Quapaw Tribe bridges gap, to commemorate tribe’s history

The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma this week hosted “Bridging the Gap” conference at Downstream Casino.

Chairman Joseph Tali Byrd tells Newstalk KZRG that the event brings together federal agencies and other tribal nations. “There’s folks from all around the country coming into Quapaw and its a great opportunity to have discussions centered around observation around indigenous rights, indigenous treaty rights and how those are impacted by agency decisions and agency actions.”

Chairman Byrd says a big topic at the conference is the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. “With tribal ancestral lands all across the country, now encompass in public lands or national parks/forests, there are remains of our ancestors there,” said Byrd. “When those artifacts are unearthed its up to federal agencies and other actors to consult with the tribes on how to best go about addressing those items.”

He says best case scenario is that the tribe gets to make decisions about what happens with those remains and ancestral objects that are found.

Byrd also spoke about a new book coming out that highlights the history of the Quapaw Tribe. The title of it is ‘The 150th Powwow’, which takes a look at the second-longest running powwow in the nation. “It’s the celebration of another treaty,” said Byrd. “We struck a treaty with the United States…when that payment finally came from the federal government, we had a celebration.”

Watch the full interview below: