15-PASSENGER VAN GIFTED TO GROVE VETERANS RITUAL TEAM
Last year, the Tribe retired a 15-passenger van from use. Rather than placing the vehicle up for sale, the Business Council found a worthy beneficiary in the Grove Veterans Ritual Team.
The Grove Veterans Ritual Team’s eleven members, including the Shawnee Tribe’s own Herb Adams (US Army, 1st Infantry Division), travel extensively throughout the area surrounding Grove, OK to give final rites at the burials of fallen veterans. Team members perform a 21-gun salute and flag folding, play taps, and collect & provide the shells from the salute to each veteran’s family. The group performs their duties rain, sleet or shine, often going to two funerals in a single day and up to four in a given week. Recently, the Ritual Team began fundraising to purchase a new transport van, as they were outgrowing their vehicle and needed a replacement.
In December, the Shawnee Tribe Business Council was asked by the Ritual Team to consider supporting their fundraising efforts with a modest contribution. Hearing that the Team needed a van that met the exact specifications of the vehicle sitting in the Tribe’s garage, Business Council members were swift and unanimous in a decision to gift the van to the Ritual Team.
The van will have a seat removed and a storage box added to store rifles, bugles and flags. Tribal staff quickly turned the van around for maintenance, and the Officers of the Tribe met with the ritual team earlier this month to officially turn over the keys.
For many people, the holiday season brings connection, celebration, and routine changes. But for survivors of domestic violence or past trauma, this time of year can also bring unexpected emotional challenges. Increased stress, family expectations, and sensory triggers can intensify anxiety, depression, and symptoms of PTSD. Holiday environments can activate the brain’s trauma pathways. Sensory […]
Common E-Waste Items: Why does it matter? Key Facts: Sources: World Health Organization
On Saturday, September 20, during the Annual Meeting of the Tribal Council, former Shawnee Chief Ron Sparkman gave a history and retrospective. In 2019, the Business Council gave Sparkman the title of Ambassador to the Shawnee Tribe. He served as Chief from 2001 to 2019. “We have come a long, long way,” said Ambassador Sparkman. […]
WHY SHOULD I RECYCLE? HOW DO I RECYCLE? Sources: earth911.com
by A. Gwynn Henderson and David Pollack The original mouth of the Scioto River, in what is now southern Ohio, is far from Oklahoma. So far, perhaps, it has been forgotten. But important events in Shawnee history—in the mid-1700s and thousands of years earlier—took place there. Two painted panels on Portsmouth, Ohio’s floodwall highlight its […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MIAMI, OK — The Shawnee Tribe has declared a state of emergency and released emergency funds to assist citizens who may lose access to food assistance following the federal government’s suspension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture notified the Tribe on October 22 that SNAP operations will […]
RSVP to the Elders’ Luncheon!
The Shawnee Tribe’s 2025 General Council & Election Weekend included a community dinner and stomp dance, as well as the annual meeting of the Shawnee Tribal Council and Business Council election. Citizens had the opportunity to meet tribal service programs & administrative staff, collect raffle prizes, and hear reports on the past twelve months of happenings of the […]