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Chalon Indian Council of Bakersfield
Chalon Indian Nation 1
Chalon Indian Nation
Happy Mother’s Day Message from Chairman
Leading is not an easy job but, it’s been an honor doing so.
Knowing that I’m not a perfect person, I pray to Creator to give me
the
tools to inspire and motivate. Being a Chalon has opened a
chapter in my life that was once always more questions than answers
in regards to who we are. But now that we know, I strive to become
a voice for our people past and present. I pray to Creator to keep
my mind spiritually clear so I may hear my Creator’s words. I
lastly ask my people for continued prayers to Creator so we may tap
into the strength of many, the strength of a nation.
Blessings.
Tim Lomas, Chairman
The last Board meeting May 2015, the Board re-visited the Tribal
Constitution which was voted on in the General Meeting.
Again we want to Thank Dr. Ken Hansen and Dr. Charles Ettner for
their time and energy. We are so pleased with their excellent
work.
Dr. Ken Hansen also composed the letter to the U.S. Department
of Interior - National Parks Service - which was approved by the
Chalon Indian Board.
The letter is available should you want a copy, call Tom at
889-2350 or Louise at 220- 3252,
The Chalon Indian Council of Bakersfield is a 501 (c) 3
non-profit organization that provides the Chalon Indian Nation: a
means to develop its resources to protect and preserve Native
American Indian Heritage and Cultural traditions, to seek Federal
Recognition for our descendants, to assist Native Americans in
pursuing higher education and seeking information of their tribal
affiliation, to promote and provide health care services by
referrals or other means for Native Americans, and serves as our
Tribal Council.
Chalon Board of Directors
Tim Lomas, ChairmanYvonne J. Blank, Vice-Chairwoman, Sonya
Dorado, SecretaryElizabeth A. Arriaga, TreasurerLena Valdovinos,
Sergeant At ArmsPeggy Alvarez, Member At LargeLouise Appodaca,
Chalon Elders Representative
Chalon Elders Council
Gloria Medina, ChairwomanIrene Soto, Vice-ChairwomanLouise
Appodaca, SecretaryTom Valenzuela, PurserBetty Castro, Sergeant At
Arms
Page 3
Staff:
Dr. Charles Ettner, Tribal Anthropologist
Dr. Ken Hansen, Tribal Legal Consultant
Sam Castro, Webmaster
April and May 2015 NEWSLETTER
Founded October 10, 2010
Original date of Establishment - April 1993
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C H A L O N I N D I A N N A T I O N
2 Chalon Indian Nation
Financial Information - April 2015Beginning Balance in Checking
Account Ending Balance after Expenses! ! Beginning Balance Savings
Account - Ending Balance Savings Account
$102.28 ! ! ! ! $8.63! ! ! ! $3, 100.37 $3, 145.89Minus Expenses
! ! ! ! ! ! ! $12.00 service charge-debit Credit $45.14 -
raffle
$45.82 ins.payment -debit Credit .38
$111.80 for plaques-debit
Returned check-$35.00-debit
$111.80 for check reversal -credit
$111.80 for plaques-debit
Calendar of EventsBoard of Directors Meeting are held Monthly on
the second Saturday at 11:00 a.m. ether at 113 S. Chester or 1124
Baker Street
Chalon Elders Meetings are held on the second Sunday of each
Month at 1:00 p.m. at 1124 Baker Street, Bakersfield, Ca. 93305
A GENERAL MEETING IS SCHEDULED ON JUNE 13, 2015 AT 1:00 P.M.
It will be a Potluck and Raffle!
Tentative Dates for the following Event/Ceremony
OUR NEXT TACO SALES IS proposed for August 8, 2015
FALL EQUINOX CEREMONY IS SCHEDULED SEPTEMBER19, 2015 - held at
Pinnacles. our homelands
Election April 2015
Tim Lomas - Chairman Incumbent was re-elected for 2015
Elizabeth A. Arriaga - Treasurer Incumbent was re-elected for
2015
Sonya Dorado will serve as Secretary until position is filled by
Appointment
Congratulations to our Chalon Indian Council for continuing to
serve our Nation. We appreciate the time and commitment you have
given to our people.
_______________________________________________________
Tribal Constitution 2015
The Chalon Indian Tribal Members approved the Tribal
Constitution at our General Meeting held in April 19, 2015.
The vote was 99% in favor and 1 nay vote.
