eehiši iiyaayankwi 'where we are going' (Summer 2023)

eehiši iiyaayankwi

‘where we are going’

2023 Annual Peoria Powwow

Aya,

As the year moves fast into summer, I want to take a moment to honor and congratulate all the Seniors that graduated earlier this season. I applaud your dedication and persistence through education, and I truly enjoy reading through our Summer Newsletter to see the accomplishments of each of our graduating citizens.

The summer season began alongside our 26th Annual Peoria Powwow. It was great to visit and dance with family and neighbors again. Each year, I reflect on the celebration, and I am deeply appreciative of all the days spent gathering and storytelling at our Annual Powwow. I hope all our citizens had the chance to visit your Peoria headquarters and facilities, while utilizing your citizen rate at the Buffalo Run Hotel during your stay

Coming up, we are focused on and preparing for our upcoming buffalo acquisition. Bringing buffalo to the Peoria Nation will serve as a great step forward in our land, cultural, and economic endeavors. I am excited to see what this step will bring back to the people of the Peoria Tribe.

I look around at the accomplishments within and of our People, and I am excited to walk forward into summer of 2023.

See you soon,

Chief Craig Harper

our deepest condolences to the families of...

Rebecca Ann Danielson

Tommy Wayne Dowell

Beatrice Mearlyn Lammers

Virginia Mae McGlothlin

Alma Jean Slaughter

Thomas Blair Sorensen

The Peoria Tribal Burial Assistance Benefit

The Peoria Tribal Burial Assistance Benefit is $10,000 per citizen.

All Burial Assistance Applications must be completed and returned with an original certified death certificate no later than 180 days from the date of death. All deceased must be enrolled members of the Peoria Tribe. Payment will be made directly to the funeral home. Please visit with the funeral home concerning this policy. This application is available online at peoriatribe.com/forms or by contacting the Tribal Programs Manager, Donna Harp via email at dharp@peoriatribe.com or by telephone at 918-540-2535 or 1-800-259-9987.

Bea Jones Lammers

Bea Jones Lammers, born 5/14/38, passed on Sunday March 26th of pulmonary complications. She was preceded in death by her son Steven and her Husband Len.

Bea was raised in Pipestone MN and along with her grandparents William and Beatrice Burns, spent many a summer performing as Minnehaha in the Hiawatha pageant. She went on to Macalister in Minneapolis to earn her Registered Nurses degree. She then took her first job in Hawaii where she would meet Len, her devoted husband of 61 years. Bea later earned a Masters in Counceling and had a successful and rewarding career. She as one of the most treasured wives, mothers and friends that ever graced the earth. She always had a smile and a shoulder available and was a truly gracious lady.

Her sense of humor healed many a bruised heart through the years and she will be missed by all those lucky enough to have known her. She is survived by her daughter Laura Bea Lammers, her brother Bill Burns, her granddaughter Julia Beatrice Lammers and her daughter-in-law Naoko Lammers.

SubmittedbyLauraLammers

Honoring Veterans at First Annual Memorial Day Tribute

Families and friends gather for a traditional meal following the first ever, annual Memorial Day Tribute brought to you by the Cultural Preservation Department. It was a beautiful day to honor our veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

2023 Peoria Graduates

Caron Nicole Littlecook

Pawnee Nation College and Nebraska Indian Community College

American Indian Studies Associates of Arts

Parents: the late Wayne Blalock and Christie Blalock

Grace Anna Sayers-Garcia Epic Charter School Class of 2023

Jacy Landers Choctaw High School Choctaw, Oklahoma

Jacy Landers (left) and father, Jason Landers (right) celebrate Jacy’s graduation!

Crystal Rodriguez

Pitzer College - Claremont, California

Bachelors in Art with Honors

During her time at Pitzer College, she received a research grant from the CASA Pitzer program which enabled her to hold space for arts and connection between mothers undergoing substance use treatment and their children living with them in an inpatient facility. She is also working on an art practice that builds community and discusses interdependence and intergenerational healing, through sculpture, printmaking, and muralism. Rodriguez came to education after a 12-year hiatus and is also a wife and mother. Her future plans include the Hecker Community Fellowship, which will provide a year long employment with Pitzer’s Community Engagement Center where she will be part of a team that connects faculty, students, and community partners.

