Archived News Item

By Abigail Singrey
asingrey@examiner-enterprise.com
May 8, 2012

The Delaware Tribe of Indians broke ground Monday on a 4,600 square foot Social Services Building.

“This is a very exciting day,” Chief Paula Pechonick said.

The $800,000 building will include office space, a conference room, a break room, restrooms and a reception area. It will be a pre-engineered metal building with exterior walls covered with manufactured stone. The building is being constructed with grant money.

The building will allow the tribe to house the manager of social services and other administrative employees in Bartlesville. New fiber lines will be run to allow the administration to use the latest technology to support the growing tribal government, Zunigha said.

“The main focus is to get all the services in one area so it is a one-stop shop for tribal members,” tribal council member Jenifer Pechonick said.

A tribal library will also be housed in the building, which will allow tribal members to research their ancestors, Pechonick said. The tribal council hopes to someday construct a separate building to house a museum and library, Zunigha said.

The Delaware Tribe of Indians has only developed a third of their 80-acre campus on Madison Boulevard in Bartlesville, so they have room to continue to expand, Zunigha said.

“[This groundbreaking] is indicative of the growth and development strategy the tribe has,” said Curtis Zunigha, tribal manager. “… We are out to meet the needs of our tribal membership, and we are making sure that we have the administrative support we need, both from our staff and [our] physical infrastructure capabilities.”

The Delaware Tribe of Indians is based in Bartlesville and has 10,000 members nationwide.

• 
• Members of the Delaware Tribe of Indians Council, from left, Janifer Brown, Nate Young, Chief Paula Pechonick, Assistant Chief Chester Brooks and Jenifer Pechonick break ground Monday for a new Social Services Building at the tribal headquarters in Bartlesville.

• 
• An artist’s rendering shows the proposed design of the 4,600 square foot Social Services Building. It will be built at the Delaware Tribe of Indians headquarters in Bartlesville.

Happy St. Tammany’s Day!

As ratified by the U.S. Congress back in 2003, today, May 1, would be St. Tammany Day, a day of recognition in honor of one of the more peaced-out dudes to ever walk these streets, the mighty Lenape chief Tamanend. Who he, you ask?

Tamanend or Tammany or Tammamend, the “affable” (c. 1628–c. 1698), was a chief of one of the clans that made up the Lenni-Lenape nation in the Delaware Valley at the time Philadelphia was established. Tamanend is best known as a lover of peace and friendship who played a prominent role in the establishment of peaceful relations among the Native American tribes and the English settlers who established Pennsylvania, led by William Penn.

Tamanend reputedly took part in a meeting between the leaders of the Lenni-Lenape nation, and the leaders of the Pennsylvania colony held under a large elm tree at Shakamaxon in the early 1680s. There, Tamanend is reported to have announced that the Lenni-Lenape and the English colonists would “live in peace as long as the waters run in the rivers and creeks and as long as the stars and moon endure.” These words have been memorialized on the statue of Tamanend that stands in Philadelphia today.

That statue, by the way, stands just a block from our offices, at Front and Market streets, and bears the legend that “Tamanend was considered the patron saint of America by the colonists prior to American Independence.” It’s also worth noting that, so legendary were his good vibes, “Tammany Festivals” had all but replaced May Day festivals in these parts by the late 1700s. We’re told that a society in Philadelphia called The Order of St. Tammany still exists, and somewhere, today, they are celebrating Tamanend’s sweet vibe, and wondering how we might all get back to it.

From the web site Philebrity (http://www.philebrity.com/2012/05/01/happy-st-tammanys-day/).

A historic Delaware community (1820-1830) in southwest Missouri

Dr. Marcie L. Venter and Dr. Neal H. Lopinot
Center for Archaeological Research
Missouri State University

Tuesday, May 15

12:30 pm

at the

Delaware Community Center
Tuxedo Blvd., East of Highway 75

Join us for lunch with the tribal elders at 12:00 noon, followed by the lecture

Sponsored by the Delaware Tribe Historic Preservation Office (DTHPO) and the Delaware Tribe Cultural Preservation Committee

VIEW FLYER

The Flint Hills Conference provides an annual forum for current research on the peoples and histories of the central and southern plains while also encouraging submissions that address tribal engagement in regional archaeological research and historic preservation efforts.

