Special Election November 20, 2021

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NOTICE OF ANNUAL ELECTION PEORIA TRIBE OF INDIANS OF OKLAHOMA Saturday, November 20, 2021 The Election Committee of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma announces the Special Election is scheduled on Saturday, November 20, 2021. Position to be filled is: Second Chief for the remainder of the four year term expiring in March 2025.

Any member of the Peoria Tribe, as defined in Article III, Section 1 – MEMBERSHIP OF TRIBE, of the Constitution of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, shall be eligible to vote, provided the member is eighteen (18) years of age or over on the date of the election. Each member will be required to show proof of identification at each election in the form of a government issued photo identification showing their name to match the Official Voters’ List provided by the Tribal Enrollment Office. (Peoria Tribe Election Ordinance, Article VI-VOTERS, Section 1) Polling place on Saturday, November 20, 2021, will be at the Peoria Tribal Administration Building Conference Room, 118 South Eight Tribes Trail, Miami, Oklahoma, from 7:00 a.m. to Noon. Candidates for offices are: SECOND CHIEF: Rosanna Dobbs Jason Dewayne Dollarhide Wesley Louis Farless, (tosan, Wess) Brian Mitchell In the event no candidate receives a majority vote, a run-off election will be conducted between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes. The Election Committee will immediately proceed to call for a run-off election by announcing the time polls will open. Polls for a run-off election will remain open for a period of two (2) hours. Announcement of the run-off election will be made at the Peoria Tribal Office and posted on the official website of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, www.peoriatribe.com. Balloting will continue until one candidate receives a clear majority of total votes cast. Voting results will be announced immediately at the Peoria Tribal Office and posted on the official website of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, www.peoriatribe.com.

MASKS ARE ENCOURAGED FOR THE SAFETY OF THE ELECTION COMMITTEE AND TRIBAL CITIZENS COMPLIMENTARY MASKS AND HAND SANITIZER WILL BE PROVIDED


SECOND CHIEF

Rosanna Dobbs

Jason Dollarhide

Tosan Wesley Farless

Brian Mitchell

N


Rosanna Dobbs


After much prayer and reflection, I am excited to announce that I have declared my candidacy for the position of Second Chief in the upcoming Special Election on November 20, 2021. I am a lifelong resident of Miami, Oklahoma, Ottawa County. I am married to my wonderful husband of 10 years and have three children. We were raised and live in a community of nine federally recognized tribes that are rich with Native American pride, culture, and tradition. The impact of the nine Tribes in terms of program services, employment, and economic opportunities to the entire community is significant and evidenced every day. My career in tribal service began in 1998 working in a tribal accounting office as an assistant accountant. I then moved into the Environmental Department as Director of Environmental and Natural Resources and have carried out many duties and projects as assigned. In this role, I have also been involved and successfully administered multiple social service programs. Over twenty years of tribal experience has given me a vast knowledge of the inner workings of a Sovereign Tribal Government. I have written, negotiated, and administered federal, state grants and contracts as well as tribally funded programs. This experience has given me the privilege of working for and with multiple Chiefs, Business Committee members and other tribal leadership in planning service to their tribal members with passion and pride. It would be my honor to finally be able to serve my own Tribe and use my extensive experience as an asset to continue to move the Peoria Tribe forward. It is our job to not only preserve our past but to nurture and care for our present in a way that grows our future. The current leadership is leading us on a flourishing path, and I pledge to work cooperatively with fellow Business Committee members to enhance their skills and knowledge to continue to keep us on a growing and rising path. It is a privilege to have this opportunity and I ask for your support at the polls on Saturday, November 20, 2021, at the Peoria Tribal Administration Building, 118 South Eight Tribes Trail in Miami, Ok. Your voice and vote matters. Second Chief Candidate, Rosanna Dobbs


Jason Dollarhide


Fellow Tribal Members, My name is Jason Dollarhide. I hope this candidate’s statement finds you and your family safe and well in these trying times. My Indian name is Co-La-Way-Seka. I am the son of the late Sheldon Staller and JoAnn Greenfeather. I was raised by my late grandparents Joseph and Mary B. Olsen. My grandmother was very active within our Native American community. As a result, I was blessed to be raised and welcomed in that community. I had the privilege to watch and learn as my grandmother took care of families in their time of need by cooking or sitting up with them. I was raised at our local tribal and ceremonial powwow grounds and I am honored to represent the Peoria Tribe as a gourd dancer at numerous pow-wows throughout Oklahoma. I am well known and respected within our Native American community. I believe that this is a very important part of my role as 2nd Chief if elected. I currently live in Miami, OK with my fiancé Sabrina Stephens and our dog Huck. My experience in Tribal government began in 2002 as Third Councilman then as 2nd Chief in 2004. I resigned in 2018 due to severe health reasons. During my years on the Business Committee, I witnessed Buffalo Run Casino become successful and supported the expansion of the Scholarship program. One program that I had the honor of developing during my service is the Elders and Disabled program. Alan Goforth and I were instrumental in designing the program and bringing it before our fellow Business Committee members for approval. Along with my experience in Tribal government, I am familiar with the workings of our individual Tribal programs and have developed good relationships with Tribal staff. I am employed by the Housing Authority of the Peoria Tribe. I have been employed since 2003 and I have been the Executive Director since 2013. It has been a fulfilling job as I am able to interact with my fellow Tribal members and the Native American community. It allows me to have an extension involvement within our National and Local Native American communities. During the eight years that I have been Executive Director, The Housing Authority’s Audits have been without any findings. We have empowered Tribal members in obtaining housing through homeownership or Down Payment Assistance programs. We have also assisted tribal members through the rehab program which provides funds for home repairs and allows tribal members to retain and live in their homes with safe, sanitary living conditions. If elected, I would assist the Business Committee to ensure our Tribe’s continued growth. I have seen growth for our Tribe from a business perspective which is a great testament to our current business committee. In addition, I especially look forward to progressing the growth in our assistance programs which are assets for several Peoria members to allow their growth as individuals. In a recent meeting, a Business Committee member expressed concern that we have tribal members that are having a hard time putting food on their table. Under the CARES ACT, we purchased several head of cattle under the label of “food sovereignty.” Let’s put that sovereignty to work and get that distributed to the Tribal members. This is a temporary relief. Growth in assistance programs isn’t a cure to all of our day-to-day struggles, but it does help in the long term. With my years of experience, I believe that I bring a perspective to the Business Committee that will best help my fellow Tribal members. I will be a voice to all Tribal members. I would appreciate your vote on November 20th Thank you, Jason Dollarhide


