Speaker 1: Good morning, good morning, good morning, welcome, welcome, welcome time
Speaker 1: Now for Native Beat.
Speaker 2: John Weston is in studio. How are you well.
Speaker 1: I'm a lot better than I have been over the
Speaker 1: past month or so. O Cio Nagata, Hello everyone, hostasun
Speaker 1: aali and happy Monday, or as we say in Cherokee,
Speaker 1: Bhuna dad quad nassi. It's been a while since I've
Speaker 1: been behind the microphone, as you well know, Tom, and
Speaker 1: like many of you out there, I've been battling an
Speaker 1: upper respiratory infection.
Speaker 2: In fact, for the past month. I think I've had
Speaker 2: two of them.
Speaker 1: So I lost my voice for about a week or so,
Speaker 1: and I could barely speak for another week. And losing
Speaker 1: my voice was a blessing for some since they were
Speaker 1: able to enjoy the silence I have a tendency to fill.
Speaker 1: For just a few days, I thought the coughing and
Speaker 1: everything that goes with the respirator infection was settling down
Speaker 1: to a point where I could function, but not so.
Speaker 1: The second wave hitting I was right back to square one. So,
Speaker 1: as I told you when I came in this morning,
Speaker 1: I am glad to be back among the living and
Speaker 1: I'm over it, and I refuse to get it anymore.
Speaker 1: I'm done with it.
Speaker 2: Amen.
Speaker 1: So just a brief programming note here. This edition of
Speaker 1: Day of Beat is being record and presented on Monday
Speaker 1: of next week. I'll be a guest on mighty six
Speaker 1: ninety kggf's program for I've Read Journeys, hosted by someone
Speaker 1: well known to the station in KGGF and really well
Speaker 1: known everywhere, Chris Crane. I've known Chris for a couple
Speaker 1: of years now and it's always a delight speaking with her,
Speaker 1: and you generally walk away having learned something useful, and
Speaker 1: I've discovered that is a valuable thing.
Speaker 2: To have in a friend.
Speaker 1: Before we begin, I'd like to thank our sponsor, Coffeeville
Speaker 1: Cooperative Credit Union.
Speaker 2: What can I say about CCCU.
Speaker 1: One of the things that impresses me most about them
Speaker 1: is the hometown feel you get when you walk in
Speaker 1: the door. You're not treated like another customer but a friend.
Speaker 1: While Martin, president of CCCU, is one of the nicest
Speaker 1: and thoughtful individuals I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Speaker 1: If you're in the market for a car loan, financial planning,
Speaker 1: or needing a little extra cash after the holiday, head
Speaker 1: on up to Coffeeville Cooperative Credit Union. It's where you belong,
Speaker 1: insured by NCUA, and just as with Coffeeville, we're absolutely
Speaker 1: blessed in Bartswel to have wonderful people who live here
Speaker 1: and support our community. I know several local business owners here,
Speaker 1: and I encourage everyone to buy locally when you can,
Speaker 1: because that money goes right back into our local economy
Speaker 1: and it stays here. Those dollars have a ripple effect
Speaker 1: and they improve the quality of life here for everyone.
Speaker 1: And I've read, actually I saw a meme online and
Speaker 1: it said, you know, when you buy from a local business,
Speaker 1: you're not only buying from a local business, you're supporting
Speaker 1: singing lessons or ballet lessons, or supporting events or you know,
Speaker 1: for the children of these people who own these businesses.
Speaker 1: I mean, this money is spent here in this community,
Speaker 1: and that's where I'd like for her to stay. So
Speaker 1: Naty B would also like to thank you our listeners
Speaker 1: for your continued support and tuning in. So something happened
Speaker 1: personally to me during the time I was away. I
Speaker 1: was elected the president of the Washington County Cherokee Association,
Speaker 1: and I'm like to say I'm honored the disassociation with place.
Speaker 1: They are faith in me and there was a unanimous election,
Speaker 1: which was just I was thrilled to see that. I
Speaker 1: was thinking about my story with regard to WCCA, and
Speaker 1: it all has to begin somewhere, right.
Speaker 2: So the the first contact I had.
Speaker 1: With this organization was the staging area for the annual
Speaker 1: Barsel Christmas Parade as a member of the Kawanis Club.
Speaker 1: Shout out to my friends in the Kawanis Club of Barnesville.
Speaker 1: I know Nate Thompson, he's a member of it.
Speaker 2: Here.
Speaker 1: We've done a great job of organizing the parade and
Speaker 1: making sure it all goes smoothly on.
