New Tourism Authority director touts experience

Nov. 23—Muskogee’s new tourism director, William Lowe, says he wants more events and “heads in the beds” of Muskogee motels.

Muskogee Tourism Authority Trust members voted 5-2 Thursday to allow Oxford Productions to hire Lowe. Oxford manages the tourism authority.

“I am learning as I go about the great history of Muskogee,” Lowe said. “Right now, we’re planning events and doing holiday planning. I hope to bring more events in Muskogee and more heads in the beds to get visitors here.”

Lowe said he served as tourism director for the Creek Nation and Grand Lake Association. He said he served on the Oklahoma Tourism board, plus tourism boards for Grove, Tahlequah, Okmulgee and Cherokee Nation. He also is former speaker of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and served on the tribal council.

Oxford President and CEO Avery Frix said “of all the resumes we received, we felt Mr. Lowe was most qualified.”

“Lowe served in this capacity not only for the Creek Nation, but also for the Grand Lake Association,” Frix said. “He also had credentials of being certified in that area. He had the education to be certified in tourism.”

Three audience members spoke against hiring Lowe.

Jamie Coburn Speir said Lowe’s resume — and those of the two preceding directors — “do not include the robust education and work experience for making Muskogee a destination.”

“Mr. Lowe has been working 75 days in the position, he has not met with officials at the Civic Center, Hatbox event management, the Chamber of Commerce or the Port of Muskogee executives to gain insight and understanding of what Muskogee has to offer,” Speir said.

Frix said Lowe has met with Hatbox, Chamber and Civic Center leadership, and has attended PortMuskogee board meetings

Ivory Vann and Ron Brown criticized Lowe’s stance on Creek Freedmen, descendants of Creek Nation slaves.

Lowe was quoted in the news site NonDoc in 2023 saying he supported language in the 1979 Creek Constitution restricting tribal citizenship to descendants of people listed as “Indian by blood” on the Dawes Rolls.

Vann said an 1866 treaty declared that Freedmen citizenship in the Creek Nation be declared by African descent, not by blood.”

“It’s the treaty of 1866 that’s the law of the land,” Vann said.

Brown said Freedmen “do have Indian blood,” even if they are not listed on the Dawes Commission census.

Tourism Authority member Traci McGee said issues about Creek Freedmen are important, but do not apply to Muskogee tourism.

“Your issues with the tribe and the way things are done is important,” McGee said. “But this is tourism, and to come in and make this about the tribe’s stand. That is a platform you should take up in a tribal situation, so you don’t put that burden on us.”

Tourism Authority member Mark Patel said the board should have received resumes earlier so members could decide to see who might be qualified. He called for more transparencey.

“Having four tourism directors in two years doesn’t seem right to me,” Patel said.

Patel and Authority member Tracy Cole cast the dissenting votes.

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