indian princess inspires miss odawa nation 2011-2012

By Annette VanDeCar, LTBB Communications Coordi-nator

As a young child, Josephine Laughlin saw a postcard from the1940s of her grandmother, Virginia Janet Kishigo-Laughlin, as anIndian princess. Ever since that moment, the 14-year-old LTBBTribal Citizen has wanted to follow in the footsteps of her grand-mother and be Miss Odawa Nation.

In her first year eligible to compete for Miss Odawa Nation(contestants must be between 13 and 19 years old), Laughlin fin-ished as the runner-up by one point in 2010. Undeterred, shecompeted again this year, and her lifelong dream became a real-ity when the Harbor Springs, MI, resident was crowned MissOdawa Nation 2011-2012 at the 20th Annual Odawa Home-coming Pow Wow on August 14, 2011. She is the first LTBBTribal Citizen crowned Miss Odawa Nation in several years al-though Miss Odawa Nation 2007-2008 Alicya Wix is a LTBB de-scendent.

“It’s one of my life goals achieved as I have wanted to be MissOdawa since I was a small child and saw the postcard,” she said.“By setting a positive example, I hope to properly represent mytribe while fulfilling all of my duties. I will serve my people with

pride and honor, always remembering the only encounter the per-son may have with Native people is through me.”

Laughlin, whose Indian name is Little Bee Woman, has at-tended pow wows all of her life with her family and has been a tra-ditional dancer for nine years. Her older sister, Nicole, 16, hasbeen a fancy shawl dancer for 10 years.

“Traveling along the pow wow trail has always been a prior-ity of mine and my family’s,” Laughlin said. “Whether tradi-tional or contest, it is always fun for me to go out and do what Ienjoy. Being a traditional dancer is a custom and tradition that Iplan to pass on to my own children. Our traditions are importantto identify us as a nation and must be preserved. My family andI try our best to keep us identifiable as Odawa people. Our cul-ture and teachings help me to be the best person I can be.”

Laughlin is the daughter of Melissa (Naganashe) Laughlinand the late Richard Laughlin and the granddaughter of the lateVirginia Janet Kishigo-Laughlin and the late Thomas Laughlinand Thomas and Dianna Naganashe.

“From infancy, my mother and father have taught me themeaning and value of family and the background of where Icome from as an Odawa,” Laughlin said. “We practice Native spir-ituality and venture away from our home in Harbor Springs togather and interact with other Native families from all over. I al-ways keep in mind, I represent my family and sometimes, even mytribe already as I may be the only LTBB person these others en-counter.”

Laughlin and her family are active in the LTBB tribal com-munity, participating in many tribal events and gatherings, andshe strongly encourages other Native youth to participate in

Aanii to all LTBB Tribal Citizens and theirfamilies. I want to thank you all for the oppor-tunity to serve as the Little Traverse Bay Bandsof Odawa Indians Tribal Chairman with Dex-

ter McNamara as Vice Chairman. Together, wemade a good team with Dexter’s eight yearsTribal Council experience; he was an encyclo-pedia of knowledge when questions or crucialsituations arose. Accompanied with my 25 years

of business and development experience, we ad-dressed tribal government programs, capital im-provements, issues and concerns diligently andprofessionally. At our level, there are many harddecisions to be made and then administered. Weconsulted and made many decisions together,supported each other and have many accom-plishments in less than two years. We can beproud of the money saved, developments andthe improved services while under tight budgetconstraints.

The results of the latest recall election heldon August 8, 2011 have removed me from of-fice and retained Dexter. This meant Dexter be-came Tribal Chairman and will appoint a newVice Chairman who will need Tribal Councilapproval by majority vote of a full Council. Aswearing in process for Dexter was held on Au-gust 23, 2011 following the validation of the re-call election results on August 22, 2011. I didhave a right to challenge, and I considered alloptions at that time. After the certification ofthe recall election results, I then stepped downfrom office. A Vice Chairman is in place for sit-uations such as this, and Dexter has what it takesto carry on as your Chairman. We are urgingyour support for Dexter to finish this term in apositive way.

On our first day in office, August 24, 2009,

we had a meeting in the Chairman’s office aboutthe Murray Road Housing Project, and theschedule for construction of the 10-unit subsi-dized housing development in Hayes Township,MI. The project schedule moved up ninemonths and is now complete. The 10-unit de-velopment is Gold LEED certified. What doesLEED mean? Leadership in Energy EfficientDevelopment, and LTBB is now a leader inLEED across the nation. We have the only mul-tiple unit Gold LEED certified project in a 26-state region. We simultaneously developed asingle family home in Wah-Wahs-Noo Da Ke,our Harbor Springs, MI, housing development.Both projects were grant funded through theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Within the first week, we addressed allloans and leases our tribal government had atthat time. We restructured to cut costs and dis-solved some storage leases, moved MentalHealth/Substance Abuse from a rented build-ing to our LTBB Health Park in Petoskey, MI,and have renovated our own buildings for stor-age. There was a $2 million loan remaining onour LTBB Governmental Center in HarborSprings, and this is now paid off. Tribal Coun-cil renegotiated our $122 million casino loan wedefaulted on, and we are one of the first tribesever to accomplish this painful task. The debt

is now $40 million with a better interest rate.During the forbearance process, the Chairmanvetoed a resolution that was not overridden thatsaved our tribe a $500,000 contract in theeleventh hour of our bond renegotiations.

Three Tribal Councilors had to concur to makethis happen. The Chairman solicited and

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KEN HARRINGTON THANKS LTBB AND WELCOMES INCOMING TRIBAL CHAIRMAN

This newsletter is published by the LTBB of Odawa Indians, 7500 Odawa Circle, Harbor Springs, Michigan 49740. We reserve the right to edit any material submitted for space and content.

Odawa Trails Contact Information 2

Departments and Programs 3-16

Health Department 4, 5

September Elder Birthdays 5

Michigan Indian Family Olympics 6, 7

Gijigowi Bipskaabiimi Department 8, 9

Natural Resource Department 10

On the Pow Wow Trail 11

Legislative Branch 12

LTBB Governmental Employee Picnic 13

Events Calendar 14

Tribal Council Meeting Minutes 15

Elders Program 16

20th Annual Odawa Homecoming Pow Wow 18, 19, 22

Lines from the Membership 20

Native News 21

What’s Inside

“Harrington” continued on page 16.

P O S T C A R D O F H E R G R A N D M O T H E R , V I R G I N I A J A N E T K I S H I G O - L A U G H L I N , A S A NI N D I A N P R I N C E S S I N S P I R E S M I S S O D A W A N A T I O N 20 1 1 - 20 12 J O S E P H I N E L A U G H L I N

“Miss Odawa” continued on page 17.

Odawa Trails

The Communications Department welcomes submissions for our “Lines From Our Membership” section of the newsletter, but wecannot run anything political in nature or expressing an opinion due to a long-standing department policy. Because we have a newsletterand not a newspaper, we do not have an editorial page. We reserve the right to edit any material submitted for space and content.

The deadline for the October 2011 issue of Odawa Trails is September 12, 2011.You can e-mail, fax or call your submissions in to [email protected], fax them to 231-242-1430 or call them in at 231-

242-1427. Please only call in your submissions if they are short. We also welcome comments, suggestions and story ideas.

SEPTEMBER 20112Being Odawa is all about Freedom

The freedom to be a part of a people, who with integrity and pride, still have and speak our language. The freedom in common withall other Odawak the customs, culture and spirituality of our ancestors. The freedom we have today we will bring to the futurethrough unity, education, justice, communication and planning. We will reach out to the next seven generations by holding to cul-tural values of Wisdom, Love, Respect, Bravery, Honesty, Humility and Truth. We will utilize our tribal assets to provide the nec-essary tools to become successful, hard-working community members who proudly represent our culture. With these values we willmove the tribe forward.

Anishinaabemowin Interpretation of the LTBB Mission StatementDbendiziwin aawan maanda Odawa aaw’iing. Geyaabi gdaa’aana miinawa gda’nwemi. Anishnaabemowin, maanda egishkaago’iingdbendiziwin ebidgwasiing mnaadendiziwin miinwa wiimnaaadendiziyin. Gdabendaanaa dbendiziwin kina gwaya Odawak nasaapeyaamjik, maanda naakniewinan, maadiziwin miinwa mnidoowaadziwin gaanaaniigaaniijik debendamowaad. Maanda dbendiziwineyaamiing nangwa, gaanamaajiidona niigaan ezhi bezhigoyiing, kinomaadwin, dbakinigewin, giigidowin miinwa naakinigewin.Gaazhiibiignaketaanaa maanda niizhwaachiing bimaadziwin waabii’aamigak mjignamiing ninda mnomaadiziwinan echipiiten-daakin: nbwaakaawin, zaagidwin, mnaadendmowin, aakde’ewin, gwekwaadiziwin, dbaadendiziwin miinwa debwewin. Ganakaaz-inaa ninda gdabendaaswinaanin, jimiigwe’iing nakaazwinan jimnomewzi’iing, enitaanokiijik maampii Anishiabekenaapshkaamwaad maanda gbimaadziwinaa. Ninda eyaamiing echipiitendaakin, miigo kina gwaya maampii enjibaad jiniigaanibizad.

TRIBAL TELEPHONE DIRECTORYAND WEBSITE INFORMATION

LTBB Governmental Website www.ltbbodawa-nsn.gov

Beverly Wemigwase, Receptionist 231-242-14001-866-652-5822

Tribal AdministrationMelissa Wiatrolik, Administrative Assistant 242-1420

Tribal Council/Legislative OfficeMike Smith, Administrative Assistant 242-1406

1-866-972-0077Tribal Chairman’s OfficeLisa Flynn, Administrative Assistant 242-1401

Accounting DepartmentJulie Janiskee, Assistant 242-1440Mandy Szocinski, Purchasing Technician/Contracts 242-1439

Commerce DepartmentTheresa Keshick, Assistant 242-1584

Communications DepartmentAnnette VanDeCar, Coordinator 242-1427Wendy Congdon, Pre-Press Graphic Specialist 242-1429

Elders ProgramKathy McGraw, Assistant 242-1423

Enrollment DepartmentLinda Gokee, Administrative Assistant 242-1521

Facilities DepartmentSteve Clausen, Manager 242-1532

Gijigowi Bipskaabiimi Department Tammy Gasco, Administrative Assistant 242-1480

GIS DepartmentAlan Proctor, Director 242-1597

Grants DepartmentJulie Kauppila, Writer 242-1560

Health DepartmentChrystal VanAlstine, Office Manager 242-1611Health Clinic 242-1700Contract Health 242-1600Community Health (Transportation) 242-1601Dental Clinic 242-1740Tina Shawano, Maternal Child Health Outreach 242-1614

Housing DepartmentMike Lyons, Administrative Assistant 242-1540

Human Resources DepartmentSusie Swadling, Administrative Assistant 242-1555

Human Services Department 242-1621

Law Enforcement DepartmentTribal Police 242-1500

Legal DepartmentSu Lantz, Assistant 242-1407

MIS DepartmentMark Tracy, Director 242-1531

Natural Resource DepartmentDebra Smithkey-Browne, Administrative Assistant 242-1670

Odawa Enterprise Management 242-1583

Planning, Zoning and Building DepartmentEllie Payton, Administrative Assistant 242-1581

Substance Abuse/Mental Health DepartmentPat Boda, Administrative Assistant 242-1640Jennifer Wilson, Office/Intake Coordinator 242-1642

Tribal Court/Peacemaking ProgramCarla Wesaw, Clerk II 242-1462

Tribal Prosecutor’s OfficeGwen Gasco, Office Manager 242-1475

Youth Services DepartmentKristy Dayson, Coordinator 242-1593

Annette VanDeCar

CommunicationsCoordinator

231-242-1427

WendyCongdon

Pre-Press GraphicSpecialist

231-242-1429

Odawa Trails 3SEPTEMBER 2011

By Theresa Keshick, Depart-ment of Commerce Assistant

The Department of Commerce(DOC) would like to remind thetribal membership about a few itemspertaining to the Tax Agreement.

First of all, I cannot expressenough how important it is to keepyour address updated.

The first step in becoming a Res-ident Tribal Member (RTM) is to of-ficially change your address with theEnrollment Department. This must bedone in writing and as soon as possi-ble.

The DOC cannot and will notchange the estimated beginning date(EBD) (which is always the first in anygiven month) of a member’s tax ex-empt status (see example below).

It is YOUR responsibility to up-date your address on file with the En-rollment Department. This date willaffect how many months you will beable to file the Annual Resident Tribal

Member Sales Tax Credit (TribalForm 4013). It is to your benefit to beable to file for the maximum numberof months for this credit.

In addition, being an RTM willallow you to purchase large items suchas vehicles, boats, motorcycles and offthe road vehicles tax exempt.

There is a form that needs to befilled out called a “Request for TCE”(Tribal Certificate of Exemption),which is available in my office. Oncethis form is completely filled out, I willthen issue the RTM the actual TribalCertificate of Exemption (Tribal Form3998).