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S E Q U O I A C L U B
Nullam arcu leo, facilisis ut 3
Betty J. Castro, Sergeant At Arms for the Chalon Elders
Council
Pete Soto Sr. - Elder and spouse of Irene Soto. A great helper
and Elections Committee volunteer.
Robert Alvarado - Elder and spouse of Ramona Alvarado very
supportive of our people and always at our events.
Richard Chow, Elder and Elections Committee Volunteer. Shown
with
Suzanne Chow’s Certificate and His Certificate. He is keeps all
smiling with his hilarious sense of humor.
Pictured are: Left to Right.
Dr. Ken Hansen, Tribal Public Consultant,Elaine Ettner, spouse
of Dr. Ettner and two Board members: Lena and Sonya.
Annual Tribal Appreciation Dinner - held April 25, 2015 at 1124
Baker Street, Bakersfield, CA 93305
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S E Q U O I A C L U B
4 Chalon Indian Nation
U. S. Department of the Interior - National Park Service
We received the proposed Federal Regulations governing the U.S.
National Park Service that will allow only the Federally Recognized
tribes be allowed to gather traditional materials, such as plants
for medicine, instruments, and for ceremonial uses etc. Our
response to these proposed regulations is the following: Dr. Hansen
did this letter and the Board approved the letter at the last Board
meeting in May.
For more than 20 years, our tribal community has been
incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (until 2010, as
the Chumash Council of Bakersfield), for the purpose of seeking
federal recognition. As you know, the process takes some 30 years
or more, and we are currently working very diligently to document
and meet all federal requirements concerning formal acknowledgement
of our government-to-government relationship with the United States
of America. Besides the BIA, this also includes interactions with
other federal agencies.
In recent years we have developed a fantastic working
relationship with the National Park Service, at our traditional
homeland of Pinnacles National Park. Park rangers and docents have
been extremely helpful and welcoming whenever our people and tribal
staff have visited the park. On September 20, 2014, we held our
first traditional Fall Equinox ceremony at the Pinnacles. This was
an historic event, since it had been over 200 years since Chalon
people had held a traditional ceremony in our homeland. Following
the event, park rangers interviewed our Tribal Chairman, Tim Lomas,
at a nearby sacred site. We came back for a Spring Equinox ceremony
on March 21, 2015, again with substantial assistance and good will
from the NPS. Going forward, we intend to continue to hold these
semi-annual events for our people, with the good graces of the Park
Service.
After our Spring Equinox gathering, Ms. Elizabeth “Liz” Arriaga,
who presently serves as Treasurer for the Chalon Tribal Council,
presented Cultural Resource Specialist Denise Louie with two
baskets that she had made by hand, using traditional ways and
materials. Ms. Louie accepted the baskets on behalf of
the National Park Service so that they can be displayed to the
general public. Like the first equinox ceremony, this exchange was
also an historic event. It was hard for Ms. Rios to give up her
labor of love to the Park Service, but she made the personal
sacrifice for our people. Now everyone who visits Pinnacles
National Park and stops in at the museum will know that the
original inhabitants of the area were in fact the Chalon people,
and that there is a de facto government-to-government relationship
between the National Park Service and the Chalon Indian Nation of
California.
We relate these events to you, not only because we have found
the relationship with the Park Service to be satisfactory, but also
because we are undergoing a period of cultural revitalization. It
would be a great boon to the Chalon Indian Nation if we could
engage in limited gathering of plants and plant parts for
traditional purposes, such as basket-making, among other things. We
would do this under the same permissions as other tribes, according
to the rules posted in the Federal Register. We believe the park
rangers would allow us to do this, unless it was expressly
prohibited—which it currently is—but only because our relationship
with the government has not been acknowledged by the Bureau of
Indian Affairs.
In the words of the National Park Service:
Cooperation in the continuation of tribal traditions is at the
heart of this proposed rule change. The NPS has a long history of
encouraging Indian arts and crafts in national parks for the
education and enjoyment of the public, and to support the continued
practice of cultural traditions. The teaching and sharing of tribal
traditions associated with national parks is an important part of
the NPS mission. The proposed rule would provide new opportunities
for the NPS and tribal governments to work together in support of
the continuation of sustainable Indian cultural traditions that
make up a unique and irreplaceable part of our national heritage
(Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 75, April 20, 2015, pp. 21674).
