Margaret Ann Brower

“The Delaware Nation is one of the most respected tribal nations in western Oklahoma and it has truly been a great honor and privilege to serve as your Secretary these past four years.

My family and I are descendants of Black Beaver and have been inspired by his great leadership to serve our Nation in whatever capacity was needed over the years.

The tribal nations of the twenty-first century are not the tribes of the past. Your Nation has been fortunate in the past few years to have visionary leadership and dedicated employees that continue to plan for growth and sustainability of its Delaware citizens through many new programs available regardless where they may reside.
The Delaware Nation currently has 50+ grants that are helping to revive our culture, language, provide internet, childcare, education and various other programs to help a wide variety of our citizens’ needs.

Please review my resume and decide what candidate is best prepared to continue building the future for you and your children. Your vote will be greatly appreciated to help me continue serving you and our great Nation!

The power of the General Council is through your vote. Remember, Absentee Ballots must be in the Anadarko Post Office no later than Friday, June 16, 2023. Local voting at the polls will be held on Saturday, June 17, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m.

Please feel free to contact me at abrower@DelawareNation-nsn.gov with questions, concerns or ideas to help better the Nation for all our citizens. Your input is always appreciated.”

VOTE FOR EXPERIENCE, INTEGRITY, TRANSPARENCY

• Current Secretary of the Delaware Nation (2019 to present)
• Chairman for the RAED Committee (2017-2018)
• Delaware Nation Treasurer (2013-2017)
• Chairman of Lenape Entertainment (2011-2013)
• Delaware Nation Gaming Commissioner (2007-2011)
• Chairman of Delaware Nation Tax Commission (1996-2007)
• 24 years Teaching at Anadarko High School
• 9 years of Teaching at Riverside Indian School

Education

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Business with a Minor in Accounting, and an additional Major in Language Arts
• Masters of Education Degree in Secondary School Education
• Masters of Education Degree in Secondary School Counseling

 

Trinity Guido

“He! Weli Kishku Delaware Nation Citizens,

My name is Trinity Guido and I am running for the office of Vice-President. I am from the Jack Harry and Alipahkeynah descendency line as well as the French family of our Nation. I am honored to come from a family full of multi-generational tribal leaders. Because of my upbringing, I am culturally connected and know our tribal governance structures. I was raised in the Anadarko community which instilled in me a passion for my people. My tribal leadership journey began in 2010 when I was given the immense honor of being selected as the Delaware Nation Tribal Princess.

Soon after, my work history began at our Gold River Casino, Casino Oklahoma, and the tribal complex where I worked for the Gaming Commission for 5 years. I have also served on our tribal leadership boards for the last 9 years including the Election Committee and currently serving on the Citizenship Committee.
I possess a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Oklahoma in Public Health and Native American Studies. I am also on the leadership board for our newly founded Lenni Lenapexkweyok women’s collective group that represents all 5 Lenape communities. We carry out our groups’ initiatives while creating lasting bonds with our tribal homelands. Throughout my life, I have served in numerous elected leadership roles for tribal and non­ tribal organizations. I have attended many Lenape events and community gatherings in these capacities. I am a fierce advocate for our people and given the opportunity, I promise that I will represent our great Nation with honor and pride.

Initiatives that I promise to support are:
• Creating more opportunities for our tribal youth
• Making our elders the highest priority
• Opportunities for more diverse economic development
• Placing Lenape culture at the forefront of our future.

For these reasons, I encourage you to get out and vote for me on June 17th, 2023.”

 

 

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday pledged to give Native Americans a stronger voice in federal affairs, promising at the first in-person summit on tribal affairs in six years that he will bolster tribal consultations, inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in decision-making and funding for communities struggling with the impacts of climate change.

Biden spoke on the opening day of the two-day White House Tribal Nations Summit to representatives from hundreds of Native American and Alaska Native tribes, reiterating and announcing a series of new commitments. The summit coincides with National Native American Heritage Month, which is celebrated in November.

The Biden administration said its goal is to build on previous progress and create opportunities for lasting change in Indian Country, which isn’t guaranteed without codified laws and regulations.

“Administrations can bring in their priorities, but they shouldn’t be telling us who have lived here since the beginning of time how to manage our resources, which resources we can even access,” said Richard Peterson, president of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. “These are things that are inherent in our sovereignty.”

Among the pledges from the Biden administration is to establish uniform standards for federal agencies to consult with tribes and go beyond a “check the box” exercise, finalize a 10-year plan to revitalize Native languages and strengthen tribal rights like hunting and fishing that are outlined in existing treaties.

Biden also said he intends to designate Avi Kwa Ame, a desert mountain near Laughlin, Nevada, that’s considered sacred to Native Americans, as a new national monument. Last year, he restored the boundaries for Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

On climate change, Biden said $135 million in federal money is going to 11 tribal communities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Maine and Washington to help plan for and relocate to safe ground because of climate-related environmental threats.

“There are tribal communities at risk of being washed away,” he told summit participants. “It’s devastating.”

