NAFPS Forum

I believe that "Ardy Sixkiller Clarke" was born Ardys Annastine Chambers in West Virginia.

Parents of Ardys Annastine Chambers
George Franklin Chambers
B: 27 Mar 1908 - Belpre, Washington, Ohio, USA
D: 18 Apr 1989 - West Virginia, USA
Geneva Lorraine Crouse
B: 8 Jul 1923 - Boomer, Fayette, West Virginia, USA
D: 8 Oct 2006 - Beckley, Raleigh, West Virginia, USA

Find a Grave - George Franklin Chambers: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31880785/george-franklin-chambers
Find a Grave - Geneva Lorraine (Crouse) Chambers: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32071532/geneva_chambers

In 1965, Ardys Annastine Chambers married Phillip Dale Clarke in West Virginia.

West Virginia, U.S., Marriages Index, 1785-1971
Name...................Ardys Annastine Chambers
Gender.................Female
Spouse's Name......Phillip Dale Clarke
Spouse Gender......Male
Marriage Date.......1965
Marriage Place.......Marshall, West Virginia, United States

Records show Ardys remarried at least two more times. Her name was recorded as "Ardys Sixkiller Clarke" in 1995 and 2000. It would appear that Ardys legally added Sixkiller to her name either as part of her divorce proceedings or through separate legal action. She went by the name Bowker at another point in time.

Nevada, U.S., Marriage Index, 1956-2005
Name...............................Ardys Sixkiller Clarke
Gender.............................Female
Residence State.................Montana
Spouse.............................Hasari Tosun
Spouse Residence State......Montana
Marriage Date...................18 Jul 1995
Marriage County................Washoe
Recorded Date..................19 Jul 1995
Recorded city....................Reno

Nevada, U.S., Marriage Index, 1956-2005
Name......................Ardys Sixkiller Clarke
Gender....................Female
Spouse...................Cyprian Jorgos Szczygiel
Marriage Date..........25 Jun 2000
Marriage County.......Clark
Officiant type...........Religious celebrant
Recorded Date.........29 Jun 2000
Recorded county.......Clark

Sixkiller is commonly known to be a Cherokee surname. Ardys choosing to use that name professionally, without a family connection, is a red flag. 

Sixkiller Surname Information Link: https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=sixkiller

Based on a quick look at Ardy's genealogy and the name change red flag, my money is on her not being Native American. Photos of Ardys Chambers from the 1962 West Virginia University Institute of Technology yearbook and Ardy Sixkiller Clarke are attached for comparison.

Got a request about her. Has anyone done her genealogy? She now claims Choctaw as well as Cherokee.

There are some interesting reviews of her book.

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https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/1933665726/ref=acr_dp_hist_2?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=two_star&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar
"Coffee Klatching the Aliens"
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
I try to avoid leaving negative reviews, but sometimes a book is so off-the-mark that it really needs to be flagged. I have a semi-professional interest in anthropological and socio-psychological aspects of so-called UFO phenomena. I purchased this book on AMAZON expecting a detailed account of ancient Star Elder myths (much like Jacques Valee & Chris Aubeck's WONDERS IN THE SKY). If that is what you are looking for, better keep looking; this book isn't it.

Be advised that this book relates almost exclusively incidents from the post-WWII to early-2000 period collected by the author while she apparently coffee-klatched her way around the reservations while on holiday from the Univ. of Montana. The only "mythic" material presented here are some vague allusions to how "Our Elders once knew the Star People" and similar off-hand generalizations.

People already familiar with published UFO lore will find nothing new in this book. In fact, much of the material seems to be merely so much rehash of classic cases, like the Betty and Barney Hill "missing time" incident of 1961 (better told in INTERRUPTED JOURNEY), and stories that quite frankly appear to be thinly disguised reiterations of certain plot elements from TWILIGHT ZONE and OUTER LIMITS episodes, films like INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, and other well-circulated science-fiction stories in the wider public domain. Even the book's title ("ENCOUNTERS...") seems frankly derivative.

After reading the first three or four chapters, the monotonous regularity of the presentation, plodding quality of the prose style, and lack of memorable details in many of the recounted stories made the book a real effort to endure. (The author assures us she has at least a couple more books-worth of such collected material...onerous news at best.) Sadly, only one or two of the recounted incidents exhibit the uncanny hallmark of "high strangeness" which [the late] Dr. J. Allen Hynek identified as typifying the best "authentic" UFO encounters. In short, the presented material here is so bland that it actually becomes quite boring to read.

The book's back cover bio identifies the author as "a noted researcher" (a quick Google check revealed she is primarily a children's book author). Not surprisingly, the author's data gathering methodology, which involved presenting gift bags of groceries and/or cartons of cigarettes to her interview subjects and/or meeting them for lunch(!) doesn't strike the proper tone for how a real "noted researcher" conducts serious field interviews (..."Hey, aren't you the lady collecting stories for a book?"). Researcher bias, as you might expect under such circumstances, becomes a significant issue that contaminates the data.

