Collinsville, Oklahoma
May 27, 2014
Miscellaneous News (A)
"Perseverance" at Wilson /
Brinkley On Weather Safety /
Watts On Cherokee Mothers

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Perseverance at Wilson Elementary
Wilson students are working hard and winding up the school year with a strong finish. To help us see the prize at the end of the year, we're learning about the character trait of perseverance during the month of May. The definition of perseverance is the ability to persist or continue striving to the end. A quote we're learning comes from Morgan Freeman: "The best way to guarantee a loss is to quit." We should always keep going and working toward the goal! Our first grade classes chose students who have shown great perseverance over the school year and have worked hard to reach their goals. -- Lee Ann Due (5/13/2014)
First Grade Students With Perseverance --
Back row (l-r) Haley Orcutt, Ava Martinez, Madison Skinner, Nayeli Wray, and Jaci Lee
Front row (l-r) Drazen Romero, Alex Perez, Jacob Milliken, Jaden Graham, Davin Howell, Rylan Hutchins, Trey Miller, Logan Limbocker, and Dustin Washburn
This page sponsored in part by:
CHEROKEE CHAT
by Cara Cowan Watts

Week of May 11, 2014

Cherokee Mothers

Traditionally, Cherokee culture or society is matrilineal. As Cherokees, we belong to the clan of our mother.

Today, Cherokees have seven clans remaining. The clans are a ni gi lo hi (Long Hair), a ni sa ho ni (Blue), a ni wa ya (Wolf), a ni go te ge wi (Wild Potato), a ni a wi (Deer), a ni tsi s qua (Bird), and a ni wo di (Paint). The clans have other names and each clan served a purpose or role within the Tribe or Tribal Town and now at the stomp grounds.

As a matrilineal society, women were considered the head of household. The home and children belonged to the wife should the husband leave or the relationship end.

Historically, a Cherokee woman could divorce simply by placing her husband's belongings outside. Today, you may hear about this in a joking manner among Cherokees.

You should know your clan as it is forbidden to marry within your clan. Clan members are considered relatives same as blood relatives, so they would be your brother or sister.

Do note it is considered rude in a sense to ask someone what their clan is as it is a very private matter for a number of reasons.

Our culture or traditions are much more complicated than what I have shared, but I write all of this to highlight the continued importance of Cherokee Moms.

This past weekend, most of us celebrated Mother's Day as a mother, a grandmother or as an Aunt. Mothers, Grandmothers and Aunties are still the backbone of the Cherokee Nation whether folks go to stomp, know their clan or have lost their clan due to intermarriage with non-Indian women.

I am thankful for the Cherokee women in my family who gave me my clanship and those around me who continue to mentor and guide me.

After 11 years on Tribal Council, I see strong women throughout northeastern Oklahoma who are Cherokee and non-Cherokee who make our schools function, our communities and churches work and prop up entire families during times of crisis. May these strong women continued to be blessed with patience as they make us stronger, each day.

If you have questions, issues or concerns about the Cherokee Nation government, please email me at cara@caracowan.com or write me at P.O. Box 2922, Claremore, OK 74018.

For daily news and event notices, ask to be added to my Cherokee Nation News and Events email listserv. You may, also, find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter. Lee Keener is at lee-keener@cherokee.org.

To contact the Tribe, call (918) 453-5000 or visit www.cherokee.org.

Cara Cowan Watts is an elected Tribal legislator within the Cherokee Nation for portions of Rogers and Tulsa Counties.

Cara Cowan Watts
caracowan.com

Find me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest!

Senate Update by Sen. Rick Brinkley
(5/12/2014)

With spring arriving, Oklahomans know it is time to take precautions and be aware of the threat of severe storms and tornadoes. The governor recently announced a number of initiatives that are the result of months of work undertaken by the state since last year’s outbreak of severe storms.

The state is in the process of formalizing a public/private partnership with utility companies including OG&E, PSO and the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives to improve communication between disaster response personnel and state authorities. Through improved coordination, the companies hope to be able to restore services as quickly as possible in the event of a storm-related outage.

Additionally, the Governor’s Task Force on Weather Safety, which includes officials from the National Weather Service, the Office of Emergency Management and a number of meteorologists, has established a new set of safety guidelines.

The Safe Schools 101 initiative is training engineers, architects and city and county officials to assess schools and identify shelter options. These initiatives are set to be the focus of a number of public service announcements that will air throughout the state. For more information, and tips about safety, please visit www.oem.ok.gov.

Every Oklahoman should make sure they are doing what they can to protect themselves and their families. While not all of us are fortunate enough to have access to storm shelters at home, Oklahomans should be aware that they can build one with the help of the SoonerSafe program. SoonerSafe is a lottery system that offers winning registrants a rebate of up to $2,000 for the construction of a storm shelter.

In the past three years, the program has helped Oklahomans build more than 1,200 shelters. You can learn more, and register at www.soonersafe.ok.gov.

Please feel free to contact me at the state Capitol by calling (405) 521-5566 or by email at brinkley@oksenate.gov.

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More Perseverance at Wilson Elementary

Wilson Elementary students are finishing up their school year learning about perseverance. Wilson first and second grade classes chose students who represent the character trait of perseverance - those who have continued to try hard and make a great finish. We are very proud of all our students this school year who have worked hard to learn, succeed, and show great character! -- Lee Ann Due (5/20/2014)

1st Grade Students with Perseverance -- Riley Dohn, Somer Rogers, Maverick Hudson, Ian Morrison, Montana Glass, Dakota Standingsoldier, Kolby Barrett, Allison Braslavsky, and Aydan Blunt
2nd Grade Students with Perseverance -- Sean Jones, Cole Jones, Elishua Massera, and Chelsea Goddard
Note: This is just the first page of backlogged news (back about 2 weeks to May 12th) ... as I now have the 2014 CHS graduate pages complete and try to catch up on other news. -- Ted Wright 5/27/2014