Newsletter April 2009

The Federal recognition team reviewing the B. I. A. regulations. From L to R: Cris and Gwen Klinger, Deb Borjas, T. Wayne Harris, and Chairman Lanay Bruce Creech I

CRITICAL INFORMATION NEEDED

Attention Delaware of Idaho Tribal Members:

2009 is a critical year in our quest for Federal Recognition for the Delawares of Idaho. Last November the Tribe received a Technical Assistance Letter from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. This letter detailed areas of additional information that they requested to clarify some of the 7 points that determine if a group of Native Americans meet the Federal Definition of an Indian Tribe, and to be recognized as such.

Your Federal Recognition team has been busy through the winter months going through the tribal history on hand and researching any possible additional information that would help the Delawares of Idaho meet the definition of a Native American tribe as defined by the B.I.A. The Team needs your help.

This is Critical we need additional documentation covering 1900 through the 1960’s decades. The information needed can be pictures of tribal gatherings, weddings, funerals or any gathering that shows tribal organization. In other words, information that shows a leader or Chief and followers, and tribal members. This could be documentation from Birdie Island or the years that members of the tribe were engaged in starting a mine operation.

Another area that could show tribal political control could be the years of following the Fruit and Vegetable harvest around the Treasure Valley area and other locations that you may find. The Tribe must also show evidence of third party recognition that our group of Delaware Indians was recognized as a Native American Tribe. Was the group known as a tribe prior to the 1970’s when it Incorporated as the Delawares of Idaho, Inc., and if so.. What name were they known by?

This needed information is very critical to the success of getting Federal Recognition. We must have irrefutable documentation for each decade from 1900 through the 1960’s. The B.I.A. has stated that we must have at least one confirmed bit of history or each decade.

With spring here and time for spring cleaning, it’s time to go through those old boxes or files that you may have that are stored away in a closet, attic or garage and help find the history that will get your tribe recognized.

If you have any questions or find some history, please contact any one of the Federal Recognition Team Members, Your Federal Recognition Team is comprised of the following tribal members.

All the above information is to be sent to: Chairman Lanay B. Creech by August 15, 2009 to meet our deadline set by the BIA.

Thanks for your help
Chairman Creech
14905 E. Noble Rd.
Glencoe, OK. 74032
Ph. 405–612-6650 or 580–669-2212

• Vice Chairman T. Wayne Harris     713–248-0925
• Director of Membership Deb Borjas     281–259-0047
• Secretary of State Cris Klinger     405–612-9799
• Secretary of Commerce Gwen Klinger     405–612-9799

Memoriam

1936 — 2009 Emil Ray Snider Sr.

Lola Smith Scholl, Chief of the Western Cherokee Nation of Arkansas and Missouri passed away on December 29, 2008.

10-23-2008 — 12-26-2008 Ian Eugene Noe

1974 — 2008 Katy Joe Harsch

1968 — 2008 Beckie Sue Goodenough (Coates) (LaFreniere)

1942 — 2008 Billie Creech (Hole)

Mrs. Darrell W. Coates (Pamela A. Maggard) passed away after a long illness. Our sincere condolences to all the families.

Congratulations

Air Force Airman Anthony R. Creech Espinoza

Congratulations to Air Force Airman Anthony R. Creech Espinoza, who graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.

Congratulations to Joshua and Kimberly Menges of Florence, Oregon on the birth of their son, Jacob Russell Menges.

Clyde Wesley Creech Sr. moves to Good Samaritan Home.

Tribal Members who’ve sent their signed “I want to be a Delaware” application.

If your name is not here please download this application

Sign it and send it to:

Lanay B. Creech, Charmian
14905 E. Noble Rd.
Glenco, OK 74032

Cameron Lee Barnett
Danny Lane Barnett
Denise Barnett
Ethan Lee Barnett
Leslie Barnett
Boudry N. Bennett
Cole H. Bennett
Gage L. Bennett
Michelle L. Bennett
Deborah G. Borjas
Brian Scott Bossen
Brianna Bran
Seth Bratt
Nathan Bray
Marie J. Brown
Timothy R. Brown
Bradley A. Bulldis
Brandon J. Bulldis
Isabella Bulldis
Johna Bulldis
Maryann Bulldis
Sophia Bulldis
Stacie Bulldis
Jack Lloyd Coates
Jerry R. Coates
LaShondra J. Coates
Michael D. Coates
Randy L. Coates
Richard J. Coates
Ricky D. Coates
Ava Rose Cooper
Macie Brooke Cooper
Tara J. Cooper
James H. Coutts III
Aaron L. Creech
Adam Wesley Creech
Amberielle M. Creech
Andreea Laree Creech
Andrew D. Creech
Andrew J. Creech
Angelo C. Creech
Ashlyn J. Creech
Brian A. Creech
Briana Ranae Creech
Charles L. Creech
Clyde Wesley Creech Sr
David J. Creech
Deven N. Creech
Donavon Lee Creech
Jalen M. Creech
Kyla M. Creech
Lanay Bruce Creech I
Lanay Bruce Creech II
Madison A. Creech
Makenna L. Creech
Robert A. Creech Jr.
Robert A. Creech
Sara Lee Creech
Trista L. Creech
Aimy Bran Davis
Michelle M. Davis
Jason David Denning
Wesley P. Denning
Gabrielle E. Fox
Andrew Gildersleeve
Patricia S. Hanson
T. Wayne Harris
Cyprus Haxby
Raymond Lloyd Haynie
Michael A. Hayter
Forest Dawn Hynek
Selena A. Jacobo
Glendora Jirasek
Lorile Jones
Terrance Anthony Jones
Thomas Edward Jones
William Jay Jones
Jonathan J. King
Alexis Morgan Kingston
Ivan Dean Kingston
Destiny Kinne
Cris Klinger
Gwendolynn E. Klinger
Linda R. Lang
Daniel Wade Lippert
Dianna Lynn Manning
Naomi O. McCarthy
Sasha McFarland
Kalepa Nelson
Alyssa Ontiveros
Daniel Ontiveros
Patricia Ontiveros
Rebekah Ontiveros
Anna M. Pascual
Raymond A. Pease
Nila J. Pedersen
Joshua L. Peterson
Kayley A. Peterson
Kira R. Peterson
Valerie L. Peterson
Zachary J. Peterson
Branden L. Pruett
Brandy Pruett
Bruce L. Pruett
Joseph C. Pruett
Robert A. Rosebery
Frances Scaramuzzi
Debra Schloss
Patrica Lichau Shields
Michael Adam Silence
Weslee Adam Silence
John E. Swee
Andrew Seth Taylor
Maria L. Taylor
Noah Gaberiel Taylor
Beverly A. Thomas

