The Absentee Shawnee News
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COLOR The Absentee Shawnee News AUGUST 2014 VOL. 27 NO. 30 Inside This Issue... Anniversary Pow Wow PAGE 2-3................EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORTS PAGE 4.................FINANCIAL CONSULTANT’S REPORT July 4-6, 2014 PAGE 5.................TAX COMMISSION & RESOLUTIONS Thunderbird PAGE 6.....................................TITLE VI MENU Casino PAGE 8.......................................CAMP NIKOTI See pictures of the winners in the PAGE 7...................ASHLEY, CADEN, ALYSSA, STEVI special insert inside PAGE 9-10...................................MSPI CAMP PAGE 11.........................CULTURAL PRESERVATION PAGE 13......................................EM ACTIVITY PAGE 16-17..........................AUGUST BIRTHDAYS PAGE 18..................SPOTLIGHT EMPLOYEE/ELECTION COMMISSION PAGE 22..................SCHOOL CLOTHING APPLICATION PAGE 23.................................BUILDING BLOCKS PAGE 24..............................................OEH PAGE 25...............................HORSE SHOE BEND PAGE 27..........................HEALTH SYSTEM UPDATE PAGE 30-31................................FOSTER CARE EXECUTIVE COMMITTee Edwina Butler-Wolfe Issac Gibson Vera M. Dawsey Leah Bates Kenneth Blanchard Governor Lt. Governor Secretary Treasurer Representative this year, to litigate with. Now where are we at today: On July 7, 2014 Keith Hall, City Commissioner for Ward 4 got the City Commissioners to discuss, consider, and possibly take action on an ordinance Governor’s Report (this is the City’s form of local law and is similar to when we pass a Tribal resolution) that allows Shawnee to place a Hello my Absentee Shawnee people! Charter amendment on the ballot for a referendum vote. This ballot, if passed, will allow the City to detach our land and the The recent rain is a nice change from the intense heat CPN’s land from the City of Shawnee. Why is this meaningful and humidity we have had. It is a relief to me that we are not to us here and as Tribal members? This could: suffering the extreme weather we have had in previous years. • Create budget concerns due to potentially having to As we know this type of weather can easily change in either buyback services from the City or be charged fair Oklahoma. market to premium rates for contracted services; My programs continue to be busy and I hope you will • Reduce service levels – if a service is no longer available read each of my program directors reports. There is still much or is too costly then cost factors could impact our quality we need to do and I will work with the EC on health board of care and service delivery; and gaming concerns. I am trying to work with the health • Take away the Tribes choice to de-annex from the City; board(s) in direction setting; by-law updating; getting health • Create barriers to care and stigmatize community board appointments done; and having more input into the partnerships. contractual and financial aspects of all my programs. What does this mean for the City? For the past year I have focused on educational and health • Gives the City opportunity to attempt to charge the reform at a local level. As of this month I will be taking a more Tribe(s) for public improvements done; active role nationally on educational and health reform efforts. • Ability to increase costs for services; Me and my program staff are committed to the people we • Exclude citizens serve. We need your input. We want to make a difference and We need to be concerned. We need to make our voices with your assistance this can be done. heard. We are a sovereign nation with inherent rights. We City of Shawnee are community partners, stakeholders and tax payers in the Let me start out by saying: The City of Shawnee is City of Shawnee and we are here to stay. The City is currently disingenuous about what they are doing. They say publicly composed of all non-natives. In September this will change they want to work with the Tribes in the area. Yet as you and two Native Americans will become City Commissioners. may recall in March they sent a threatening letter to the four We need more Native Americans in these key elected positions Tribes in the Shawnee area: Kickapoo, Sac and Fox, Citizen who can work towards making a difference. I hope you will Potawatomi and Absentee Shawnee advising they are vote to make a difference in the County and State runoff ‘entitled’ to taxes from the Tribes. The Tribes met with the City elections on August 26, 2014. and attempted to educate the City on sovereignty and the I have 10 months to go. I have an Open Door Policy and am federal statutes Tribes are governed by. The City added funds always glad to see you. So please stop by and visit when you to their budget and