If you plan on purchasing any ofthese items, please contact me FIRST,and I will be happy to get you the formvia e-mail or fax. I am also able to faxthe TCEs to the dealership you aredoing business with.

Being an RTM will also allow youto be tax exempt on utility bills such asphone, cable, gas, propane, electricity,satellite and cellular service. If you

have not filled out a Utility ProviderSurvey, please contact the DOC, and Iwill be happy to get one to you.

Also, another important thing toremember is if you do move into theTax Agreement Area (TAA), yourRTM status does NOT take effectuntil the first day of the followingmonth.

Example: I move to Petoskey,MI, (inside the TAA) on September 5,2010. My RTM (EBD) status beginsOctober 1, 2010. All updates are sentto the State of Michigan as close to theend of the month as possible.

The LTBB Tax Agreement isviewable on the State of Michigan’swebsite at:

http://www.michigan.gov/trea-sury/0,1607,7-121-1748_23287---,00.html

If you have any other questionspertaining to the Tax Agreement, I canreached at my office at 231-242-1584or via e-mail at [email protected].

TAX AGREEMENT INFORMATION

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Resident Tribal Member Tax InformationCross Village (all) Readmond (all)Friendship (all) West Traverse (all)Little Traverse (all) City of Harbor Springs (all)Resort (partial) Bay (partial)Hayes (partial) Bear Creek (all)City of Petoskey (all)City of Charlevoix (only NORTH of the bridge)Resident Tribal Members are exempted from the following Michigan taxes:1. Sales Tax (currently 6% of retail price) via Form 4013 2. Use Tax (currently 6% of purchase price)3. Income Tax (4.35% of Adjusted Gross Income)4. Michigan Business Tax (currently 4.95%)5. *Motor Fuel Tax (currently, 36.5 cents per gallon unleaded and 32.6 cents per gallon on diesel)6. *Tobacco Product Tax (currently $2 per pack of cigarettes)

* All LTBB Tribal Members are entitled to the exemption on fuel and tobacco.*The Motor Fuel and Tobacco Product Tax exemption is available at Biindigen

(tribal convenience store) located at 2169 U.S. 31 North in Petoskey, MI. *The Motor Fuel Tax exemption is also available at the BP station on the south

side of Petoskey, MI, near the Big Boy restaurant.Please note: Exemption for tobacco and fuel is for LTBB Tribal Members’ sole consumption ONLY!IMPORTANT REMINDER: TRIBAL MEMBERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THEIR TRIBAL ID SWIPE CARDS FORPURCHASES OF NON-MEMBERS NOR ARE THEY ALLOWEDTO LEND THEIR CARDS OUT TO ANYONE. The current limit on tobacco purchases is four cartons per week pertribal citizen age 18 and over. The same applies to all other tobacco products (OTP) packaged in similar fashion.

ADDRESS VERIFICATION FORMS DUE NOVEMBER 30, 2011All minors need to have a notarized MI-

NOR ADDRESS VERIFICATIONFORM completed annually before Novem-ber 30, 2011. No faxed or electronic versionsare accepted because all forms require origi-nal signatures. Forms must be mailed to theEnrollment Department at 7500 Odawa Cir-cle, Harbor Springs, MI 49740 or droppedoff at the aforementioned address. The En-rollment Department is located on the firstfloor of the LTBB Governmental Center inHarbor Springs, MI. If you have any ques-tions concerning guardianship or custodial is-sues, please contact the Enrollment Depart-ment at 231-242-1520 or 231-242-1521.

Minors who turn 18 by November 30,2011 must complete an ADULT ADDRESSVERIFICATION FORM. This form mustbe returned by November 30, 2011.

Address verification forms can be down-loaded at www.ltbbodawa-nsn.gov/Depart-ments/Enrollment/enrollment.htm or youmay call the Enrollment Office at 231-242-1520 or 231-242-1521 to have a form mailedto you.

Currently, we have 4,494 enrolled LTBB Tribal Citizens.Normally in late October, we start preparing for the annualper capita payment. We begin by mailing the Minor ChildWard of the Court Address Verification forms to our minors.We then notify our minors turning 18 that an Adult AddressVerification form must be complete because they are con-sidered an adult. Due to the amount of unclaimed forms, wewill not be mailing the forms.

Adult and Minor Child Ward of the Court AddressChange forms are available online at www.ltbbodawa-nsn.gov/Department/Enrollment/ or by calling us TOLLFREE AT 1-866-652-5822, ext. 1521 (Linda) or ext. 1520(Pauline).

I have included our statistical information below.

Tax AgreementReminder

When moving intot h e L T B B T a xAgreement Area, inorder to become aResident TribalMember, you mustc h a n g e y o u raddress in writing atthe Enrollment De-partment located i nt h e L T B B Gov-ernmental Center inHarbor Springs, MI.Your RTM statuswill take effect onthe f i rs t day ofthe followingmonth in which youmoved.

4 Odawa Trails SEPTEMBER 2011

July 20, 2011Dear Community Members,

We would like to take this op-portunity to introduce Mno Ode(Healthy/ Good Heart) Program.This is a new grant called the SpecialDiabetes Program for IndiansHealthy Heart Initiative, and its pur-pose is to determine if a program inour community to prevent cardio-vascular disease in people with dia-betes is helpful.

In 2004, Congress funded theIndian Health Service to give fundingto selected Indian Health programsto demonstrate implementation ofactivities in Indian communities toreduce the risk of cardiovascular dis-ease in our people. We are now in theenrollment phase and are looking forpeople with diabetes who are inter-ested in decreasing their risk of heartdisease.

You may already be aware dia-betes and heart disease are very seri-ous health problems for Native peo-ples, and diabetes is a major riskfactor for heart disease. This includesheart attacks and strokes. Studies haveshown yourrisk of developing heartdisease can be reduced by controllingyour blood pressure, weight, choles-terol levels and by not smoking. Theseare risk factors you can control.

Mno Ode offers intensive casemanagement of your diabetes, in-cluding education on heart health,weight loss, healthy eating and a phys-ical activity program geared to yourpersonal needs as well as the needsof your family. It also means we willdo whatever we can or need to do to

help you decrease your risk factors.We will support each other on thisjourney to wellness. This includes aphysical exam, lab test, baseline ECG- checks out your heart to learn asmuch about your health as we can.You will also receive health educa-tion, in a group or as an individual,and participate in program activities.We will work together to develop awellness plan specific for you (andyour family). We will get there onestep at a time, together! By joiningthe Mno Ode, the SDPI HealthyHeart Initiative, you can:

• Reduce your chances of get-ting heart disease

• Help your family learn newways to live in balance - healthy eat-ing, active living

• Receive professional medicaland nutritional advice from peoplewho truly care about you and yourfamily.

• Be a part of the study that willset the gold standard for cardiovas-cular disease prevention all over theworld. We will share what we learnwith other nations and the rest of theworld!

• FYI - Participation in a pro-gram in a facility outside of MinaMskiki Gumik is estimated to cost$5,000! There is no cost to you. Wewill even help you with food or gas.We do not want this to be a burdenfor you and your family.

With this in mind, we wouldlike to ask you to please participate inour program to try to prevent car-diovascular disease through educa-tion, treatment of risk factors andother prevention activities. Please call231-242-1601 to sign up or speak toMichele or Diane for more informa-tion. We look forward to workingwith you.

Miigwech for your time andconsideration.

Michele Keshick, RN, BS, CDECommunity Health/Diabetes

Manager,Mno Ode Project Director, Case

Manager

LITTLE TRAVERSE BAY BANDSHEALTH DEPARTMENT- MNO ODE – HEALTHY HEART

Diane Bott recently startedas the Healthy Heart Data Spe-cialist in the Health Department.

The Mno Ode(Healthy/Good Heart) programis aimed at cardiovascular risk re-duction in our tribal communityand is funded by a U.S. Depart-ment of Health and Human Serv-ices’ Indian Health Service grant.

“I am ver y excited to be apart of the Healthy Heart pro-gram, and I look for ward toworking with the tribal commu-nity,” Bott said.

Bott, who moved to the areain 1998 with her husband, JohnBott, Sr., has a diploma in Nurs-ing from St. Mary’s and a Bache-lor’s in Nursing from Ferris StateUniversity.

Prior to accepting her cur-rent position, she worked for 22years in the emergency room of a

Mt. Pleasant, MI, hospital ,worked for almost 11 years as theManager of Public Relations andCommunity Relations at Odawa

Casino Resort in Petoskey, MIand worked contractually in theLTBB Health Clinic in Petoskeyfrom April 2009 to August 2009.

She and her husband havebeen married for 38 years, and

they have three sons, John, Jr.,Blayne and Barry. Bott, Sr. is theTribal Councilor Treasurer andthe Assistant Table Games Direc-tor at Odawa Casino Resort.John, Jr. and his wife, Shelly, havethree children, Darian, 13, Ayana,9, and John III, 7. Blayne and hiswife, Sara , have two children,Lily, 4, and Elly, 1. Barry and hiswife, Alicia, have two children,Maddison, 4, and Whitney, 2.Blayne is a Gaming RegulatoryInspector in the Regulatory De-partment, and Barry is the YouthAssistant in the Youth Ser vicesDepartment. Barry is a memberof the drum group Spirit Lake.

In her free time, she enjoysscuba diving , playing golf, read-ing and spending time with herchildren and grandchildren.

Photo by CommunicationsCoordinator Annette VanDeCar.

MEET HEALTHY HEART DATA SPECIALIST DIANE BOTT

Odawa TrailsSEPTEMBER 2011 5

September 1Betty Gregory

Veronica HendersonTheresa Leo

Robert SadlerWilliam Sadler, Sr.

Garold SmithDwight StuebingSharon Werner

September 2Marshall Pierce

Susan RussoJames SmithDuane Stone

September 4Timothy Ettawageshik

Patricia HansenGeraldine Kilmer

September 5Beatrice Law

James Leece, Jr.Brian Schwartz

Kevin ScottTruman Yoder, Jr.

September 6Marion FriedliBilly Kaestner

John KawegomaMary Lynn

Robert ShagonabyRose Smalley

September 7Royden MartinezJanice Newstead

Edward Shawa, Jr.

September 9Marjorie Janis

Charles Keway. Jr.Stuart MartellRonald Smith

September 10John Cutler

Janet KeshickRodney MacKetyLorelie McGlynnLawrence Peaine

Hope ReinesCynthia StackpooleJohn Vandegriff, Jr.

Linda Zeppa

September 11Robert Moneypenny

Karen NorrisRobert Wemigwase, Sr.

September 12Carol Basford

Michael Bellone

September 13Donald Anderson

Franklin Chingwa, Jr.Carol Demario

Thomas NaganasheDennis Petoskey

Donna Searles

September 14Marcella Moses-Johnson

Cynthia Schweiger

September 15Mary BurksAnn Justice

Julius Kewaygoshkum

September 16Morris Fox, Jr.

Theodore LasleyDarlene Raymond

September 17Ida Dodge

Sharon Sahr-Seres

September 18Evangeline BlevinsArnold Moses, Sr.

Roy Sebeck, Jr.Karen Smith

September 19Joan BrownGary Kilmer

Cheryl Martin

September 20Tracy LaCroixSarah Proctor

September 21Phillip Keller

September 22Robert Martell, Sr.

Garry ShawaRichard Shenoskey, Sr.

Paul ShominStanley Sineway

September 24Harley Adams

Stephen DeckrowJames Petoskey

September 25Constance MerzJohn Shenoskey

September 26Lou Hill

Clara MillerRobert StokesBonita Thom

September 27Debra EmeryJoel Kimball

Caroline Niebrzydowski

September 28Emily Harrington

Harriet Kishigo BoothHenry Shenonaquet

Gilbert Smith

September 29Irene Bigeagle

Edward Gasco, Sr.Jerry Shonibin, Sr.

September Elder Birthdays

CHRISTINA DUBOIS JOINS CONTRACTHEALTH TEAM

LTBB Tribal CitizenChristina Dubois recentlystarted as a Contract HealthAssistant in the Health Depart-ment.

Prior to accepting her cur-rent position, she worked as theEnvironmental Assistant/Recy-cling Coordinator in the Natu-ral Resource Department forseven months and temped inthe Human Resources Depart-ment.

Dubois worked as the Di-rector of Sales at a recycling and com-posting company in Washingtonbefore moving back to the area in Oc-tober 2010. She spent four years liv-ing in Washington after growing upin Petoskey, MI, and graduating fromPetoskey High School. She is pursu-ing her Associates in Business Ad-ministration at North Central

Michigan College. She has a 2-year-old son, Miles.

Her parents are Albert Colby, Jr. andBarbara Goats, and her grandparentsare the late Albert, Sr. and MarjorieColby.

She enjoys watching football,hiking and other outdoor activities.

Courtesy photo.

SPRING PROJECT SEEKS YOUR PARTICIPATION IN ONLINESURVEY TO FURTHER ITS GOAL OF REDUCING UNDERAGE DRINKING

Submitted by the SPRING Project

The SPRING Project is a substance abuse preven-tion project housed in the LTBB Health Departmentand is funded through a federal grant (Strategic Pre-vention Framework - Tribal Incentive Grant).

