Tahlequah, OK - Wathene Carol Young, 82, Tahlequah, Oklahoma resident, passed from this earth on September 15, 2025. She was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on October 6, 1942, to Betty Warwick and Nathan Young Sr. Wathene, a Delaware Tribal member enrolled in the Cherokee Nation, grew up with her siblings Nathan III and Rodney Young in Dewey Oklahoma where she graduated from Dewey High School. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Education (1967) and a Master's Degree in Speech Communication from the Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma (1967). Later in 1978 she earned her Counseling Certificate and School Administration Certificate from Northeastern University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma (1978).

Wathene begin her career teaching Speech and Drama at Booker T. Washington being the first non-African American teacher at this school in 1972. While at BTW she formed a youth drama group called "Hi-Jinx" that performed throughout the state of Oklahoma. She was the first Director of the Indian Pupil Education for the Tulsa Public Schools, the largest Indian Education program in the United States. 1973-78 She directed the Resource and Evaluation Center for USDE, Office of Indian Education, beginning in 1983 which provided technical assistance to Indian Education parent committees and their staff. In 1983 she founded the American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) where she directed six (6) Educational Professionals for Indian children (EPIC) over a thirteen (13) year period that trained over 500 American Indian teachers to teach in rural northeastern, Oklahoma. Wathene continued to be a part of AIRC while she was the field coordinator for teacher interns for Northeastern State University, Tahlequah Oklahoma. (1987-2000). From 1992-2005 she directed the Educational Talent Search project for AIRC. She was a visionary and forward thinking leader always planning programs that assisted people. In 2010, she added a division of Tribal Justice to AIRC that provided technical assistance throughout Indian country to domestic violence programs and tribal judges.

Wathene was one of the first women to be elected to serve on the Cherokee Nation Council from 1984-1988. She continued to serve her community by being a co-founder and board member of Help In Crisis, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the National Indian Youth Leadership Project, Gallup, New Mexico, and the American Indian Theater Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was a board member of the Association for American Indian Affairs, New York city, NY. which has existed for 100 years helping form legislation for American Indians such as the Snyder, Indian Self-Determination, and American Indian Repatriation Act which are all significant pieces of legislation for American Indians.

Wathene received the Tulsa Tribune Citizen's Honor Roll for outstanding service to the community in promoting racial understanding. She was in the directory of Significant Twentieth Century Minority women in America, and received a Ford Fellowship in Advanced Studies for American Indian Scholars.

Wathene is preceded in death by her parents, Betty Warwick Young and Nathan Young Jr. a sister Lou Ann and her youngest brother Rodney Young. She is survived by her brother Nathan Young III and his wife Carol Young, nieces Shawn Oglesby and Michelle Young, nephews Nathan Young IV, Tulsa, John Young and wife Lauren, great nieces Oliva, and great nephew Charlie of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, niece Holly Young Kirk and her husband Wyman Kirk, their two sons, Hondo and Levi Kirk, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and sister-in-law Alethea Elaine Young of Lyme, New Hampshire. She has many extended family members and close friends.

She enjoyed traveling with her friends and family; her nephews and nieces were special to her; she loved horseback and trail riding; she enjoyed planning trips and eating adventures; and enjoyed visiting with a wide circle of friends. Wathene was a spirited leader with a servant's heart to provide career and educational opportunities to Indigenous people and communities. She had a unique energy that was magnetic, drawing people to her. She loved helping people reach their goals in life. She was a patron of the arts supporting young artists, musicians, and movie producers while they learned their crafts. She organized fundraisers for many of them so they could pursue their dreams.

Wathene made a large footprint in the lives of all those who knew her and participated in many of the programs that she envisioned.

Services Pending, Wathene's Celebration of Life will be about her legacy and the life she enjoyed.