tosan wesley louis farless


Aya ceeki Peewaaliaki. Hello all Peoria Citizens. Aya, Tosan weenswiaani. Hello, I am Tosan, Wesley Louis Farless. I would be honored and grateful to be your new Second Chief for the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. I believe that wisely, we need to do everything we can to help strengthen and broaden our Peoria Tribe’s economic state, expand our businesses to amplify the funding to our programs better. We should also at the same time now and throughout our Peoria future, intelligently grow our programs and create new language and cultural projects and programs. With that, further help and increase our revitalization of our cultural identity including our language, traditions, beliefs, arts, unity, and more. I would like to help to bring in even more great traditional Peoria thinking, believing, morals, ethics, principles, and our great Peoria way of being into our Tribal Government. I believe that this is what is needed and wanted by a majority of Peoria Citizens, to help guide our Peoria Tribe with a good Peoria Heart, Mind and Spirit, to new greater levels of unity, well-being, language, traditions, and cultural growth, alongside our well-being of economic and business growth of our great sovereign Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. My integrity, my character, my commitment, and my deep passion I have for and to our Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and each and every Peoria Citizen, is of the many greater forces that drives me daily, to do absolutely greater things and possibilities for all my fellow Peoria Citizens. I want to see our Peoria Tribe prosper greatly as a whole and our Peoria Citizens individually to prosper as well, and willing and able to help each other more. I sincerely look forward to our future as we continue to become a greater Peoria community, with a. larger stronger robust participation in everything we do. At all times in our lives and in business and government, we must truly always remember the Creator and our Ancestors are watching us. We must honor them as they honored us. We must honor our future generations in that same honorable traditional way and more. We must show them how grateful we are. In that gratefulness, do great, and honorable running of our Tribal Government, businesses and as a Tribe as a whole. I humbly as for your respectful confidence to represent you all as your new Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma Second Chief and for your vote on November 20, 2021. Mihši Neewe, Thank you very much, Tosan Wesley Louis Farless


brian mitchell


Dear Peoria Tribal Members, My name is Brian Mitchell. I am a proud member of this tribe. I am seeking the Office of 2nd Chief of our Peoria Tribe as part of the Business Committee. Please consider me a candidate. In March of 2021 I first submitted candidacy for this position. Please review my personal history and qualifications included below: I started my teaching career at Tulsa Christian Schools in 1990 as a Teacher, Coach, and Director of Finance. In 1991 I began a successful career at Riverton USD 404 where I am still employed. I have dedicated countless hours to the students of this district. My classroom duties include teaching Computers/ Business/MS Mather in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. In addition to being a classroom leader, I have served as a coach in football, basketball, baseball, and softball. I feel blessed to have led many teams to success. Athletics have been a wonderful avenue to lead student athletes on a road to success. I have been active in our community in various capacities during this time as well. I presently reside in Riverton, KS, but was raised in NE Oklahoma. My wife, Kim and I were both raised in NE Oklahoma. We have 4 beautiful daughters; Cheslyn, Shelby, Zoey, and Isabella. We have also parented many other foster children through the years. My two oldest daughters Cheslyn and Shelby both work in Miami, OK. Cheslyn is a teacher for Miami Public Schools, and Shelby is a Community Health Representative for the Peoria Tribe. My youngest, Zoey is a sophomore at Pittsburg State University. Isabella is our foster daughter that still lives in our home. She graduated from Riverton High and is employed by Pizza Hut. As mentioned, both my wife, Kim and I were raised in Northeast OK as were our parents and grandparents. My ties with the Peoria Tribe and NE Oklahoma run deep within my ancestry. For many years, I have wanted to help my tribe and people but had too many family and work-related commitments that kept me from devoting the amount of time to our Tribe that I know it will require to continue to be successful. However, with my children reaching the age of adulthood and me choosing to perform fewer extra- curricular activities as an educator, I feel now is the perfect opportunity for me to become more involved with continuing the tribal interests of the people of the Peoria Tribe. My education includes an Associate’s Degree in Business from NEO A&M, a Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration with a minor in Finance and later completed a Business education degree with a Math endorsement from Northeaster State University. I also hold a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Pittsburg State University. I have completed additional educational hours from Tulsa Junior College, Missouri Southern State University, as well as many continuing education hours from Pittsburg State University. As a member of the Business committee as 2nd Chief, my plans will be to continue working with the Chief and other Committee members to sustain, build, and execute the Tribal vision of leadership and collaboration so that our tribe will continue to grow and prosper for many years to come. I am excited for and proud of my tribe. I greatly desire the opportunity to assist in the continuing success and growth for our future and our children’s future as well. I will appreciate your vote on November 20, 2021. Best wishes and best of luck to all the other candidates. Brian Mitchell

Aaron Adson


#Peoriaproud


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