of the mounds on the banks of the Red River, as well as a “Co-manche Trail” bisecting the village and continuing south to the Guadalupe River in South Texas. Together, these sources document a major Comanche presence in the vicinity of the

mounds form the eighteenth to the late nineteenth century.

Towana Spivey de-scribed the parallels between Medicine Mounds and the Medicine Bluffs located close to Fort Sill, Okla. Medicine Bluffs is actually a series of granite hills that have a steep sheet northern scarp. It is con-sidered to be a powerful place by the Comanche. Rock cairns were commonly constructed on the rim of the bluff as offerings. The sick would also be taken to the bluff rim, or deposited on one of the bluff’s ledges. The appearance of “flaming sires” or “auras” meant that the sick individual was undergoing a healing process that took two or three days to be completed. If no lights were observed, the person would not recover, and would be left of the bluff “to the coyotes, wolves, and crows.” He also noted that such places of medicine were not frequent-ed unless there was a need: “If you were not sick, you didn’t go.”

Warriors also consid-ered the bluff to be a place of puha, taking their shields to the bluff for blessing at sun-rise. Isolated artifacts-includ-ing lithic projectile points, knives, and metal cups- have been recovered from cracks and crevices at Medicine Bluff, and are considered by Spivey to represent Comanche offer-ings. The apparent absence of occupational debris at the bluff is linked to its primary use for ritual purposes, and there-fore extensive archaeological remains were not generated. Spivey (personal communica-tion, 1993) speculated that the Medicine Mounds could have been used similar fashion.

Charles Tahsequah, center, looks over the edge of the bluff to Medi-cine Creek below.

Several people stopped to gather Indian Perfume from around the bluff area, which it grows abun-dantly.

PRAYERContinued from Page 1