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September 29, 2009

CHEROKEE CHAT — Rogers County Cherokee Association

By Cara Cowan Watts, Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilor District 7, Will Rogers

September 29, 2009 — If you have not heard about the local non-profit serving Cherokees, you are missing out.

The Rogers County Cherokee Association (RCCA) meets monthly and hosts many activities throughout the year.

This past year, RCCA had a successful one week cultural day camp for area youth. Around 50 youth graduated. The entire event was outstanding and driven by volunteer labor and love.

RCCA meets the second Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. in Tiawah at the RCCA Community Building.

Some of the upcoming meeting highlights include October 11 with Wyatt Collins from Chelsea presenting his biking experiences on the recent Trail of Tears ride with Chief Smith.

Jennifer Robinson from the Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare will be on hand to answer questions about foster care, adoption and the Indian Child Welfare Act. On November 8, new officers will be nominated for the upcoming year and flu shots will be available during the annual Thanksgiving potluck. Madison Whitekiller, Little Miss Cherokee Ambassador for ages 10 to 12, will be presenting. On December 6 , new officers will be elected. Martha Berry, a master of Cherokee beadwork, will be presenting. Note, the December meeting is the first Sunday of the month due to holiday schedules. All of the meeting topics are subject to change.

Each month, we conduct business and include a cultural activity. Past cultural activities include basket weaving, making Cherokee moccasins, sewing Cherokee tear dresses, making stickball sticks and balls and creating our own Cherokee cornhusk dolls. RCCA is very hands-on and a learning environment for Cherokees of all ages.

RCCA supports Cherokee history classes, language classes and the Rogers County Cherokee Choir. Lee Keener who is the current RCCA President is an excellent Cherokee history teacher and has provided the class in the past. Meda Nix is our local Cherokee language instructor. Meda has provided past community classes, teaches Cherokee at RSU and has lead the choir in the past. Meda is an outstanding Cherokee speaker who has helped many of us regain the language in our community and families.

Upcoming activities for the year include completing the stickball fields and forming stickball teams to compete with other Cherokee communities. A recent Federal grant will allow RCCA to learn how to cook traditional foods for large crowds such as a hog fry.

All of our business and cultural activities must be sustainable. We encourage everyone to join RCCA and attend meetings. In particular, we are looking for families to join. We want our youth to learn from a young age every aspect of Cherokee life.

Almost all of the activities are at little to no cost. Annual membership is encouraged to support the activities and refreshments provided. I hope you join us at RCCA.

To learn more about RCCA, go to rogerscountycherokees.org.

To contact the Tribe, call 453-5000. The operator will connect you with the appropriate department.

Tribal programs and services are administered by the Chiefs staff at the Tribal Complex. Tribal hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Save a trip to Tahlequah by using the Tribes Internet tools at www.cherokee.org.

Almost all applications are available online to print from home.

If you have questions, issues or concerns about the Cherokee Nation government, please email me at cara@caracowan.com or write me at P.O. Box 2922, Claremore, OK 74018. For daily news and event notices, ask to be added to my District 7 email listserv.

You can, also, find me on Facebook and Twitter.

n Cara Cowan Watts is a member of the Cherokee Tribal Council, representing District 7.

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