MIAMI, OK – The Sam Noble Museum announced the Shawnee youth winners of the 2022 Virtual Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair (ONAYLF). The Shawnee Tribe’s Language Immersion Program had three winning entries to the ONAYLF this spring, including two taking first place in the Spoken Language category and a third-place winner in the Film and Video category.
“We cannot express how proud we are of our students who participated in the Sam Noble Language Fair,” said Joel Barnes, Director of the Shawnee Tribe Language Immersion Program. “Their success only encourages us to do more and continue to build on the success of our participants.”
The ONAYLF videos were published on the group’s Youtube page.
Pre-K-2nd Grade Division –
First Place, Cecily Blanchard (Absentee Shawnee Tribe) & Kaya Stand (Shawnee Tribe)
Cecily is in kindergarten, and she is the daughter of Eric and Jessica Blanchard of Norman, OK and great-niece of George Blanchard. Kaya is a first grader and the daughter of Trenton and Kaci Stand of Quapaw, OK.
6th-8th Grade Division –
First Place, Mya Blanchard (Absentee Shawnee Tribe) & Gage Stand (Shawnee Tribe)
Although only in fourth grade, Mya competed alongside Gage Stand (sixth grade) in the 6th – 8th Grade Division. Mya is also the daughter of Eric and Jessica Blanchard and the great-niece of George Blanchard. Gage is son to Trenton and Kaci Stand and Jacque Cabrera of Quapaw, OK
9th-12th Grade Division –
Third Place, Eloisa Roach (Shawnee Tribe)
Eloisa is a 10th grader from Iowa City, IA and the daughter of Steve and Silvia Roach. Steve Roach is a Community Language Program instructor with the Shawnee Tribe Language Immersion Program.
“The team at the Shawnee Language Immersion Department in piloting this brand-new program has been doing amazing work,” said Chief Ben Barnes. “Work that has been reflected within these children.”
WATCH the 2022 Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair.
EXPLORE the ONAYLF Information & results.
About the Shawnee Tribe
The Shawnee Tribe is a sovereign nation of more than 3,700 citizens living across North America and abroad. Tribal headquarters are located in Miami, Oklahoma, and Shawnee Chief Benjamin J. Barnes was elected in 2019. In January 2020, Chief Barnes issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency for the Shawnee language. The Shawnee Tribe Business Council adopted resolution R-01-06-20-K, which officially declared the years 2021-2030 as the Decade of the Shawnee Language and pledged tribal resources flow toward a comprehensive plan to create fluent speakers from the youngest Shawnees and deploy language curriculum to all Shawnee people. For more information, visit shawnee-nsn.gov.
Over two days in late August, the tribe and the OU School of Dance produced the Five Moons Dance Festival, a remarkable celebration of Shawnee heritage and the timeless legacy of five Oklahoma Indian ballerinas—Yvonne Chouteau (Shawnee), Rosella Hightower (Choctaw), Moscelyne Larkin (Eastern Shawnee & Peoria), and Osage sisters Marjorie and Maria Tallchief. Named after […]
The Shawnee Tribe’s 2024 General Council & Election Weekend included a hawikeepicika kiskotaawe (“ribbon-cutting”) and open house for the new Emma “Mock” Donaldson saawanwaatoweewika (“language house”), 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 […]
The Shawnee Tribe’s Behavioral & Mental Health Department is hosting Community Support Groups twice a month. Meetings will go through mid-December. For more information, please contact Linda Rothe, MS, LPC at 918-542-2441 Ext. 150 or email lrothe@shawnee-tribe.com.
On Monday, September 23, 2024, following the 2024 General Council Weekend, the Shawnee Tribe Cultural Center in Miami, OK, reopened to the public after an extended closure due to COVID-19 precautions and the need to use the center for office space. With the Emma “Mock” Donaldson Saawanwaatoweewika now open as the permanent home of the […]
Update (10/2/24): Special Livestream Event On Tuesday, October 8, join the Sid Meier’s Civilization team at 10:00 AM PDT / 1:00 PM EDT for a Tecumseh livestream featuring special guests from the Shawnee Tribe. The Shawnee Tribe is set to be featured in the upcoming release of Sid Meier’s Civilization VII, a popular video game series that enables […]
We’ve moved things around a bit on the Shawnee Tribal Courts webpage now that Shawnee Tribe District Court case information is available in the On Demand Court Records database at ODCR.com. To search the open records, click the ‘Search Case Records’ button on the Courts page. In the search query at ODCR, select ‘Shawnee Tribe District Court’ from the list of options […]
Welcome to ta’saawanwaatoweeyakwe, the new blog series dedicated to the Shawnee Language Immersion Program’s happenings and language preservation work. Now that we are most of the way through the first year of our Master-Apprentice program, we wanted to share some of our work. Each week we focus on a new concept, and we had a lot […]
Messages from the Chiefs: Summer 2024 — Chief Barnes discusses highlights from tribal programs, including Higher Education Awards and the Indian Child Welfare Office. Chief Baldridge emphasizes the importance of diplomacy and inter-governmental work.