Speaker 2: The big night.
Speaker 1: You are very aware of that, Tom, and you having
Speaker 1: covered that for the radio station for a number of years.
Speaker 1: I saw the banner on the float and for the
Speaker 1: Cherokee Association, I would have to introduce myself, and at
Speaker 1: that time the only words I even knew in Cherokee
Speaker 1: were o ceo, which means hello in Wadeau, which means
Speaker 1: thank you. In fact, we were just talking about that
Speaker 1: before we went on the air. But my first contact
Speaker 1: was with the outgoing president, Steve Brewer. And this man
Speaker 1: is one who's been dedicated and his leadership has really
Speaker 1: brought w C to where it is today. And he
Speaker 1: has a servant's heart. When I say a servants heart.
Speaker 1: He has taught classes, he is always willing to talk
Speaker 1: about culture history, very knowledgeable man. I think he's US
Speaker 1: an engineer one point. So he's really a brilliant person.
Speaker 1: He did an amazing job as president, and I have
Speaker 1: some very big shoes to fill. I walked up to
Speaker 1: him one at first encounter with this association, and I
Speaker 1: stuck my hand out and I said, oh, ceo when
Speaker 1: he responded back with how are you, but it was
Speaker 1: to heat you in Cherokee, And of course I didn't
Speaker 1: understand what he meant, so he immediately realized I was
Speaker 1: limited my language skills, and he saved me the embarrassment,
Speaker 1: and he was.
Speaker 2: He gave me a very kind and warm welcome, and he.
Speaker 1: Told me all about the association, told me about their membership,
Speaker 1: the cultural activities where they were located, invited me to
Speaker 1: a meeting and he really took the time to make
Speaker 1: me feel like I'd be welcome there. And I think
Speaker 1: that's the secret of building any organization. In great leadership,
Speaker 1: it's your people that you have and if those people
Speaker 1: feel welcome, and then in turn, if those people my
Speaker 1: brothers feel welcome, you can really build a strong and
Speaker 1: successful organization.
Speaker 2: So I think it's.
Speaker 1: Important that we take the time to make those who
Speaker 1: come into contact with feel welcome because they are special
Speaker 1: and I think they feel did you feel that way?
Speaker 1: Because oftentimes we just kind of dismiss people in our
Speaker 1: daily lives. So without members who care, you don't have
Speaker 1: much of an organization. And that level of dedication as always,
Speaker 1: seems to be there with WCCA, And that's why I'm
Speaker 1: proud to be the president of the newly appointed president
Speaker 1: or elected president of the Washington kont of Cherokee Association.
Speaker 2: Because our members care.
Speaker 1: They care about helping others, They care about our community,
Speaker 1: preserving our language, history and culture. But we also care
Speaker 1: about one another. I was reminded of that when I
Speaker 1: attended the funeral last weekend for one of our elders.
Speaker 2: Anne Sheldon.
Speaker 1: Anne was a wonderful person and she loved everyone she encountered.
Speaker 1: Everyone who stood up at her funeral just had just
Speaker 1: great things to say about her and about her time
Speaker 1: as a piano teacher and how she embraced her culture
Speaker 1: and just a wonderful lady, and she did it for
Speaker 1: a lot of great things the WCCA.
Speaker 2: She was the secretary for a number of years, and.
Speaker 1: That's one of the reasons I've grown to care a
Speaker 1: lot for our members. They really become like your family.
Speaker 1: You see these people.
Speaker 2: Monthly, day in day out. They come to you.
Speaker 1: Sometimes they have needs, sometimes they just want to know
Speaker 1: where they can turn to for help. And you know,
Speaker 1: it's really one of our jobs as leadership of that
Speaker 1: community to direct them in the direction they need to go.
Speaker 2: We celebrate together, we work together.
Speaker 1: Sometimes we disagree, as families often do, and we warn together,
Speaker 1: which was evident Inspire funeral last weekend. And we're lucky
Speaker 1: enough to choose our family at times, either through church
Speaker 1: or organizations. And I'm proud to say the members at
Speaker 1: WCC are very much my family to me. They've given
Speaker 1: me a sense of purpose and belonging that I didn't
Speaker 1: even know I needed. I will spend the rest of
Speaker 1: my life in service to these folks and the Cherokee people.
Speaker 1: If I can make a difference for anyone to me,
Speaker 1: that would be a life well lived.
Speaker 2: We're looking forward to having our building.
Speaker 1: Renovations completed at our community building progress is coming along.
