He was a little reluctant, said Robert Anquoe. “He didn’t know how to react.”
The treasurer of the Tulsa Indian Club recalled delivering news to Clark Inkanish that the club wished to honor him at the 60th Tulsa Powwow, held the last weekend of July in Bixby.
“His words were that there are other people ‘more worthy,’” Anquoe said, quoting Inkanish.
The club and the Tulsa Indian community see it differently. The weekend of dance, art, craft, drumming, singing and Native custom would be devoted to recognizing the Tulsa resident who knows how to pray. Ceremony, some might say, is Inkanish’s calling.
Growing up in Anadarko, Inkanish is the son of Joseph and Ruby Ross Inkanish. From the Wichita, Cheyenne and Caddo tribes, he was primarily raised by his grandparents, James Dunlap Inkanish and Mary Little Bear Inkanish. They gained notice as proficient craftspeople with knowledge of tanning and beadwork in a time when the world was eager to learn more of American Indians and their art. The 1977 book Dance Around the Sun tells the story of Mary Inkanish, her work and fame.
Inkanish remembers his grandparents more intimately.
“Grandfather had some history of being a medicine person. They were the two who introduced me to the Circle of Life, but he died when I was little,” he said.
When Inkanish talks about the Circle of Life, he isn’t exactly referring to the Disney movie The Lion King. It’s the sphere of human existence experienced mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. In the middle is the Creator. That circle manifests in many ways, such as a powwow with its center drum, he said.
“Some see it as a social event, which it most certainly it is, but I look at is another form of the Circle of Life,” he said. “The drum is the heart, it represents the Creator. I’ve seen some marvelous activities take place there. I’ve seen people, who have felt ill, gather in the arena and dance and be around the drum and feel better.”
Inkanish finished high school and left an after-school job working the mailroom and press for the Anadarko Daily News to attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant and study to teach psychology and sociology. Several years later and after a string of enrollment at other schools, he earned his Bachelor of Science in chemical dependency therapy. Inkanish, who is also a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran, has served as director of Tulsa Indian Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, worked as consultant to the National Health Institute and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and been in private practice for treatment of chemical dependency. He has also served on numerous volunteer boards for groups such as the Tulsa Interfaith Alliance and Mental Health Association of Tulsa.
“I’ve always had a personal interest in other people’s lives – and Indian people in particular – having trouble experiencing the world and (using) chemical dependency,” he said.
Sometimes it helps to pray for them.
Inkanish and his wife Virginia, have been married for 51 or 52 years –neither or them remember exactly. They’ve lived in Tulsa for 35-40 years. They have three daughters, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild with two more are on the way.
The family has been a part of the Tulsa Indian Club and the Indian community far back when the Tulsa Powwow was held at Mohawk Park.
“Clark’s been involved in the Tulsa Indian Club as long as I can remember,” said Anquoe, whose uncle, Kenneth Anquoe, was an original member. “I’ve always seen him at powwows and various Indian events.”
Every year, the club honors an individual or couple and their family to recognize their contributions made to the Indian community. Inkanish was an obvious choice.
“His contribution is long standing, and he’s made some definite contributions on an Indian and non-Indian level,” Anquoe said. “On a spiritual level, he is one of our elders … People come to him for guidance, prayers, and he knows the ceremonies.”
Although Inkanish has served as a TIC member and supporter in various capacities over the years, he most relied on to perform prayers at events and to offer cedar ceremoniously for blessing. Friday, Inkanish “cedared” the SpiritBank Event Center arena for the dancing and singing that soon followed.
“All cultures offer prayer of some sort or kind to a deity they relate to,” he said. “I believe for the most part prayers are answered, and the answer is in the form of ‘yes’ or in the form of ‘no’ or the form of ‘wait.’ We can readily accept ‘yes,’ we can be satisfied accepting ‘no,’ but waiting for a prayer to be answered is more rigorous.”
Accepting patience in wait for an answered prayer is an exercise for the soul. Inkanish is not a medicine man or healer, and he does not hold the answers.
“People make some assumptions that I’m the one who would do that,” he said. “All I do is pray. The Creator is the one who takes care of the blessings and answers prayer. All I do is offer it.”
From the Cheyenne dance grounds near Clinton, Okla., where he was first introduced into the arena and Circle of Life to today, Inkanish looks forward to the Tulsa Powwow every year for the spirit and for more moments he’ll never forget, such as one powerful dance in which two elders stood together throughout a particularly energetic song.
“The energy was so unique that when they finished drumming, there was not another song until those two gentlemen separated,” he said. “It was so powerful. I’m reluctant to use the word ‘powerful.’ It makes me cry to think about it.”
Clark Inkanish, U.S. Special Forces veteran and honoree of the 60th Tulsa Powwow, finishes the Saturday afternoon gourd dance last weekend. Inkanish will continue to be recognized at Tulsa Indian Club events throughout the year for his contributions to the community.
KAREN SHADE | NATIVE AMERICAN TIMES PHOTO