September 2012 P.O
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WICHITA AND AFFILIATED TRIBES NEWSLETTER September 2012 P.O. Box 729 Phone: 405.247.2425 Anadarko, OK 73005 Fax: 405.247.2430 Website: [email protected] www.wichitatribe.com Wichita Executive Committee Terms Expire 07/2016 President’s Report President Fall has arrived and we are a lot of things that we know need to be Terri Parton transitioning into a new Fiscal Year. I addressed and we are working towards hope everyone is enjoying the cooler a goal to address those issues. Vice-President weather. Things are moving along here Jesse E. Jones at the Tribe. Finance Office As we move along, we ask that One of the main things that we Secretary you remember all former tribal leaders wanted to address prior to implement- Myles Stephenson Jr. in your prayers. There are a few that ing new programs, applying for new come to mind who, along with their grants or expanding services was the Treasurer families, could use your prayers. We Finance Office. After much considera- S. Robert White Jr. have also lost several young tribal tion, the Wichita Executive Committee Committee Member members over the last few months. has chosen to contract out our Finance Shirley Davilla Keep their families in your prayers. Office to Finley & Cook. It was a hard Often we all get wound up in the politi- decision but we all felt that we needed Committee Member cal atmosphere and we forget that we to take a different approach if we want Karen Thompson are all Wichita. Even if you can not different results. The Committee has directly trace another tribal member been requesting specific reports that Committee Member directly to your family, we all share a we would just not be able to get if the Gladys Walker common bond in that we are members Tribe continued to function the same of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. way that the Tribe had been function- Tribal Administrator Sam Caruso Pray for each other. ing. We have been working on getting The Wichita Executive Com- everything ironed out so that we could mittee has continued to be very busy make the transition by the new fiscal This issues features: focusing on the FY-2013 Budgets. year on October 1, 2012. We are still Even though it sounds like a single in the transition phase and it will take Page 2 Wichita History budget, it actually contains various some time for leaders, staff and clients Page 3 components. We have completed many to get used to but within the next 90 President’s Report Continued of the budgets needed to operate but we days, we believe that we will see a sig- Page 4 are still working on a few that we hope nificant benefit to contracting the Fi- President’s Report Continued Page 5 to complete over the next few weeks. nance Office out. This will be a benefit Tribal Youth-Our Future We have been moving forward to management, staff, clients and the Page 6 since the elections on July 21, 2012 Tribe as a whole. Anadarko Industries with a focus on the new fiscal year so Those of you who receive ser- Page 7 that we have a better picture of where vices on a regular basis should contact Vacancy Announcements Page 8 we are and where we want to go. I will the program that assists you to see if Juvenile Services Program Event touch on a few things that have been there are changes in dates to submit Pages 9-10 implemented and through future news- your paperwork. Commissioner for WGC letters, I will discuss other things that We had three employees work- Mental Health Program Diabetes Education we will be working on. ing in the Finance Office. The Com- Fall Break Kids Camp Always remember that there are mittee has chosen to move those staff (Continued on page 3) 1 Wichita History Wichita Migrations This month we are publishing an excerpt of a pa- the Taovayas. In 1859, the 1,100 Wichitas of all per authored by F. Todd Smith which was includ- four groups came together once and for all on ed in a memoir published by the Plains Anthropo- lands the federal government set aside for them logical Society in November, 2008. The memoir between the Washita and Canadian rivers in the included several articles about the Wichita and was Indian Territory. Although, they were temporarily dedicated to the memory of Mr. Virgil Swift and driven from these lands during the civil war – dur- Dr. Robert E. Bell for their efforts to explore and ing which their population dropped to about 700 preserve Wichita heritage. members – the Wichitas returned in the late 1860s F. Todd Smith’s paper, Wichita Locations to establish farms on Sugar Creek within 24 km of and Populations, 1719-1901, traces the movement its junction with the Washita River across from the of Wichita people in a seemingly huge semicircle town of Anadarko, Oklahoma. In 1901, only about from the present boundary of Kansas and Oklaho- 350 Wichitas (a 98 percent decline in population ma, south to central Texas and then ultimately over two centuries) remained to go through the northwest to south western Oklahoma and he esti- allotment process and the dissolution of their res- mates our population at 200,000 when contacted ervation.” by the Coronado expedition in 1541 with most of If you would like to read the rest of F. them residing in the central Arkansas River Valley Todd Smith’s article and the other Wichita related in present Kansas. To conclude his article, Dr. articles in the memoir, you can order back issues Smith writes: of the Plains Anthropologist by writing to the “In 1719, 20,000 people lived among the Plains Anthropological Society, PMB #152, 3201 five groups that made up the tribe that would even- South Street, Lincoln, NE 68502-3266. tually be known as the Wichitas. Four tribes – the Tawakonis, Taovayas, Guichitas, and Iscanis – Smith, F. Todd, “Wichita Locations and Population, 1719-1901”, Plains Anthropological, Vol. 53, No. 208, Memoir 40, 2008, p. 407. Ibid. pp. 413 lived within 97 km of one another in three settle- -414. ments located in the central Arkansas River Val- Note: The map of 18th century Wichita villages was produced by William ley, while the Kichais resided on the south bank of W. Newcomb, Jr. in his unpublished study, The Wichita and Affiliated the Red River in Texas. Beginning in the 1730s, Tribes of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. all the Wichita groups began migrating southward and by about 1780 the 4,000 remaining tribesmen lived in three main settlements; the Taovayas on the Red River, the Kichais on the Trinity, and the Tawakonis on the Brazos. While the latter two tribes remained in the same general area for the next half-century, the Taovayas began a north westward migration in the second decade of the nineteenth century, its 1500 members eventually settling north of the Red River south western Okla- homa by the 1830s. Following various moves to the northwest beginning in 1830, in the 1840s the 700 surviving Kichais, Tawakonis, and Wacos – an offshoot of the Tawakonis – established a set- tlement on the Brazos River about 161 km south of 2 President’s Report Continued from Page 1 into other areas. There were needs in Procurement and to allow the Wichita Sports Commission to regu- HR and so those employees were able to move into late fights in other jurisdictions. Of course, there those areas that have been needing attention. are specific laws that the they must adhere to in We understand that there was a lot of misinfor- order to have the authority to do this. This does mation being put out about the whole transition to Fin- ley & Cook. If you ever have questions, please contact open doors for our Sports Commission to expand me, the Tribal Administrator or one of the other tribal into other areas. leaders who can answer your questions. The transition will take some time to get used to. Sugar Creek Casino We are also working on contracting out our For many of you that visit Sugar Creek Ca- payroll services. This too is taking a little longer than sino often, you will find that the big fence behind we expected. Once it is in place then we will finally be the casino has been removed. We are now able to able to be in the 21st century and offer our employees utilize that property for much needed parking. We direct deposit. continue to work on improvements to the casino. Contracting out the Finance Office will require You will also find job postings for Sugar more funding to an extent. The payroll services are Creek Casino in this newsletter. We offer employ- more than half the cost of having someone to do the ees transportation to Hinton from Anadarko payroll with the added benefit of direct deposit. through the shuttle. Right now the shuttle only Please be patient with us over the next 90 days as we continue in this transition period. runs at certain times so there are shifts that are not covered. The shuttle service allows us to promote Website & Newsletter employment for our tribal members who live in the Mr. Caruso has been getting some more areas between Anadarko and Hinton especially for bids for a complete overhaul on our website. We those who don’t have transportation but need to are hoping to see the bids for that in the upcoming work. week. Hopefully we will be able to offer up-to- date information.