A "smoking" was the highlight of a grand opening ceremony for Bearskin Aviation Service's new 20,000 square foot air cargo facility at the Joplin Airport last Friday, June 24, 2005. BAS is a 100% Native American owned division of the Wyandotte Tribal Corporation. Leaford Bearskin, chief of the Wyandotte Nation, performed the traditional ceremony by lighting a long stemmed pipe that he had filled with a special mixture of tobacco, cedar and grass.
The audience with heads bowed joined Bearskin in beseeching the Great Spirit to live in the building. "Bless all who enter...bless the people," he prayed, in order "better to be tomorrow than we are today."
Operating under the trade name Bearskin Air Cargo, the new venture offers ground and air transportation of cargo in and out of the Joplin Regional Airport to destinations worldwide. Bearskin said he chose Joplin for its proximity to the Wyandotte headquarters and to the country's busiest trucking centers allowing for a seamless truck-plane transition.
Chief Leaford Bearskin of the Wyandotte Tribe was born on September 11, 1921 on his parents' allotment land in northeast Oklahoma. After graduating from high school in 1939, he entered military service. His air force career in which he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel included firsthand experience flying 46 combat missions during World War II. For 41 years he was in government service including holding numerous administrative positions for development and logistics for the air force. He has been the Wyandotte Nation's elected chief since 1983 and has been credited with providing improvements in health care, education, adult services, employment, and emergency services. He lives with his wife Barbara Cannon Bearskin in their retirement home on Grand Lake O' the Cherokees. He has two children, 6 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. He is shown with Steve Stockam, Joplin Regional Airport manager.
Bearskin is partnered with ExpressOne International, in part an aviation services company based at the Orlando/Sanford International Airport. Together they landed an air service contract between Fargo (ND), Sioux Falls (SD), and Minneapolis with Integrated Commercial Solutions. They also partner to provide ground handling services for the U.S. Air Force in Great Britain. Bearskin's president is Lawrence H. Brinker, Esq., a former president and general council of ExpressOne.
Classified as an economically disadvantaged group, the Wyandotte Nation was able to set up the company as an 8(a) business. This afforded them greater opportunities for obtaining government contracts.
In commenting about his role in leading his people into various financial ventures, Bearskin said, "We want to be self sufficient and we're going to be."
Bearskin Aviation operates the SAAB 340A regional cargo aircraft that can carry over three tons of cargo and connect with larger aircraft worldwide through a cooperative sales agreement with Thomas Cook Airlines and other domestic and international air carriers. The company additionally serves the region's ground transportation needs with its fleet of diversified tractor-trailer equipment.
Bearskin Aviation presently has 35 employees worldwide and expects to grow to around 150 over the next year with about 25 of those positions being at the Joplin facility, according to a release by Billie L. Barlow, the new sales and marketing director. A former account executive for Yellow Transportation, Barlow has overall responsibility for the worldwide sales and marketing team.
A ribbon cutting ceremony also took place at Bearskin Aviation's new air cargo facility at 5502 N. Dennis Weaver Dr., (Joplin Airport) Joplin, led by officials from the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce. Members of the Wyandotte Nation, including Second Chief Earlene Roskob (pictured left foreground), were in attendance.
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