OKLAHOMA CITY – On Nov. 6, Native American students from across Oklahoma gathered at the Paycom Center to celebrate the Oklahoma City Thunder’s fourth annual Native American Student Day. 

The event was moderated by motivational speaker, actor and life coach Chance Rush (Hidatsa) and featured a panel discussion with Emcee One (Osage/Potawatomi/Delaware), Ace Greenwood (Chickasaw), Sarah Adams-Cornell (Choctaw) and Justin Yahola (Chickasaw).

“The panel really talked about standing up for your rights, standing up for the goodness of the human race, education, understanding your culture and leaning toward what you want to become or what you want to do,” Rush said. “I’ve had the privilege of knowing this panel from, not just here in Oklahoma but all across the United States. For all of them to be here in Oklahoma on a platform like this to share with our young leadership, it was great. I’m grateful they talked about education, culture and leadership. I know sometimes we can see the Thunder as a game of basketball, but what the Thunder do is they really bring to light the importance of American and Oklahoman history and culture. It’s important to be reminded of how important it is to understand your culture, to respect a culture and to be mindful and lean toward the goodness so that we can contribute to the human race.”

After the panel discussion, students were treated to a performance by the Blazing Bear drum circle, dancers and a stickball presentation provided by First Americans Museum. 

“(The event) is filled with 40 vendors and 1,300 students from across Indian Country here today,” Michelle Matthews, Thunder director of fan development and retail, explained. “We had a stickball presentation on the court from First Americans Museum and several health, education and tribal resource booths located on the concourse for the kids to explore today before the game.”

Students were also invited to attend the game between the Thunder and the Atlanta Hawks, during which the Thunder also celebrated its annual Native American Heritage Night. 

“You’re going to see performances from local natives, including Blazing Bear drum circle, as well as a few fancy dancers,” Matthews said. “We have live Native artists on the concourse tonight and then First Americans Museum will be showcasing ‘Grandma Turtle’ and the new exhibits that are coming to their location.” 

Cherokee Nation citizen and youngest artist to win a Native American music award Ava Rose Johnson also performed the National Anthem before the game.

“The Oklahoma City Thunder really look forward to Native American Student Day every year,” Matthews said. “It’s all about fellowship. We don’t want this to be just about traditions and what’s rooted in the past, but also what’s ahead. They’re the next generation that’s to come and we want them to know that they’re supported by the Oklahoma City Thunder.”

Leslie Barlow is a lover of science fiction, as well as an artist and community educator. While she grew up in a self-professed family of “Black nerds,” she knew that being into science fiction wasn’t always looked at as being “cool.” 

“I went to my first sci-fi convention, and once I found that space, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, there’s so many of us.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh, wait, not quite’… there wasn’t a huge, you know, Black and brown representation at that convention.” 

Although she enjoyed sharing her passion for comics, she felt like an outsider as a Black person in a mostly white community. 

This feeling would eventually lead to the creation of ConFluence. 

“This has been a crazy project. Definitely a labor of love,” said Barlow, who produced the event.

“Everybody that’s involved is like, really passionate about seeing this space happen.” 

ConFluence is a pop culture convention. Like other comic conventions, ConFluence will feature guests, vendors, panels and a dance party. The event is special because it’s meant for people of color and Indigenous people.

“It’s BIPOC-centered and BIPOC-led,” Barlow said.

“We really wanted to make sure that Black, Indigenous and people of color were prioritized and centered in this space, which isn’t typically the case in sci-fi conventions.” 

The idea to create the convention began at Barlow’s wedding, which had a cosplay theme. As Barlow saw the sea of brown and Black faces dressed as characters from popular media, she knew a space for nerds of color, by nerds of color could work.  

“Wearing a costume allowed them to be a little bit more social and a little bit more free with connecting with people they didn’t know,” Barlow said. 

After assembling her own team of X-Men, Barlow and her collaborators started the work of creating the space she had been dreaming of. 

“We started meeting in March 2023 … that’s been nine months. A baby, we have birthed a baby.” 

Ashley Koudou helps artists of color expand their brands and audience with her agency, Mango Day. Through serving as the project manager on the convention, Koudou saw the space as an opportunity for people to express themselves in ways they might not have been able to in the past. 

“I can’t wait to do more of like, this kind of stuff. This is exactly why I like got into this business.” 

Koudou sees the convention as part of a larger movement among Minneapolis’s artists of color to create spaces for themselves, rather than waiting for opportunities from others. 

“We’re seeing this activation, where they’re stepping back and essentially, building something for their own.” 

ConFluence prioritizes working with local, community-based partners for organizing their event, focusing on a grassroots funding method.

“Building this foundation, brick by brick by brick allows us to stay in control of the narrative. And that’s something that I think is slightly different than a lot of other places,” said Esther Callahan, one of the event’s organizers. 

As a mixed-race woman, Callahan knows how powerful representation can be. She recalls seeing Uhura on Star Trek pursue an interracial relationship.  

“It really is world-changing, life-changing soul changing generationally,” Callahan said, reflecting how media and art can shift perspectives. 

“One of the best things about art is that if you pay attention to it, it’s already telling us what’s happening in the world.” 

She hopes ConFluence will foster conversations between science fiction, pop culture and their audiences, exploring their mutual influence.

“Artists are creating futures that will just become a thing. We see this happening in movies, in TV shows, in magazines and comic books.”