“Despite our wealth, our lives were cheap.”
- Jim Gray discussing his Osage people in “Indian Country Today” magazine, Sept 13, 2019

On February 6th, 1923, hunters came upon a Buick that had crashed into a slope in Fairfax, Oklahoma. The 40-year-old driver was found slumped over the steering wheel, a bullet in the back of his head. He was an Osage man, lured into a dangerous trap by a white man - someone he thought was a good and trusted friend.

The book, “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann tells the story of the Osage murders and “The Reign of Terror”, a time when non-Native guardians were killing for the sake of inheriting land. But not just any land – Oklahoma mineral rich land, and the oil was producing millions of dollars for the tribe. This story is soon to be released as a movie by Martin Scorsese, with Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and an impressive slew of Native actors from across Oklahoma and elsewhere.

Join me in this conversation with Jim Gray, the great grandson of the man found murdered in the car - Henry Roan. Although it happened long ago, the pain couldn’t be more real, and it’s still felt today among his family members and the community.

As former Chief of the Osage Nation, Jim was actually the youngest Chief in modern history! We talk in this episode about how perhaps it took someone young and daring enough to go out and do what he did, which was to change the entire future for the Osage Nation in a groundbreaking and incredibly impactful way.

You see, for many years, by federal law, 75% of the Osage population weren’t considered members of the tribe. What?! Yep. Jim and team fought this issue and won! In 2004, the Osage’s sovereignty was finally recognized, signed by President Bush in 2004. Now the Osage could form their own government and determine their own members. As we dig into the ramifications of this change for the tribe, you’ll discover why this is so significant. PUBLIC LAW 108–431—DEC. 3, 2004: https://tinyurl.com/yckcz6pt

In addition, Jim’s background included these accomplishments (and more):
• Introduced the Osage language into the public schools while Chief (hear the story about how the local high school quarterback used the language to his advantage)
• Journalist and Publisher of the “Native American Times”
• Worked for the Cherokee and Sac & Fox Nations
• Director of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma
• Was recently interviewed on CNN’s “This is Life” with Lisa Ling
• Helping to roll out Korbyt.com – an app controlled by the tribe to communicate to tribal members

You’ll also hear:
• The impact Jim had on Martin Scorsese to rewrite the “Killers of the Flower Moon” script
• How his friend taught Robert De Niro to speak Osage
• Thoughts on Osage living side-by-side with descendants of those who killed the Osage
• Whizbang, OK and why Jim’s face turned red
• The latest on McGirt vs Oklahoma and tribal sovereignty, and Governor Stitt’s fight to have the Supreme Court ruling reversed
• The story of David Grann at a book signing. Hint: the descendants of both William Hale and Henry Roan were present

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“His School Counselor Labeled Him, ‘Not college material’. Meet Dr. Wayne Johnson, Muscogee”

He happened to look down at what his counselor had jotted down on a piece of paper in his school file. He couldn’t help but take a peek. What did it say? The 3 words could’ve set his destiny in stone forever. “Not college material.” The phrase sank into his mind, solidifying what his future may entail – anything but college, he concluded, based on his counselor’s findings. After all, a counselor would know, right?

So how did this “not college material” Muscogee man end up achieving his master’s degree, followed by his Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, working for the Muscogee Nation as Secretary of Education, getting published in articles on Indian education, becoming Tribal Assembly President, and Educational Counselor appointed by the Governor and working on the executive board for the Johnson O’Malley Program? Oh, and not to mention, also serving our country in the Navy too!

My guest in today’s episode is Dr. Wayne Johnson, and despite his hard work and success, he humbly said to me, “None of that compares to when I was a teacher.” God bless you, Wayne!

In this episode, you’ll hear about:
• The precious words of Wayne’s mother detailing how she was taken from her family and sent to Chilocco Indian School
• How Wayne and his siblings were taken to a children’s home
• His powerful experience at Haskell Indian College
• How his parents believed in and influenced their sons’ futures
• His work at Riverside Indian School, Haskell Indian School, Pine Ridge Reservation, Flandreau Indian School and Rosebud Reservation
• Pine Ridge Reservation and the events that occurred there, such as Wounded Knee Massacre and more
• His friendship with Oglala Lakota, Tamakoce Te’Hila, (known as Billy Mills), 1964 Olympic gold medal champion, and how no one was expecting an American Indian to show up and win

I hope you’ll take inspiration from Wayne’s story (and Billy Mills’ too) and feel empowered to do what you’re meant to do in life, despite what someone may have said to or thought of you. The world is your oyster, my friends so release those chains of others’ opinions and go seize the day!