SPRING (Significant Prevention Resulting in NewGenerations) will be offering a survey late this summerto tribal citizens and descendants of LTBB. It is excitingSPRING is gathering tribal specific data; the first of itskind for LTBB.

After gathering andsummarizing a greatdeal of initial data,SPRING determined itspriority focus area asReducing UnderageDrinking. There arethree years remaining inthis project to achievethis goal of reducing un-derage drinking. Our project is required to collect datayearly as part of an effort to document experiences re-lated to alcohol within our community. This year, wewill complete this process through an online survey.Each LTBB Tribal Citizen within the 27-county serv-ice area, ages 14 and older, will be sent a postcard inearly September 2011 with information about how to

take the survey and where available computers are lo-cated. Due to limited project funding, the surveys arerestricted to this geographic area. SPRING will havecomputers available for use at the LTBB Health De-partment and computer assistance if needed. However,the survey will be able to be taken on any computer withInternet access. Your answers are completely confiden-tial. Your participation in this survey is completely vol-untary. SPRING is able to offer a prize drawing forthose who do complete the survey. We would really ap-

preciate your participa-tion as your contributionis very valuable to theSPRING Project. LTBBTribal Descendantswithin the 27-countyservice area are also ableto complete the SPRINGsurvey. If you are or knowof an LTBB descendant inthe 27-county service

area, please call Clerical Assistant Ronda Ellis to pro-vide contact information.

If you have questions, please contact the SPRINGstaff: Project Coordinator Elise Tippett, Health Edu-cator Susan Pulaski, Community Organizer AmberHolt or Prevention Outreach Worker YvonneGoudreau at 231-242-1641.

Odawa Trails SEPTEMBER 20118

WOCTEP LEADS ELDERS EXERCISE CLASSWOCTEP Health Curriculum Coordinator and Ex-

ercise Specialist Tina Dominic led the June 28th Elders Ex-ercise class. Her focus for creatingthe lesson plan, for this class, was tofocus on 1. Posture, 2. Leg strengthand 3. Flexibility. “It’s very impor-tant to be aware of posture …” Do-minic stated, “… just being aware ofhow we stand or sit can help correctour positioning and work towardsa healthier posture.” Simply keep-ing our feet flat on the ground,without crossing our legs, can helppromote better posture. Bringingthe chin down and “putting ourshoulders in their back pockets” can also help correct poorposture. “A few times a day, I like to pretend that I have astring attached to the top of my head, pulling me straight upin my seat.” It may take some time to see results, but by prac-ticing these tips daily, you should notice a difference overtime.

Dominic said having a healthy spine can prevent a lotof backache later in life, so be sure to practice “postureawareness” as often as possible!!! A few of the leg strength-

ening exercises were the “chair stand” and “plié squats” (bothcan be performed while holding a chair). These are great ex-

ercises you can also do at home,stated Dominic. It’s a great way tojumpstart your circulation by doingthese exercises in the morning!!!Dominic always recommendswarming up before stretching. Notstretching cold muscles could po-tentially lead to injury. A five or 10-minute walk or spin on a stationarybike to get the muscles warmed upis better than no warm up! Al-though she did not ask the elders towalk or ride a bike to warm up for

the elders class, they did the leg exercises before stretching,which allowed for the muscles to warm up first. Dominichad the elders do stretches which can be done while beingseated. Chair exercises are wonderful for people of all ages,and can benefit those working at a desk as well. Please feelfree to stop by the WOCTEP office if you’d like a copy ofthis exercise plan or if you have any questions, please contactTina at 231-242-1484.Photo by Communications Coordinator Annette VanDeCar.

Sean Kutzler started as theWOCTEP Curriculum Coordinator– Business Tech on July 13, 2011.

Kutzler, originally from SaultSte. Marie, MI, graduated from SaultHigh School, served in the U.S. AirForce, and went on to earn a Bachelorof Science in Liberal Studies degree,minoring in Sociology and Geron-tology, from Lake Superior StateUniversity (LSSU). He previouslyworked for the Intertribal Council ofMichigan as a Health Educator (twoyears) and then worked on an Amer-ican Red Cross fundraiser, whichstressed the importance of donatingblood and preserving the lakes, for ayear. He recently returned to Michi-gan after spending 14 months teach-ing English to kindergarten,elementary, middle school and highschool students at a private school inKorea. While in Korea, he alsotaught adults English outside theschool and met his wife, Lauren, whowas also teaching English there. Theywere married on April 27, 2011.

“Everyone wanted to learn Eng-lish there (Korea) because it’sthought it would lead them to a bet-ter school, a better career, and ulti-mately, a better life,” Kutzler said.

He gained an appreciation forthe Korean culture while there.

“In Korea, older people arelooked upon with respect,” he said.

“They have very strong Confuciusideals where everyone has a place andpurpose. There is a strong sense offamily there; they value it tremen-dously. They work extremely hardMonday through Friday (men typi-cally work until 11 p.m., women takecare of the home and children typi-cally attend school until 9 p.m.), sothey spend many of their weekends inthe mountains. They have a strongappreciation of the outdoors.”

He and Lauren, who is origi-nally from Toronto, Ontario,Canada, were looking to stay in theNorthern Michigan area. They bothenjoy outdoor activities such ascamping, kayaking, skiing and hik-ing. While attending LSSU, he was asprinter on the track team.

“Lauren has lived in Torontoand New York City, but she loves tocamp, and she appreciates the out-doors,” Kutzler said. “I love NorthernMichigan. I love the water. My homeis here.

“I am very happy to be here. Ilove my co-workers, and everyone hasmade me feel welcome.”

He has family in Sault Ste.Marie, MI, a mother, Denise, a step-father, John, two younger brothers,Aaron, 24, and Trent, 6, and ayounger sister, Felicia, 22.

Photo by Communications Coor-dinator Annette VanDeCar.

MEET WOCTEP CURRICULUM COORDINATOR– BUSINESS TECH SEAN KUTZLER

Practice using these wordswith the puzzle on page 17!


ATTENT I O N M I CHE L L E CH I N GWA REC I P I E NTSJust a reminder, the deadline for the fall Michelle

Chingwa Education Assistance Scholarship is October 1,2011. Students must have a complete file, including newapplication and release forms, student aid report for the2011-2012 academic year, a current schedule and grade re-port for last semester awarded and last semester attended(if different) by this date to be eligible to receive an award.Students who do not have a complete file by the estab-lished deadline will not be eligible to receive an award forthat semester, but may apply for the next semester. Gradereports must reflect both cumulative and term GPA to de-termine eligibility and must be received before any awardwill be processed. Per REG-WOS 2007-05 050710-008section III. F. “Students must submit grade reports forthe previously awarded semesters. If necessary, adjust-ments will be made for any credits, withdrawn ordeemed ineligible, according to GPA guidelines.” Pleasebe advised adjustments will be made for any class a studentwithdraws from or earns an incomplete or when a studentreceives a failing grade and is not awarded credit by the in-

stitution.

Merit applications for the 2010-2011 academic yearare now available. Students currently enrolled for summersemester may apply when their semester is finished, allother students may apply now. Students will need to sub-mit a Merit application as well as grade reports from anysemester attended for the 2010-2011 academic year. Faxedcopies will not be accepted. Please be aware the award haschanged and will be issued once per academic year takinginto consideration the GPA average for the entire aca-demic year. Students wishing to apply can access the schol-arship from the LTBB website at www.ltbbodawa-nsn.govand click on the Gijigowi Bipskaabiimi link at the right.

For more information about any of the programs of-fered by the Gijigowi Bipskaabiimi Department or for helpwith any higher education needs, please contact AmandaSwiss, Higher Education Student Services Specialist, at231-242-1492 or by e-mail at [email protected].

MEET CULTURAL SERVICES SPECIALIST THERESA CHINGWAI’m an enrolled LTBB Tribal Citizen from my fa-

ther’s side. My great-grandfather is the late Alva IgnatiusPetoskey, LTBB. My great-grand-mother is the late Evelyn Pelcher,Saginaw Chippewa, and my grand-mother is the late RoseannaPetoskey-Gross, enrolled SaginawChippewa.

My mother is the late Steveann“Susie” Bickham. She was halfChoctaw and half SouthernCheyenne and Arapaho of Okla-homa and grew up on theMescalero Apache reservation. Ihave one younger brother, DuaineGross, LTBB, two older brothers,Ross Anderson and Rueben Cojo,two older sisters, Esther Cojo andPenny Cojo-Villanueva who are all half MescaleroApache. I grew up mostly in Flint, MI, but lived in Lans-ing, MI, New Mexico and Georgia while visiting mymother’s family in Mescalero, NM, during summerbreaks.

I moved to Harbor Springs, MI, in the summer of1996 after graduating from Flint Central High Schooland was married to the late Chakpe “Ophi” Chingwa. Istarted working for LTBB in 1998 as a temporary workerfor the LTBB Tribal Clinic when it was located in the

basement of the LTBB White House in Petoskey, MI. Iwas hired into the Human Services Department in dif-

ferent positions since January 1999. I graduated in May 2011 with

an Associate’s degree in BusinessManagement from North CentralMichigan College. I started my newposition as the Gijigowi Bipskaabi-imi Cultural Services Specialist onJuly 11, 2011. I plan to continueworking towards a Bachelor’s degreein Business Management from LakeSuperior State University.

I have four kids, an eight-year-old son named Kunu, twin, five-year-old sons named Nizu and HagaYellowbank, a two-year- old daugh-ter named Suzi Stillwell and a

boyfriend, Ryan, who I have been with going on fouryears.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with family,attending and dancing at pow wows, making regalia anddoing different crafts.

I look forward to continue working for the LTBBMembership in a new position.

Photo by Communications Coordinator Annette Van-

DeCar.

TIPS TO PREPARE K I D S FOR THE B I G DAY

Aanii, my name is TheresaChingwa. I transferred from the Hu-man Services Department on July 11,2011 and although it was sad to leaveafter working there for almost 12years, I’m happy to work in my newposition as Cultural Services Special-ist and with another group of won-derful people.

The first activity I participatedin was the “Traditional Foods withModern Flair” cooking class withCultural Assistant Dawn Nightlingerin conjunction with the CommunityHealth Department held July 6, 2011at the LTBB Governmental Center inHarbor Springs, MI. We learned howto make healthy twice baked pota-toes using a mixture of half potatoand half cauliflower, topped withGreek yogurt, turkey bacon, chivesand sprinkled with low-fat cheddarcheese. We also made some deliciousoatmeal, strawberry and bananasmoothies.

We’re working with the Data

Services Team, helping to create asugar bush diorama to be used forpresentations. I look forward to anexciting year and to servicing theLTBB Membership and Communityin a different capacity.

If you have any questions orcomments for Cultural Services,please call me at 231-242-1486 orDawn Nightlinger at 231- 242-1485or even better, stop by our office lo-cated in the west wing of the LTBBGovernmental Center.

Courtesy photo.

Submitted by the Gijigowi Bip-skaabiimi Academic Team

“Will my teacher be nice?Where will I sit? Will the other kidslike me?” Many kids get nervousabout heading back to school. “A bigpart of a successful first week is estab-lishing a routine and explainingwhere the bathroom is, what happenswhen you go to gym class and whento expect recess,” explains CathyDunne, a seventh grade teacher in theToronto area. With a little prepara-tion, parents can help. Here’s how tomake your child’s transition a smoothone.

Remember Routines. Familyroutines tend to slide in the summer— after all, what’s summer withoutcrazy bedtimes, a popsicle habit andwearing swimsuits for days on end?— and it can be hard to readjust comefall, notes Patricia Tanner Nelson,Family and Human DevelopmentSpecialist at the University ofDelaware. “Well before school starts,focus on choosing sleep, exercise,healthy foods and time together,” shesays. Rosanna Scott, a mom of two

from Ohio, agrees. “Practice schoolbedtimes a week before school starts,so that the new routine is estab-lished,” she says.

Get Ready! Don’t underesti-mate the fun and importance of newstuff for the big day. With youngerkids, a bag full of school supplies, anew backpack and a few new items ofclothing tend to gear them up with-out any further encouragement, saysAmanda Formaro, mother of four inNevada. For an older child, this maybe the time to give the thumbs-up tothat must-have trend item, especiallyif he’s earned some money over thesummer to pay for it. For ideas, findout what’s hot this year and get aprintable supply list.

Show Them the Way. If she’snew to the school, show your childher classroom, what entrance and exitto use and where the bathroom is lo-cated. If she’s taking the bus, visit thebus stop location and explain how toget on and off, especially if it’s the firsttime. Show her the drop off and pickup spot at school, too — if you’re notsure where it will be, call the schoolahead of time to find out.

Some schools will allow you totake a tour during the summer andarrange to meet the teacher. Thirdgrade Alberta teacher Fay Chomiksuggests encouraging a sense of own-ership on the tour: “This is yourschool, your gymnasium, your lunchroom...”

Prepare the Teacher. Let yourchild’s teacher know about anyspecifics about behavior or health.

