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Bright history, vibrant future

 “Everything you would expect to see will be there,” said Shoshana Wasserman, director of communications and cultural tourism for the Native American Cultural and Educational Authority (NACEA). “The last three or four years has been about the funding and not the cultural experience people will have. This (museum) will change the minds of people from […]

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UPDATE: Arts consolidation bill approved in committee

+++ A state House committee will conduct a hearing Thursday morning on a measure that could consolidate three agencies into the Tourism, History and Cultural Department. Those agencies are the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Arts Council.  The House Government Modernization panel will discuss the issue at 10:30 […]

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Bright future

Photo by Mark Hancock “Today, we think of billboards as this rectangle thing on a pole,” said Kathy Anderson of the the Bethany Improvement Foundation. But in the heyday of Route 66, billboards were often lower to the ground, displayed hand-painted art or art deco design and sometimes even were three-dimensional structures with people inside […]

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Indian museum builds culture, future

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal;mso-outline-level:1″><span style=" Times New Roman” ,”serif”;mso-fareast-times=”” new=”” roman”;=”” mso-font-kerning:18.0pt;mso-fareast-language:es-bo”=””> My grandmother was raised near Atoka and was told as a child to never tell someone she was a Native American because it was not something to be proud of, because “Indians are drunks and lazy.” We have come so far. As a […]

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The facts about a convention center hotel

Let me be specific concerning the details. First, Shadid refers to a study conducted by Convention, Sports & Leisure International for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. The councilmen, along with numerous members of the local media, have reviewed the full study in our offices. The study does contemplate the need for a headquarters hotel as […]

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Finish what we started

Despite what a 30-second sound bite or “tunnelvision” information says about the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, it needs to be finished. In Oklahoma, we are not quitters, and just because it’s taken a long time doesn’t mean it doesn’t need to come to fruition. Many obstacles have been thrown at it since it […]

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Re-examine the convention center

To replace it, we must keep our eyes on two goals: designing a convention center that best serves our present and future needs and conducting the design process with openness and transparency. Few dispute the fact that convention business has tanked nationally, particularly regarding larger conventions. The Oct. 13 Wall Street Journal reported on the […]

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A new hope

When it finally opens, the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, located at Interstate 40 and Eastern Avenue, is expected to become an international tourism destination. Securing additional funds, however, continues to be the last major hurdle to completing construction that began six years ago. NACEA Executive Director Blake Wade said he’s counting on $40 […]

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