Delawares of Idaho Annual Gathering

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Tribal Tidbits

The Delawares of Idaho, Inc. Council Meeting will begin June 12 at 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn located on 1249 Tapadera Ave, in Ontario, Oregon. We will have the meeting in the Lewis and Clark room just outside the restaurant. If you are coming to the Gathering, note that the Holiday Inn is our host hotel. Show your Delaware card and you will get a discounted stay with them. They have been wonderful to us and we are very grateful that they have been so kind. This Friday night meeting is our Council meeting and you are welcome to come and participate. Phone for the Hotel: 877–410-6681.

Saturday morning, we have the Gathering at the Beck’s Kiwanis Park (see map enclosed) at 11:00 am. Please bring a covered dish, salads jell-o, desserts, chips and/or cookies and so on. Meat and potato salad will be provided by the Betty Gals. Water will be provided along with paper plates and utensils. Bring your chair and the kids and come have an afternoon of fun. Bring your favorite beverage, but no alcoholic beverages are allowed.

Many members have requested that no pets be at the Gathering. Due to their request and liability issues, whether leashed or unleashed, leave all pets at home.

In my quest to get all Delawares registered and files complete on them, the Watches (Watchous) were a real problem to us. We couldn’t locate where they went or what happened to them. We had exhausted our search thru many states and after hitting brick walls we stopped. Still on my mind, I remembered one of the closer relatives to them was Mary Campbell. I called her and she remembered an old phone number and I called and found part of the Watches family. Nicole Harper answered from Alaska! Then Trish Shields answered and all of a sudden we had 26 new family members discovered! It’s interesting to note that these particular Watches/Fent families were told they were Hawaiian and not Delaware Indian. Many emails and calls back and forth have brought us to this point today. They are now back where they belong with the Delawares of Idaho and quite proud to be Native American.

I would like to introduce you to Andrew Gildersleeve. He is a writer and has won many awards for his writings. He works for Sugars Creative in Anchorage, Alaska. It’s a communication and advertising company. He also works with Indians in Alaska. He is a very savvy young man and wanted to put a small piece in the Newsletter. He is one of our Delawares. His Great Grandmother is Cora O. Fent.

We drove to Austin, TX., to meet Andrew Gildersleeve and spent a few hours talking with him. Below is a picture of us with him. He plans to attend the June Gathering of the Delawares of Idaho along with more family members coming in from Alaska and various states. So come meet your relatives and family at the Gathering of the Delawares of Idaho on June 13th at Beck’s Kiwanis Park in Ontario, Oregon.

See you there!

Deb Borjas (Spiritwolf)

From Andrew Gildersleeve -

This winter I had some time to read up on Delaware history. I read some of the old accounts from when our ancestors lived on the East Coast — I learned how our Lenape people lived in harmony with the land and I read about some of the old customs, like having an animal helper in life.

I thought of all the people in my family who have had special connections with animals over the years. I thought about how so many of my cousins and aunts and uncles understand life through what they see and feel in the natural world.

I was amazed in reading the history at how many times our people were forced to move. I laughed at myself for this irrational dislike of New York and New Jersey I had all my life and those huge population blocks out there. Since those places are the original homelands of our people maybe I have a grudge left over from our ancestors!

Our Lenape oral history goes back thousands of years. I read about how after the Ice Age our people went to the East Coast by moving towards the rising sun. There are even old Lenape stories about Mastodons.

I also was impressed to read that our Delaware ancestors were peaceful people but some of the best warriors when they were forced to fight. In the French-Indian wars Delaware women also went on the warpath.

Our grandfathers were seasoned fighters. When our ancestors were forced to move west they often came with a lot of power — good weapons, livestock and the ability to speak English. In one oral history I read, an old Delaware from the 1800’s said that if he had 20 Delaware warriors he could go anywhere in North America and no force — white or native — could take them.

This winter I‘ve had the chance to go to a sweat lodge. It is run by Lakota people but there are people from a lot of different tribes there. I’m proud to sit in the lodge as a Delaware of Idaho.

AG
(Andrew Gildersleeve)

They may the better fish in the waters when it is troubled. — Richard Graftori (1569)