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 Monday through Wednesday, October 24th – 26th, 2011, attended the California Association of Tribal Governments (CATG) Annual Meeting held at the Thunder Valley Casino, located in Lincoln, CA. This organization is just one of the many organizations that the California Valley Miwok Tribe currently holds membership with and actively participates in. This is also one of the many Native American organizations whose membership must have federal status and attending officials must be recognized by the organization for attendance to be admitted – both prerequisites that the California Valley Miwok Tribe (located at 10601 N. Escondido PL., Stockton, CA) satisfy.
CVMT Chairperson Silvia Burley, accompanied by CVMT Tribal Secretary/Treasurer Rashel Reznor, attended the three day meeting in representation of the Tribe. Subject matter ranged from updating on this year’s activities, CATG Board of Directors elections, the All Tribes meeting with Governor Jerry Brown and legislative priorities for the tribes in the upcoming year, to many different subjects regarding taxation in Indian country; among other agenda items.
Organizations such as this give Native American tribes a stronger voice to better address issues in interacting with one another and local, state and federal entities, while protecting and strengthening the participating tribes’ sovereign status. The Tribe left the meeting with a more positive outlook on what may be accomplished and how much this organization has already done. The Tribe also wants to thank the Thunder Valley Indian community for being such gracious hosts and sponsoring this event.