Talk, Talk, Talk. “I try to thinkof all the positive things that they like

about school, and I talk about themas much as possible,” says Formaro. “Iask about friends they haven’t seenover the summer. I also look at mykids and note anything different thattheir friends will notice, such as a newhairstyle or if they’ve grown over thesummer.

Be Organized. Ease back-to-school anxiety by being prepared.Help your child to lay out her clothesand pack her backpack the night be-fore. Be sure to include a healthylunch and a snack that your child canopen and eat on his own.

Take It Easy. Preparation is great— but don’t go overboard. “You can

make back-to-school too big a deal!”laughs Tanner Nelson. If Septemberwas a hard month for you as a kid, itmight not necessarily be the same foryour child, and vice versa. You’re thebest judge of when your child needsreassurance, and how to go about giv-ing it. “In the end, remember that it’snormal to feel a little nervous or flut-tery about that first week back. Every-one, including the teachers, feels likethat,” she says.

Source: n. page. Web. 21 Jul2011. <http://tinyurl.com/5v9l8s>.

Courtesy graphic.

COLLABORATION FOR THE COMMUNITYSubmitted by Yvonne Walker-

Keshick, Archival Tech

In 2007, the Little Traverse BayBands of Odawa Indians were con-tacted by Karen Sherrard, Director atthe Petoskey District Library, inPetoskey, MI.

The library wasseeking guidance on amural that would bepainted in the children’sarea reading nook.

I went to see thenook, and they intro-duced me to NikolasBurkhart. He is a Pell-ston High School grad-uate and is well-knownfor his artistic abilities. Iadvised him of someideas of what I thoughtshould go into a muralwhich would be titled,Waganakising: Land ofthe Crooked Tree, Pre-European Contact.Burkhart took notes andincorporated into themural everything I sug-gested. I viewed hisprogress while heworked. The library staffworked closely with us, and we wereable to contact people to retell storiesfrom the Odawa’s past at the opening.

Earlier this summer, the librarystaff reconnected with LTBB Staff toassist in producing a book of the sto-ries, Waganakising: Stories from theMural, A Collection of Odawa Tales.The book is dedicated to “the story-

tellers who have kept these storiesalive and to those –present and fu-ture - who continue the tradition.”

The collaboration of dedicatedeffort by the library staff, LTBB De-partments and LTBB CommunityMembers resulted in the book for the

community. A copy of this 50-pagebook is available from the PetoskeyDistrict Library. The photographsused in the book are from the mural.

The photo of Nikolas Burkhartand Yvonne Walker-Keshick by Com-munications Coordinator Annette Van-DeCar.

THERESA CHINGWA JOINS CULTURAL TEAM

SEPTEMBER 201110 Odawa Trails

MEET WATER QUALITY ASSISTANTCAROLINE KESON

MEET ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE SPECIALIST REBECCA HARBISON

I am originally from Manistee,MI, but I recently moved here fromEast Lansing, MI. I just finished upmy degree in Environmental Studiesat Michigan State University. Youmay remember me from my intern-ship last year where I worked for theEnvironmental Services Department.I now have a more permanent posi-tion in the Natural Resource Depart-ment as a Water Quality Assistant inthe Environmental Services Program.I will be helping the Water QualitySpecialist with field work on lakesand streams, and I will be conductingthe majority of the lab work. I have alot of macroinvertebrates to sort, andI am also working to finish up an in-

terpretive trail in the Taimi HoagNatural Area that I started last sum-mer. I am glad to be back up here andam looking forward to getting toknow all of you again!

Courtesy photo.

Rebecca Harbison started asthe Environmental Response Spe-cialist, working in the Environ-mental Services Program in theNatural Resource Department,on July 11, 2011.

As the Environmental Re-sponse Specialist, she will compilea list of brownfields in the 1855Treaty area and establish a plan toassess, safely clean up and sustain-ably reuse brownfields. Brown-fields are abandoned orunderused industrial and com-mercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopmentof such a facility may be complicatedby real or perceived environmentalcontaminations.

“Many of the other tribes havebrownfield programs in place, so I’llbe taking some queues from them,”Harbison said. “Next year, we’ll docommunity outreach because youhave to be thorough and talk to the

people who live in the area.”The other part of her job is de-

veloping an Emergency ResponsePlan for environmental disasters. Inthe event of an emergency situation,the tribe needs to have a plan of ac-tion in place to assess and controldamages. She will be creating a proto-col for emergency situations.

Harbison, who is originallyfrom Gladwin, MI, graduatedfrom Gladwin High School andearned a Bachelor of Science de-gree in Hydrogeology from Cen-tral Michigan University (CMU),graduating in May 2011. At CMU,she did her undergraduate thesison pesticide contamination in theRouge watershed.

She completed an internshipthis past spring with the City ofGladwin where she did an aban-doned well search and attended aHydrogeology field camp at West-ern Michigan University last sum-

mer. She and her husband, William,

were married three years ago at Cas-tle Farms in Charlevoix, MI, and theyhave an 18-month old daughter, Na-talie, and a son due December 1,2011. They enjoy outdoor activities.


LTBB CONSERVATION OFFICER RECEIVES JOEL HARDINPROFESSIONAL TRACKING SERVICES PROGRAM CERTIFICATION

Submitted by Kevin Willis,Chief Conservation Officer

I would like to start this articleby giving a shout out to LTBB Con-servation Officer Roger Willis, aLTBB Tribal Citizen.

He has been with the LTBBNatural Resource Department sinceearly 2002 and during a career in LawEnforcement, an officer has a chance

to receive various trainings through-out the year.

Some of the trainings aremandatory and are required to main-tain an officer’s effectiveness; how-ever, some of the additional trainingsattended contribute to the overall ca-pabilities of an officer.

One of the training subjects theConservation Enforcement Program(CEP) has embraced is the JoelHardin Professional Tracking Serv-ices ( JHPTS) program. All three ofthe LTBB Conservation Officers areactively in the program with two hav-ing completed approximately 150hours of training instruction. Thisprogram provides students with spe-cific training procedures, practices,techniques and tactics to equip lawenforcement, military, special opera-tions forces, search & rescue andemergency response personnel to ob-

serve and interpret physical evidenceleft by human passage otherwise un-seen. JHPTS utilizes a proven tech-nique that is the result of 30-plusyears of tracking mission and trainingexperience. Students are evaluatedafter the conclusion of each trainingcourse. The mixing of other trackingprograms could lead to confusion orlack of coordination during a missionand may lead to an unsuccessful andunprofessional conclusion, so theCEP is committed to JHPTS and hasprogressed through the program.

As a result, we are pleased to an-nounce Roger has received his “BasicTracker” certification from JHPTSand continues to participate in train-ing session missions to move to thenext certification level. Congratula-tions to Roger!

Courtesy graphic.


Michigan

September 10Ah-Go-Sah Trail Traditional PowWow and RededicationSpringfield Township, MIContact Information: Carry Clark at231-564-1966 or Hank Parkey at231-258-0318

September 10-11Grand Valley American IndianLodge 50th Anniversary Pow WowGrand Rapids, MIContact Information:[email protected]

October 22Spirit of the Harvest Pow WowHoughton, MIContact Information: Lori Shermanat 906-370-0692, [email protected] diversitycenter.mtu.edu/pro-grams-native.php

Minnesota

September 9-11Mendota 12th Annual WelcomeHome Traditional Wacipi Mendota, MNContact Information: SharonLennartson at 651-452-4141

September 16-1839th Annual Mahkato Traditional

WacipiMankato, MNContact Information: 952-496-6120

September 16-1814th Annual Battle Point Traditional Pow WowBattle Point, MNContact Information: 218-368-4070

November 10-12AISES National Conference PowWowMinneapolis, MNContact Information: [email protected] aises.org

November 24-26Minneapolis Thanksgiving Celebration, Feast and Pow WowMinneapolis, MNContact Information: 612-824-3118or [email protected]

Wisconsin

September 9-1125th Annual Indian Summer Traditional Pow Wow Milwaukee, WIContact Information: 414-604-1000, [email protected] orindiansummer.org

September 16-18Native American Heritage Pow

WowDelavan, WIContact Information: ThunderRuthven at 708-715-5042 or [email protected]

October 21-22 Meeting of the Hearts Pow WowLake Geneva, WIContact Information: ThunderRuthven at 708-715-5042 or [email protected]

October 21-23Seventh Annual Hunting MoonPow WowMilwaukee, WIContact Information: Ryan Amund-son at 414-847-7997, 414-847-7320or paysbig.com/powwow

November 44th Annual Gitchi Gami Traditional Pow WowAshland, WIContact Information: 715-682-7089, ext. 1011 or ext. 1248 or [email protected]

November 12Summer Has Gone Home Traditional Pow WowWausau, WIContact Information: Nicole Larsonat 715-551-1369 or [email protected]

OOnn tthhee PPooww WWooww TTrraaiill

Odawa Trails SEPTEMBER 201112

Submitted bythe WaganakisingE s h k i n i i g i j i kUNITY Council

This July (8 -12), the Wa-ganakising Eshkini-igijik UNITYCouncil (WEUC)attended the Na-tional UNITYConference in Min-neapolis, MN. Aftera year of fundrais-ing, we owe a BIGthanks to thePEACE grant forhelp with funding and to our community for the supportand encouragement of our youth council. We would alsolike to say a special thanks to our advisors, Kristy Dayson& Barry Bott; we couldn’t have made it without your helpand support! During the conference, the WEUC partici-pated in a variety of workshops as well as attended the cul-tural exchange, talent show, celebration banquet and dance.The WEUC is looking forward to next year’s conferencein Arizona! We are hoping to perform in the cultural ex-change and talent show at next year’s conference.

Below are some of the WEUC members highlightsfrom this year’s Unity Conference: “This year’s NationalUNITY Conference is something I won’t forget for yearsto come. I came home with a whole new positive outlookon life and community. I hope to keep this inspirationand to help better myself, my life and my community.UNITY showed me that I can make a difference and ac-complish my dreams if I believe in myself and use mystrengths as a Native person!” - Sarah Jo Schilling “If I hadto describe UNITY in one word, it would be inspiring.UNITY inspires me to do more for my community, learnmore about my culture, live an overall healthier lifestyleand so much more. I’m still flabbergasted at how much Ilearned in those five short days; I can’t wait for next year!”- Rebecca Lynn

“This year, I attended the National UNITY confer-ence for the first time! All and all, I would have to say I had

the time of my life in just the five short days we were there.With attending this, it taught me that us as Native peoplecan accomplish anything if we have our heart and mind setto it. We brought back with us so many positive attitudesand outlooks on life. I plan to keep attending UNITY foryears to come, and keep getting inspired!” - AnnamarieGoodman

“This was my second year of attending UNITY, andit never ceases to amaze me. This conference has helped mecome out of my comfort zone and try something new; it’spushed me to new extremes. It’s an amazing feeling seeingall the Native youth around you sharing ideas and learningfrom each other. I now know that if we want something,we have to go out and get it. UNITY is a wonderful ex-perience, and I am grateful to say that I am part of theUNITY family!” - Isabella Reyes-Olson

“The 2011 National UNITY conference went aboveand beyond my expectations of what UNITY would belike. Due to it being my first year attending the conference,I had no idea how much of an impact it would have on mylife. But, I can honestly tell you that it is a life-changing ex-perience, one I am so grateful to have participated in. Notonly did UNITY inspire me, but it also gave the (WEUC)confidence in us and our youth council as a whole. I thinkI speak for everyone when I say; I can’t wait for the 2012National UNITY conference! (:” - Chelsea Carson

Courtesy photo.

TRIBAL YOUTH ATTEND NATIONAL UNITY CONFERENCE

On June 26, 2011, Tribal Coun-cil passed a statute that provides anaward for high school Tribal Citi-zens who obtain a high schooldiploma, a General EquivalenceDiploma (GED) or a certificate ofcompletion for students in SpecialEducation programs. The law iscalled the Shirley Naganashe Old-man Secondary Education Comple-tion Award in honor of Shirley andher dedication in assisting Tribal Cit-izens to obtain their highest level ofeducational goals. Tribal ChairmanKen Harrington signed it into lawon July 28, 2011. This law will takeaffect for the Graduation Class of2012.

According to Diplomas Count2010, nationally, 1.3 million mem-bers of the public high school class of2010 will fail to graduate with adiploma; that amounts to a loss of7,200 students from the U.S. gradu-ation pipeline every school day orone student every 25 seconds.

Michigan high schools are fol-lowing the national trend. Accordingto Alliance for Excellent Education,the national rate for high schoolAmerican Indian graduates is at 50%,and in Michigan, it is at 48%. Michi-gan is faring worse than the nationalaverage. Overall, the dropout rate for

students in Michigan is more than32,400 students. The lifetime earn-ings lost for these 32,400 studentstotal more than $8.4 billion thatcould have been earned if they stayedin school.

Education Week reported in2010 the nation’s graduation rate hasdropped for the second consecutiveyear, following a decade of mostlysolid improvements. “These new find-ings raise cause for concern, as thosewho fail to finish high school will facefar greater hardships than their grad-uating peers, particularly during aperiod of economic instability.”

