Village of Solomon Tribal Membership Newsletter (2012)

Village of Solomon Tribal Membership Newsletter

Spring/Summer 2012

Box 2053, Nome, Alaska 99762 phone (907) 443-4985 toll free 855-443-4985 fax (907) 443-5189

Proposed Changes Coming to Seat Elder & Youth as

Voting Members of the Tribal Council

The Village of Solomon’s tribal council is working on incorporating both the youth and

elder ad hoc advisors by adding those representatives to the

five member tribal council

thereby increasing the council

to seven members. Language

is being drafted and will be

submitted to the tribal membership for input. Ordinance

06-01 states the following:

The constitution, bylaws, or

corporate charter may be

adopted, amended or repealed

by a majority vote of the tribal

membership voting at a regular

or special membership in

which a quorum of twenty percent (20%) of tribal members

qualified to vote is established.

Voting shall be accomplished

by ballots and absentee ballots.

Don’t forget to attend

the tribal gathering

on May 9th, 5:30 to

8 pm at XYZ Sr. Center

in Nome

LEDP Scheduled for Review at May’s Tribal Council

Meeting

The Village of Solomon’s tribal

council is inviting all tribal

members to attend May’s meeting to participate in the annual

review of the Local Economic

Development Plan (LEDP).

Part of the review will include

reprioritizing the village priorities. These priorities provide

the tribal council direction in

serving the members, the community, and business of the

tribe by promoting economic

opportunities that improve the

economic, social and environmental quality of life. A teleconference line is set up for

members that wish to call in to

participate. Dinner and door

prizes will be provided from

5:30 to 8 PM for those attending in person.

Contact the tribal coordinator

for more information or if you

need a ride to attend.

Inside this issue:

Solomon Elder Passes Away

2

Annual Meeting Date Set

3

Youth Representative Appointed

4

Jobs Available

5

Solomon B&B Open During Iditarod

5

Youth Camp Applications Available

6

Solomon T-Shirts Available Now

7

Village of Solomon Tribal Membership Newsletter

Page 2

Franklin Okitkon Passes Away February 29th in Nome

Franklin Okitkon was born in Un- poration selected Franklin Okitkon

galik to Martin and Esther Okitkon, as its Elder of the Year. He also

reindeer herders in the White

represented the Village of Solomon

Mountain, Koyuk and Ungalik are- serving on the Bering Strait/Norton

as. They raised Franklin speaking Sound Migratory Bird Council and

Inupiaq along with six other sibattended AFN’s elders and youth

lings, all of whom have passed on. conference. Franklin was a regular

Franklin retired from many years of at the XYZ Senior Center and enconstructing and maintaining

joyed driving his four-wheeler

Nome’s road system with the Laaround town to say hello and visit

borers Union #942. He was a full with everyone.

time resident of Solomon until 2007

when he relocated to Nome. Frank- He was survived by his children

lin served in the Alaska Territorial Myrtle Begen, Jonathan Komakhuk, grandchildren Leah KomaGuard during World War II and

upon Alaska statehood, joined the khuk, Derek Rodriguez, Stephanie

US Army. He served in a Special Rodriguez and great grandchildren

Jonathan Victoriano and Nalani

Intelligence Unit responsible for

intercepting and interpreting Soviet Victoriano.

Union communications during the

A burial is planned at Solomon in

Cold War. Last October he was

late summer, most likely August.

officially recognized and honored

for his years of service in the Alaska Territorial Guard at a ceremony

held in Nome where he was presented with a certificate and medal.

Franklin posing with his daughter

Myrtle Begen at the Solomon tribal

gathering in October 2011.

Last year the Solomon Native Cor“A sad day for my Solomon family. We lost our precious elder Franklin Okitkon today. A true Solomon legacy. We honor his life and his

graciousness. We will miss his rich Solomon history, his gentle ways, his laughter and kindness. RIP Franklin.”

