Jackie Sevier
(Northern Arapaho)
President
As an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, she is proud of her Native American heritage. Jackie (Allen) Sevier was born in Riverton, Wyoming into a very large family of strong independent women. Legends and traditions of her native Wind River Reservation in Wyoming are often subjects for her unique works of art.
Residing in the heart of the Nebraska sand hills near the small community of Seneca, her family encourages her to develop her talent and career at every opportunity. As a former competitor, her husband Jim, a former PRCA saddle bronc rider, their children Chessney and son Jesse, and granddaughter Jymie competing in rodeo is also an important part of her life and is often inspiration.
Continuing to study, Jackie credits “the greats who have not only taught me technique but expression, dedication, and determination. Some of these people have been Benjamin Harjo, JR, King Kuka, and Reynold Brown.
As Jackie’s work becomes recognized, awards and honors are accumulating, winning Best of Division for graphics at the prestigious Santa Fe Indian Market, the Aplan award, the Diedrich award, and the Bonnie Ericksen Award at the Red Cloud Indian Art Show. The National Campaign Office for the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian has commissioned work. More of Jackie’s works can be found in private, corporate, and university collections throughout the United States, Japan, Australia, Germany, South Africa, and Great Britain.
Awards include honors at the Santa Fe Indian Market, Santa Fe, NM; Heard Fair, Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ: Cherokee Art Market, Tulsa, OK; Northern Plains Indian Art Market, Sioux Falls, SD; Red Earth Festival, Oklahoma City, OK; Cahokia Contemporary Indian Art Show, Collinsville, IL; Inter-Tribal Ceremonial, Gallup, NM; Lawrence Indian Art Show, Lawrence, KS; Artesian Arts Festival, Chickasaw Nation, Sulphur, Ok.
Jackie’s works have been included in “Let the Spirit Speak”, Pope VI Institute of the Arts, Washington, DC: “Our Way Continues”, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, The Sioux Indian Museum, Rapid City, SD, Museum of Anthropology, Lawrence, KS; “Influences of our Grandparents”, Oscar Howe Museum, Mitchell, SD; and “Heart Dreams and Legends”, a joint indigenous exhibit that toured the US and Australia. Her works were also included at the Brinton Memorial Museum, Sheridan, WY: “The Cowboy, Rodeo & WYO Rodeo”, “West of the Mississippi”, “Ladies’ Choice”,
Traci Rabbit
(Cherokee)
Vice-President
Keeping one foot steeped in my Cherokee roots and the other exploring the possibilities of applying modern technology, I continue to build upon the legacy my father Bill Rabbit left behind. Never forgetting without God and family none of this would be possible.
Gary McNeil, DVM
Treasurer
I graduated from Oklahoma State University from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1976. My degree allowed me to become friends with Ben & Barbara Harjo’s as their “family physician.” It began with a rabbit named Bunny (which is in several of Ben’s paintings) and caring for their multiple children – the cats. I was Ben’s best friend for close to 40 years. Our legendary every Friday pursuit of meaningless minutia from garage and estate sales included him collecting books, typewriters, cameras, old photos, and explorations of obscure lunches. My interest was Ben’s stories, Native American Art, and Fred Harvey jewelry and stuff. Our predominant purpose was to escape work and our lovely wives, both named Barbara. Our knowledge of things of absolutely no value became extensive, but the search for trivia was the story!
Mariah Ashbacher, Ph.D.
Secretary
I am currently a professor of art history. I earned my doctorate from the University of
Oklahoma. I have taught at Oklahoma City Community College, the University of
Oklahoma and New Mexico State University. I have museum training in curatorial,
collections management, and archive departments. I have been a close personal friend
of the Harjos since 2018. I first met Ben and Barbara while working with Barbara for
First American Art Magazine. I fell in love with Ben Harjo when, at a retirement dinner
for a friend and colleague, Ben spent the entire dinner connecting and conversing with
my 16-year-old daughter, who was my companion for the evening. My daughter fell in
love with Ben, too, that evening. I moved with her family to Oklahoma City in 2009, my
husband being a native of Moore, OK. Originally, I am from Pensacola, FL. Aside from
serving on the board of the benjamin harjo jr. Artist Fund, I am also working with
Barbara to build the Benjamin Harjo, Jr. Archives.
Virgil Harry III
(Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma)
Member At-Large
Retired after 30 years as Vice President and Counsel of a small, privately run family business in the field of residential and commercial real estate finance. Primarily responsible for working on completing the necessary details of various commercial real estate transactions. Additional responsibilities included working on regulatory compliance matters and managing the employee benefit programs.
