logo
Login Subscribe
Google Play App Store
  • News
    • Obituaries
    • Lifestyle
    • Opinion
  • Sports
  • E-edition
  • Calendar
  • Archives
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertisers
    • Form Submission
    • About Us
    • News
      • Obituaries
      • Lifestyle
      • Opinion
    • Sports
    • E-edition
    • Calendar
    • Archives
    • Contact
      • Contact Us
      • Advertisers
      • Form Submission
      • About Us
Truth and Healing Commission legislation heads to Senate floor
News
June 15, 2023
Truth and Healing Commission legislation heads to Senate floor
By DACODA MCDOWELL-WAHPEKECHE GAYLORD NEWS

The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has sent to the Senate legislation that would create the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States.

Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin, a Cherokee Nation citizen, was among the ten other senators who make up the membership of the committee.

Mullin, who was absent for the majority of the hearing’s proceedings and when the final voting occurred, said he agreed with the decision to pass the bill.

“I support the bill. There is some work that needs to be done to it,” Mullin said. “We’re working with the chairman and the ranking member – everybody is working together.

“Even senator Warren is working, trying to improve some stuff,” he said referring to Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

The committee’s action came only two weeks after the Office of Army Cemeteries announced that the remains of five children who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a now-closed Pennsylvania boarding school for Native Americans, are going to be exhumed and returned to their families who have waited for their return for more than a century.

The children died between 1880 and 1910 while attending Carlisle, a government boarding school. The U.S. Department of Interior found in 2022 that Native Americans who attended school there were subject to physical and sexual abuse.

Carlisle was a talking point within a story about a child from St. Paul Island, Alaska that died in 1906 and was repatriated in 2021 which came from Indian Affairs committee vice chair Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R–Alaska).

“(Sophia Tetoff) was sent to a boarding school in Pennsylvania – Carlisle Indian Industrial School – about 4,500 miles from her home,” Murkowski said to the members of the committee and those sitting in the committee room. “In these schools, children were forced to speak a language they didn’t know. Different clothing, different foods – all while living in fear that if they didn’t do exactly as they were told, there would be consequences.”

The proposed commission follows on the “Road to Healing” tour by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. Haaland’s tour kicked off last July at the Riverside Indian School in Anadarko.

The legislation did not go without some changes as seven amendments were filed. Majority of those amendments came from senator Steve Daines (R – Montana), but Oklahoma’s Mullin proposed one amendment that was adopted.

It provided that the final report be publicly available on the website of the applicable agency. The legislation would have required the Commission, the Secretaries of Interior, Defense, Education, and Health and Human Services to hold two public meetings within each region within the Bureau of Indian Affairs that would be educational and present the findings of the Commission.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has two regions that cover Oklahoma – the Southern Plains and Eastern Oklahoma regions.

Gaylord News has reached out to Mullin about why he would strike the part of this legislation that would have public meetings for communities to hear about the findings of the Commission but have not heard back.

Mullin said there is still some work to be done before the legislation is complete, especially surrounding subpoena power.

“There is a lot of concerns about the subpoena authority,” Mullin said. “It’s pretty broad. We’re trying to bring it in and make sure there’s some type of accountability for the commission back to the committee itself so we have oversight over some of this stuff.”

Murkowski said that one of Daines’ amendments clears up some of the issues with the bill.

His amendment that focuses on the subpoena authority changes the amount of Commission’s members needing to be in favor of a subpoena from three-fifths to needing unanimous consent.

Warren (D – Mass.), who grew up in Norman and is a graduate of Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City, told the committee she supports the push back against the policies of Indian boarding schools that occurred more than a century ago.

“The federal government’s Indian boarding school policies caused unimaginable suffering and trauma that linger on in tribal communities today,” Warren said. “It is long overdue that the federal government fully reckon with this history and its legacy.”

Warren even gave a shout out to U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D – Kansas) and Oklahoma U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R – Moore) the co-chairs of the Native American caucus in the House of Representatives for their efforts of “carrying the baton in the House.”

