Archived News Item

The Lifeline and Link Up programs help to provide telephone service to low-income consumers living on Tribal lands for as little as $1 a month. Lifeline and Link Up, run by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), help eligible low-income consumers establish and maintain telephone service by discounting services provided to them by wireline and wireless providers. These programs are part of the Federal Universal Service Fund, or USF.

For more information, go to http://www.fcc.gov/guides/lifeline-and-link-affordable-telephone-service-income-eligible-consumers

Letter with Additional Information

Haney Designs Statue, Chickasaw Nation Donates Garden

OKLAHOMA CITY —A dedication ceremony for the Chickasaw Garden was held at Oklahoma City University Sept. 6.

The garden was built over the course of the summer to provide an appropriate setting for a statue that was donated to the university by Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. The statue, titled “Chickasaw Warrior,” was designed by prominent Native American artist Senator Enoch Kelly Haney, an OCU alumnus who also designed the statue that tops the Oklahoma Capitol building.

OCU President Robert Henry said careful planning went into the garden in the center of campus that will encircle the statue.

“This will be a place where students and campus visitors can relax, study or just think in peace while surrounded by beauty,” Henry said. “Every little detail from the color of the walkway to the layout of the garden was carefully considered in order to create a space that is fitting for this great work of art.”

The statue was installed on a pedestal to raise it slightly above ground level. A walkway and other features are intended to mimic the American Indian medicine wheel with an unbroken circular form.

The four quadrants within the circle represent the four cardinal directions, the four seasons of the year and the four seasons of life — birth, adolescence, adulthood and death.

The design uses regional materials like pink granite and sandstone along with native plants to reflect the colors and textures of Oklahoma.

The dedication ceremony included a Cedar blessing by Steve Littleman of the Kiowa tribe, a prayer by Chickasaw elder Lee Frazier and a flute performance by musician Me-Way-Seh Greenwood of the Chickasaw, Ponca and Otoe tribes.

Steve Littleman performs the cedar blessing during the dedication of the Chickasaw Garden at Oklahoma City University on Sept. 6. Looking on are OCU President Robert Henry, OCU alumnus and Native American artist Senator Enoch Kelly Haney and Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby. Haney designed the Chickasaw Warrior statue donated to OCU by Anoatubby.	Rev. David Wilson, superintendent of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference of the United Methodist Church; landscape architect Brent Wall, designer of the Chickasaw Garden; Native American artist Senator Enoch Kelly Haney; Bud Sahmaunt, former OCU athletic director and professor and prominent member of the Kiowa tribe; Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby and President Robert Henry look at the Chickasaw Warrior statue designed by Haney and donated to OCU by Anoatubby.
The designer of Oklahoma City University’s Chickasaw Garden, Brent Wall, plants grass during the dedication ceremony for the new garden and Chickasaw Warrior statue at OCU on Sept. 6. Rev. David Wilson, Native American artist Senator Enoch Kelly Haney, Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby and former OCU athletic director and professor Bud Sahmaunt look on during the dedication ceremony for the statue designed by Haney and donated by Anoatubby.

The VISIONS program is a nation-wide program dedicated to assisting Native American, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian families who have children (0-26) with special needs. VISIONS may provide many things–available resources to help families become better advocates so their children receive the services they need to get the best education they can, a sounding board for families struggling with the trials of having a child with special needs, sample letters to use for conflicts with school teachers, principals and administrators, training on your rights and what the law requires children be provided as far as their education, training for professionals on how to provide services in a culturally-relevant and sensitive manner, and much more.

Brochure (pdf)

In September 2011, the Delaware Tribe of Indians was awarded an ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) grant for 2010-14 Child and Family Service Plan IV-B. In the grant application, prepared by Shirley Moore, it was stated that the grant had the following purposes:

1. To provide our tribal members and children with awareness and information to build a safe family environment;
2. To reduce family stress and improve family functioning to prevent family breakup; and
3. To develop and promote effective prevention strategies to address social problems that increase child abuse such as substance use, family violence and economic issues.

The objective of the grant is to strengthen connections among families and promote healthy well being without substance use; to prevent child abuse and neglect by training programs that address the risk factors that can lead to child abuse/neglect and foster placement; and to enhance the continuum of services for parents and children by linking families to service opportunities.