Through the years, Doris Littrell and her Oklahoma Indian Art Gallery in Oklahoma City opened my world to the world of Native American art and artists. That gallery provided not just a springboard for collecting art but also the opportunity to become acquainted and friends with many artists, to hear their stories and learn of their creative processes. Even with the Oklahoma Indian Art Gallery no longer in operation, the opportunity to meet and support native artists is still important to me in a number of ways by attending art shows such as the Heard Museum, Santa Fe Indian Market, the Cherokee Art Market, the Chickasaw Art show, and the Red Earth art show.
Presently, I serve on the board of Red Earth, Inc.
Gena Timberman
(Choctaw)
Member At-Large
For over 25 years, Gena Timberman has committed her professional career to the pursuit of managing, planning, and guiding cultural projects in Indian Country toward successful completion. From 1999-2013, she championed the dream to build an American Indian Cultural Center and Museum – now First Americans Museum (FAM) – in Oklahoma. She has been mentored by some of Indian Country’s top leaders, and she has worked closely with city, state, county, federal, and tribal governments in varied matters of site and project development.
In 1996, Gena graduated from Oklahoma State University with a B.A. in English. She received the Outstanding Contribution to the Native American Community award. In 1999, she graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and currently focuses her practice on Indian Country business development, tribal consultation, workforce development, mediation, cultural tourism, and legal issues in cultural projects and museum administration.
Over the years, Gena has provided a multitude of local, statewide, national, and international public keynote speeches, presentations, and lectures, and enjoys proactively engaging the community with her podcast, Timber People.
In 2013, Gena formed Luksi Group, LLC, a consulting business that provides Project Management and cultural direction for creative design in Indian Country projects. Gena is most recently engaged as a Tribal Business Consultant on the Summit Carbon Solutions project to reduce the carbon footprint in Indian Country and engage communities in workforce development, MMIW law enforcement training, and other community investments near the project. She has been engaged in the development of the Santa Ynez Chumash Museum & Cultural Center and was a primary consultant in the planning of the Choctaw Cultural Center for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, as well as serving on the project management team to complete the First Americans Museum (FAM).
From cultural destinations to events, Gena draws from her talents and experience in project management, public engagement, tribal consultation, cultural and educational program development, and cultural awareness of First American tribes to plan successful and sustainable projects in Indian Country…projects that uplift relationships and reflect the diverse and beautiful values of Native cultures.
Lorrie Monteiro
Member At-Large
Originally, I hail from New England, where I grew up and went to college to become a dental hygienist. I worked for many years as a hygienist while raising three children. My husband, Andy, was a career medical officer in the USAF. We moved every two years and loved every place we were stationed. I took the opportunity to go back to school to follow my passion for history and anthropology. I received a BA in Anthropology from the University of Oklahoma and a masters in Public History from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, with a focus on collections care and the processes involved in establishing exhibits.
When my husband retired from the Air Force, we made Oklahoma City our home. I worked as a curator for a private art collector/philanthropist in Oklahoma City for two years. However, I felt a call to return to public entities, specifically museums and collections care. I was asked to be the curator/director of an old museum being brought into a new building in NE Oklahoma City, The American Pigeon Museum and Library. It was an opportunity of a lifetime to take a collection that was neglected in an old house and bring it to a new building next door, which was much bigger. I opened the museum in 2014. At first, we received very few visitors, but now we see so many visitors every weekend.
My husband and I have been married for 45 years, and we have three children and four grandchildren. We are active in many facets of our community. Andy is a family practitioner and volunteers in a couple of free clinics in OKC. As you can see, I am very passionate about collections care, but also my family and my dog 🙂 and my community.
Barbara Harjo
(Cherokee Descent)
Advisory Member
I am currently a professor of art history. I earned my doctorate from the University of
Oklahoma. I have taught at Oklahoma City Community College, the University of
Oklahoma and New Mexico State University. I have museum training in curatorial,
collections management, and archive departments. I have been a close personal friend
of the Harjos since 2018. I first met Ben and Barbara while working with Barbara for
First American Art Magazine. I fell in love with Ben Harjo when, at a retirement dinner
for a friend and colleague, Ben spent the entire dinner connecting and conversing with
my 16-year-old daughter, who was my companion for the evening. My daughter fell in
love with Ben, too, that evening. I moved with her family to Oklahoma City in 2009, my
husband being a native of Moore, OK. Originally, I am from Pensacola, FL. Aside from
serving on the board of the benjamin harjo jr. Artist Fund, I am also working with
Barbara to build the Benjamin Harjo, Jr. Archives.
John Yoeckle
Advisory Member
Bio coming soon…
Read an article from the OSU Museum of Art about the art instalation “From Here to There” that was on display at the museum in 2024. They displayed 86 original works of Ben’s spanning the length of his artistic career. OSU MUSEUM OF ART ARTICLE –>