Ms. Halfmoon currently serves as the Shawnee Tribe Executive Director of Cultural and Historic Preservation. She supports the Shawnee Tribe leadership and staff in all cultural programs and efforts including language, historic preservation, and the Shawnee Tribe Cultural Center. She is a citizen of the Caddo Nation and is also Choctaw and Delaware and has over 25 years of experience in cultural preservation, tribal liaison work, consultation practices, cultural resource law and museum leadership. She holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Oklahoma and a certificate in Cultural Heritage Tourism from George Washington University.
From 2007 to 2015, Ms. Halfmoon served as Director of Outreach/Museum Programs for the First Americans Museum (OKC) where she led a statewide tribal outreach effort and served as the exhibitions liaison with Ralph Appelbaum & Associates (NYC). From 2015-2019 she served as the inaugural Director of American Indian Relations for the Ohio History Connection in Columbus, Ohio where she initiated the Tribal Nations Conference and oversaw the development and adoption of the Ohio History Connection’s first American Indian Policy.
In 2019 she returned to Oklahoma to support the Choctaw Nation and lead the way in preparing for the grand opening of the Choctaw Cultural Center; a stunning 100,000-sf facility with immersive exhibitions, a retail store, a café, and daily Choctaw programming. Ms. Halfmoon oversaw the hiring of all staff for the new cultural center as well as facilitating vital components including branding, marketing, facilities maintenance, and construction. The Choctaw Cultural Center opened its doors on July 23, 2021.
Ms. Halfmoon is currently Chair of the American Alliance of Museums’ Indigenous Peoples Museum Network, and she was recently elected to serve as a council member on the American Association for State and Local History.
On Monday, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum for heads of executive departments and federal agencies requiring agencies to “complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their [f]ederal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive […]
Messages from the Chiefs — Spring 2025: Chief Banes looks ahead in 2025, and Chief Baldridge highlights building and maintaining relationships on the local, state and federal levels to ensure the growth of the Shawnee Tribe.
MIAMI, OK — Chief Benjamin Barnes of the Shawnee Tribe is commending recent federal efforts to advance the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Adopted in 2007, UNDRIP outlines the rights of Indigenous peoples worldwide, and the United States joined 192 other United Nations member states in 2014 in committing to […]
Check out recycling plastics by their numbers from the tribe’s Environmental Resources Department!
Stalking is a pattern of repeated, unwanted, and intrusive behavior aimed at controlling or intimidating another person. It can involve a range of actions, from following the victim in person or online to sending excessive texts, emails, or gifts. Stalking is often driven by a desire for power or control and can occur between people […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MIAMI, OK—The Shawnee Tribe Tag Office is now an authorized PIKEPASS agent. The most cost-effective way to travel Oklahoma’s turnpikes, PIKEPASS can also be used on toll roads in Texas and Kansas, as well as certain toll roads in Florida and Colorado. Since 2021, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) has been migrating […]
Check out these fun facts about recycling aluminum from the tribe’s Environmental Resources Department!
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at specific times of the year, typically during the fall and winter months when daylight hours are shorter, occasionally referred to as the “winter blues”. It’s believed to be triggered by changes in sunlight exposure, which can disrupt the body’s natural rhythms, including the […]