Disallowing the participation of non-recognized tribes with
historic connections to Park Service units would contradict the
spirit of the policy, and set up barriers to “the education and
enjoyment of the public, and to support the continued practice of
cultural traditions,” as desired by the Park Service itself.
Additionally, the exclusion of non-recognized tribal communities by
the recognized tribes is an incredibly narrow and self-serving
policy aim. It is contrary to the public interest as well as to NPS
interests in enhancing communication with and learning the
traditional practices of traditionally associated peoples. It
represents the non-traditional politics of exclusion, and
contributes to continuing the cultural genocide of California’s
mission tribes. The National Park Service has an opportunity to
reverse these trends and to serve the greater good as it concerns
the edification of the general public and the revitalization of
traditional cultural practices.
We hope that the National Park Service will allow non-recognized
tribes, such as the Chalon Indian Nation, that have historic ties
to service units, such as Pinnacles National Park, to be included
in the rule change “to allow the gathering and removal of plants or
plant parts for traditional purposes” (Federal Register, pp.
21674). If the rule change is indeed intended “to continue Indian
tribal cultural traditions that are rooted in the history of
specific parks” (Federal Register, pp. 21674), the Park Service
should make the addition of unacknowledged tribes to the proposed
rule change. Leaving out non-recognized tribes that are attempting
to revitalize traditional practices is a loss for everyone
concerned.
Sincerely,
The Chalon Council of Bakersfield, Chalon Indian Nation of
California
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C H A L O N I N D I A N N A T I O N
Chalon Indian Nation 5
A P P R E C I AT I O N D I N N E R The Chalon Board of Directors
presented Certificates of Appreciation to the Tribal Members who
are the most active in attending our monthly meetings and
activities throughout the year.
Without the involvement of our people the Chalon Indian Nation
would not have existed for the past 20 years.
Again thank you to:
TIm Lomas, Chairman
Yvonne J. Blank, Vice-Chairwoman
Sonya Dorado, Secretary
Elizabeth A. Arriaga, Treasurer
Lena Valdovinos, Sergeant At Arms
Peggy Alvarez
Board Members were presented with Certificates for their
commitment and dedication to the Chalon Indian Nation for the past
two years.
Board Members Pictured below:
Left to right: Lena Valdovinos, Sonya Dorado, Elizabeth A.
Arriaga ad Louise Appodaca
Tribal Members - Honored at Appreciation DinnerIrene Soto,
Elders Vice-Chairwoman
Pictured Below: Ramona Alvarado,
Tribal Elder
Pictured Below: Vivian Canez,
Tribal Elder
Pictured below: Juanita Lomas
Pictured below: Gloria Medina,
Elders Chairwoman
Pictured below left to right:Dr. Ettner and Dr. Ken Hansen - and
Elaine Ettner & Lena Valdovinos
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Pictured Above: Yvonne J. Blank, Vice-Chairwoman Pictured Above:
Sonya Dorado, Secretary Pictured Above: Elizabeth A. Arriaga,
Treasurer
Pictured Below: Spouse of Sonya Dorado Frank Dorado. Always
Helping our people.
Our Youth Tribal Members pictured below: Jonathon “Bo”
Rodriguez
Pictured Below: Anthony Washington Valenzuela
Our Chalon Tribal Board and Guests: Elaine Ettner, Dr. Ken
Hansen and Dr. Charles Ettner
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CHALON INDIAN NATION 2015 ANNUAL APRECIATION DINNER &
ELECTIONS
AGENDA12:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.! VOTING
RESULTS AT THE END OF THE DAY !SATURDAY
APRIL 25, 2015!1124 BAKER STREET (CORNER OF BAKER &
MONTEREY)
Seats available Are:
1. Chairman
2.Secretary
3.Treasurer
Tim Lomas has agreed to run as the incumbent for Chairman.
Eligibility for Board
1. Nominated (accept nomination and sent or called to the
Secretary 15 days before the elections)
2.Must be 25yrs by the date of the election
3.Must be an enrolled member of the Chalon Tribe
4.Must be a member in good standing (be bondable)
5. Must have participated in activities of the Chalon Indian
Nation
The Chalon Indian Council will
provide Indian Tacos as the Main Dish. Side dishes and desserts
are welcomed.
Call Tim Lomas at 302-1503
Voter’s Eligbilible to Vote:
1. Must be an enolled member of the Chalon Indian Nation
2. Must be Must be 18 yrs of age