The legislation surrounding the Truth and Healing Commission will now head to the Senate floor and Warren’s Senate office says they’re wanting to get the legislation through as soon as possible.

Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to Gaylord-News.net.

City of Checotah prepares fireworks and family fun
A: Main, News...
City of Checotah prepares fireworks and family fun
By LADONNA RHODES STAFF WRITER 
June 26, 2025
The City of Checotah is gearing up for the greatest Fourth of July Freedom Fest celebration the community has ever seen. There will be plenty of sights and sounds to see this year during their allday ...
this is a test
A: Main, News...
Ex Pittsburg County jailer charged with attempting to rob Lakeside Pharmacy
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 26, 2025
A former Pittsburg County jailer, who was named a Detention Officer of the Year in 2024, has been arrested and charged with attempted robbery with a weapon and child neglect. Jose Kirkes, 33, of McAle...
this is a test
A: Main, News...
Woman barefoot and pulling toy wagon fights officer
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 26, 2025
A barefooted 23-year-old Oktaha woman was walking near I-40, pulling a toy wagon missing its front wheels, has been arrested for assault and battery on a police officer, conspiracy to perform an act o...
this is a test
Smelser to become county treasurer July 1
A: Main, News...
Smelser to become county treasurer July 1
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 26, 2025
Kimberly Smelser has been first deputy in the McIntosh County Treasurer’s Office since January 2021. On Tuesday, July 1, she will become county treasurer, replacing Betty Whisenhunt, whose final day i...
this is a test
Checotah Alumni to host reunion this weekend
A: Main, News...
Checotah Alumni to host reunion this weekend
June 26, 2025
The Checotah High School Alumni Reunion is finally here and will be two days reminiscing over high school days gone by too quickly. On Friday, June 27, everyone is invited to the Katy Depot to catch u...
this is a test
A: Main, News...
Minor leads lawmen on wild chase
June 26, 2025
A juvenile driving a stolen 2020 white Jeep Compass led lawmen on a chase that exceeded 110 miles per hour on U.S. 69 shortly after midnight on Friday, June 20. After the Eufaula Police Department was...
this is a test
United for Oklahoma
ePaper
coogle_play
app_store
Editor Picks
Bingo Night blazed a trail for suicide awareness
News
Bingo Night blazed a trail for suicide awareness
By LADONNA RHODES STAFF WRITER 
June 26, 2025
Bingo Night blazed a trail for the Lake Eufaula Out of Darkness Walk on June 12. Many patrons and volunteers came out to help raise money for the walk set for September 20. All the proceeds of the fun...
this is a test
Olivia Shackelford honored with 2025 Youth Prevention Award
News
Olivia Shackelford honored with 2025 Youth Prevention Award
June 26, 2025
On June 5, local student Olivia Shackelford was recognized as the recipient of the prestigious 2025 Youth Prevention Award in Oklahoma City at the Heartland Conference. This award was presented to an ...
this is a test
When death steals a first-class friend
News
When death steals a first-class friend
By LENORE BECHTEL 
June 26, 2025
I may have been the last person—other than her murderer—to talk to Selby Minner before her murder on Monday, June 9. She and I planned to meet that day, but when we talked by phone around 4:30 p.m., w...
this is a test
We celebrate the 250th anniversary of our United States Army
commentary
We celebrate the 250th anniversary of our United States Army
June 26, 2025
We Celebrate the 250th Anniversary of Our United States Army Happy 250th birthday to the United States Army. Thank you to all my many friends and family who bravely served and to all the soldiers toda...
this is a test
Forgiveness for all
commentary
Forgiveness for all
June 26, 2025
Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice to extend forgiveness for all. So God, why is forgiveness so hard? Why do bad things happen to us and those we love? Why is there so much anger and animosity in the ...
this is a test
Facebook
Twitter
Tweets
Twitter
Tweets

MCINTOSH COUNTY DEMOCRAT
300-A S. Broadway
Checotah, OK
74426

(918) 473-2313

This site complies with ADA requirements

© 2023 Mcintosh Democrat

  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Policy