ICWA gives tribal governments a strong voice concerning child custody proceedings which involve Indian children, by allocating tribes exclusive jurisdiction when the child resides on, or is domiciled on, the reservation, or when the child is a ward of the tribe; and concurrent, but presumptive, jurisdiction over non-reservation Native Americans’ foster-care placement proceedings.

The Delaware Tribe of Indians submitted an Indian Community Development Block Grant through HUD for infrastructure that includes the enlargement of the retention pond, the expansion of the Elder Nutrition kitchen and the construction of parking lots and roads on June 15, 2011. Sherry Rackliff and Jade Johnson are going to oversee the administration of the project.

The City of Bartlesville held a City Zoning and Planning Meeting during the month of April. During this meeting, it was determined that the Delawar Tribe of Indians were not able to build any more structures on the property until the current retention pond is expanded.

The committee also mandated that the main road going into the Lenape Addition be expanded per the original platting to allow through access of emergency vehicles because of the increased number of residents and clients that will be using the property.

The parking lots and roads will be necessary for clients to be able to access the community services offered by the Delaware Tribe of Indians. These services include assistance with utilities, prescription medications, eyeglasses, dental assistance, scholarships, school supplies and other educational needs for students and access to the Elder independent Living Community.

The project was awarded to the Delaware Tribe of Indians on September 6, 2011. The amount of the award was $800,000.

Former Chief Curtis Zunigha offered an opening prayer at the “Ribbons of Hope” ceremony in Battery Park in New York City to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The event was organized by Prepare New York, a coalition of New York based interfaith organizations that promotes healing and reconciliation in anticipation of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The event, which featured 50,000 hand-written ribbons from people of all ages and backgrounds, took place along the Gardens of Remembrance in Battery Park, which is a short walk from Ground Zero.

According to an article in Newsday, “The panel of ribbons will travel throughout the city and will allow people to interact with each other and express their feelings,’ said Robert Chase, founding director of Intersections, which helped organize ‘Ribbons of Hope.’ Curtis Zunigha, 58, of Oklahoma, a member of the Delaware tribe of Native Americans, offered an opening prayer. ‘We turn to the Creator and ask from our own hearts and minds and pray that we may honor those who died and those who are working to make life better,’ said Zunigha, wearing traditional cultural clothing of his Lenape group. He said Americans will never forget 9/11 and reminded those at the ceremony that ‘our greatest vulnerability is ignorance.'”

For more information, please see http://www.newsday.com/911-anniversary/ribbonscalled-symbolic-and-emotional-1.3164545.

By Emily Droege
Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Monday, August 22, 2011
(All rights reserved, copyright Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise)

Peter Prusinowski has walked his way into history.

For more than three months, Prusinowski endured wind, rain and triple-digit temperatures to make a 2,000-mile journey on foot in order to connect with the Lenape Indians, also known as Delaware Indians, and their migration from the Delaware Valley in the northeast to their final stopping point in the Midwest. His solo trek began at his hometown of Fishtown, Penn., and ended recently in Bartlesville.

With a deep interest in the Lenape Indian heritage and history, Prusinowski explained that his rigorous journey was a way to connect with the past, as well as an effort to “inspire a more hopeful future.”

“This is something that came to me about three years ago,” said Prusinowski, adding that part of his inspiration stemmed from the Treaty of Amity and Friendship between William Penn and the Lenape Indians in 1682.

He said he believes that the events from the past 400 years are connected to the “occurrences of today and the social issues we encounter.”

Prusinowski’s “Trail of Hope” journey — which began on March 23 — took him through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas to Oklahoma. During the last leg of his trek, he spent the night at the Delaware Indian powwow grounds, located around 17 miles northeast of Bartlesville.

He finished out the adventure by walking to the Delaware Tribal Offices in Bartlesville, accompanied by one of his supporters, as well as Assistant Delaware Chief Chet Brooks. There, he was warmly greeted with a ceremony by area residents.

“Everyone in Bartlesville has been very welcoming an friendly,” said Prusinowski. “I’m grateful that I completed the journey and that I had the opportunity to share my experiences with others.”

