May News Byte 2025
It's almost Radical Community Summer 🔥
Hello, Verified News Community! As spring turns up the heat and summer rolls in, we’re energized by the momentum and the impact we’re building together at VNN. We’re excited to tell you all about it in our latest News Byte - so please read on!
May started off strong with our first stop of VNN Oklahoma’s Listening and Learning Tour on the Muscogee Reservation. Held at Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness in Tulsa, it was a great evening discussing news needs and community involvement.
VNN also teamed up with Osage News to host the second tour stop at the Osage News headquarters in Pawhuska on May 22.
This event was a totally different listening and learning experience and we are feeling so encouraged about this deeply collaborative process. We plan on sharing all of our findings with our community at the end of 2025.
Next stop, Tahlequah!
The month of May was full of other big announcements, including the revealing of VNN Oklahoma’s new Report For America corps member! Our team is thrilled to share Russell Sun Eagle (Pawnee) is starting with us soon.
Russell will cover VNN OK’s Native District, here in the heart of Indian Country!
Help support the important work Russell will be doing! Donate today.
In other journalistic collaborations, VNN welcomed KOSU Radio as our newest affiliate. KOSU is an important part of Oklahoma’s media ecosystem and a strong producer of Indigenous-focused coverage.
With federal funding for public media under threat, collaboration is more important than ever. Together, we’re standing up for community-powered, independent journalism in Oklahoma.
Our last collaboration update- registration is now open for our N8V Dance Fitness and Maker Classes with Michelle Reed and Simon Washee!
Three days of classes will be held at Hicks Park Community Center at the end of June.
If you are interested in connecting to your Native American heritage through dance and maker classes, please register on Eventbrite. And make sure to pass the good news along to your friends and family!
VNN Oklahoma was honored to provide the t-shirts for MMIP Awareness Day at the Capitol this month.
Operations Manager Brittany Harlow and Community Engagement and Cultural Coordinator Trista Vaughn (United Keetoowah Band, Hualapai, and Chickasaw) took the opportunity to speak about the work VNN OK is doing to raise awareness of MMIP through our MMIWG2T Historical Reporting Project.
Our team leveraged the Indian Rights Association Database through the Tulsa-City County Library to publish four stories as part of this project.
These stories included an exploration of the lives of Zitkala-Ša, a waymaker of MMIP awareness, and Ledcie Stechi, a child who was left to die by her corrupt guardian.
More stories in this series will be released in June.
#BREAKINGNEWS Just hours after VNN Oklahoma reported that UINO was urging lawmakers to override Stitt’s veto of an MMIP bill, the House did, followed by a late-night override by the Senate!
In other political news, VNN’s Brittany Harlow reconnected with Mental Health Providers to talk about the one-year anniversary of the transition to Managed Care Oklahoma and the challenges they are still facing.
The full interview can be viewed on VNN’s YouTube Channel.
And federal politics continue to have an impact on Indigenous issues in Oklahoma. We spoke with the National Native American Boarding School (NABS) Healing Coalition after they found out their federal funding had been terminated.
NABS also discussed their efforts to preserve Indian Boarding School history and help families across the United States navigate it.
There are a lot of good people doing good work to remember and honor history.
Including those who organized a celebration on “Kate Barnard Day” earlier this month, the day of the advocate’s 150th birthday.
Barnard, the first woman elected to a statewide office in the U.S, was run out of politics for working to expose Oklahoma’s probate scandal and other Allotment Era injustice.
Learn more about Allotment Era injustice and modern-day impacts at this year’s “Indigenous Roots” American Indian History Symposium, slated for October 4-5 this year. More details will be released soon!
We’ve got a lot going on — and we don’t want you to miss a thing. Here’s how you can stay up to speed:
Save the VNN App to your phone’s home screen for fast, one-tap access to the latest news and updates.
Follow us on social media to stay connected, share your voice, and build community with us.
Visit our Latest News Feed for breaking stories and in-depth coverage, updated daily.
As part of our Verified News Community, you’re fueling a movement. Every time you engage, you help build a future where Native voices lead in media and tech. We’re grateful to have you with us — this journey is ours to walk together.
With appreciation,
The VNN Team