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Tribal Leaders Meet with Kansas Governor Sam Brownback
- Tribal Council members Verna Crawford, Jenifer Pechonick, Chief Paula Pechonick, Assistant Chief Chet Brooks, and Annette Ketchum meet with Kansas Governor Sam Brownback in his office in Topeka on August 23, 2013.
Delaware Days 2013 Coming Up!
Delaware Days will be held on September 27 and 28, 2013, at the Fred Falleaf Powwow Grounds near Copan. So mark your calendars. Volunteers will be needed. This will be a great time to get involved with some tribal activities and just get out and have a great time.
Help is always appreciated. In 2012 Bruce Martin was appointed head of the Delaware Days Committee; he can be reached at 918-337-6571 or by email at bmartin@delawaretribe.org.
Tentative Schedule
Please note: Events are subject to change.
A pot luck dinner will be held Friday night at 6:00, bring a covered dish.
Lenapeowsi will be organizing youth activities Saturday afternoon September 28th, around 1:00:
- Archery
- Storytelling
- Shell Shaking Classes for young girls
- Language Games
- Other activities
Saturday night another pot luck dinner will be held. The Tribe’s Culture Preservation Committee will provide smoked brisket and pork.
Saturday before the Pot Luck the Culture Preservation Committee will honor Tribal Elder and Veteran of the Year.
Social dancing and stomp dancing will follow after the meals each evening. Everyone is invited to attend and participate.
The History of Delaware Days (by Jim Rementer, secretary of the Culture Preservation Committee)
Delaware Days actually began as Delaware Day, an annual event sponsored by the Culture Preservation Committee. The first one was held in 1993 on September 5 at the Fall-Leaf Dance Ground where the annual powwow is held. About 300 people attended that year. The Culture Preservation Committee formed a subcommittee to be in charge of Delaware Day (in 1993 the committee was headed by Mary Watters and Rosetta Coffey, with Annette Ketchum in charge of publicity).
It became an annual event after that and for the first two years it was held early in September, but that often conflicted with Labor Day. In 1995 Delaware Day was moved to September 30. The following year, 1996, had probably the largest attendance ever for Delaware Days. This was the first year that it became a two-day event and many people attended.
In 1996 the Culture Preservation Committee began to honor a tribal elder at Delaware Days, with the first honoree being Lucy Blalock. In 2000 the Committee also began to honor a veteran.
Since 1996 Delaware Days has been a two-day event, and the dates for the event have almost always been the last Friday and Saturday in September. Under the leadership of several dedicated volunteers, it has become better and better, and is now one of the Tribe’s most significant cultural events.
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| A younger Mike Pace thanks Fred Fall-Leaf for use of the Dance Grounds, around 1998. | Duck Dance 1998. |
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| Sara Boyd is honored as Veteran of the Year, 2012. | Dee and Annette Ketchum are honored as Elders of the Year, 2012. |
Historic Preservation Department Visits East Coast Museums
Staff of the Delaware Tribe Historic Preservation Office have recently returned from a grant-funded trip to several museums on the East Coast to document holdings for an upcoming repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). DTHPO Director Brice Obermeyer and tribal archaeologist Greg Brown visited the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, New Jersey and the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, PA, as well as working on other historic preservation activities at Morristown National Historical Park in Morristown, New Jersey and Pennsbury Manor in Morrisville, PA.
Call for Trust Board Candidates
Trust Board Chairman Chet Brooks hereby calls for the election for three Trust Board members.
The election will be held on Saturday November 2, 2013. There are three seats up for election.
Tribal members interested in running for a Trust Board seat must file an Application for Candidacy by September 14, 2013. Candidate forms may be obtained by clicking on the link below or may be obtained in printed form at the Delaware Tribal Offices, 170 NE Barbara, Bartlesville, OK 74006.
Please mail completed forms to:
Delaware Election Committee
P.O. Box 1198
Bartlesville, OK 74005.
Forms must be received at the Post Office by 4 p.m. September 14, 2013.
Campaign information will be printed in the October 2013 Delaware Indian News. Candidates are allowed one typewritten letter-size page, single spaced, size 12 Times New Roman font, in Word or RTF format. Send this information to the Delaware Indian News at din@delawaretribe.org or mail or deliver it to the Delaware Tribal Offices, 170 NE Barbara, Bartlesville, OK 74006.