Speaker 1: We were happy to receive a four hundred thousand dollars
Speaker 1: grant from Cherokee Nation for completion of these renovations. And
Speaker 1: for those who don't know, you know, we are yes
Speaker 1: associated with the Cherokee Nation as a community.
Speaker 2: We're also an independent community.
Speaker 1: It's called the Cherokee the Community and Cultural Outreach Department
Speaker 1: who we're affiliated with, and we are technically nonprofit entities
Speaker 1: who receive a lot of our funding from Cherokee Nation,
Speaker 1: but we also raise funds through fundraisers. But technically Cherokee
Speaker 1: Nation doesn't have a lot of authority over what we
Speaker 1: do because they want us to be independent. They want
Speaker 1: us to be boards because they feel that a lot
Speaker 1: of the things that we can do culturally can be
Speaker 1: done at a local level. But we are very much
Speaker 1: in partnership with Cherokee Nation, very much dependent on their help,
Speaker 1: you know, and just very thankful that we have their help.
Speaker 1: It's an amazing partnership and they're always looking to make
Speaker 1: our communities better because they realize that if we have.
Speaker 2: Strong communities, we can build a strong nation that way.
Speaker 1: And it all starts with the family and it just
Speaker 1: goes on up from there. So as part of that
Speaker 1: grant I mentioned the four hundred thousand dollars grant, we
Speaker 1: are having additional heights installed in the parking lot. We're
Speaker 1: having our parking lot extended our facility, and then we'll
Speaker 1: now have an office, a storage room, conference classroom, and
Speaker 1: a full service kitchen. The addition to being able to
Speaker 1: get drop ceilings now put in and the walls have
Speaker 1: been finished, we also received one hundred thousand dollars grant
Speaker 1: from Cherokee Nation recently for a storage building on campus,
Speaker 1: and that will allow us to move our equipment such
Speaker 1: as our tractor, our mowers, and stuff like that out
Speaker 1: of our back room and other material materials and open
Speaker 1: that space up for a classroom. It's climate controlled, so
Speaker 1: instead of heating and cooling the whole building, we can.
Speaker 2: Focus just on that space.
Speaker 1: And the other cool thing I like about is if
Speaker 1: we're decorating a parade float, we could just back the
Speaker 1: trailer right up in there because we have access and
Speaker 1: garage to the outside, and we can not have to
Speaker 1: worry about the elements exactly.
Speaker 2: It makes it easy. So I was just in Tahakua
Speaker 2: yesterday and sign.
Speaker 1: An immorandum of agreement with Cherokee Nation for a seventy
Speaker 1: five hundred dollars CATTA Grant and COTTAGE just stands for
Speaker 1: our community Organizing and Technical Training Assistance, and that's to
Speaker 1: help the cost of things like contracted services such as
Speaker 1: the Internet and supplies we need for things like publishing
Speaker 1: our newsletters, a surround sounds PA system, which is something
Speaker 1: I put in for, and other things necessary for a
Speaker 1: successful operation of our association.
Speaker 2: Another grant we're.
Speaker 1: Working on is a twenty five thousand dollars Health and
Speaker 1: Wellness Grant, which we will use to help pay for
Speaker 1: the cost of gym memberships for our members, equipment which
Speaker 1: may need which people need to remain healthy, if they
Speaker 1: need some exercise equipment, or even maybe physical therapy something
Speaker 1: like that, because sometimes people need to help defray the
Speaker 1: cost of that. We're talking about putting in a cultural
Speaker 1: ground where we can host dances and classes, something that
Speaker 1: might seem a little odd to a few people. I
Speaker 1: thought it was kind of unique when I first heard
Speaker 1: about it, but we've had tai Chi classes here in
Speaker 1: Cherokee Nation, and it's just to help keep our seniors
Speaker 1: healthy and other people. It's not just limited to seniors,
Speaker 1: but to help keep everyone healthy, you know, and try
Speaker 1: to promote a more active lifestyle.
Speaker 2: As many know, crime diseases.
Speaker 1: Like diabetes and heart disease are prevalent throughout native populations,
Speaker 1: and a key manage factor in these diseases is trying
Speaker 1: to stay healthy through exercise and diet and things like that,
Speaker 1: which are things that are really hard for us to manage.
Speaker 2: Tom and I both know that.
Speaker 1: Well, we spend so many centuries without all this stuff,
Speaker 1: and the.
Speaker 2: Stuff tastes good, It does taste good, and the next thing,
Speaker 2: you know, our bodies just start ready for it. That's right,
Speaker 2: exactly right.