He added that he felt honored to be among his “Delaware Indian friends and share the Trail of Hope with them.”

A skilled photographer by trade, Prusinowski snapped numerous photographs of his monumental expedition and plans to organize them into a journal format in hopes of inspiring others. He traveled light, carrying only a 25-pound backpack filled with such essentials as water, two pair of socks, a couple spare pair of pants and an iPad to use when blogging.

“I walked mostly on back roads and county roads, but some of the time was spent walking along the highways, he said, adding that he’d walk up to 20-25 miles a day. “I would usually spend the night in a motel and start walking by 7 a.m. the next morning. Sometimes I would stay with people and friends I knew along the way.”

Among some of the toughest of Prusinowski’s challenges was confronting summertime temperatures. Although he dedicated two years of preparing for his journey by power walking, jogging and swimming, he said walking in the hot and humid weather was nearly impossible to prepare for.

“That was really difficult, especially when it got into the 90s and 100-degree temperatures,” he said. “I had to make more frequent stops along the way due to the heat so some days were very long. I would start early and end late.”

While walking through Missouri, Prusinowski went off the trail route in order to help tornado victims in Joplin.

“I really enjoyed helping out in Joplin. It was very rewarding and a great experience to spread hope,” he said.

Prusinowski, who holds a deep interest in history, moved to the U.S. from Poland in 1976 with a friend. He explained that the pair was looking for adventure and an opportunity to explore what life in America was like.

“I’m extremely happy with my journey,” he said. “I experienced a lot and was able to see things that I otherwis wouldn’t have been able to see. I never felt alone. I always knew someone was with me and keeping me safe.”

Prusinowski set up a blog documenting his nearly five-month trek at http://trailofhopeblog.com.

Assistant Chief Chet Brooks joined Peter Prusinowski, right, for part of his 2,000-mile Trail of Hope journey. Photo, Jim Rementer.

The new Bartlesville Fine Arts Academy, offering a variety of educational classes in Art, Music and Drama for kids ages 6 and up, is looking for instructors to teach Indian Heritage Arts classes at their new location on 4017 Price Road, Suite #6. Interested instructors should contact Mary Ann Hetrick at 918-397-2787 or BfaAcademy@msn.com.

Bartlesville Fine Arts Academy
4017 Price Road #6
Bartlesville, OK 74006
918-397-2787
BfaAcademy@msn.com
www.bfaaok.com

Delaware Indian Language of 1824
by C. C. Trowbridge
Edited by James A. Rementer

In 1823, a man named Charles C. Trowbridge went to Indiana Territory on an assignment from Governor Lewis Cass of the Michigan Territory. His mission was to obtain the answers to a list of questions pertaining to the Lenape or Delaware language. After only two and a half months, Trowbridge collected over 280 pages of handwritten information, making the first full-fledged treatment of Southern Unami, th dialect spoken by the two Delaware groups in Oklahoma today.

After almost two centuries, Lenape Language Project director Jim Rementer has now edited and published Trowbridge’s extremely thorough study in full. With well over a hundred pages devoted to verb forms alone, and extended word-by-word analyses of texts and common phrases, Trowbridge’s work serves not only as a detailed grammar but also as an invaluable cultural record from a time when the Lenape community was on its journey from the Mid-Atlantic toward the west. This is the dialect of Lenape that was spoken in the southern half of New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Rementer’s extensive introductory material puts in context the historical forces that went into producing this text, with a biography of Captain Pipe, one of Trowbridge’s main Indian informants. Contributions by linguist Bruce Pearson and historian Timothy Crumrin round out the picture with biographies of Trowbridge himself and of William Conner.

Published June 2011. Hardcover, 314 pp. List price is $80.00. These will be available through the tribal office at a special price to tribal members of $65.00 plus $6.00 shipping.

This Is The Light I Breathe: Poems and Stories of Inspiration and Hope

Dianne Ingle
dianneingle@q.com

Available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and Westbow Press.com.

A book of inspirational poems and stories. The author is a Delaware Indian and a Registered Nurse, and the daughter of Katherine Perkins Worsham, descendant of Chief Charles Journeycake.