Zane Rampey

Adair High School

May 14, 2023

Kiyah Sisco

Missouri Southern State University

Bachelor of Science in Education

Macy Farha Oklahoma State University Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and Marketing

Matthew Evans Organizational Studies Grandview University Des Moines, Iowa

I have a career that I love, but I wanted to be an example for my kids that they don’t need to go to college right after highschool and can still decide to go later if they need to. I was inspired by my wife, Veronica, who earned her degree at 32 and showed me that it could be done with the help and support of our family. The tribe helped make this possible and I have always been a proud to represent our tribe whenever possible.

Kelsey Leigh Mitchell Perry High School #PeoriaProud

Daughter of Norman and Jacqueline Blalock, Aaliyah Blalock will continue her education at the Tulsa Technology Center.

She will be attending the University of Alabama in Birmingham in the fall.

I just wanted to send a quick note, and say thank you for supporting my education. I am Peoria Proud and cannot wait to continue striving for my educational goals in college next year.

Aaliyah Jordan Blalock Skiatook Class of 2023

Tyler Hodges

Madison Standifer James Clemens High School Madison, Alabama

Georgia Mathis Celebrates 96th Birthday Among Family and Friends

Peoria citizen, Georgia Mathis, turned 96 years old on May 26, 2023. Georgia is the oldest living citizen of the Peoria Tribe. Family and friends gathered at the Peoria Community Center to celebrate her. Members of the Peoria Tribe Business Committee (top right photo from left) Second Chief Rosanna Dobbs, Secretary Jenny Rampey, and Chief Craig Harper were able to attend. Happy Birthday Georgia!

SubmittedbyIsabellaClifford

Cultural Preservation

26th Annual Peoria Powwow

June 16 & 17, 2023

A special thank you to our Head Staff, all contestants, and vendors for making the Annual Peoria Powwow a success!

Introducing Wellness Coordinator & Community Health Representative: Kyle Arnall

The Peoria Wellness Program continues to develop as we introduce Kyle Arnall, the Community Health Representative and Wellness Coordinator. Kyle will be fulfilling services such as monthly health screenings and patient education, medication pick-ups, home visits and companionship, and wellness advocacy. If you are interested in receiving services from the Wellness Program, sign up for updates using the QR code below! Through tribal and community outreach, the Peoria Wellness Program aims to assist Native Americans in their individualized health and wellness journey.

Kyle Arnall Wellness Coordinator & CHR

karnall@peoriatribe.com

918.540.2535

Early Childhood

Students and families worked together to plant their very own tomato plant to take home (top left & right). By now, these family’s tomato plants should be ripening, almost ready-to-eat!

Early Childhood families prepared a quick, fresh, and healthy three-course meal together (left). This encourages independence while leaving the event with new skill sets and boosted morale within each family.

An Exciting Summer for Early Childhood Students: an Update from Leadership

Spring was a beautiful season for the Early Childhood Program. In April, parents were invited to attend a presentation on container gardening, by Early Childhood in partner with OSU Extension office. Each family proudly left with an official start to their home garden! In May, families were able to participate in a ‘Cooking with Kids’ demonstration to encourage innerfamily engagement!

The children at our learning centers were filled with experiences while our subsidy program charged through recertifications! Parent-Teacher conferences were offered to all Early Childhood families, and our developmental assessment reports showed continued progress in our students.

Moving into summer, we start preparing for the annual 4th of July celebration and lay out plans for a backpack giveaway come August. Be sure to check our Facebook page for details as we get closer to the end of the season!

Several of the current preschool children will move into school age as they begin Pre-K and Kindergarten this fall. To maintain reasonable group sizes, we are opening a second school-age room at Woodland Academy, utilizing our multipurpose room. We are excited that our growth has brought about this need.

Woodland Academy also implemented a ‘Mother’s Room’ this season, utilizing our nurse’s office. The Mother’s Room provides a comfortable space, furnished with a rocking chair, table, and a few comfort items for mothers, as well as team members with children enrolled in our program, who breastfeed, pump or just need a quiet space. The Mother’s Room has been well received by parents and team members!

