The California Valley Miwok Tribe (located at 10601 N. Escondido PL, Stockton, CA, as listed in the Federal Register of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIA/DOI), a federally recognized tribe eligible to receive and distribute contracted services from the federal government – on Monday, March 7th, 2011, participated in a California Native American consortium, convened to discuss various topics of importance regarding the concerns of California’s Native American community, their impact on local citizens, and the present state of affairs for California. Organizations represented by tribes present were the Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations (TASIN), chaired by Lynn Valbuena, California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), chaired by Daniel Tucker, and California Association of Tribal Governments (CATG), chaired by Mark Romero.
The meeting started with brief introductions of all tribal officials and associates representing the tribes whom attended, immediately followed by in-depth discussion around the room of the issues on the agenda. The Governor of California, Jerry Brown made himself available to the event to express the open door policy of his administration to California’s Native American governments and to answer questions and hear concerns of the Native American community while in attendance, even taking personal notes for himself for further involvement in the future by the State Capitol. Governor Brown spoke with sincerity and with sensitivity to Native American concerns, never witnessed before by this tribe in our personal experience in state politics. To be in attendance was truly an uplifting experience. This Governor is a man of the People, not only for Native Americans, but for all Californians. He insists on the involvement of all Californians in giving direction on how to best pull ourselves out of the economic quagmire we currently find ourselves in.
The California Valley Miwok Tribe, having it’s status just recently being re-affirmed by Under-Secretary Larry Echohawk on December 22nd, 2010 and as a result having previous commitments, had to leave after the Governor’s address, but were thankful for his attendance and his interaction with our Chairperson Silvia Burley, while there. The Tribe left the event with the feeling that the dark ages of the last administration are but a fading memory of the past and that Governor Brown and his administration are about to lead not only us, but all Californians, out of the darkness and into a brighter future in the twenty-first century. This event was held in the conference room at the Sheraton Grand in Sacramento, and although the tribe had to leave early due to prior commitments, the event resumed after a lunch recess and continued on for several hours, of which the tribe felt comfortable with Rosette and Associates remaining in attendance to participate in the various issues scheduled to be discussed at this event. For a summary of topics discussed, please click on pdf file located in the upper left-hand corner.
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