Tribal council member Cynthia Olanna comments upon learning of his passing

Left picture: L to R: the Okitkon siblings: Willette, Theodore, Garfield, Edison and Franklin in Solomon, Alaska

Right picture: L to R: Brian James, William “Pumpkin” Curran and Franklin Okitkon. Taken during Solomon schoolhouse renovation project

Village of Solomon Tribal Membership Newsletter

Page 3

Interested in Serving on the

Tribal Council?

Letters of Intent Schedule

(2) Letters of Intent-Sixty (60)-Forty (40)

Seats A and B are up for election this year. Ballots

days Prior to Election:

will contain a list of qualified candidates for voters to

choose from. Voters will choose two (2) names from Candidates must declare their candidacy in writing

through a Letter of Intent in accordance with Section

the list of candidates on the ballot. Voters will also

IV of the election ordinance. Letters of Intent must be

be able to write in one candidate as an alternative to

candidates on the ballot. The two candidates receiving received by the tribal council no sooner than sixty (60)

days and no later than forty (40) days prior to the electhe most votes will be elected.

tion in order for a candidate to have their name included on ballots. Letters of intent must be received by

June 2, 2012.

SAVE THE DATE!

Village of Solomon’s

Annual Meeting is

Saturday, August 11, 2012

at 2 PM

at the Solomon

Community Center.

DON’T FORGET TO

VOTE!

Election day is Friday,

August 10, 2012 in Nome

at the office located at

110 Front Street, Suite 101

Hours: 8 AM to 4:30 PM

per elections ordinance.

Contact the office if you

need a ride to vote.

Absentee Voting

In addition to voting on Village of Solomon’s election

day, absentee voting is allowed. Absentee ballots will

be mailed to each eligible voter 30 days prior to election day. Tribal members may choose to submit an

absentee ballot prior to election day if they are unable

to vote on election day or attend the annual meeting.

Voters may only vote once.

The Annual Meeting notice with voting instructions

will mailed to every eligible voter (18 years and older). If you do not receive your notice, please call the

office immediately at 443-4985 so a notice may be

mailed.

Kirsten Timbers Seeks ReElection

“I would like to thank the tribal members for their

continued support. I have served on the Village of

Solomon council for 6 years and this last year was

elected as President. It is an honor to serve you all

and I know that with your continued support I can

help provide improved services to our entire membership. In the last couple years we have developed the

emergency assistance program, given out Solomon

Tee shirts and held our first Anchorage membership

meeting. I hope to continue building on these activities and more. Quyanna for your vote and support.”

Village of Solomon Tribal Membership Newsletter

Page 4

Tribal Council Meets Monthly

The tribal council meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month

at 5:30 pm at the VOS office. Tribal members are encouraged to attend these meetings. Those who do not live in

Nome are welcome to attend via teleconference. Contact the

tribal coordinator for the teleconference number and pass

code information and an agenda will be emailed to you.

Here’s how to reach your tribal council through email:

Position Held

President

Name

Contact Information

Kirsten Timbers

oonga4me@hotmail.com

Vice President Brian James

bjames@kawerak.org

Treasurer

Cameron Piscoya capiscoya@gmail.com

Secretary

Cynthia Olanna mschub@gci.net

Member

Elizabeth Johnson tc.sol@kawerak.org

Elder Rep

Helen Larsen

No email available

Youth Rep

Emmylou Vial

elvial09@hotmail.com

CACHE Available

The Bering Straits Foundation, Sitnasuak Foundation, Kawerak, NSEDC and NSHC have partnered to ease the process

of applying for scholarships for the people of our region.

The application is called "CACHE” which stands for

"Combined Application for College and Higher Education."

This application is for individuals going into accredited college or vocational education programs, who meet the eligibility requirements of the organizations they apply to. Visit

www.beringstraits.com for more information.

ICWA Services Available

What is Indian Child Welfare Act?