Most significantly, there is no serious discussion of the reliability of her witnesses (some of whom even leave the distinct impression of having enjoyed putting-one-over on the Professor). The fact that so many of her interviews end with the note that "only [n]-months following this interview the subject unexpectedly passed-away" does nothing to inspire confidence in the data. Nor is there any examination of competing/prevailing scholarly interpretations of the phenomena; Six-Killer Clarke simply hasn't done her homework. At one point the author even makes the embarrassing mistake of confusing "psychopath" with "sociopath", an error that any undergrad Psych-major would know enough to avoid. Most laughably, one female subject [supposedly a former Air Force tech] who claimed to be a half-alien hybrid, lifted her blouse to show the author that her navel was missing. One can only ponder how that subject managed to sneak that one past the USAF's DOdMERB examiners during her service physicals!

In my opinion this book contributes virtually nothing of substantive research value to the serious study of UFO-related mythical lore as recounted by Native American persons from different tribal/language groups (i.e., diverse American Indians). Some readers (mostly younger, I suspect) may find the book has some minimal entertainment value. For that reason I gave the book two stars, mainly out of pity.


Somewhat Interesting But Not Credible, Has Inconsistencies
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2014
Verified Purchase
...If you're looking for "credible", this is not the book. I am not explicitly stating that the stories told by the author are absolutely not true. However, it's a fact that the author is presenting no evidence whatsoever to support her thesis. Without any evidence, these stories are just what they are: stories. Might be and might not be true. Who knows? Anyone can write a good story, but not everyone can assert the story and support it with credible evidence. I personally strongly believe in the existence of intelligent beings on other planets in the Universe - it would be a statistical IMPOSSIBILITY for other intelligent life in the Universe (besides human beings) NOT TO exist. (For anyone interested, I strongly suggest Carl Sagan's book "Cosmos" - which is a masterpiece in itself.) I understand the author's obligation of keeping the identity of her study subjects anonymous. But that is primarily what makes me doubt the authenticity of these stories. If she has no evidence, and no one can ever know the identities of these people, how can anyone ever believe any of her stories? Sorry, just not enough evidence for me. What I found particularly disturbing and incredulous is that - somehow - the subjects were able to VERBALLY communicate with the extra-terrestrials in a manner of a regular conversation. Please. What are the ODDS of the ET's speaking the subjects' language? What are the ODDS of an ET from a remote world, completely different from our own, who can actually speak any Earth language? That is - in fact - a statistical impossibility. So once again, it's an interesting book, but not a very credible one. As I've moved further and further into the next, and the next story, I've noticed many "lesser" inconsistencies throughout the book, which convinced me even more that there is a serious possibility that the author had made up these stories. Here is an EXPLICIT EXAMPLE: If you go to page 33 (The story of Ross meeting a small alien in an Alaskan blizzard), the author states that the name of Ross's driving partner is "BILL". Now, if you flip to page 36, she changes Ross's driving partner name to "ED". So is it BILL or ED? She also once reffers to the subject as "Russ" and not "Ross". So is it RUSS or ROSS? These kinds of little things, ya know. And it's usually the "little things that give you away". Please don't fall for these stories, and read a real UFO book instead.

This is an excerpt from the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center website about the Potawatomi Trail of Death public art project. To be eligible, an artist must have a tribal affiliation that is recognized. Leah Yellowbird claims to be "First Nations Algonquin-Metis and Anishinaabe." I'm not sure what she means by "First Nations Algonquin-Metis" as Algonquin-Metis doesn't exist or really even make sense. I haven't been able to find anywhere she specifies an Anishinaabe tribe/band which is a red flag. In my opinion, based on Leah's genealogy, she could only enroll in a fake state recognized tribe because she is not Native American.

Artist Eligibility:
The public art opportunity is open to professional artists residing within the United States with a tribal affiliation that is recognized. If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact us at jcprdpublicart@jocogov.org.

Artist Stipend:
The artist stipend for this project is $100,000. This stipend, payable to the artist, is to include artist design fee, labor, fabrication, materials, transportation costs, a community engagement activity, and any mounting or hardware costs associated with the installation.

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Source: Heritage Park Public Art Project
Direct Link: https://www.jcprd.com/1968/Heritage-Park-Public-Art-Project
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/C2hvX#selection-831.0-839.1

The Johnson County Park and Recreation District (JCPRD) in Kansas, in collaboration with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, solicited designs for a public art project to commemorate the Potawatomi Trail of Death. Leah Yellowbird was chosen as one of three finalists to submit a design. Her design was chosen as the winner. Susan Mong, JCPRD Superintendent of Culture, said, “With all of our public art projects, we typically will put an artist call out. In this case, it was across the nation. So, anybody across the United States that had an affiliation with a Native American tribe was invited to apply."

