Cara Cowan Watts

I attended a reception at Meg Salyer's last night honoring the N.E.W. Leadership class of 2007. Had a nice chat with one of the three Faculty In Residence (FIR) - Cara Cowan Watts. Cara is on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council (District 7 - Will Rogers). Here is a link to her personal website: http://www.caracowan.com/

Buffaloes in Oklahoma City's Bricktown

Shot from the roof of the Santa Fe Parking Garage in Oklahoma City facing east across the Santa Fe railroad tracks into Bricktown. Click on the image to enlarge.

Oklahoma's Joy Harjo

Today is the birthday of poet Joy Harjo (books by this author). A native of Tulsa, she has Muscogee ancestors on her father's side and Cherokee ancestors on her mother's side. She has published several collections of poetry, including What Moon Drove Me to This? (1980) and She Had Some Horses (1983). Her most recent collection is How We Became Human (2002). She is also a singer and saxophonist for a band called Poetic Justice. Check out her website here and her weblog here and a good bio on her here.

Michi Susan is "Oklahoma Artist of the Year"

On April 22, Ms. Michi Susan was honored by the Paseo Artists Association as their first Oklahoma Artist of the Year. The awards ceremony took place at Paseo Grill. Artist Dee J. Lafon was also honored for lifetime achievement. Ms. Susan was born in Tokyo, Japan, but has made Oklahoma her home for the past 27 years. She was educated at Japan's Women's University and at Hosei University. She then continued her studies in the U.S., and has visited many major European Art Centers. Click here to view more of her work or just Google her name and click on "Images" (above her name).

Janet Barresi and Phyllis Hudecki

There is a column in today's Oklahoman urging the legislature not to "dilute" the current school testing requirements as set forth in the Achieving Classroom Excellence (ACE) legislation. The credit says it is written by Phyllis Hudecki, executive director of the Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition and Janet, "a dentist." It adds that "both are members of the ACE task force." Actually they are both remarkable women. Hudeki, a native of Morris, Oklahoma, has past experience in higher education and vocational education administration. Barresi has been a leader in Oklahoma's charter school movement for a decade. You can read more about them on the contemporary "notable oklahoma women" page of my website.

Sue Lynn Sasser Promotes HB 1476 (Financial Literacy)

Oklahoma Council on Economic Education director Sue Lynn Sasser is pleased to see the Oklahoma Legislature addressing the need for financial literacy in Oklahoma. HB 1476, the “Passport to Financial Literacy Act,” and its Senate counterpart would require schools to teach kids about savings, investinging, balancing a checkbook, understanding loans, insurance, and taxes and identify theft. Schools could offer the curriculum any time from 7th to 12th grade.
Read the Oklahoman story here.

Suzan Shown Harjo Curates DC Show

Suzan Shown Harjois curating a show at the District of Columbia Arts Center in Washington, DC entitled “American Icons through Indigenous Eyes.” It features works by 12 American Indian artists . Read the Washington Post article here and The Oklahoman article here. Harjo was born in 1945 in El Reno, Oklahoma. She has been the president of the Morning Star Institute since 1984. Read more on Harjo here.

Ann DeFrange, Role Models & Our Pioneer Woman

Ann DeFrange's May 1 column in The Oklahoman celebrates a quote usually attributed to Laurel Thatcher Ulrich that we used alot at N.E.W. Leadership Oklahoma: "Well behaved women rarely make history." DeFrange closes her column by mentioning a few of the women who have been role models for her over the years -- Rosa Parks, Hillary Clinton, the Pioneer Woman (who will sadly NOT be featured on the Oklahoma quarter; what is THAT all about?). Who are your women role models? Consider carefully: Who you pick says a lot about who you are and who you hope to become! (Actually, Ulrich isn't a bad role model herself!)