(ICWA): The Indian Child Welfar e Act,

25 Unites States Code Sections 1901-1963.

ICWA was passed in 1978 in response to

the high number of Native children who

were removed from their families and tribes

by non-tribal public and private agencies,

and placed in non-Native foster homes or

made available for non-Native adoption.

How does ICWA work? The main goal

of ICWA is the protection of Native children. This includes assisting in family reunification, adoptions, and alternative placement of children. It also ensures that Tribal

Councils are represented in Court proceedings. The Indian Child Welfare Act

(ICWA) applies when a state court determines that a Native child is involved in a

proceeding. This includes child custody

proceedings, foster care placement, termination of parental rights, pre-adoptive and

adoptive placements. A tribal court or tribe

may properly exercise their rights in any

and all of these types of proceedings. For

ICWA services, please contact the VOS office at 443-4985 or email to

tc.sol@kawerak.org.

Fundraiser Scheduled

Emmylou Vial Appointed As Solomon’s Youth Representative

At the February tribal council meeting, Emmylou Vial was

appointed as youth ad hoc advisor. She is the great grand

niece of Pete Curran, Jr.

She attends college at UAA in Anchorage studying for a

four year degree in sociology.

Village of Solomon is hosting a fundraiser to

raise money to purchase a new van for our

annual youth camp. Volunteers are needed.

The car wash will be in Nome and if there

are enough volunteers, there will also be a

BBQ while washing cars. It is scheduled

sometime during youth camp August 6-11.

If you can help, please contact the tribal office for more information.

Village of Solomon Tribal Membership Newsletter

Page 5

Jobs Available At VOS And

Beyond

VOS Receives Grant writer

for Three Months

The Village of Solomon prefers to hire qualified

tribal members when hiring for jobs at VOS. Upcoming jobs available this summer is a carpenter,

maintenance and laborer workers to open and close

the Solomon Community Center. During youth

camp, two camp coordinators will also be hired.

Contact the VOS office for more details.

The Village of Solomon is pleased to receive a grant

writer for the next 90 days. Through Kawerak’s

grant writer assistance program, VOS applied for

and was selected to receive a 15 week grant writer

contract. VOS then signed an agreement with Kawerak to administer the grant writer funds.

ASRC SKW Eskimos, a subsidiary of Arctic Slope

Regional Corporation, is building the Nome Long

Term Care facility next to the new Nome Hospital.

Contact them directly for jobs available by visiting

their website at www.asrc.com.

Solomon B&B Open During

Iditarod

The tribal council welcomed Iditarod fans to the Solomon Bed & Breakfast this year for 10 days.

Here’s what two of our guests said while there:

Local Nome resident Nora Appel said, “It was fun

from the word go! My sister-in-law and I stayed

there when a lost Iditarod musher walked in the door

asking for directions. We followed him for several

miles in Solomon’s truck and picked up dog booties.

I would suggest getting a stepping stool to make it

easier to get in and out of the truck. The B&B has a

historic factor to it with schoolhouse children’s initials in the coat closet and when you walk in, it’s like

the smell of time passed.”

At the March tribal council meeting,

Deilah Johnson was selected to fill this

position and will be working on the following projects: Preserving Old

Schoolhouse Records; Vehicle Purchase for youth camp and tribal gatherings; and, Solomon Community Center Upgrades

that include display cases for old schoolhouse records.

Kawerak will provide technical assistance as needed

and will also offer grant writer training in September.

Welcome New Tribal Members

Rosalynn Paniptchuk, great granddaughter of Francis Wright

Wilma Amaktoolik, great granddaughter of Francis Wright

Daniel Bacio, grandson of Carol Elvsaas

Dylan Bacio, grandson of Carol Elvsaas

Dona Highstone, daughter of Kathleen McCune

Katylin Ferrall, granddaughter of Kathleen McCune

Long term care nurse Nina Verzoni, also a Nome

resident had this to say, “enjoyed the company, had a

wonderful time, peaceful and quiet. The innkeeper

and driver did wonderful as hosts, even making

musk ox stew for guests”.