Based on these latest reports,Tribal Council agreed our studentsneed to know graduating from highschool is important, and a great ac-complishment for our youth and fu-ture generations. We need to ac-knowledge this achievement andprovide encouragement for thosestudents who are struggling to stay inschool. As a result, the new statutewill provide an award in the amountof approximately $150-$200, basedon the amount of applicants, for allstudents who graduate from highschool, receive their GED or a cer-tificate of completion for studentswith disabilities. This hopefully willbe a stepping stone toward continued

education and utilization of theMichelle Chingwa Scholarship.

Good luck to the High SchoolGraduation Class of 2012 and all ourfuture graduates!!

If you have additional questions,please feel free to contact the TribalCouncil office at 1-866-927-0077 orattend a Tribal Council meeting.The calendar of meetings is in theOdawa Trails newsletters as well asour website at http://www.ltbbo-dawa-nsn.gov.

Miigwetch,Submitted by Tribal Councilors,

Belinda Bardwell and Regina Gasco-Bentley, and Donna L. Budnick, Leg-islative Services Attorney

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians

Tribal Council MeetingTribal Court Room7500 Odawa Circle

Harbor Springs, MI 49740July 10, 2011

Closed Session: noCall to Order: Meeting was called to or-

der at: 9:06 a.m.Opening Ceremony – Melvin L.

KiogimaCouncil Present: Legislative Leader Julie

Shananaquet, Secretary Regina Gasco Bentley,Treasurer John Bott, Councilor Belinda Bard-well, Councilor Melvin L. Kiogima, CouncilorRita Shananaquet, Councilor Marvin Mulhol-land, Councilor Gerald V. Chingwa

Absent: Councilor Aaron OttoLegislative Office Staff Present: Legisla-

tive Services Attorney Donna Budnick, Ad-ministrative Assistant Michael Smith

Executive Officials and Staff Present:none

Public: Jannan Cornstalk, Beatrice Law,Nancy Kiogima

Invited Guests: noneMotion made by Legislative Leader J.

Shananaquet and supported by Treasurer Bottto adopt the agenda for July 10, 2011 with ad-ditions.

Vote: 8 - Yes, 0 - No, 0 - Abstained, 1 -Absent (Councilor Otto) Motion carried.

Motion made by Treasurer Bott and sup-ported by Councilor Bardwell to approve theminutes of June 26, 2011 as presented.

Vote: 8 - Yes, 0 - No, 0 - Abstained, 1–Absent (Councilor Otto) Motion carried.

9:14 a.m. Elder comment: No Com-ment.

Motion made by Treasurer Bott and sup-ported by Councilor R. Shananaquet to acceptLegislative Leader Julie Shananaquet‘s verbalReport for July 10, 2011.


Motion made by Councilor Bardwell andsupported by Treasurer Bott to accept SecretaryGasco Bentley’s verbal Report for July 10, 2011.


Motion made by Councilor Mulhollandand supported by Councilor Kiogima to ac-cept Appropriation and Finance CommitteeReport and Tribal Treasurer’s verbal report aspresented by Treasurer Bott for July 10, 2011.


Motion made by Legislative Leader J.Shananaquet and supported by Secretary GascoBentley to request the Executive to submit toTribal Council the Final Determination of theFY 2011 Indirect Cost Rate by its next regu-larly scheduled meeting, July 24, 2011.


Motion made by Councilor R. Shanana-quet and supported by Treasurer Bott to acceptLand and Reservation Committee ChairpersonKiogima’s verbal report for July 10, 2011.


Motion made by Councilor Bardwell andsupported by Councilor R. Shananaquet toapprove the submission of the memos to theTribal Chairman and the Gaming AuthorityCommittee regarding request for an assessmentof Casino Information Technology and Gov-ernmental Management Information Systemfor transfer of the Tribal Police to the 911Spring Building.


Motion made by Councilor Bardwell andsupported by Councilor R. Shananaquet to ac-cept Legal and Legislative Committee Chair-person Chingwa’s report for July 10, 2011.


Ethics Committee Update: No Meet-ing, No report.

Motion made by Councilor Bardwell andsupported by Councilor Mulholland to ap-prove the appointment of Catherine Laba for aterm to expire in 2014 and Melissa Colby for aterm to expire in 2014 to the Education Ap-peals Board.

Vote: 7 - Yes, 1 - No (Councilor R.Shananaquet), 0 - Abstained, 1 - Absent(Councilor Otto) Motion carried.

Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentleyand supported by Legislative Leader J. Shanana-quet to accept Councilor Bardwell’s verbalcouncil member report regarding EducationAppeals Board Nominees.


Motion made by Treasurer Bott and sup-ported by Legislative Leader J. Shananaquet to

accept Councilor Mulholland’s verbal councilmember report regarding Insurance Benefits.


Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentleyand supported by Treasurer Bott to acceptCouncilor Kiogima’s council member reportregarding Internet Gaming.

Vote: 6 - Yes, 0 - No, 0 - Abstained, 3 -Absent (Councilor R. Shananaquet, CouncilorBardwell, Councilor Otto) Motion carried.

10:55 a.m. Recess called.11:04 a.m. Meeting reconvened.Motion made by Councilor R. Shanana-

quet and supported by Councilor Chingwa toaccept Legislative Services Attorney Budnick’sverbal and written report for July 10, 2011.


Motion made by Legislative Leader J.Shananaquet and supported by Councilor R.Shananaquet to accept Gaming AuthorityCommittee Report regarding Casino WasteWater as presented by Gaming Authority Com-mittee member Marvin Mulholland.


11:41 a.m. Pubic Comment opened. Jan-nan Cornstalk regarding first-hand report of aconversation held with a Michael Higgins andTribal Chairman regarding Odawa Hotel. Beat-rice Law made comment regarding the TribalChairman on the same issue.

11:52 a.m. Public Comment closed.Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentley

and supported by Legislative Leader J. Shanana-quet to approve Citizenship List A – Eligiblefor Citizenship dated June 30, 2011 for a totalof 4.

Vote: 6 - Yes, 2- No (CouncilorChingwa, Councilor R. Shananaquet), 0 - Ab-stained, 1 - Absent (Councilor Otto) Motioncarried.

Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentleyand supported by Legislative Leader J. Shanana-quet to approve Citizenship List B – Declina-tion (Ineligible) for Citizenship dated June 30,2011 for a total of 6.

Vote: 8 - Yes, 0 - No, 0 - Abstained, 1 –Absent (Councilor Otto) Motion carried.

Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentleyand supported by Legislative Leader J. Shanana-quet to acknowledge receipt of CitizenshipList C – Voluntary Relinquishment dated July5, 2011 for a total of 1.


Motion made by Legislative Leader J.Shananaquet and supported by Secretary GascoBentley to approve and accept the purchaseagreement submitted by Tamela Okuly, datedJune 21, 2011, for property located at 3533Wah Be Noong Circle, lot 5, Harbor Springs,Michigan, with such terms contained withAgreement to Purchase and authorizes theTreasurer to sign any documents related to thetransaction and any and all previous offers orapprovals for such property are rescinded.


Motion made by Councilor Bardwell andsupported by Legislative Leader J. Shanana-quet to acknowledge receipt of Tribal Chair-man’s report.


Motion made by Councilor R. Shanana-quet and supported by Councilor Bardwell topass Resolutions Posting and Usage Policy.


Motion made by Treasurer Bott and sup-ported by Councilor R. Shananaquet to adoptGaming Authority Committee Resolution -Authorization of Odawa Casino Resort Busi-ness Banking Account and Treasury Manage-ment Documents and Limited Waiver of Sov-ereign Immunity and Related Matters.

Roll call vote: Councilor Bardwell-yes,Councilor Chingwa-yes, Councilor Kiogima -yes, Councilor Mulholland-yes, Councilor R.Shananaquet-yes, Councilor Otto-absent,Treasurer Bott-abstain, Secretary Gasco Bent-ley-yes, Legislative Leader J. Shananaquet-yes

Motion carried. Motion made by Legislative Leader J.

Shananaquet and supported by Treasurer Bottto post to the Legislative Calendar LTBB Wa-ganakising Representative to Michigan Anish-naabeg Cultural Preservation and RepatriationAlliance (MACPRA) and Native AmericanGraves Protection and Repatriation Act(NAGPRA) DRAFT Statute.


12:26 p.m. Motion made by TreasurerBott and supported by Councilor R. Shanana-quet to adjourn.


These Minutes have been read and ap-proved as written: Regina Gasco Bentley,Tribal Council SecretaryDate

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians

Tribal Council MeetingTribal Court Room7500 Odawa Circle

Harbor Springs, MI 49740July 24, 2011

Closed Session: yesCall to Order: Meeting was called to or-

der at: 9:03 a.m.Opening Ceremony: moment of silenceCouncil Present: Legislative Leader Julie

Shananaquet, Secretary Regina Gasco Bentley,Treasurer John Bott, Councilor Belinda Bard-well, Councilor Aaron Otto, Councilor MelvinL. Kiogima, Councilor Rita Shananaquet,Councilor Marvin Mulholland

Absent: Councilor Gerald V. Chingwa Legislative Office Staff Present: Legisla-

tive Services Attorney Donna Budnick, OfficeManager Michele LaCount

Executive Officials and Staff Present:Tribal Chairman Ken Harrington

Public: William McMillanInvited Guests: Casino: General Man-

ager David Wolf, Hospitality Director MichaelBodjiak, Human Resource Director MelissaRichards, Finance Director Roger Borton, Di-rector of Facilities Barry Laughlin, Slot Direc-tor Frank Kersh

9:07 p.m. Councilor Chingwa arrived.Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentley

and supported by Councilor Chingwa to adoptthe agenda for July 24, 2011 with changes.

Vote: 9 - Yes, 0 - No, 0 - Abstained, 0 –Absent Motion carried.

Motion made by Treasurer Bott and sup-ported by Councilor Kiogima to approve theminutes of July 10, 2011 as presented.


Motion made by Treasurer Bott and sup-ported by Councilor R. Shananaquet to acceptLegislative Leader J. Shananaquet’s verbal andwritten report for July 24, 2011.


Motion made by Treasurer Bott and sup-ported by Councilor R. Shananaquet to acceptSecretary Gasco Bentley’s verbal report for July24, 2011.


Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentleyand supported by Legislative Leader JulieShananaquet to accept Treasurer Bott’s verbalreport for July 24, 2011.


9:44 a.m. Recess called.9:56 a.m. Meeting reconvened.10:06 a.m. Motion made by Legislative

Leader J. Shananaquet and supported by Coun-cilor Chingwa to go into closed session forconfidential business matters.

Vote: 8 - Yes, 0 - No, 1 – Abstained (Trea-surer Bott), 0 – Absent

Motion carried. 11:15 a.m. Motion made by Councilor

Mulholland and supported by Councilor R.

Shananaquet to return to open session.Vote: 9 - Yes, 0 - No, 0 - Abstained, 0 –

Absent Motion carried. 11:45 a.m. Public Comment opened:

William McMillan spoke regarding unem-ployment compensation and employee healthrelated employment terminations at the casino.

11:56 a.m. Public Comment closed.Motion made by Councilor R. Shanana-

quet and supported by Councilor Kiogima toaccept the Gaming Authority Commission re-port as presented by Gaming Authority Com-mission member Councilor Otto.


Motion carried. Motion made by Councilor R. Shanana-

quet and supported by Secretary Gasco Bentleyto acknowledge receipt of the Casino 2nd Quar-ter Report as presented by Casino GeneralManager David Wolf.


Motion carried. 12:00 p.m. Lunch recess called.1:33 p.m. Meeting reconvened.Motion made by Councilor R. Shanana-

quet and supported by Treasurer Bott to ac-knowledge Waganakising Odawa Develop-ment, Inc. Corporate Charter QuarterlyReport for July 24, 2011.


Motion made by Legislative Leader J.Shananaquet and supported by CouncilorKiogima to go into closed session for legal andconfidential business matters.

Vote: 6 - Yes, 2 – No (Councilor R.Shananaquet, Secretary Gasco Bentley), 0 - Ab-stained, 1 – Absent (Councilor Otto) Motioncarried.

3:17 p.m. Motion made by CouncilorBardwell and supported by Treasurer Bott toreturn to open session.


Motion made by Councilor R. Shanana-quet and supported by Councilor Chingwa toaccept the Land and Reservation Committeeverbal and written report as presented by Com-mittee Chairperson Kiogima for July 24, 2011.


Motion made by Councilor Kiogima andsupported by Legislative Leader J. Shanana-quet to clarify the property listed under Wa-ganakising Odawa Statute 2009-024, OdawaEconomic Development Management Statute,as a Commercial site located at 1966 US 131South, Petoskey, Michigan, which includes theentire “Parcel A” as depicted and described inthe survey prepared by Benchmark Engineeringon July 7, 2011, File R11098TPSMV2.GXD,Job # 11-098.


Motion made by Councilor Kiogima andsupported by Legislative Leader J. Shanana-quet to approve the amended GovernmentComplex Site Plan dated 7/20/11, which in-cludes a playground area, which will be ap-proximately 100’ x 115’, on the north side of theGovernment Administration Building.


