Osage Nation and area schools to dedicate unique Osage County map and education exhibits

From the Osage Nation Office of Strategic Planning & Self-Governance

RE: PUBLIC EVENT

This map and exhibit information is featured at the Osage Language immersion school for ages six weeks to kindergarten age. TheOsage Hills, illustrated in black on the map, are located in north central and north eastern Oklahoma and arecommonly referred to asThe Osage. The area is filled with broad rolling hills and a rare, dense and intact tallgrass prairie. This area is also a southern portion of the Kansas Flint Hills, named for the abundant residual flinteroded from the bedrock beneath the surface.

Pawhuska, OK, (Thursday, January 19, 2017)โ€” The public is invited to attend the Dedication Ceremony of the new Osage/Flint Hills Map & Education Program at 2:00 pm, Monday, January 23, at the Osage Nation Law Building, room 121, 1071 Grandview Lane, Pawhuska.

Map exhibits are being installed in a number of schools and locations across Osage County including: Wah-Zha-Zhe Early Learning Academy; Osage Interpretive Center; Pawhuska, Woodland, Shidler, and Hominy Public School Districts; Pawhuska Tri-County Tech; Osage Nation Education Department; and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.

The colorful exhibits and education program were created by a grassroots team of teachers, scientists, ranchers and experts, designed to give students a deeper understanding and pride in their remarkable place in the world, the Osage / Flint Hills region. These amazing educational tools are now available to Osage/Flint Hills area schools and colleges at no cost. The initiative is funded through private donations. More than 184 schools in Oklahoma and Kansas are participating.

โ€œChief Geoffrey Standing Bear will thank the sponsors and dedicate this first-of-its-kind map exhibit and place-based educational program to all our youth,โ€ said Debra Atterberry, Strategic Planning and Self-Governance Analyst for the Osage Nation.

Another example of the exhibit information provided to area schools and collges at no cost and fully finded by donations.

When contacted for comment Chief Standing Bear said, โ€œThis is more than a class about a map. I learned we are living in an ancient and rare ecosystem of nature and we must seek ways to respect its marvelous qualities.โ€

For more information, see www.flinthillsdiscovery.org/map or call the Debra Atterberry, Osage Nation Strategic Planning and Self-Governance Analyst, at 918-287-5434.

For Media Inquiries: Osage Nation Communications 918-287-5599

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