Post by Okwes on Jul 2, 2006 16:19:36 GMT -5
Ute tribes rally to aid Indian athletes - North American Indian Game
Posted by: "binstock@peakpeak.com" binstock@peakpeak.com aspergerian
Sat Jul 1, 2006 8:41 am (PST)
Ute tribes rally to aid Indian athletes
By Deborah Frazier, Rocky Mountain News
July 1, 2006
www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4815344,00.html
When the North American Indigenous Games asked for sponsors, Colorado's
Southern Utes and Ute Mountain Utes were the first to sign up as hosts at
$600,000 each.
They look at it as an investment, not a showy gesture.
"We could not think of a better way to honor our indigenous youth," said
Clement Frost, the Southern Ute Tribal chairman.
The games, which will draw 8,000 young Indian athletes, are usually held
in Canada, where the government pays the $7 million tab and writes the
check three years in advance.
"It's going to be a (financial) photo finish," said Gene Keluche, chairman
of the nonprofit Native American Sports Council in Colorado Springs, which
helped organize the event.
NASC, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, fosters sports programs for
Indian youth to encourage health and sportsmanship.
When Colorado was awarded the games about 18 months ago, there was no
funding, Keluche said. Under the games' own rules, the liquor, tobacco and
gaming industries can't be sponsors.
Several Colorado-based nonprofits - the Gates Foundation, the Daniels
Fund, the El Pomar Foundation, the Gill Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian
Fund of Colorado - awarded grants totaling more than $200,000.
But most of the money will come from Indian tribes.
Raising money in Indian country isn't easy, unless it's for kids, said
Keluche.
The Southern Utes and the Ute Mountain Utes set two examples.
The 12,000-member Southern Ute tribe near Durango is one of the country's
most financially successful Indian nations, with an estimated $2 billion
in assets.
The Southern Utes added $800,000 more last week to complete the games'
fundraising, said Keluche.
The Ute Mountain Utes near Cortez have some energy development, but not
the scope of the revenue the Southern Utes enjoy.
There are only about 2,000 Ute Mountain Utes on the reservation on
Colorado's southwest rangeland.
"There was a lot of serious discussion about doing it," said Bob Roybal,
recreation director for the Ute Mountain Utes.
"It's a good investment in all Indian children, and it will come back to
them," he said.
Manual Heart, the Ute Mountain Ute tribal chairman, said the tribe's
investment in sports for youngsters goes back to the 1960s.
The tribe built a recreation center with an Olympic-size swimming pool for
youngsters in the 1960s.
"For us, sports has always been a good thing," he said. "We have always
been rich in tradition and getting youth involved in sports."
The two Colorado tribes remain the largest sponsors, but more than a dozen
other tribes have contributed about $500,000, said Keluche.
Several of those tribes aren't sending athletes, he said.
For all the tribes, there's pride at stake, he said. Keluche said many of
the sponsoring tribes don't want to be named.
"In Indian culture, to give something and brag about it isn't part of the
tradition," he said. "If you are a leader, you serve when called and help
as you can, but you don't brag about it."
*
The material in this post is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research
and educational purposes.For more information go to:
www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this
email for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you
must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Posted by: "binstock@peakpeak.com" binstock@peakpeak.com aspergerian
Sat Jul 1, 2006 8:41 am (PST)
Ute tribes rally to aid Indian athletes
By Deborah Frazier, Rocky Mountain News
July 1, 2006
www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4815344,00.html
When the North American Indigenous Games asked for sponsors, Colorado's
Southern Utes and Ute Mountain Utes were the first to sign up as hosts at
$600,000 each.
They look at it as an investment, not a showy gesture.
"We could not think of a better way to honor our indigenous youth," said
Clement Frost, the Southern Ute Tribal chairman.
The games, which will draw 8,000 young Indian athletes, are usually held
in Canada, where the government pays the $7 million tab and writes the
check three years in advance.
"It's going to be a (financial) photo finish," said Gene Keluche, chairman
of the nonprofit Native American Sports Council in Colorado Springs, which
helped organize the event.
NASC, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, fosters sports programs for
Indian youth to encourage health and sportsmanship.
When Colorado was awarded the games about 18 months ago, there was no
funding, Keluche said. Under the games' own rules, the liquor, tobacco and
gaming industries can't be sponsors.
Several Colorado-based nonprofits - the Gates Foundation, the Daniels
Fund, the El Pomar Foundation, the Gill Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian
Fund of Colorado - awarded grants totaling more than $200,000.
But most of the money will come from Indian tribes.
Raising money in Indian country isn't easy, unless it's for kids, said
Keluche.
The Southern Utes and the Ute Mountain Utes set two examples.
The 12,000-member Southern Ute tribe near Durango is one of the country's
most financially successful Indian nations, with an estimated $2 billion
in assets.
The Southern Utes added $800,000 more last week to complete the games'
fundraising, said Keluche.
The Ute Mountain Utes near Cortez have some energy development, but not
the scope of the revenue the Southern Utes enjoy.
There are only about 2,000 Ute Mountain Utes on the reservation on
Colorado's southwest rangeland.
"There was a lot of serious discussion about doing it," said Bob Roybal,
recreation director for the Ute Mountain Utes.
"It's a good investment in all Indian children, and it will come back to
them," he said.
Manual Heart, the Ute Mountain Ute tribal chairman, said the tribe's
investment in sports for youngsters goes back to the 1960s.
The tribe built a recreation center with an Olympic-size swimming pool for
youngsters in the 1960s.
"For us, sports has always been a good thing," he said. "We have always
been rich in tradition and getting youth involved in sports."
The two Colorado tribes remain the largest sponsors, but more than a dozen
other tribes have contributed about $500,000, said Keluche.
Several of those tribes aren't sending athletes, he said.
For all the tribes, there's pride at stake, he said. Keluche said many of
the sponsoring tribes don't want to be named.
"In Indian culture, to give something and brag about it isn't part of the
tradition," he said. "If you are a leader, you serve when called and help
as you can, but you don't brag about it."
*
The material in this post is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research
and educational purposes.For more information go to:
www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this
email for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you
must obtain permission from the copyright owner.