The California Valley Miwok Tribe (located at 10601 N. Escondido PL, Stockton, CA, as listed in the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ BIA/DOI Spring 2011 Tribal Leaders Directory), a federally recognized tribe eligible to receive and distribute services from the federal government – on Sunday, October 30th through Friday, November 4th, sent its duly-elected Chairperson, Silvia Burley (a voting tribal delegate) to attend the National Congress of American Indians 68th Annual Convention and Marketplace, held in Portland, Oregon at the Oregon Convention Center.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was founded in 1944, in an effort to unite tribes so that they may have a stronger voice in policies and decisions that had adversely affected their daily lives, and to be able to protect their existing treaties and sovereign rights. NCAI is the largest national organization of federally recognized tribes, with the longest history of involvement in dealing with the U.S. government on policies that affect America’s indigenous peoples; so the California Valley Miwok Tribe (being an active member of NCAI) had its Chairperson, Silvia Burley, attend this very important convention with resolution in-hand in the Tribe’s hour of need – to ask that NCAI and the member tribes stand in solidarity with the California Valley Miwok and protect sovereignty for not only our tribe, but for all tribes whenever and wherever a threat may present itself to a tribe’s sovereignty.
Note: For photographs of the week’s activities and to view the approved and signed resolution by NCAI in support of the California Valley Miwok Tribe’s August 31st, 2011 final agency decision by Under-Secretary Larry Echohawk, please look in the upper left hand corner of this story.
