Nex Benedict update, headright recovery, and Choctaw-Irish friendship
VNN Weekly Digest March 11-17
Here’s a look at the week’s top stories:
Cause of death released in Nex Benedict case
(OKLAHOMA) It’s been over a month since the death of Nex Benedict, a non-binary Owasso High School student who received national attention following their tragic end. On Wednesday, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released their Summary Report of Benedict’s death, ruling it a suicide.
Can new legislation help recover a lost headright?
(OSAGE NATION) Bart Perrier is a history buff and genealogy enthusiast. When he’s not campaigning for Osage County Sheriff, he takes the opportunity to step back in time and research his storied Perrier family heritage, starting with his great-grandfather, Robert Lee Perrier. On the walls of his tidy house outside Barnsdall, Okla., are photos of Robert, his grandfather Robert Lee “Bob” Perrier Jr., along with other Perrier family members.
Friendship fest celebrates Choctaw-Irish “Kindred Spirits”
(CHOCTAW NATION) For nearly two centuries, the people of Choctaw Nation and Ireland have celebrated a “Kindred Spirits” bond, woven together by the threads of compassion and the fight to survive colonialism. The bond was originally formed in 1847, during the Great Famine in Ireland. Also known as the Great Hunger, it was a period of starvation and disease, killing nearly 1 million Irish over the course of seven years.
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WEATHER ACROSS AMERICA
(NATIONAL) Heavy lake-effect snow downwind from Lakes Erie and Ontario, snow over the Southwest and Southern Rockies, a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over parts of the Central Gulf Coast, and a Marginal Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Central Gulf Coast and Florida.
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