Speaker 1: So within the next month, we'll be implementing a food
Speaker 1: sovereignty program where tribal members who are not receiving SNAP
Speaker 1: benefits or commodities, we'll be able to pick up fifteen
Speaker 1: pounds of meat from our eighteen thirty nine Cherokee Meat
Speaker 1: company that's going to be distributed to our local community buildings. Elders, veterans,
Speaker 1: Cherokee speakers will receive preference, but families who are in
Speaker 1: need of assistants and who don't qualify for SNAP benefits
Speaker 1: or the commodity programs we'll be able to help feed
Speaker 1: their families every month. It's just sort of a sort
Speaker 1: of it serves as a gap program really, and it's
Speaker 1: lad to run for a year and they will gauge
Speaker 1: his success and the termit its continuation after this period.
Speaker 1: A lot of exciting things are happening at WCCA along
Speaker 1: with our other communities. And before we go today, I'd
Speaker 1: like to mention that we should check out the Cherokee
Speaker 1: Community Facebook pages for the latest events, news and meetings.
Speaker 1: Cherokee County Cherokee Association, the Cherokee Cultural Community in Dewey, Nouita,
Speaker 1: Cherokee Community Foundation, and the Native American Fellowship in South Coffeeville.
Speaker 1: I encourage everyone, whether Cherokee or not, to find a
Speaker 1: community and get involved. Also check out the Delaware website
Speaker 1: at Osage facebook pages. I ask our listeners not to
Speaker 1: forget the Teton Trade Cloth Store located at the Johnstone
Speaker 1: Sarah Building or their location at the Eastern Shopping Center.
Speaker 1: You can also shop online at Titantradecloth dot com.
Speaker 2: Cherokee Nation now has two official offices.
Speaker 1: Open at the Cherokee Cultural Community in Dewey to serve
Speaker 1: the Cherokee people. A career Services Office and Cherokee Nation
Speaker 1: Human Services Office, both located at seven hundred East Durham
Speaker 1: There in Dewey. The Career Services Office is open Monday
Speaker 1: through Friday from eight to five. The Human Resources Office
Speaker 1: this is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from eight to five.
Speaker 1: The Washington Kuty Cherokee Association here OCHILTA, which is what
Speaker 1: I'm president of, will be hosting free Cherokee language classes
Speaker 1: every Saturday from ten am to noon by Matthew Church.
Speaker 1: He's a wonderful instructor and graduate of the Cherokee Language program.
Speaker 1: In fact, he is a kindergarten teacher down in the
Speaker 1: immersion school, and it's really great because that's about the
Speaker 1: level of Cherokee we understanding and can use right now
Speaker 1: is at the kindergarten level.
Speaker 2: So they've really paired us up with the right teacher.
Speaker 1: So we're located just east of the Kuiskui Healthful Clinic
Speaker 1: located on County Road twenty nine hundred. Friday February sixth,
Speaker 1: at six pm, we'll be hosting our Cherokee Delegate to Congress,
Speaker 1: Miss Kim Teh. She's a great speaker or very much
Speaker 1: looking forward to her presentation.
Speaker 2: For those who don't know, one of.
Speaker 1: The treaty stipulations when we moved from the eastern side
Speaker 1: of the country to Oklahoma was that we would be
Speaker 1: a point we would be given a delegate to Congress
Speaker 1: who didn't have avoting doesn't have a vote, but it
Speaker 1: simply has a seat at the table. Well, that part
Speaker 1: of the treaty has never been fulfilled by the US government,
Speaker 1: so we've been trying to make sure that we get
Speaker 1: her seated in Congress, but just as our delegate to Congress.
Speaker 1: And so she was designated as the delegate to Congress
Speaker 1: by the Chief a couple of years ago, and she's
Speaker 1: going to be with us, like I said, February six
Speaker 1: at six pm. Also, be sure to catch our friend
Speaker 1: Chris Crane on frib Red Journeys on the mighty six
Speaker 1: ninety KGGF. Check out their Facebook page. A program I
Speaker 1: will be on today Monday at nine ten am, which
Speaker 1: is why we're recording this edition of Native Beat on Friday.
Speaker 1: You can catch a Native Beat on.
Speaker 2: The Barcel Radio Facebook page.
Speaker 1: You're on demand through the Barcel Radio app available in
Speaker 1: the Apple Store.
Speaker 2: A big wadeau, as we say in Cherokee, Juanishi is
Speaker 2: the Delaware, would say, Wanzi is
Speaker 1: The O Sage would say, And to all of you listening,
Speaker 1: do to de goha e until we meet again.