3:31 p.m. Public Comment opened: nocomments.

3:31 p.m. Public Comment closed.3:31 p.m. Recess called.3:41 p.m. Meeting reconvened.Motion made by Councilor R. Shanana-

quet and supported by Secretary Gasco Bentleyto accept the Legal and Legislative CommitteeReport as presented by Committee Chairper-son Chingwa for July 24, 2011.


Motion made by Councilor R. Shananaquet and supported by CouncilorBardwell to override Executive VETO of Wa-ganakising Odawak Statute Stalking, PPO, Vi-olations, and Criminal Offenses Statute.


Rules of Conduct: Ethics Committeehas nothing to report.

4:23 p.m. Motion made by TreasurerBott and supported by Councilor Kiogima togo into closed session for legal.


5:00 p.m. Motion made by LegislativeLeader J. Shananaquet and supported by Coun-cilor R. Shananaquet to return to open session.


Motion made by Councilor R. Shanana-quet and supported by Treasurer Bott to ac-knowledge receipt of the Chairman’s reportfor July 24, 2011.


Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentleyand supported by Treasurer Bott Approval forGrant Agreement between the Michigan De-partment of Community Health and the LittleTraverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians PublicHealth Preparedness and Response for Bioter-rorism.


Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentleyand supported by Councilor R. Shananaquet toapprove the Sex Offender Registration and No-tification Policy POL-ADM WOS 2001-00702211-002


Motion made by Secretary Gasco Bentleyand supported by Legislative Leader J. Shanana-quet to acknowledge Enrollment List C Vol-untary

Relinquishment dated July 22, 2011 fortotal of 1.


Motion made by Legislative Leader JulieShananaquet and supported by Treasurer Bottto table the Tribal Internal Minimum.

Vote: 8 - Yes, 0- No, 1 - Abstained (Trea-surer Bott), 0 – Absent

Motion carried. Motion made by Legislative Leader J.

Shananaquet and supported by Treasurer Bottto accept the resignation of Bill Denemy, Jr.from the Child Welfare Commission.


Motion made by Legislative Leader J.Shananaquet and supported by Secretary GascoBentley to adopt Tribal Resolution: Rescissionand Repeal of Outdated Resolutions for theyear of 1991.

Vote: 8 - Yes, 1 – No (Councilor R.Shananaquet), 0 - Abstained, 0 – Absent Mo-tion carried.





Motion made by Legislative Leader J.Shananaquet and supported by Secretary GascoBentley to pass Tribal Resolution: Rescissionand Repeal of Outdated Resolutions for theyear of 1996.








Motion made by Treasurer Bott and sup-ported by Councilor Bardwell to acknowledgereceipt of the Odawa Economic DevelopmentManagements Inc., 2nd Quarter 2011 Report.

Vote: 8 - Yes, 0 - No, 0 - Abstained, 1 –Absent (Councilor R. Shananaquet) Motioncarried.

5:16 p.m. Motion made by SecretaryGasco Bentley and supported by CouncilorKiogima to adjourn.

Vote: 8 - Yes, 0 - No, 0 - Abstained, 1–Absent Councilor R. Shananaquet) Motioncarried.

These Minutes have been read and ap-proved as written: Regina Gasco Bentley,Tribal Council Secretary Date


Tribal Council Meeting Dates 2011September 10 Work SessionSeptember 11 Council MeetingSeptember 24 Work SessionSeptember 25 Council Meeting

October 8 Work SessionOctober 9Council MeetingOctober 22 Work SessionOctober 23Council Meeting

ALL TRIBAL COUNCILMEETINGS AND WORK

SESSIONS ARE HELD IN THETRIBAL COURTROOM

LOCATED AT7500 ODAWA CIRCLE, HARBOR SPRINGS, MI.

LegislativeTribal Council Members

Julie Shananaquet, Legislative LeaderRegina Gasco-Bentley, SecretaryJohn Bott, TreasurerAaron Wayne Otto, CouncilorBelinda Bardwell, CouncilorGerald Chingwa, CouncilorMarvin Mulholland, CouncilorMelvin L. Kiogima, CouncilorRita Shananaquet, Councilor

Odawa Trails16 SEPTEMBER 2011

M i c h i g a n I n d i a n L a n d C l a i m s S e t t l e m e n t C e r t i f i c a t e R e d e m p t i o n U p d a t e

Submitted by the Trust FundBoard

It has been more than a decadesince the original Michigan IndianLand Claims Settlement certificateswere issued.

All adults have been paid or theyhave deferred payment to a later date,however, tribal children who were en-rolled before December 16, 1997 buthad not yet turned 18 are still in theprocess of redeeming their certifi-cates.

The following steps are intendedto aid in this process. Redeeming cer-tificates from the Michigan IndianLand Claims Settlement Act, PublicLaw 105-143, are as follows:

1. Determine your eligibility:Tribal citizens who were enrolled, buthad not reached the age of 18 on De-cember 16, 1997 are eligible to re-deem their certificates upon reach-

ing the age of 18.2. Sign your certificates with a

notary: The tribal citizen redeeminghis or her certificates must have a no-tarized signature.

3. Copy two pieces of identifi-cation: One piece of identification(e.g. Driver’s license) must have a pic-ture, and the second piece needs atleast your signature.

4. Mail your signed certificates,the mailing address you would likeyour check sent to and two pieces ofidentification to the following ad-dress

Note: The address on the cer-tificates is not correct:

LTBB Trust Fund Board7500 Odawa CircleHarbor Springs, MI 49740If you have lost your certificates

or need further assistance, call TrustFund Board Member Steve Schmidtat 734-717-4406.

By Tammy Okuly, Elders Program Coordinator

MIIGWECH! MIIGWECH! MIIGWECH! Your Michigan Indian Elders Association (MIEA)

Conference was held July 18, 19 and 20, 2011 at OdawaCasino Resort in Petoskey, MI.

All 12 federally recognized tribes from Michigan werepresent, however, as the MIEA host for this meeting, Iwould like to take a moment to express how very gratefuland honored I felt.

As the Elders Program Coordinator, I wanted tothank all of you for making this conference, by my profes-sional and personal definition, a SUCCESS.

Thank you to the LTBB MIEA Conference Com-mittee members for their review of the agenda, tweaking ofthe agenda, their recommendations and reminders and forsupporting Elders Program Assistant Kathy McGraw andI as we tried to orchestrate an event with many movingparts.

Example 1: Fundraising, donating to the rummagesale, purchasing trees and 50/50 tickets, encouraging, ed-ucating, critiquing, guiding, preparing tobacco/ties andstuffing bags.

Example 2: LTBB Volunteers for the actual conferenceroom physical setup included Debra Smithkey-Browne,Beatrice A. Law and Marie “Tootsie” Miller. Giving regis-tration table support for Kathy, Tribal Administrator As-sistant Melissa Wiatrolik and I were Smithkey-Browne,Law, Rochelle Ettawageshik and Joan Robinson.

MIEA 50/50 sales queen, Law, and assistant organizer,Robinson.

Silent AuctionMaster of Ceremonies:George Pamp.

Silent AuctionTeam organizers:Smithkey-Browne andEttawageshik.

Vendor Tableteam organizers: Vir-gina Lewis and FrancisHoldorph.

Volunteers: Kris-ten Okuly, Jackie and Larry Matzke, who monitored thetable exhibit for storyteller Tony Miron and created thename badges for MIEA officers, tribal delegates and vol-unteers.

Behind the scenes for input, insight and energy: TribalAdministrator Albert Colby, Jr., Tribal Administrator As-sistant Melissa Wiatrolik, Senior Accountant/Grant Com-pliance Carrie Carlson, Purchasing Technician MandySzocinski, Communications Coordinator Annette Van-DeCar, Pre-Press Graphic Specialist Wendy Congdon,Youth Services Coordinator Kristy Dayson and YouthAssistant Barry Bott.

Odawa Casino Resort and Odawa Hotel administra-tion and organizers with special gratitude to Chef Eric,Russ Worthington, Amanda and the rest of their dynamicdining room experts.

Bob Dominic served as our keynote speaker. Hehumbly asked why he was speaking because so many oth-ers qualified on history. A history teacher, Bob offered theopportunity to travel the path of our ancestors. Eventhough he was asked to present Odawa history, we as a Na-tive people, are all Anishnaabe and could not be clearly sep-

arated. Bob reminded all of us of the path our ancestorswalked as a people, including a glimpse of their challenges,sacrifice, vision and success.

Archival Tech Yvonne Walker- Keshick’s presenta-tion followed, and she spoke on global warming and the im-

pact our misuse of Mother Earth is having. Yvonne spokeof our sacred trees giving us clear definitions of how theirstrong medicine could help us to heal Mother Earth. Tak-ing the first step in initiating a campaign for planting thesetrees, Yvonne questioned if one person could evoke changeand if her thinking was perhaps naive. For one event, MIEApurchased and encouraged the planting of 300 blue spruceseedlings and 400 blue spruce saplings! The first steps in anongoing campaign!

Anishinaabe youth and elders shared verbally and inwriting, the commitments in support of one another andtradition before uniting in a round dance accompanied bythe Spirit Lake drum: PLANTING THE SEED, CUL-TIVATING OUR FUTURE THROUGH FORGINGRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OUR YOUTH ANDELDERS.

Among the MIEA scholarship recipients were LTBBTribal Citizens Jory Purvis and Regina Gasco. Purvis wasthe only unanimous choice of the judges and therefore, re-ceived the $1,000 scholarship. He is attending the Uni-versity of Michigan and studying Computer Science witha projected graduation date of 2015. Gasco received threevotes from the judges and received a $500 scholarship.Gasco is an all A student of Nursing at North CentralMichigan College (NCMC) in Petoskey, MI. She is thegranddaughter of Alice and Bob Yellowbank and thedaughter of Regina and Archie Kiogima, Jr.

MIEA elections were held, and two vacant seats on theElection Committee were filled by Ruth Suldivor and Su-san Larson. LTBB Tribal Citizen Bill Demeny, Sr. waselected as the new Vice Chair! Mike Duschene was re-elected as Treasurer, and Anna Harwood was elected as thenew Officer at Large.

The silent auction raised $1,700, and the 50/50 ticketsales raised $550 with $275.50 paid to the winner. MIEAwas presented with a check from Independence Village ofPetoskey, MI, along with a big thank you to LTBB forpaving and beautifying Lears Road past the village. Welook forward to a positive, ongoing relationship with theIndependence Village VP and its affiliates as it supportssenior programs and living throughout the state. All fundswill be applied directly to the MIEA scholarship fund.

The next MIEA Conference is scheduled for October12, 13 and 14, 2011 and will be hosted by the Little RiverBand of Ottawa Indians.

Courtesy photos.

M I I G W E C H T O A L L W H O M A D E T H E M I E AC O N F E R E N C E A S U C C E S S

accepted a $250,000 donation from CMS for the con-struction of our tribe’s fish hatchery. Tribal Council ap-proved the donation. An additional donation for $250,000may be contributed by CMS for the hatchery. Our savingsand restructures have ultimately paid for our salaries for thefull four-year term. Future plans for profitable businessessubmitted by the Chairman to Tribal Council remain onthe table.

Other developments include the Firekeepers Lodge,the Natural Resource Department fish hatchery slated forconstruction in Spring 2012, the veteran’s memorial wasinitiated and approved as a site plan for construction in ouradministration, site plan approval for a new Archives andRecords building at the LTBB Government Center, devel-opment of a small biodiesel, wind studies for future winddevelopment, Aldridge property repairs and maintenanceto revive three cabins and to make them available for rentalunits, restructure of our Dental Clinic and three play-grounds for our youth, one at Murray Road, one at Wah-Wahs-Noo Da Ke and a third playground at the LTBBGovernmental Center with an outside basketball court

were approved. The play areas are in conjunction with the“Let’s Move Initiative” to get kids moving and outside.

In other news, our tribe took the first place trophy forthe Michigan Indian Family Olympics. The HuronPotawatomi tribe came in second (although the HuronPotawatomi later contested the results and was declared thewinner), and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa andChippewa Indians in third. The Huron Potawatomi andLTBB have swapped first place the last four years; they willbe gunning for us next year. We will be back to compete andhave fun next year; hope to see you there. The Chairmancarried our flag in the opening ceremonies and helped theteam with four medals. This is a fun, family event, and itwas enjoyable to see all the smiling faces.

In closing, I want to say Dexter and I have always putour tribe first when a decision was made. We can be proudof the work accomplished and hold our heads high. Whenthe time came, I passed the torch I had been carrying forour tribe and turned the reigns over to Dexter McNamara,our Tribal Chairman. I urge all to support Dexter for theremainder of his term, and let’s work together.

Respectfully, Ken Harrington

“Harrington” continued from page 1.

cultural activities, so they can learn and pass on our tra-ditions.

“I will continue to stay involved with tribal activities,both cultural and family fun based,” Laughlin said. “I willbe looked to as a leader, by my example. By traveling alongthe right path in life, I set an example for other Nativeyouth. Dancing in the circle not only is tradition, but it isfun. I will be showing a safe, healthy way to have fun,which is something our youth of today definitely need. Ialso hope to encourage other young women to partici-pate in future Miss Odawa Nation pageants.”