Note that information sent to the Election Committee WILL NOT be forwarded to the DIN.
Paid advertising space is also available in the Delaware Indian News as regular advertiser’s rates. Rates are given in the link below.
» Delaware Indian News Advertising Rates
Please Come to the Ottawa Powwow
Ottawa Powwow Golden Anniversary Celebration
Aug. 30, 31 and Sept. 1, 2013
Adawe Park, 5 mi east and 1 mi south of Miami, OK
Where the Championship Dancers Come —– to Play
Head Singer: John David Ballard
Head Man Dancer: Jeff (Dude) Blalock
Head Lady Dancer: Mollie B. King
Arena Director: Walter Dye
Powwow Princess: Mary Beth (Bootsie Skye) Kihega
Master of Ceremonies: Steve Kinder
Friday Aug. 30
6 p.m. Gourd Dance
9 p.m. Stomp Dance & Social Dances
(Stomp Dance Activities Sponsored by Jack and Margaret Blalock Family;
Cash and major prize drawings for leaders and shell shakers, ages 16 and up)
Saturday Aug. 31
A.M. Turkey Dance, Noon Camp Feast
Afternoon games, 6 p.m. Gourd Dance
(Feast in honor of Gabe Nichols sponsored by Greg Case, Joe Martin, Mariah Tyner, Dixie Rich)
8 p.m. Inter-tribal War Dance followed by Stomp Dance
Sunday Sept. 1
9 a.m. Indian Junior Olympics (Q-12 years old)
6 p.m. Gourd Dance
8 p.m. Inter-tribal War Dance followed by Stomp Dance
No Contests, Just Plenty of Good Dancing and Singing
RSU Nursing Student Receives Prestigious IHS Scholarship
Crystal (Thaxton) Dombrovski has recently been named a recipient of a prestigious Indian Health Services (IHS) scholarship.
The IHS Scholarship is a highly competitive scholarship for federal or state-recognized American Indians and Alaska Natives. On average, they receive 3000 applications for 150 scholarships. Students are evaluated based on grades and essays and then ranked among their peers to determine who receives the scholarship. Dombrovski, of Claremore, is a member of the Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma.
There are three different categories and awards vary by category and the school the recipient attends. The total award amount received approximates $30,000 for the academic year, covering tuition, fees, books and a travel award and monthly stipend. The IHS scholarship is awarded to students who are planning on working in underserved disciplines in the medical field. For nurses, it is geared towards students who plan on serving in areas that exhibit the need for registered nurses.
Dombrovski, an Associate Degree Nursing student wants to specialize in diabetes education focusing on educating the individual and community. “There is a huge disparity in the health of our native people and the dominant culture and I want to do my part to narrow that gap,” Dombrovski said, adding that after graduation, she plans on obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in nursing and eventually a Master’s degree in nursing.
Delaware War Mothers Seeking New Members
DELAWARE WAR MOTHERS CLUB
Representing and honoring our
military relatives.
If you are a female Native American wanting to represent a veteran OR a female Non-Native American wanting to represent a Native American veteran and would be interested in joining please come to our next meeting or contact Bess Marler, Vice President at 918-440-1955, Tonya Anna, President at 918-533-8035 or send an email to us at delawarewarmothers@yahoo.com.
Delaware War Mothers Club meets every third Monday of the month at 5:00 pm in the dining hall at the Community Center.
- The eagle represents all military branches.
Black, Red and White are Delaware Colors.
Red, White and Blue are the Delaware War Mothers Colors.
Red is the color of the blood of all people as we are all related.
The circle signifies the circle of life as there is no beginning and there is no end.
Like Our New Look?
We hope you like the new look of our web site; we are very proud of it. We do realize, however, that some things are in different places, so here is a guide of where to look:
Top Menu
Look here for basic information about our various departments, services, and government. This includes links to pages containing application forms for services, descriptions of programs, contact information for tribal government and staff, and archives of major documents as well as minutes of Council and Trust Board meetings (on the Meetings and Minutes page under Tribal Government).
News Ticker
Scrolling news with the very latest announcements, including closings and meeting changes.
News and Events, Culture and Language, Our Community, Tribal Newspaper
Look here for ongoing news stories, announcements, and various other information.