We are midway through an exciting summer schedule for the children enrolled in our learning centers this summer. Our school age children are going on local field trips, as well as, enjoying some new activities, including dance lessons, a painting class, and woodworking! While we enjoy the summer fun, we are participating in a summer reading program to help prevent summer learning loss.

Natural Resources Team Builds Connections with Events, Outreach, and Networking

The Natural Resources team spent time with Early Childhood to teach them the importance of the root systems while getting creative with seed bombs! Each preschool child had the opportunity to get hands on to create their own seed bomb which were planted before the next rain on the Peoria campus property!

how to sample for Macroinvertebrates with a kick net sein. Benthic Maroinvertebrates are much like mussels. They can be monitored to assess the health of a river or stream, providing valuable insight to the ecosystem! Macroinvertebrate and mussels will not survive in heavily polluted water or in the absense of their host fish. After attending a benthic macroinvertebrate bioassessment training, Roten and Walker used their kick net to collect and identify different macroinvertebrate in Spring and Neosho Rivers. During this assessment, they collected juvenile mussels! Because the presence or absence of mussels is indictive of water health, this discovery indicates restoration efforts are likely to be successful.

Ashlyn Roten (left) and Mindy Walker, Environmental Specialists, learn

Peoria Tribe Aquatic Facility hosted EPA Region 6 Regional Administrator, Dr. Nance, along with staff from Region 6 and 7. They were in the area to visit superfund sites, discuss related issues, and explore tribal environmental efforts! Dr. Nance and their team were impressed with our facility and mussel restoration efforts, calling the visit, ‘the highlight of their trip’!

In April, the Peoria Tribe staff participated in an organized clean up around headquarters! All available staff were invited to compete in groups for the ‘most trash bags full’! The maintenance crew won, bringing home the ‘World’s Smallest Footprint’ award. This clean up was organized by Natural Resources in honor of Earth Day on April 22, 2023.

Natural Resources representatives, Erin Barnes and La Shell Thomas, attended the EPA Region 6 RTOC in Fort Worth, Texas. Barnes and Thomas were able to visit with Project Officers one on one and network with other participating Tribes and EPA officials. Erin Barnes attended as a speaker on a Tribal and EPA Grants panels!

Cleaner Indoor Air: a House Plant’s Effectiveness According to NASA Study

Indoor plants are not only great for adding some aesthetic appeal to your home, but they also provide a range of health benefits. According to NASA, plants are known to reduce stress levels, improve mood, and even purify the air of harmful polluntants.

In the late 1980s, NASA conducted the ‘Clean Air Study’. The purpose of this study was to determine which plants could effectively remove harmful chemicals from the air, specifically in sealed environments like spacecrafts. The study’s results were surprising, showing that certain indoor plants were more highly effective at removing toxins from the air than others.

Chlorophytum comosum

This plant, ‘the spider plant’, is easy to care for in various lighting conditions and is known to remove formaldehyde, a chemical commonly found in household cleaning products.

Sansevieria trifasciata

This easy to care for plant, known as the ‘snake plant’, is particularly effective at removing benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from the air.

Spathiphyllum

This plant, ‘the peace lily’, is known to remove several harmful chemicals, including benzene and trichloroethylene, which are commonly found in household products such as paint, varnish, and adhesives.

Ficus Elastica

Known as the ‘rubber plant’, the fiscus elastica removes formaldehyde from the air, which is commonly found in household cleaning products, while producing large, glossy leaves.

In conclusion, indoor plants not only add beauty and life to your home, but they can also provide air purification. The NASA Clean Air Study has shown that certain indoor plants are highly effective at removing harmful chemicals from the air, making them an excellent choice for anyone looking to improve the air quality in their home. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced gardener, there are plenty of indoor plants to choose from that can help keep your home healthy and clean.

Source: Kandwal, Neha. 12 NASA recommended air-purifying plants that you must have in your house. iamgreenified. medium.com. December 12, 2019. Accessed June 1, 2023.

Total: $2,308,140.34

Summary Budget Comparison from March 31, 2023 through May 1, 2023