Presented by the Oklahoma Arts Council, a special conversation event featuring National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Mary Anne Carter took place July 30 at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. Moderated by Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Amber Sharples, the discussion centered on the role of the arts and the NEA in meeting important needs across the nation and the state. Topics included arts and health; service to veterans; rural and economic development; folk/traditional arts and cultural heritage; 250 years of American independence; the Route 66 centennial; and, more.
The event also featured a performance by Comanche flutist Timothy Tate Nevaquaya (son of NEA National Heritage Fellow Doc Tate Nevaquaya); welcoming remarks by Oklahoma Arts Council Chair Barbara Braught, Chickasaw Nation Secretary of Culture & Humanities Lisa John, and First Americans Museum Deputy Director Shoshana Wasserman (Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, Muscogee Nation); an opening prayer song by John Hamilton (Kiowa, Caddo, Cheyenne, Wichita); and, a presentation of a Governor's commendation to Chairman Carter by Oklahoma Arts Council Vice-Chair John Kennedy.