News and Events has regular posts of tribal business, as well as news of general interest to our membership. Our Community has more local stories concerning events and accomplishments of our tribal members. But check both regularly if you want to keep up to date with the Tribe!
Culture and Language is a set of pages describing the history and culture of the Tribe, mostly created by members of the Tribe’s Cultural Preservation Committee as well as Language Revitalization, Historic Preservation, and Tribal Archives programs. This section will be undergoing extensive expansion during the coming months, so be sure to check it out.
Latest News
Another place to look for some of the most important and relevant stories on the site.
Buttons on the Right and Bottom
Click on these buttons for videos of Tribal Council, Trust Board, and other meetings and events; instructions for how to update your current address to make sure you receive the tribal newspaper, election ballots, and information on the Tribe’s available services; The Chief Speaks (an archive of communications from the Chief to tribal members and others); and a list of “Lost Delawares” (those for whom we may have obsolete addresses, check it for yourself and your family to make sure our Enrollment Office is up to date with your contact info).
There is also an online gift shop and a page where you can provide online donations for specific programs.
Don’t Forget Information at the Bottom of the Page
Did you know that the Tribe has a Facebook page? Click the Find Us on Facebook button to get there. Also note the contact information for tribal headquarters and other locations, ongoing Events calendar, and other useful information including current menus for our Elder Nutrition program and other helpful links for local tribal members.
Suggestions?
Any comments or suggestions are welcome; email them to the Webmaster, Greg Brown, at gbrown@delawaretribe.org.
Dr. Dennis Wiedman Visits Tribe
Dr. Dennis Wiedman, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Florida International University, once again visited the Delaware Tribe on July 17 and 18. He is in Oklahoma doing research on the difficulty Indian people had in being able to continue the use of their sacrament in the Native American Church.
Dennis first came to Oklahoma in his late teens in the late 1960s. His first trips were financed by selling beads and other supplies to Indian people and in turn buying Indian-made goods to take back to Florida. One of the main people Dennis worked with was tribal elder Nora Dean of Dewey, Oklahoma. He was also given a great honor by being taken as a son by tribal member Charlton “Steve” Wilson, and he later served as a pallbearer at Steve’s funeral.
Over the years from studying Native American Church practices and working closely with Nora he began to notice the disastrous effects of diabetes on the native population. He then began his study into diabetes and the Indian people, receiving his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Oklahoma for his work on Indian diabetes. He continues to research and write articles on Native American health.
During his visit to Delaware tribal headquarters he met with Chief Paula Pechonick with whom he discussed his past work with tribal elders.
- Dr. Dennis Wiedman with Chief Paula Pechonick.
Dennis also met with Tribal Archivist Anita Mathis, and contributed a number of his articles to the tribal library, and with Tribal IT Director Greg Brown to discuss distance-learning class procedures.
- Meeting with Tribal Archivist Anita Mathis.
During his visit he was able to connect with Housing Inspector Walter Dye, an old friend, to discuss people they both knew who were Native American church participants. He also chatted with Bonnie Thaxton, Mary Watters, and Jan Brown.
- Jim Rementer and Dennis Wiedman at Nora Dean’s home in 1970.
Dennis commented on how glad he was at the warm reception he received by present tribal leaders and compared it to the warm reception he had from the previous generations during his years of study here in Oklahoma. We hope to see him back here soon.
–Contributed by Jim Rementer
Purchase of Property in Lawrence, KS
On July 10, 2013 The Delaware Tribe of Indians, through its wholly owned business subsidiary LTI Enterprises LLC, purchased approximately 87 acres of agricultural land in Lawrence, Kansas. The Delaware Tribe had a historic presence in the area, residing on a reservation between Lawrence and Leavenworth between 1830 and 1866. The federal government forced a move of the tribe to Oklahoma after the Civil War. The Lawrence property is seen as an investment in the future as the tribe promotes its theme of “Return to Kansas.”
The federally-recognized Indian tribe has offices in Bartlesville and Chelsea, Oklahoma and also Emporia and Caney, Kansas. They provide government and social services to their members and other Native Americans. Tribal leaders are expanding their service area to provide more social and economic benefits to the state’s American Indian population. Future plans include housing, child care, and a medical clinic.
For more information please send all inquiries to: tribe@delawaretribe.org.
July 23, 2013
Press Statement, Delaware Tribe of Indians
Regarding purchase of property in Lawrence, KS
D5 Creation