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TULSA, Okla. – Lillian, ‘Lilly’ Williams, resource advisor at Tulsa Public Schools Indian Education Office received two awards, back to back, for her dedication to Native American students. She received the Seventh Generation award from the Native Business Network in Tulsa and then went to Seattle for the National Indian Education Association annual convention and banquet to receive the Elder of the Year award.

Lilly Williams, Pawnee, Chickasaw and Cherokee, received the National Indian Education Elder of the Year award in October for her work in the Native American Community. She was given a Pendleton Indian blanket, Indian vase pottery with her name in it and $500.

“It was an exciting event. We had about 2,500 people there with a roomful for the banquet,” she says. “It was a great event for people who educate Native Americans.”

“It’s such an honor. I’m humbled. To me, to be called an elder and designated by my peers to serve in this capacity is a celebration of all our elders in the state.”

Jean Froman, coordinator of the Indian Education office at TPS, attended the conference with Williams.

“It was so nice to hear her name called out,” she says. “It was very heartwarming because she is so richly deserving of it.”

Froman says that Williams is the go-to person and is very committed to the Native American students. “She’s made an impact with a lot of Native American students,” Froman said.

Williams has worked in the Indian Education Office for 35 years and seen generations of students come through, says Froman. Currently there are over 4,000 Native American students in the Tulsa School District.

Williams, a member of the Pawnee, Chickasaw and Cherokee tribes, was nominated by the Oklahoma Council for Indian Education for the Elder of the Year award for her interest in service over the years in the community and her support of the culture of Native American youth. “You have to build deep roots culturally,” she says. “As elders we provide leadership to the youth.”

Williams has two degrees: A Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Oklahoma State University and a counseling degree from the University of Tulsa. She stresses the importance of education to the students at TPS.

Williams is also a member and past president of the Bartlesville Indian Women, an organization that started a scholarship, in the name of Williams’ mother, for Indian students. The group hosts the Wild Onion Dinner, a style show and other events for people who are interested in Native American culture.

“I want to recognize my grandmother, Lillian Maytubby and my mother Lillian Roberta Sanders, who has a scholarship in her name that has been awarded to many students.”

She has a daughter who is a teacher at Monte Casino and a son who is raising his family in California. The NIEA will have their annual convention in Oklahoma City in 2012.