Leah Yellowbird isn't Native American and wouldn't meet the qualifications to participate. I wonder if the JCPRD or Citizen Potawatomi Nation requested specific information from Leah about her claims of being Anishinaabe (or Algonquin and Metis) for verification. That information should be readily provided by Leah if she is claiming to be a Native American artist.

Public art project will soon take shape
December 12, 2024

Tribal members will be asked to contribute images to a public art project that commemorates the Potawatomi Trail of Death.

The Johnson County Park and Recreation District in Kansas, recently announced that “Fire Keepers Circle,” by artists Leah Yellowbird and Aaron Squadroni, was selected as the winning design from among three finalists.

“Fire Keepers Circle” is comprised of a panel that features four layers. The spiritual layer expresses the spirit of the fire keepers. The trail path shows the route from Indiana to Kansas. The ancestral layer represents the number of Potawatomi who made the journey in 1838. The contemporary layer will include submissions from Potawatomi tribal members that will be imprinted on the metal.

The piece will be fabricated over a period of five to six months and then installed in the park. An official ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony is tentatively scheduled for July of 2025.

The announcement follows months of research, planning and consultation with Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal members. JCPRD officials appreciate CPN’s help to reach this important milestone.

“I’m just really grateful for all of the relationship building and the number of participants from Citizen Potawatomi Nation that just really helped guide the process and provided really great input. I think the product is going to be amazing, but the process has been really beautiful to have everybody engaged,” said Susan Mong, JCPRD superintendent of culture.

Finalists carefully selected

Mong said the county recognized the unique nature of this public art project and knew they would need to consult Native American artists for this special work.

“With all of our public art projects, we typically will put an artist call out. In this case, it was across the nation. So, anybody across the United States that had an affiliation with a Native American tribe was invited to apply,” she said.

Three finalists were selected and received the goals of the project and a site visit. The finalists also received a stipend to develop a design.

“It’s always our practice to have or to support three artists and pay them for their creativity to come up with those concepts. We had this wonderful opportunity to share those three proposed designs not only with the community here in Johnson County, but also to bring those three designs down to the Reunion (Festival),” Mong said. “That was really special to engage members of CPN from across the country around those designers and find out what emotions each of the three designs evoked in everybody. That’s so that we can get a sense of what people are gravitating towards.”

Considering the community input, the art selection committee then selected the winner.
“The community input coalesced around who we ended up selecting. There seemed to be a lot of energy around ‘Fire Keepers Circle,’” she said. “All three artists that were finalists were so heartfelt in the time and energy and emotion that they put into creating their proposal.”

Next steps

Mong and other Johnson County officials are working with Yellowbird and Squadroni as the fabrication process begins. Community engagement will continue.

“The design of the piece includes three layers. One is a contemporary layer that has all of these metallic feathers that are meant to have a little movement that will flutter in the wind. The imprints on those feathers are going to be created by members of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation as a way to represent all of those lives and the beauty of the Tribe,” Mong said.

Tribal members will have an opportunity to create a design and submit it to artist Leah Yellowbird. The designs will be imprinted on the metallic feathers of the piece’s contemporary layer.

“That’s going to be a really neat way for people all over the country to make their mark on this piece through those individual feathers,” she said. “We’ll have also opportunities for people from all over the country to send a sentiment or a design or something that represents a loved one or something about their families.”

Installation is tentatively set for June 2025. A ribbon-cutting and celebration is planned for mid- to late July 2025. Mong is eager to welcome CPN visitors as well as Johnson County and other area residents.
Gaining understanding

The park receives more than 800,000 visitors annually. JCPRD officials are also preparing for a large increase in visitors when the 2026 FIFA World Cup visits the region. Mong is hopeful this new art piece will help local and international visitors gain a greater understanding of some aspects of American history.

Mong said many tribal Nations have their own removal stories but not every story is acknowledged. Working on the public art project has helped her gain a greater understanding of history, an experience she hopes others will appreciate.

“It’s been a really great journey for me to just learn about what that next generation is doing to keep the memory, to keep the story and that pride of that connection alive. I’m interested to learn more because I know that this is really the tip of the iceberg of other events that have happened around me and places I grew up,” she said.

In addition to the art, Mong said the county is planning an interpretive panel near the art that will explore some of the history involved. CPN will be involved in the production of the panel as well, she said.

Mong said she’s deeply grateful for the chance to meet Tribal citizens at the 2024 Family Reunion Festival and to connect with the Cultural Heritage Center staff.

“Everyone who did offer feedback at the Family Reunion, each comment was read by our committee and was appreciated,” she said. “I just want to say thank you to the (CPN) community and the staff of the Cultural Center. And for everybody that took time during the Festival to provide that feedback, it was really important and really appreciated.”

To learn more about the Johnson County Heritage Park public art project, visit cpn.news/heritagepark.

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Source: Citizen Potawatomi Nation Blog - Public Art Project Will Soon Take Shape
Direct Link: https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2024/12/12/public-art-project-will-soon-take-shape/
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/tg0HL

sounds like another Naropa twinkie college