Francis Wright with her great granddaughter Rosalyn Paniptchuk

at Bonanza fish camp last summer.

Village of Solomon Tribal Membership Newsletter

Page 6

Tribal Council Has Christmas Dinner for Membership in

Nome

The Village of Solomon’s tribal

council held its last meeting of the

year on December 12 at the Nome

Pioneer Hall. Prior to the meeting

getting started, tribal members enjoyed a turkey dinner and all of its

fixings.

A report was provided by Cameron

Piscoya on the IGAP application

that was due the end of December.

VOS is applying for an EPA grant

to address environmental concerns

that the tribe has which is also one

of our village priorities.

During the meeting, a special

A final report on the NSHC tribal

presentation to Katie Stettinger was diabetes project grant, which mainlead by Cynthia Olanna, in recogni- ly funded last summer’s youth

tion of Ms. Stettinger’s years of

camp, was presented by tribal coorservice, five years since the Village dinator Liz Johnson. As part of the

of Solomon’s first held election in final report and in keeping with the Katie Stettinger with Cynthia Curran Olan2006.

healthy choices/lifestyles theme,

na.

$15 Subway gift cards were provided to the tribal youth in attendance.

Youth Camp Applications Available Now

The tribal council has set the dates Contact the tribal coordinator for

for this year’s 5 day tribal youth

additional information, if you’re

camp for August 6-11th. Camp this interested in volunteering to superyear will include any elders intervise youth during camp, or driving,

ested in participating with Solocooking and cleaning.

mon’s youth age up to 18. Youth

VOS is not mailing applications to

under the age of 8 is welcome to

tribal membership this year due to

attend with parental supervision.

Pictured above is Solomon, Alaska

Much of the activities will promote high cost of postage mail outs.

after the entire Bering Strait was hit

healthy spiritual wellness. The an- To request a camp application, conwith a record breaking winter storm

nual meeting has been scheduled

tact the tribal coordinator at 907

with winds gusting up to 89 miles

the last day of camp (August 11) as 443-4985 or send an email to

per hour.

part of the camp experience.

tc.sol@kawerak.org and an applicaKavik Stettinger drove to Solomon

Limited airfare is provided to those tion will be emailed.

to check for any damage to the Solthat live outside of the Nome area. Applications are due July 2, 2012.

omon B&B and other building

A completed application must be

structures surrounding Solomon

submitted to VOS by the deadline

area. Damage was minimum exof July 2nd in order to be considcept for the old abandoned church,

ered for airfare, this includes elders

it collapsed.

that may want to attend.

Solomon After 2011

November Storm

Village of Solomon Tribal Membership Newsletter

Page 7

Tribal members Craig Aycock with his children Joshua, age

11, Sandra, age 10 and Ashley, age 12, who live in Lake

Wood, CO. Craig is the son of Carol Curran Elvsaas.

Tribal members Kim Bacio and her sons Daniel, age 6 and Dylan, age 8,

outside of their home in Aurora, CO. Kim is the daughter of Carol Curran Elvsaas.

Solomon T-Shirts Available Now

Did you get your Solomon t-shirt? Last year the Village of Solomon ordered t-shirts for tribal members. T-shirts are for tribal

members only and do not cost anything.

Pictured at left are tribal members Amy Johnson and her daughter Autumn Carly Elizabeth Johnson, age 1 1/2, both modeling their tshirts for the camera. She is the great granddaughter of Helen Curran Larsen. Also posing is Isabella Bailey Bohn, age 4, granddaughter

of Helen Curran Larsen. Pictured right is Jaxson Huntsman, age 6, from Anchorage, AK. He is the grand nephew of Annette Piscoya.

Village of Solomon

Box 2053

Nome, Alaska 99762

(907) 443-4985