More information:

About Olympic gold medalist, Billy Mills:
• “Billy Mills - 1964 Gold Medalist in the 10,000 meters”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs6G8NfEyVk
• dLife video about Billy Mills: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKny6vcq-_4
• “Tom Brokaw interviews Olympian Billy Mills”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvrPRAtrmJM

A must-read book:
“Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West” by Dee Brown”: https://tinyurl.com/j4rk3d39

Please consider learning about and donating to Friends of Pine Ridge Reservation! https://friendsofpineridgereservation.org/

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“If you wanna see women go to war, I would say come to Choctaw, Mississippi!” – Chalena Marcus Billy, Pearl River Ohoyo Team 2021 Stickball Champions

Welcome to a new episode of Native ChocTalk’s Part 2 of “Stickball, Little Brother of War: Mississippi Choctaws, Mark Williams & Chalena Marcus Billy

Listen to the episode here! https://tinyurl.com/mvtycpmm

In part 1, stickball player, expert and stickmaker, Brenner Billy helped us understand the history, culture and spirituality around the historic American Indian game of stickball.

And part 2 is here, y’all! And I know you’ll enjoy hearing from both Mark Williams, award-winning Choctaw filmmaker and champion stickball player, Chalena Marcus Billy.

Mark talks about how he raised money to make films by having an Indian taco sale, how he practiced horror filmmaking on his friends (and they survived), about his comics titled, “The adventures of Josie the Frybread Kid” and his well-deserved awards in film. This Choctaw is making big waves in the film industry!

Watch this video by Mark Williams: “While filming in Mississippi I captured this touching moment and with Dyni Morris’ permission I am sharing this clip of his dedicated score for a ‘fallen warrior’. This is more than just a game to the Choctaw people. It's an identity.” https://www.facebook.com/mark.williams.733450/posts/10216349076998812

And last but not least, this ohoyo powerhouse, Chalena tells us what it’s like to play out on the field in the historic and dangerous game of stickball, about the difference between stickball in Oklahoma vs. Mississippi, and how as a woman, her desire to play stickball derives from a drive deep within that differs from that of her male counterparts. But even this strong champion had a tender perspective on how the loss of the most important person in her life affected her world, yet made her the person and stickball player she is today.

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When you think of certain sports like football, you think rough, tough and full of injuries. But that’s nothing compared to say, rugby. Now THAT’s a dangerous sport. But have you heard of a sport that involved a goal to settle disputes between tribes, and sometimes so fierce that it ended in death?

The players of this game prepared for what was to come by painting their bodies and limiting their diet, drinking Spanish Tea made of bark from red oak trees, and by not eating and sleeping for several days and nights. By the time of the event, they were filled with adrenaline and rage, ready to take on their rivals.

At the signal, it all begins. As many as 1,000 men from opposing tribes screamed their war cries to the incessant beating of drums. The preciseness of thrusting a minuscule ball onto a narrow pole could only be performed by generations of warriors inheriting and honing their skill and focus - that same focus of those who hunted the stealthy deer and the swift-moving chukfi (rabbit).

Lasting for days, from sun-up to sundown, whoever won, won not just the dispute, but also their tribe and oppositions’ respect. With no protective gear, no referees and very few rules, this brutal and bloody event sometimes even meant death.

Today in part 1 of “Stickball, Little Brother of War” we discuss the spiritual and hard-core game of stickball, where even as recent as 1937, an eyewitness named Frank Grall was interviewed from Wewoka, Oklahoma while watching a stickball game saying, “…but when the first fellow got the ball, some player hit him over the head with a club, peeling the skin until it hung over his ear. The battle was so fierce, that when the game was ended and one side had been chased from the ground, the pool was perfectly bloody.” (The pool he’s talking about is where the women would pull the men from the game and place them in pools of water to try to get them to regain consciousness.) He then said, “This was the last Indian ball game played in such a brutal manner, for the Government took notice of such brutality and sent deputy marshals to the games to prevent such cruelty. At this game I saw players bite one another.”

Yep. Definitely rough.

As we talk about this historic and spiritual game that’s still played today, who better to talk about it than expert, Brenner Billy (Choctaw). He comes from a long line of stickball players, he’s a damn good player, and even he’s a master at making the sticks – a skill passed down to him by family.

And, please stay tuned for upcoming part 2 of “Stickball, Little Brother of War” where I’ll meet with both a filmmaker who documents the world of stickball, as well as one very strong Chahta oyoho (Choctaw lady) and total stickball rock star.

Yakoke!

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