Laughlin wanted to thank her “Aunties” BethKiogima, Marian Sedlak, Cathy Gibson, Regina Gasco-Bentley, Dora Willis and Rachael Rodriquez for their loveand support. Without them, she wouldn’t be where she istoday. Willis wrote a letter of recommendation for Laugh-lin in her quest to be Miss Odawa Nation and has knownLaughlin all her life.

“Josie has always been a special girl,” Willis wrote. “Byspecial, I mean she has the gift of humor, kindness, respectfor others, determination and maturity beyond her years.I have seen all of those attributes displayed by Josie at onetime or another.”

In addition to being active in her own tribal commu-nity, Laughlin volunteers at Grand Traverse Band of Ot-tawa and Chippewa Indians events when asked to do so byWillis.

“When I ask, she is there and never hesitates to work

with me,” Willis wrote. “You couldn’t ask for better rep-resentation for your nation. I am proud to have her call me‘Auntie.’”

Laughlin said she enjoys her volunteer work withGTB.

“It always gives me great pleasure to hear the eldersthere ask my Auntie, ‘Where does that girl come from? Sheis very helpful and respectful,’” Laughlin said. “It makes mesmile and most definitely sends a message about how weyoung citizens of LTBB are taught and raised. It makes mestand out as a young Odawa Kwe.”

In June 2011, Laughlin graduated from HarborSprings Middle School where she was a member of the bas-ketball team, being named Most Valuable Player in seventhgrade and is a freshman at Harbor Springs High School.She plans on attending college after high school with in-terests in Social Sciences and Human Services. Other in-terests include animals, especially llamas and alpacas, read-ing, painting and music. She also enjoys spending timewith family and friends.

Photos by Communications Coordinator Annette Van-DeCar.

Odawa Trails 17SEPTEMBER 2011“Miss Odawa” continued from page 1.

Solution on

Page 22


BirthdaysBirthdays Birthdays Birthdays

Walking on ...Rosanna Givens, 68Rosanna Givens, 68, of Pell-

ston, MI, died July 22, 2011 at herhome surrounded by her family.Rosanna was born January 19, 1943in Petoskey, MI, the daughter ofJulius and Nellie (Webb) Keway-goshkum. She grew up in Pellstonand attended Pellston Schools, grad-uating from Pellston High Schoolin 1961. Rosanna married JohnGivens on May 21, 1964 in Warren,MI. John preceded her in death onMarch 23, 1998. Rosanna lived inNew Baltimore, MI, until 1987when she moved to Pellston. Sheworked various jobs in the area, butfor the last 11 years, had worked asa dispatcher for the Little TraverseBay Bands of Odawa Indians TribalPolice. Rosanna loved to knit andcrochet, but most of all, she lovedspending time with her grandchil-dren. She was a member of St.Clements Catholic Church in Pell-ston. She is survived by four chil-dren, Mark Givens of Pellston,Michael Givens and his wife,Tammy, of Levering, MI, JohnGivens and his wife, Kim, of Brutus,MI, Tricia Givens of Cheboygan,MI; 11 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and a brother, Julius Ke-waygoshkum, of Pellston. Rosannawas preceded in death by her parentsand a brother, John Kewaygoshkum.

Marilyn Jean Williams, 75Marilyn Jean Williams of

Petoskey, MI, passed away unex-pectedly at home on August 19,2011 at the age of 75. Marilyn wasborn July 24, 1936 in Petoskey toDaugherty and Dorothy (Willis)

Happy 44th anniversary Shirleyand Stu Adkins. Special congratula-tions to Stu for marrying my little sis-ter. What a lucky man you are. Love,Mary and family.

Happy anniversary to Brian &Regina Carver, Pat & Rebecca Na-ganashe and Edwin & Amy Uleski.From Dorothy and Don Boda.

Special anniversary wishes to Jef-frey & Patti Boda. Love you two!From Mom & Dad and Doug, too.

Biindigen Memengwe, welcome!Memengwe was born on May 2, 2011at 10:07 a.m. in Ann Arbor, MI.G’gashe Imelda and G’oos Frank are sohappy and very proud of you, ourDaanisans! Gdo’Ingitizimag, G’Aabi-jikooniganaag, G’AabijikooniganMargaret “Micky” Ortner-Samuels,Shaponigiziwag Dean, Glenna, andEvangeline, G’Okomisag Donna andJuana, G’Mshomisag Frank and Fran-cisco, G’Zigosag, G’Zhishenhag, andKina G’wiintaawsag Aapijigwa Za-agigo gwa. We all love you verymuch!!!

Congratulations to JosephineElizabeth Laughlin. We’re proud ofyou. We know you’ll do a great jobthis year as Miss Odawa Nation. Love,Aunt Trish and Uncle Rodrick.

BirthAnnouncement

Congratulations

Miigwetch

“Walking On” continued on page 21.

Happy belated birthday to Kris-tine Willis! We love you, Terri, Pete,Big D & Mops.

MinoDibishkaan NiingonisKuno Yellowbank! Shtaahaa, nsh-waaswe boonigizi. Gzaagigo (we loveyou). Gzigozis Carla.

Mno-dibishkaa to NoshenhKunu Robert Yellowbank, alsoknown as Ntam-gaabo (First OneStanding). Kunu will be nine winterson September 6 and will be startingfourth grade this fall. He played Lit-tle League baseball and basketball thispast year and is currently playing PopWarner football. Way to go, NoshenhKunu!! Gazaagin … Nokomis andChoka.

Birthday wishes for Bob Shagon September 6. We hope you get an-other lemon pie. From the King andVanDeCar families.

Happy 77th birthday HarrietKishigo Booth! We love you. Fromyour family.

Happy birthday on September15 to Marisa Burks-Graves. I hopeyour special day is extra special andone of many more. Love, Mama andEddie.

Happy birthday Nicky-poohson the 12th and Madison on the13th! Love, Liz, Ric, Avery & Alivia.

Happy 8th birthday MadisonMichele! I am so proud to have you asmy daughter! I love you so much!Love, Mama.

Happy birthday Ayashay, love,your crazy family! Ma, Dad, Marie,Heather, Nigel, Harvey, Joe, Caden,Maya, Kayla and Brutis.

Wishing Shay Schuyler all thebest on her 16th birthday. Have agreat September 5th! From your fam-ily up north.

Wishing a big happy 14th birth-day to Lawrence Chavez IV! We loveyou “Law Law!” From Arlena, Julianand Mom.

Happy birthday MarshallPierce, my baby brother. I love youvery much and hope for the very bestfor you. Love, Mary, Eddie andKenny.

A little wish for Sidra, my littleMiss,

For a Happy, Happy, Birthdaygalore,

I can’t believe it’s been 10 years ofbliss,

Since the stork dropped you atmy door.

I love you baby girl! ~Mommy

Happy birthday to my Harmonfamily

Happy first birthday to Ava RaeHarmon on September 10.

Happy birthday to Mandi Har-mon on September 11.

Happy birthday to Butch Har-mon on September 27.

May you have the wonderfulblessings of the Great Spirit through-out the coming year.

Love, Nellie Harmon.

I would like to wish Carly Sear-les a happy 18th birthday on Sep-tember 15th!!! Good luck at TrineUniversity, and we are very proud ofyou. Love, Mom & Dad.

Happy birthday Laurel Willison September 16th. We love and missyou, Terri, Pete, Big D & Mops.

Happy birthday Tiffany Willison September 24th. We love you,Terri, Pete, Big D & Mom.

Happy birthday to PuPa on Sep-tember 11 from the campers at CampRun-a-muck, Homey, Bungii, PowWow, the Indian Dog, Toby T-Bone,and Chu Chu La Rue. Thanks forkeeping us all cool during the summerheat!

Happy birthday wishes to Dou-glas Wemigwase on September 21st.From Mom, Dad and Neewin,

Happy birthday “Sugar” on Sep-tember 20th. Love, your family.

Happy birthday Bea (BrandyConway) on the 3rd! Love, Liz, Ric,Avery & Alivia.

Happy birthday to our niece,Brandy Conway, on September 3.Love and miss you! Aunt Michele andUncle Greg.

You’ve been called many thingsthe past two years, but you contin-ued to fight for what was right. Youcan truly celebrate your birthday thisyear knowing good prevailed overevil. Happy 66th birthday to theBrassy Lady on September 6. Love,the General, General Junior, the OldMan, Sonny Boy and Kathy.

Happy birthday B! We love andmiss you so much! XO XO Love,Chrissy.

Happy birthday Nicky Poos ...he he he .... love and miss you!! XOXO Love, Chrissy.

Happy birthday to Marisa Burkson September 15. Got cake? Enjoythe day. Love you, Aunt Shirley.

Can’t forget “Uncle Eddie” onhis birthday, September 17. Have agood one! Shirley & Stu.

Happy birthday to my lilbrother, Marshall Pierce, on Sep-tember 2. Luv ya lots, Shirl.

To our grandson, Aidan Adkins,happy birthday wishes on September15. Can’t believe nine years havepassed. Luv ya & miss ya, Grandma &Grandpa.

Big wishes for a happy birthdayto our son, “Chriser” Adkins, on Sep-tember 5. Luv ya, Mom & Dad.

Happy 9th birthday JacquelineNicole Kishigo Gooding! From yourMich-Nish family.

Happy birthday to our nephew,Nick, on September 12. Hope to seeyou soon! Love, Aunt Michele andUncle Greg.

Happy birthday to our “Mad-girl” on September 13. Hugs andkisses … Grandma Michele andGrandpa Guido!

Birthday wishes to Kasina Na-ganashe, Angela McCloud, ChrisShananaquet, Gene Uleski, Jr., AndyNaganashe, Marlene Powell, RonSchansema, Karen Boda, JasmineCrampton, Tom Naganashe, Hes-haw Adel Khalaf, Rich Dewey, Tim-othy Stead, John Shenoskey, ClaraMiller, Emily Naganashe and Dil-lard Shenoskey. From Dorothy andDon Boda.

Happy birthday wishes on Sep-tember 15 for Mary Burks. Thebestest sister, glad you’re mine. Shirley.

Happy 53rd birthday LizKishigo Booth! From your MidwestNish family.

MnaDibishkaa NshiimenhWilliam McFall, Gzaagigo. P.S. I amon my rock (asin).

Happy birthday in Septemberto Kunu on the 6th, Ryan on the23rd and Suzi on the 26th. Love,your family.

Happy birthday on Sepember 5to my nephew, Chris Adkins, andon September 15 to your son, Aidan.My best to you both. Love, AuntMary.

Happy birthday to my cousin,Chris #1 (Adkins), on September 5.I better see one of these in Febru-ary - or else!! Luv ya lots, cuz, Ken.

Happy birthday to my wonder-ful mother, Mary Burks, and sis,Marisa Burks-Graves, (wonderful,but in Oregon) both on September15! Luv you both very, very, much,Ken.

Happy birthday to BrandyConway on September 3rd fromGrandma, Uncle Don, Aunt Shan-non, Donny, Nathan, & Izzy.

Happy birthday to Nick Doveon September 12th from Grandma,Uncle Don, Aunt Shannon, Donny,Nathan, & Izzy.

Anniversaries

The LTBB Pow Wow Commit-tee would like to say miigwetch toPetoskey Public Schools for gra-ciously donating the use of thePetoskey High School gymnasium forthe 20th Annual Odawa Homecom-ing Pow Wow. We are extremely grate-ful Superintendent John Scholten al-lowed us to use the facility on suchshort notice when the inclementweather forced the pow wow to bemoved inside. As he put it, “It was theneighborly thing to do.” It certainlywas.

We would like to personallythank Dennis YoungeDyke, Main-tenance and Custodial Director, andBen Abbott, Custodial Worker, forgoing above and beyond all weekend.Because of their efforts, the pow wowwas a success, drawing more than 200dancers from across the Midwest andCanada and countless spectators. Thepow wow is an opportunity for ourtribe to carry on and showcase ourculture, and we wouldn’t have beenable to do that without our neighborPetoskey Public Schools. We will beforever grateful.

CongratulationsCongratulations to Josie Laughlinfor becoming Miss Odawa Nation2011-2012. We know you will makeour community proud, not that yourcousin, Spring Sage Medicine, andJulia Martell wouldn’t have. Love,Nana and Papa.


NORTHERN SHORES LOAN FUND, INC. CONTINUESTO HELP LOCAL BUSINESSES GROW!

Submitted by Northern ShoresLoan Fund, Inc.

Lakeview Home Furnishings, anew custom woodworking and homefurnishing design business located inPetoskey, MI, and owned byStephanie Sevener, is the latest busi-ness to benefit from loan assistancefrom Northern Shores Loan Fund,Inc. (NSLF) for expansion of its serv-ices.