A 2020 study from the Interior Department found that $5 billion would be needed over the next 50 years to relocate tribal communities and Alaska Native villages at risk of severe infrastructure damage due to coastal erosion and extreme weather events.

On health care, Biden reiterated a commitment to push for $9.1 billion for the Indian Health Service, which provides health care for federally recognized tribes, and make the funding mandatory.

That news was welcomed by Lummi Nation Chairman Tony Hillaire. The tribe based in Washington state took out a loan to build a new health care clinic and plans to offer services to treat substance abuse, Hillaire said.

“Part of our understanding of the trust and treaty responsibility of the federal government is to ensure resources for the work we do in taking care of our people at home,” he told The Associated Press.

Whether Congress will act on the request for increased funding for health care and other tribal issues is another matter.

Navajo President Jonathan Nez said he’s been advocating for a speedier process to get infrastructure projects approved on the reservation that stretches 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) into New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. He said it requires constant advocacy.

“Even when it’s legislated, it takes a significant effort especially when, at times, tribal issues take the back seat to larger, national issues,” said in an interview.

Thomas Lozano, chair of the National American Indian Housing Council, wants to see a federal grant program for housing in tribal communities reauthorized and a boost in funding that takes into account inflation and supply chain costs. Housing ensures tribal elders who are historians and children who will be future leaders are safe, he said.

“It’s important to keep a roof over their heads and not just in substandard living, but in comfortable living that every family deserves,” Lozano, who is from the Enterprise Rancheria tribe in California, told the AP.

Federal agencies in the Biden administration have been creating tribal advisory councils and reimaging tribal consultation policies with a goal of garnering consensus among tribes. Some of the more significant commitments from the Biden administration involve incorporating Indigenous knowledge and practices into decision-making and federal research.

The Commerce Department is the latest federal agency to sign on to an effort to work with tribes to co-manage publish resources, such as water and fisheries. The Agriculture Department and the Interior Department have signed 20 co-stewardship agreements with tribes, and an additional 60 are under review, the administration said.

The tribal nations summit wasn’t held during then-President Donald Trump’s administration. The Biden administration held one virtually last year as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the U.S. and highlighted deepening and long-standing inequities in tribal communities.

Both administrations signed off on legislation that infused much-needed funding into Indian Country to help address health care, lost revenue, housing, internet access and other needs. The 574 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. received a combined $20 billion in American Rescue Plan Act money under the Biden administration.

Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which provided $8 billion to tribes and Alaska Native corporations but had more rigid guidelines on how it could be spent. The Treasury Department was sued over how that funding was allocated and faced harsh criticism for the time it took to get the money to tribes.

Biden’s Treasury Department said it prioritized tribal engagement and feedback in distributing funding from the latest aid package. A report released Wednesday by the administration outlines how tribes spent the money on more than 3,000 projects and services.

The Karuk Tribe in northwestern California, for example, used some of the aid for permanent and temporary housing after a wildfire that burned 200 homes in the Klamath Mountains displaced tribal members.

The Native Village of Deering and other tribal governments in Alaska pooled funds to ensure access to preschool and free meals, along with extra servings in an area where food has been scarce.

Other tribal communities across the U.S. have spent the money on housing for tribal members, transportation to veterans hospitals, after-school facilities, language and culture programs, emergency services and health care facilities.

Tribes celebrated the opportunity at the summit to visit in-person and connect with U.S. officials.

Biden promised to make official presidential visits to Indian Country, saying “the United States owes a solemn trust and treaty obligation that we haven’t always lived up to. I will do so in the enduring spirit of our nation-to-nation relationship, the spirit of friendship, stewardship, and respect.”

He stressed the need for “respect for tribes as nations and treaties as law, … respect for Indigenous knowledge and tribal consultations as a key part of federal agency decision making. ”
___

Fonseca reported from Flagstaff, Arizona. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

By Felicia Fonseca & Fatima Hussein | AP – Washington Post 11/30/2022 | Photos provided by President Deborah Dotson

ANADARKO, OK — Choctaw Nation artist DG Smalling painted an incredible illustration of the Turtle concept used on the historic map that displays the Philadelphia region known as Coaquannock, “Grove of Tall Pines” as first seen by the settlers and confirms the existence of the Delaware people before contact. Mr. Smalling presented the illustration to Delaware Nation’s Executive Committee during their duly called meeting on Tuesday, September 13, 2022. Tribal President Deborah Dotson and each member of the Executive Committee autographed Mr. Smalling’s fine art! Vice President Michael McLane captured the masterpiece for everyone to see! Follow him on Facebook & Instagram and be sure to catch his future events in support of Native artists of Oklahoma! Wanìshi for the incredible honor, Mr. Smalling!

Would you like to plan a visit to see the map of Coaquannock at the Cultural Preservation building in downtown Anadarko? Visit 103 W. Broadway to view this and other Delaware artifacts during normal office hours Monday – Friday from 8 AM – 4:30 PM.

By Wesley Boone Public Relations 9/13/2022 | Photo by Michael McLane