hired a legal firm to litigate against the have time. Tribes and a public relations firm to do a media blitz on the Help me to make a difference – stand beside me and need of ALL residents/businesses to pay taxes to Shawnee. Let’s Build for the Future (BFF) - united and together! The issue of the taxes currently appears to be dormant but not Thank you for your support. forgotten as the City put another $100,000 into their budget, 2 3 Lt. Governor’s Report Treasurer’s Report I hope everyone is well and enjoying your summer. I The Treasurer’s office and subordinate departments are would like to thank each and every one for getting out and steadily working to provide a strong voice and advocacy within voting in our recent election. We had another good turnout the AST Complex for all programs in our daily operations. It is at the polls and I hope this continues in future elections. the choices we make today managing our financial resources Congratulations and welcome to our new Treasurer Leah that will have a profound effect on our Tribal members and Bates and Representative Kenneth Blanchard to the Executive our quality of life for generations to come. In today’s rapidly Committee. I look forward to working with them and the changing financial world, our goal within the next two years is Executive Committee in making the Tribe successful. I would to manage investments and debt in a manner that preserves also like to congratulate the two new Election Commission and enhances our Tribe’s strong financial standing, builds our members, Briana Ponkilla and Aly Miller. businesses, and gets the best value for every expenditure Even though the big community build on the KaBoom made. Playground has past, I would like thank everyone who Our first goal this month was to orient all staff members participated. We had a very nice turn out from tribal members, on budget deficiencies, cut cost as much as possible employees, and folks living in the community. This project was while progressing forward efficiently, and to re-evaluate brought to the Tribe through our Diabetes/Fitness Program expenditures on non-profitable ventures. It is our hopes from Nike N7. Communities affected by the tornados last year that this will “jump start” stagnant personnel and create a have received playgrounds. Again, a big thank you to who positive environment to move forward as an integrated, high- was able to participate. functioning team of professionals. I want to take this opportunity to update everyone on We value the safety and security of our Tribe and want to the two parking projects under our Roads Program. As I raise awareness of everyday have mentioned in an earlier article, the police substation ventures. We have at least two years to make improvements, parking lot construction has been suspended due to an AT&T so by working together, and with using industry standards and fiber optics line and phone line lying in the middle of the benchmarks, my hope is that we will all continue to progress construction area. The contractor, engineer, and staff have in a way we all can be proud of for our future and the future tried to contact the AT&T Representative that oversees line of our Tribe! modifications, in order to get the process started. Calls and Thank you, emails have not been returned, leaving us little choice but to Leah D. Bates wait. This is frustrating as the project itself will not take very long. A resolution to the problem is in the works and we look forward to completing this project. The second project is the parking lot at the new daycare center. This project is in conjunction with the CCDF grant. Representative’s Report Construction on this parking lot will begin within a few weeks and there are no foreseen delays with utility lines. This year we planted Indian corn at the 10 acre corn field Greetings Tribal Members, near Hwy 9A. Unfortunately our corn did not make and was I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those taken over by Johnson grass. We are going to re-plant and try members who participated in the 2014 General Election. It is to have Indian corn for the fall. We will keep you posted. your constitutional right to exercise your right to vote and I Included in this article is an update on the Cattle Project. If am proud of you for doing so. you have questions, feel free to contact my office. I would like to thank my wife, family, and friends who I hope everyone enjoyed the Veteran’s Powwow over the supported me through the election process. It takes time and July 4th holiday. It was nice to see everyone who was able to sacrifice but they backed my efforts wholeheartedly. make it out. The electorate has expressed their confidence by voting Thank you again for your support. me to the position of Tribal Representative, for that I am humbly grateful.