“Over the past year, I found my-self filtering more and more requestsfor detailed, custom work that I wasunable to accommodate due to thelack of owning a CNC Router. I con-tinued to find it difficult to find any-

one locally to refer the growing re-quests to, and realized that purchasingthis equipment was not only neces-sary to grow my business, but filled anunmet need locally,” Sevener said.“Due to being a very small, start-upbusiness, l found that the banks lo-cally were unwilling to assist with thisrather large purchase, but thankfully,Northern Shores Loan Fund, Inc. be-lieved in me and my business and gaveme a shot, making purchasing theCNC router a reality. I can’t keep upwith the demand since purchasingthis router and can’t imagine wherethe business would be without it andthe help of Northern Shores LoanFund, Inc.”

Lakeview Home Furnishingsproduces a wide range of custom res-idential and commercial furnishings,ranging from tables, dressers, cabinetsand beds to doors, mirrors, pictureframes and chests to trim work such asbalusters and brackets to custom petfurniture to built-in kitchen islandsand bookcases.

“We are excited to assist Lake-view Home Furnishings in the ex-pansion and growth of its business tomeet local and state-wide demand forits services during this difficult eco-nomic climate when other lenders willnot,” NSLF Executive Director LisaMcComb said. “As a Community De-velopment Financial Institution(CDFI), we exist to serve businessesunderserved by traditional financialinstitutions, and Lakeview HomeFurnishings is just one example ofhow we are continuing to successfullysupport economic development inNorthern Michigan at this challeng-ing time.”

For more information aboutNSLF’s services, please visit its web-site at www.northernshoresloan-fund.org or contact NSLF directly at231-347-6753.

For information about LakeviewHome Furnishings, please contact thebusiness at 231-348-2596.

Courtesy photo.

Johnson. She grew up in Bay Shore,MI, and attended Petoskey PublicSchools. On November 2, 1954, shemarried Ronald Barney, and theyhad four children together and re-mained lifelong friends. On May 8,1974, Marilyn married William E.Williams. He preceded Marilyn indeath. From 1954 until 1974, Mari-lyn and her family resided in SwartzCreek, MI, where she was activelyinvolved and a central figure in com-munity education and high schoolcompletion. In 1974, she movedwith her husband, Bill, to Harrisville,MI, where they lived until 1985when she moved back to Petoskey.The center of Marilyn’s life was herfamily; she cared deeply for her chil-dren and grandchildren and tookgreat pride in their accomplishments.She enjoyed camping and spendingtime on Lake Michigan with familyand close friends. She also enjoyed agood round of golf and painting as ahobby. She was a great cook and vol-unteered her time helping withluncheons and special events atGreensky United Methodist Churchwhere she had been a member for

many years. Marilyn had been an ac-tive member of the Little TraverseBay Bands of Odawa Indians, servingfor three years on the first GamingBoard of Directors at VictoriesCasino, taking office in 1999. Shetook great pride in her heritage as amember of the Little Traverse BayBands of Odawa Indians and did herbest over her lifetime to help to pre-serve and protect Odawa culture.Marilyn is survived by her four chil-dren, Robin ( Jack) Lees, Dorothy(Mark) Perry, Kelly (Dave) Lyle andBrook (Rose) Barney and by sixgrandchildren and four great-grand-children. Also surviving Marilyn areher siblings, Jacqueline Richmond,Doreen Wilson, Leela Harrison,Daugherty Johnson and Bonita(Crowe) Johnson.

Dan Casey, 82Dan Casey, 82, of Colorado

Springs, CO, made his peaceful de-parture from this world, early Mon-day morning on August 1, 2011. Hepassed away of a sudden illness andspent his remaining days under thecare of the nurses at Pikes Peak Hos-pice & Palliative Care at the Penrose

St. Francis Hospital. Dan was bornin Alanson, MI, to parents, John andMary (Kewaygeshik) Casey. He hadseven siblings growing up, John, Joe,Tom, Mary, Ruth, Kathryn andColleen, and was the youngest of theeight children. Dan retired from theU.S. Air Force in 1974 with the rankof Master Sergeant after 27 years ofdedicated service. He will be trulymissed by his friends and familyeverywhere. Dan was preceded indeath by his parents, John and Mary;his brothers, John, Joe and Tom; hissisters, Mary, Ruth and Kathryn; hisnephews, Ralph Kilpatrick and JohnBagby; and his beloved dog, Smokey.He is survived by his sister, ColleenKilpatrick, of Lady Lake, FL, as wellas his extended family and manyfriends across the country. A servicefor Dan will be held in Petoskey, MI,at Stone Funeral Home on Septem-ber 24, 2011 at 2 p.m. After the fu-neral, the family will proceed to bur-ial in his hometown of Alanson witha reception to follow at the AlansonCommunity Center, also known asthe Alanson Town Hall. In lieu offlowers, please make a donation to acharitable cause of your choice.

“Walking On” continued from page 20.

As in past years, we will run a Ghost Supper list in the Octoberand November issues of Odawa Trails. If you would like to haveyour Ghost Supper included on the list, please call, e-mail or faxthe following information to us: Date and start time of the GhostSupper, family/families hosting the Ghost Supper and the locationof the Ghost Supper (please include address and city). You maycall in the information at 231-242-1427, e-mail it [email protected] or fax it to 231-242-1430.

Ghost Supper Information Sought


20TH ANNUAL ODAWA HOMECOMING POW WOW WINNERSDrum ContestFirst place: The BoyzSecond place: Young KingbirdThird place: Tha TribeFourth place: Bear TailHand Drum Contest (3 man or

more)First place: Young Kingbird

(Mark Kingbird, Sheldon Hawk-smith and James Kingbird)

Second place: Chief Hill ( JoeyRainey, Wayne Silas, Jr. and WanbliCharging Eagle)

Third place: The Guyz (LittleMan, Darrell, Hoki, Bud and Quan)

Women’s Golden Age (50-plus)First place: Julie WhitepigeonSecond place: Debbie KleinThird place: Faith MontoyaWomen’s Fancy (18-49)First place: Rose TrackSecond place: Star WhiteyeThird place: Gena Top SkyWomen’s Jingle (18-49)First place: Iliana BennettSecond place: Alyssa BuckThird place: Stephanie Nord-

wellWomen’s Traditional (18-49)First place: Cheyenne FiddlerSecond place: Daylynn AlleyThird place: Vanny Wheelock Teen Women’s Fancy (13-17)First place: Brandi BearskinSecond place: Miigwaans SmithThird place: Spring Sage Medi-

cine

Teen Women’s Jingle (13-17)First place: Shay SchuylerSecond place: Emmalee Clair-

montThird place: Dajia ShinosTeen Women’s Traditional (13-

17)First place: Aerius BentonSecond place: Annessa Clair-

montThird place: Mariah BearskinJunior Women’s Fancy (7-12)First place: Cherish KingbirdSecond place: Vanessa SchockoThird place: Diana SanapawJunior Women’s Jingle (7-12)First place: Maya SchuylerSecond place: Gillian TijerinaThird place: Tianna SchockoJunior Women’s Traditional (7-

12)First place: Nichole NordwallSecond place: Hailey LarsonThird place: Aryana RobinsonMen’s Golden Age (50-plus)First place: Mike DashnerSecond place: Bnaaswi BiiaswahThird place: Mike KingMen’s Fancy (18-49)First place: Darrell HillSecond place: Wayne Silas, Jr.Third place: David ClevelandMen’s Grass (18-49)First place: Wanbli Charging

EagleSecond place: Adam NordwallThird place: James Day

Men’s Traditional (18-49)First place: Albert HindsleySecond place: Rooster Top SkyThird place: Dylan PrescottTeen Men’s Fancy (13-17)First place: Anthony KleinSecond place: Dayton SanapawEditor’s note: There were only

two dancers in this particular cate-gory.

Teen Men’s Grass (13-17)First place: Charles LasleySecond place: Quinten Schwan-

derThird place: Damien WixTeen Men’s Traditional (13-17)First place: Zachary Antoine

JacksonSecond place: Marlin Dicken-

son, Jr.Editor’s note: There were only


Junior Men’s Fancy (7-12)First place: Nathan BuckSecond place: Deo Top SkyThird place: Tyler DashnerJunior Men’s Grass (7-12)First place: Mark Kingbird, Jr.Second place: Bodie NordwallThird place: Lil Bird BentonJunior Men’s Traditional (7-12)First place: Frank Wesaw, Jr.Second place: Darian WixEditor’s note: There were only


Puzzle on

Page 17

The Progress We’ve Made!Submitted by Jeannie Norris,

LTBB Tribal Citizen It gives me great joy to acknowl-

edge Jeannie’s Fit Club team! I am so

proud of each and every one of youfor the progress you have made! Youhave been so dedicated to complet-ing our goal of running a halfmarathon, and I commend you for allof your efforts! We are in our finalfull month before the race, and I amgetting more excited every day! Youhave worked so hard to get where youare, and I cannot wait to cross the fin-ish line with you next month. Justremember, the hardest running daywas the first one, and we have comemany strides since then. Each one ofyou inspires me to keep going at thetimes when I get tired and want toquit! You motivate me to be a betterperson and a better runner each week,and I’m thankful y’all have stuck itout with me this whole time!

Our running team formed backin the winter when on the way homefrom boxing practice, one of theyouth said they wanted to do amarathon. At that point, we started torun with the idea of getting togetherfor runs to accomplish completing ahalf marathon first! We have been get-ting together each week as a team totrain for our big race since approxi-mately February 2011. Our team hasgrown a little bit since we’ve started,and everyone is welcome to join! Wewere able to do a couple 5K’s alongthe way this summer, and now, we areready to embark on our weekly, longruns which will progress from fourmiles to 12 miles in the matter ofweeks! These youth have put a lot ofheart and dedication into running,and I am very proud of them! Keep upthe good work!

We have had lots ofsupport along the way, andI want to say thank you toKaren Norris and RandyNorris for being our spon-sors and for believing inus! We couldn’t do thiswithout you! We look for-ward to seeing you at therace! Also, thank youMarci Reyes and AnnHolland for your supportand efforts to run with theyouth while I’m away atschool! Next, I would liketo thank Randy Seymourfor all of his support;sometimes, we wouldn’thave been able to get thoseSlurpees if it wasn’t foryou!! J Last, but certainlynot least, I would like tothank the youth who areparticipating! You rock!!!Going running with y’all isthe highlight of my week,and I’m very thankful y’allwant to hang out with an

old lady like me! I know you will all gofar in life, and once you put yourmind to something, you will see itthrough to the end! Your hard workand dedication has paid off, and you

are all going to kick butt at the race!Thank you for keeping me going andgiving me something to look forwardto each week!

Good luck and keep up theamazing work! I am so very proud ofyou, and I can’t wait to do this racewith y’all!

Courtesy photo. LTBB Tribal Citizen to Defend

Dancing TitleMelvin L. Kiogima, a LTBB

Tribal Citizen and Tribal Councilor,along with celebrity Heather Daniels,

the producer of the top-rated morn-ing show “Mary in the Morning” andAssistant Program Director on 106.7YOU-FM, won the 2010 SwingShiftand the Stars Dance-Off for Charityevent. The event raises money for lo-cal charities in the Traverse City, MI,area, and is similar to the widely pop-ular “Dancing with the Stars.”

On August 11, 2011, the 2011SwingShift and the Stars Dance-Offfor Charity participants were re-

vealed, and Kiogima will be pairedwith Carol Vernam (Wyant Com-puter Services), dancing for local char-ity Child and Family Services.Kiogima and his wife, Nancy, havedanced on and off for 30 years.

Competition begins September16, 2011 and continues on October21, 2011 and November 18, 2011with the grand finale on December16, 2011. Tickets begin at $20 ($5more at the door) and are availableby visiting www.swingshiftandthes-tars.com or by calling the TraverseCity Opera House box office at 231-941-8082.


Northern Shores Loan Fund,Inc. Receives USDA Grant

Northern Shores Loan Fund,Inc. (NSLF), a non-profit microen-terprise lender incorporated under theLittle Traverse Bay Bands of OdawaIndians, was recently awarded a$99,000 U.S. Department of Agricul-ture (USDA) grant and was the onlyorganization in Michigan to receiveone.

The more than $3 million ingrants announced on August 18,2011 is administered through USDARural Development’s Rural BusinessEnterprise Grant (RBEG) program.This program provides grants for ru-ral projects that finance the develop-ment of small and emerging ruralbusinesses, help fund distance learn-ing networks and help fund employ-ment-related adult education pro-grams.

NSLF assists local entrepreneursin six Michigan counties (Antrim,Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet,Grand Traverse and Kalkaska) withloan funding and business education.

For more information aboutNSLF, please visit www.northern-shoresloanfund.org or call 231-347-6753.

Odawa Hotel in Petoskey, MI,Featured in Indian Gaming Maga-zine

The August 2011 issue of IndianGaming Magazine features OdawaHotel in Petoskey, MI. The Little Tra-verse Bay Bands of Odawa Indiansopened the then-named VictoriesHotel in 2003. It features 127 roomsand 10 suites. To read the article,please visit http://www.indiangam-ing.com/istore/Aug11_HotelsVII.pdf.

For more information aboutOdawa Hotel or to book a room on-line, please visitwww.odawacasino.com.
