Newsletter
CulturalDee-ni' Wee-ya' Lhetlh-xat
(Tolowa Language Gathering) Dee-dvn-la (When): Dvn-chi'-srii-nis (Thursdays) Dvt-la (Where): Xaa-wan'-k'wvt Mvn'-chu (HHCC) Ghvt-ti~lh (Time): 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Please come and join us for our community wee-ya' class. We are meeting regularly at the hall every Thursday evening. This is a potluck-style dinner. All minors must be accompanied by an adult. Please bring your own writing materials, i.e., notepads, pencils, etc. We will be making our own individual learning materials, i.e., flash cards. We will also be identifying a number of other games and tools to keep our language alive. We hope to see you at our weekly meeting to enjoy a couple hours of culture, language and companionship in building, supporting, and expanding our wee-ya' program. For more information, please contact Marva Scott @ 487-9255 ext. 3170. Looking For...
Xaa-wun'-t'i Tribal Members! I was recently placed in charge of the Cemetery Project and as I continue to work on this project I need your help. I am working on compiling an overall "historic document file" that has records of as many of our tribal and community members, that we can collect, that have passed on to the other side. I need your help in gathering information. I am looking for genealogy, service announcements, or any other documentation of dates and names. This collaborated effort would really be helpful in accurately keeping these records. Please send a copy of the announcement, obituary, or information to the Tribal Office or come by and see me. I look forward to working with everyone on preserving the chronology of our people. Cultural Department | |||
Community EventsSmith River Rancheria
"General Membership Meeting" "General Membership Meeting" Tolowa Tribal Members Dee-dvn-la (When): Saturday, March 15, 2008
Dvt-la (Where): Howonquet Community Center
110 Indian Court
Smith River, CA 95567
Ghvt-ti~lh (Time): 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
The agenda for this day will be posted here soon. The doors will open at 8 am with breakfast being served. We will begin the meeting at 9:00 am. Lunch will be served at 12 noon. After lunch we will finish the meeting and conclude. We hope to see everyone there. For more information, please contact the Guschu Administration Office @ 707-487-9255 | |||
Newsletters Archive | |||
AnnouncementsJanuary Birthdays
Smith River Rancheria Public Notice
10/01/2007 - 09/30/2009 The Smith River Rancheria (SRR) is in the process of applying to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for funding in the amount of $605,000. One of the requirements for the application is to provide notice of our intent to apply for the block grant and what the program will accomplish. The intent of this program is to continue with our efforts in providing infrastructure that supports our low-income families in need of affordable housing. This application will supplement our efforts underway to provide that infrastructure for building more housing to meet the tribal needs. Additionally, a component of this application will address planning for a future senior housing component in the future. We are seeking input from members of the tribal community that may have an interest in this project. For more information on this project please contact Earl Brown, Housing Director at 707-487-9255 ext. 3145. | |||
Community & Family ServicesNational Domestic Violence
The National Domestic Violence Hotline began taking calls on February 21, 1996, and is currently answering more than 16,000 calls per month. Staff who answer the phones provide crisis intervention, information, and referrals to local domestic violence programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Hotline phones are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English and Spanish. Hotline staff and volunteers also have access to translators in more than 140 languages.
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Natural ResourcesTsunami Emergency Information
REMINDER NOTICE: We will be testing the tsunami siren on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 A.M. This will be a short blast and will not last the 3-minute blast of an actual event. Please pass the word to your neighbors so that there will be no concerns during this test. This may take a while to get used to so if you have any questions, please contact the office. If you should hear this siren other than at the testing time indicated above, or notice a sudden sea level change, you should move immediately inland to high ground. Requesting Information
Should you feel that you need any assistance due to health, mobility, medications, or other special transportation issues during an emergency evacuation, please contact Brad Cass at the Tribal Administration office at 487-9255. We would like to compile this list prior to an emergency, so it is important that we be contacted as soon as possible. This information will be kept confidential, to be utilized by the Tribal Emergency Response Team only in the case of an emergency requiring evacuation. Please help us to assist you!
Natural Resource Program Office
It is our job in the Natural Resource Programs Office to serve the community of the Smith River Rancheria. As such, should you ever have any questions, suggestions, comments, or concerns about environmental issues (solid waste, recycling, composting, air and water quality issues, waste water problems and issues, emergency planning, etc.); please don?t hesitate to call the Tribal Office at 487-9255. We can also be reached by email at: brad.cass@tolowa-nsn.govphillip.whipple@tolowa-nsn.gov tessa.chapman@tolowa-nsn.gov | |||
EnrollmentEnrollment News
The Enrollment Department needs to keep up the tribal membership roll, events occur daily in the lives of members that should be recorded. We are encouraging the tribal members to periodically check with the enrollment personnel regarding any changes to their household. Important items to keep the Enrollment Department current are:Name Change: Due to marriage or divorce - a copy of certificate. Address: For each family member living in the home. Births: Copy of birth certificate. Deaths: Copy of the death certificate. Court Filings: Copy of custody proceeding or adoption (confidential). We do not need the original, only a copy. This information is kept in your own personal file and kept confidential, copies of anything out of your file is only upon the individuals request. No member can come to the Enrollment Department and ask for another member's information from their file. Important | |||
THPOAn incident happen to me a few months back. An incident I will never forget. I was at one of our cultural places when I noticed a few individuals snooping around the area looking for something. I felt compelled to say something as I could tell they were doing something they should not be. When I approached the three individuals I confronted them by asking them what they were looking for. It was obvious they did not want to disclose this information but a statement was finally made about how they feel like it is their right to do whatever they like on ?public lands?. I asked them again and with a more specific purpose. I wanted them to leave the area and more importantly wanted them to leave the remnants of our history and ancestors alone. They had no business to be at one of our sites looking for items that do not belong to them. It seems like so many people are okay with finding things and claiming them as their own when in fact they belong to no one. The confrontation that took place a few months ago could have gone really bad, even leading to possible violence, but fortunately I had family there to help support me in my efforts to help protect the sacred places of our people. I was lucky to have not acted alone and have learned my lesson on approaching such individuals. You never know what you can come across with such random folks. They could have been very dangerous if provoked. With that said, I will stand by my belief in protecting our sites and watching out for the betterment of our community. This is why I am putting a call out to all of us that would like to be part of this movement, the protection movement. We need more eyes and ears out there to be aware of what is happening throughout our aboriginal territory and ancestral lands. We are the keepers of the land and part of this responsibility is to make sure our sacred sites are not being looted and that the non-renewable resources of our ancestors are left in their resting places. It is very unfortunate we live in a "finders-keepers" society. There are laws that help protect our sites and these apply to both federal and state lands. Just because our sites and objects are now on a state and federal land does give individuals the right to act like "weekend archaeologists". These objects and places need us. We need to come together and unite. As part of our Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) we are working on educating not only our local community about the desecration of our sites but also are encouraging law enforcement to become more involved in protecting the sites as well. We ask that through your participation we can watch over the land and all that it encompasses. Should you have any questions, comments, or would like to participate with our efforts please contact Suntayea Steinruck @ 707-487-9255 X 3180. Disclaimer and acknowledgment of NPS support: "This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior." |
