Tribal Member Curtis Zunigha Selected for 2021 AARP Oklahoma Indian Elder Honors

Curtis Zunigha, 68, is a 5th-generation resident of Washington County, OK whose Delaware Indian ancestors arrived in Indian Territory in 1867. He is an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians based in Bartlesville. (www.delawaretribe.org) He is currently employed at the Delaware Tribe Cultural Center and is a practitioner of Delaware/Lenape history, culture, language, customs & traditions.

Beginning in 1984 his tribal service has included various roles in managing Operations, Housing, and Social Services. He has also been elected to the Tribal Council (1984-88 and 2004-08). From 1994-1998 Curtis Zunigha was elected and served as the Chief of the Delaware Tribe of Indians. In 1995 Chief Zunigha was appointed by Governor Frank Keating to the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission where he served two terms.

Mr. Zunigha has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from North Texas State University (1980) and an Associate Degree in Broadcasting from Rogers State College, Oklahoma (1986). From 1988-1995 he was producer/host of “Drum Beats” a Native American community affairs television program on KXON-TV at Rogers State College in Claremore. Curtis served as the Manager of the American Indian/Alaska Native Population Program for the U.S. Census Bureau in Washington, D.C, during the 2010 Census. He also serves as a Co-Director of the Lenape Center (www.thelenapecenter.com) a non-profit arts & culture organization based in New York City.

Curtis Zunigha is third-generation U.S. military veteran having served in the U.S. Air Force (1972-78). Today he is a member of the Lenape Veterans Color Guard and Lenape Gourd Dance Society.