Native caucus creators accept art, keep working

OKLAHOMA CITY – If you inquire where to locate the Native American Caucus Room, quizzical looks are plentiful but answers are scarce.

That is changing thanks to the two members behind its creation: Reps. Lisa Billy, a Chickasaw, and Paul Wesselhoft, a Citizen Pottawatomie. Both are retiring due to state term limits. Billy represented District 42, in the Purcell area, and Wesselhoft District 54, located in the Oklahoma City/Moore area.

The pair were first elected in 2004. In 2006, they began talk of establishing a bi-partisan Native American caucus. While both saw the importance of its creation, it wasn't apparent how important the caucus would be until House Bill 2172 dissolved the 43-year-old Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission and transferred the commission's authority solely to the executive branch in 2011.

"When that happened, this caucus became the most important body for Native American tribes in the state of Oklahoma," Wesselhoft said emphatically Oct. 24. Though House Bill 2172 makes it possible for Gov. Mary Fallin to name a cabinet-level position for Indian Affairs which has not come to fruition. Currently, Fallin's chief of staff Chris Benge serves as a liaison between the state's 39 federally-recognized tribes and the governor's office.

Since the Native American Caucus was formed in 2006, it was bandied about from one meeting room to another until finally – thanks to renovation at the Capitol – it found its permanent home at 112.2, next to the Clerk of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

SPRUCING UP

Billy and Wesselhoft are dedicating themselves to decorating the room with Native American art and artifacts before their final farewell.

Renowned, award-winning Chickasaw/Ponca artist Brent Greenwood became the first Chickasaw artist to contribute to the caucus room. His elk-hide, hand drum will adorn a wall of the caucus room.

On the drum face is a photograph of Chickasaw Legislators taken in approximately the 1890s. Among them is Greenwood's great, great grandfather William Hawkins.

"It is a photographic transfer onto the hide," Greenwood explained. "I thought it was perfect for something like this," he added. "The drums are functional. It is not merely a nice piece of art; it can be used."

A Chickasaw beaded sash is painted on the sides of the drum, an addition inspired at the Chickasaw Cultural Center when beadwork was displayed and Greenwood attended. "I am fascinated with the beadwork that went into the sash. It is painted in the tribe's colors of red, white and black," the artist said.

Two Enoch Kelly Haney relief sculptures are located on one end of the meeting room. Haney, a former Seminole Nation chief and former state senator, also is responsible for "The Guardian" sculpture atop the Capitol building; the Chickasaw Warrior statue at several sites throughout the Nation's 13-county tribal territory; a Chickasaw warrior on horseback at Remington Park, and the statue of Piominko, located at the Chickasaw Nation Historic Capitol in Tishomingo.

The highest number of legislators in the caucus has been 26, Billy said. "We are not sure what it will be in the next session," Wesselhoft said.

The caucus meets once a month. One of the tribes will sponsor the meal and a guest speaker will be invited. Interestingly, Billy's father, Frank S. Johnson, was the first Native American who addressed the caucus. Mr. Johnson is executive officer for the Chickasaw Nation's Tribal Utility Authority.

Greenwood's drum is particularly moving to Billy.

"For me, when I look at it – when Brent first showed it to me a few weeks ago – I was in awe because these are the elected officials. It reminds me of days gone by when our tribes were in authority here on this land," Billy said of then Indian Territory. "Those opportunities were removed when statehood arrived.

"As a female, I'm also very excited because we are now a part of it, where in this particular time period women weren't sitting at this table, but we are now."