Article National Museum of the American Indian blog on Thursday, May 23 

“Our house is trashed. Time to rebuild. I’m just sad for those kids that died.” —Charley Eisenberger (Kiowa), upon seeing his home after the Moore, Oklahoma, tornado

My colleagues and I at the National Museum of the American Indian offer sincere condolences to the people affected by the recent, severe tornadoes in Oklahoma. More than 20 American Indian families lost their homes in this disaster. Their tribal affiliations include Arapaho, Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Delaware, Jicarilla Apache, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Shawnee.

In addition to the Moore tornado, tornadoes displaced and affected American Indian families in the communities of Shawnee, Bethel, and Little Axe. Rain and flash floods are expected today in Oklahoma as families clean up their homes and begin to rebuild their lives.

So many tribal and non-tribal individuals, government agencies, and nonprofit groups are working to provide assistance. I’d like to shine a light on one of them, to give people outside Oklahoma a sense of the grassroots efforts among people there. I hope this organization can serve as a stand-in for all the people we’d like to thank for their good work.

The Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference (OIMC) Disaster Relief Team—whose mission is to provide direct support, care, and assistance to American Indian victims of disasters—is serving as a focal point to coordinate Native relief efforts. Rev. David Wilson (Choctaw), dwilson@oimc.org, head of the OIMC Disaster Relief Team, has provided telephone numbers for people who need help or who want to provide assistance; the team can be reached at 918-724-1966 or 405-632-2006. Also, donations can be made online on their website at http://www.umc-oimc.org/ Checks can be mailed to The Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, 3020 S. Harvey, OKC. OK 73109 Attn: Disaster Relief.


Other local organizations have come together behind OIMC, including the Jacobson House Foundation and the Oklahoma Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). “I have full confidence in them,” says Cortney Yarholar (Creek/Pawnee/Otoe), senior tribal prevention specialist for SPRC in Oklahoma. “They have protocols in place that allow them to assist tribal families in a comprehensive way, addressing immediate needs, such as shelter, food, clothing, to longer-term life-changing help, such as rebuilding homes and offering grief support, which is vital for many months and sometimes years to come.”

To the many people coming together behind the work of recovery and rebuilding, Cortney says, “Thank you for understanding and taking the time to join our efforts to provide direct support to Native families. Our Indian people are great people, and your generosity, love, and kind words have been very humbling.”


Tracey Satepauhoodle-Mikkanen, secretary of the Jacobson Foundation, echoes Cortney’s words. “Ah-ho [thank you] to everyone who wants to contribute to this cause.”

I'd like to join them both in saying thank you and to let people in Moore and other affected communities know that we're thinking of them as they work to support each other and move forward.

—Dennis Zotigh, NMAI

Dennis Zotigh (Kiowa/San Juan Pueblo/Santee Dakota) is a writer and cultural specialist at the National Museum of the American Indian. Before joining the Smithsonian, he lived in Moore and helped develop the American Indian Gallery of the new Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.
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