Sylvester J. Tinker; Former Chief of Osage Tribe

Sylvester J. Tinker, 88, American Indian who was chief of the Osage tribe from 1970 to 1982. He gained international fame in 1975 when he had a private audience with Pope Paul VI and made the first American Indian presentation to a Pope. Tinker also outlined tribal concerns for U.S. politicians in 1984 at the Republican National Convention in Dallas. A devout Catholic, Tinker was honored by the church for his efforts in improving health conditions within his Oklahoma-based tribe. He earned membership in the church’s Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also called the Knights of Malta. On Thursday in Pawhuska, Okla., after a short illness.