Chief and staff visit with Tinker Air Force Officials
Military regulation encourages discussion and relationship building between US Military bases and Native Sovereign Nations with ties to land
Pawhuska, Okla. (Monday, Sept. 19, 2016) – Senior Advisor to the Principal Chief Johnny Williams, also an Osage and decorated veteran, gifts an Osage Code Talker Coin to Colonel Stephanie P. Wilson, 72nd Air Base WingCommander, Tinker Air Force Base.
By ON Communications
PAWHUSKA, Okla. (Wednesday, October 19, 2016) – Beginning in July 2014 a federal directive, DoD 4710.02 - Department of Defense (DoD) Interactions with Federally-Recognized Tribes, was issued and U.S. Government agencies started reaching out to Native Nations who have occupied, worshipped or in others ways are culturally connected to the land where some federal agencies are located. This September, the Osage Nation Office of the Chiefs received their government-to-government visit from U.S. Air Force officials from the Tinker Air Force Base (TAFB). A connection was made and dialogue about knowledge sharing began.
The party of five guests from TAFB included Base Commander Colonel Stephanie Wilson, Chief Master Sergeant David Tuck, 72 ABW Command Chief, and 1st Lieutenant Shaun Berger, 72 ABW Executive, Mr. Tim Taylor, Cultural Resource Program Manager and Tribal Liaison Officer and Chief Master Sergeant Richard Perrier. Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear and his staff visited with the Air Force guests.
Perrier, who works at TAFB is an Osage citizen and Osage War Memorial Board Member, assisted with arranging the visit and said he was pleased with the conversation that developed during the visit. “[TAFB was] able to identify five tribes that have been located on the land that is Tinker Air Force Base, the Wichita, Osage, Creek, Seminole, and Apache. We have already established a connection with the Creek Nation. The intent of these visits is to establish and keep dialogue open with these sovereign nations with ties to the land we currently occupy.”
He also said the Osage Nation Office of Historic Preservation, who also manage Native American Graves and Repatriation (NAGPRA) and Army Corps Engineers matters, have been in contact with Taylor and Colonel Wilson.
The best part of the discussions for Perrier was the interest Chief Standing Bear expressed about collaborating to provide aerospace and engineering experiences for Osage youth at TAFB.
Biography
Col. Stephanie Wilson, Tinker Air Force Base
“Colonel Stephanie P. Wilson is the 72nd Air Base WingCommander, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma She is responsible for a $311 million operating budget and more than 3,000 personnel providing base operating and direct operational support to the Air Force Sustainment Center, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex, 552nd Air Control Wing, Navy Strategic Communications Wing One, 507th Air Refueling Wing and 45 other associate units including the Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Finance and Accounting Service and 38th Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group.”
Major General Clarence Tinker, Osage
“Tinker Air Force Base is named for Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker, a native Oklahoman who lost his life while on a combat mission against Wake Island in the Pacific, during World War II. Born north of Pawhuska, in the Osage Nation, on Nov. 21, 1887, Clarence Tinker was the son of George Edward Tinker and Sarah Anna Schwagerte Tinker. His father was the founder and publisher of the Wah-Sha-She News, Pawhuska’s first newspaper; and Tinker worked in the print shop during his youth. Young Tinker received his early schooling at the Osage Indian Boarding School in Pawhuska and at Haskell Institute, the famous Indian school in Lawrence, Kansas...The Oklahoma City Air Depot installation was designated Tinker Field on October 14, 1942, at the direction of Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces. Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker was the highest-ranking officer of Native American ancestry and the first general lost in action during World War II.”—TAFB biography for Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker.
Maj. Gen. Clarence Tinker is also recognized and honored with a traditional family song during the Osage Nation ceremonial dances, the Ilonshka Dances, every year in June at the Osage dance arbor in Pawhuska, Okla.
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