The 2012 Flint Hills Conference will be held on April 6, 2012 on the campus of Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, with sponsorship and technical support provided by the Delaware Tribe, the Osage Nation and ESU’s Center for Great Plains Studies.

In the spirit of one of the world’s greatest athletes, the Jim Thorpe Native American Games will bring together thousands of Native American Athletes from across the United States and Canada to compete in nine sports.

Oklahoma City will play host to the Games throughout the week of June 10-17, 2012. They will showcase the talents of these athletes and also preserve the heritage and build pride and positive lifestyles among Native American Athletes. The competition will highlight the Native American athletes who revolutionized today’s popular sports and the rising star athletes who are making a positive change across the country.

Along with the athletic competition, activities will include a Parade of Nations Opening Ceremony, Stickball exhibitions, trade show and Interactive Exhibits and Clinics.

For more information, go to www.jimthorpegames.com

The Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma has partnered with Grand Gateway Area Agency on Aging for the sixth year.

Ed Crone, executive director of Grand Gateway, recently accepted a check from David Ray, president, the Masonic Charity Foundation, in the amount of $63,346 to help with direct services for the age 55 and over population in Craig, Delaware, Mayes, Nowata, Ottawa, Rogers and Washington Counties of northeast Oklahoma.

Grand Gateway Area Agency on Aging, because of the Masonic Charity Foundation, has been able to help people with such needs as ramps, utilities, small home repair, pest control, car repair, dental and many other needs. This funding is meant to help meet needs of the senior population where there is no other resource available to help.

For a specific need, call Grand Gateway and ask for an application, 1-800-482-4594.

Applications are available for the George Clifford Newbold Scholarship Fund dedicated to the memory of Cliff Newbold, an outdoorsman, raconteur, naturalist and gentleman who treasured his native background.  The fund is set up to award an annual scholarship of $2000 a year for four years to qualified students of Native American heritage who evidence a desire to further their education in the fields of business or education and use this education for the benefit of their native community. It will be a renewable grant based on demonstrated achievement in your studies and the ongoing recommendation and evaluation of your professors. Preference will be given to those students of Lenni Lenape heritage and to those who are current New Jersey residents, however these factors are not a restriction to application. All will be considered, however the foundation believes students whose tribal heritage includes communities operating gambling facilities should turn to those organizations for assistance.

For more information, go to their web site at http://newboldscholarship.org/.

New members of the Trust Board were sworn in at the last Tribal Council meeting.

Results of the Trust Board election were as follows:

Chairman:
   Wayne Stull

New Members:
   Verna Crawford
   DeAnn Ketchum
   John Sumpter

Adopt the Budget?:
   Yes

Tribal Judgment Funds Question?:
   Yes

Official results of the November 5, 2011 Trust Board election (PDF)

Official results of the November 5, 2011 Trust Board election.

BOLD = Elected/passed.

Certified copy (PDF)

Photos from Delaware Days 2011, held on September 23-24 at the Fall-Leaf Powwow Grounds northeast of Copan, OK. All photographs by Jim Rementer.

Members of the Cultural Preservation Committee greet friends and visitors.	Go-Get-‘Em Dance.
Councilwoman Janifer Brown makes grape dumplings.	Chief Paula Pechonick, elder honoree.
Kenny Brown, veteran honoree.	Chief Greg Peters from Moraviantown.
Former Chief Curtis Zunigha displays the wampum belt from the Grand Council before passing it on to the Munsee-Delaware First Nation.	Preparations for passing of the wampum belt.
Mark Peters from Munsee-Delaware First Nation, Ontario.