Post by Okwes on Feb 8, 2006 10:19:33 GMT -5
Willie Nelson Woodlands concert to benefit Indians
By: Nancy Flake, Courier staff
02/03/2006
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16060743&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532215&rfi=6
The Woodlands will be the site for a unique fundraising event in
March, featuring singer/songwriter Willie Nelson, to benefit Native
Americans throughout the United States.
The first Hope and Harmony for Humanity celebrity benefit concert at
the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion is the culmination of the
three-day event organized by the Native American Chamber of Commerce
in Houston, scheduled for March 22, 23 and 24.
Proceeds will go toward building "achievement centers" to help Native
Americans living on reservations a chance to learn work skills,
according to Conroe resident Carroll Cocchia, the founder and chief
executive officer of the Native American Chamber of Commerce and a
member of the Blackfoot tribe of Montana.
"I got tired of hearing people say "Indians are wealthy because of the
casinos," she said. "The reservation casinos do bring in lots of
money, but the tribe may only get 1 percent. The people themselves
live in abject poverty, and people don't know that.
"We need to help people on the remote reservations."
Because of that povery and lack of hope, Cocchia said, Native
Americans have an 18 percent higher suicide rate. According to the
Centers for Disease Control, Native Americans age 19 and younger have
the highest suicide rate compared with blacks and whites.
There is already an achievement center in the Chamber's office in
Houston, Cocchia said, and IBM is underwriting the costs for five
additional centers. Hewlett Packard is also working with the Chamber,
she noted.
Cocchia founded the Chamber in 1999 because "There wasn't one," she
said. "Every other group had someone looking out for them; Native
Americans didn't."
The three-day Hope and Harmony for Humanity event kicks off March 22
at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott with a private reception for
celebrities and sponsors, featuring an art exhibition. On March 23,
the Legend of the White Buffalo Celebrity Golf Tournament will take
place at The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center. The $1,500 team
entry fee includes a catered lunch and the awards dinner, according to
Cocchia.
The day of the concert, the Legend of the White Buffalo cultural
festival will also be held at the Pavilion, starting at 11 a.m. on the
plaza. Free to the public, the festival will feature American Indian
dancing and drum competition, jewelry, crafts, artwork and traditional
cuisine.
A Conroe band, My Own I, will be the lead-in for Nelson at the
concert, which begins at 7 p.m. Reserved seating is $35 and $45, and
if open, lawn seating will be $20 per person, according to Cocchia.
Nelson, a Cherokee Indian, was a natural choice for the first Hope and
Harmony for Humanity concert, Cocchia noted. "We've seen how he cares
about people, and he's had adversity in his life," she said. "Willie
cares."
For more information about the Hope and Harmony for Humanity event, go
to www.hopeharmony.org or call the Native American Chamber of Commerce
at (832) 251-6367.
Nancy Flake can be reached at nflake@mail.hcnonline.net.
By: Nancy Flake, Courier staff
02/03/2006
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16060743&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532215&rfi=6
The Woodlands will be the site for a unique fundraising event in
March, featuring singer/songwriter Willie Nelson, to benefit Native
Americans throughout the United States.
The first Hope and Harmony for Humanity celebrity benefit concert at
the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion is the culmination of the
three-day event organized by the Native American Chamber of Commerce
in Houston, scheduled for March 22, 23 and 24.
Proceeds will go toward building "achievement centers" to help Native
Americans living on reservations a chance to learn work skills,
according to Conroe resident Carroll Cocchia, the founder and chief
executive officer of the Native American Chamber of Commerce and a
member of the Blackfoot tribe of Montana.
"I got tired of hearing people say "Indians are wealthy because of the
casinos," she said. "The reservation casinos do bring in lots of
money, but the tribe may only get 1 percent. The people themselves
live in abject poverty, and people don't know that.
"We need to help people on the remote reservations."
Because of that povery and lack of hope, Cocchia said, Native
Americans have an 18 percent higher suicide rate. According to the
Centers for Disease Control, Native Americans age 19 and younger have
the highest suicide rate compared with blacks and whites.
There is already an achievement center in the Chamber's office in
Houston, Cocchia said, and IBM is underwriting the costs for five
additional centers. Hewlett Packard is also working with the Chamber,
she noted.
Cocchia founded the Chamber in 1999 because "There wasn't one," she
said. "Every other group had someone looking out for them; Native
Americans didn't."
The three-day Hope and Harmony for Humanity event kicks off March 22
at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott with a private reception for
celebrities and sponsors, featuring an art exhibition. On March 23,
the Legend of the White Buffalo Celebrity Golf Tournament will take
place at The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center. The $1,500 team
entry fee includes a catered lunch and the awards dinner, according to
Cocchia.
The day of the concert, the Legend of the White Buffalo cultural
festival will also be held at the Pavilion, starting at 11 a.m. on the
plaza. Free to the public, the festival will feature American Indian
dancing and drum competition, jewelry, crafts, artwork and traditional
cuisine.
A Conroe band, My Own I, will be the lead-in for Nelson at the
concert, which begins at 7 p.m. Reserved seating is $35 and $45, and
if open, lawn seating will be $20 per person, according to Cocchia.
Nelson, a Cherokee Indian, was a natural choice for the first Hope and
Harmony for Humanity concert, Cocchia noted. "We've seen how he cares
about people, and he's had adversity in his life," she said. "Willie
cares."
For more information about the Hope and Harmony for Humanity event, go
to www.hopeharmony.org or call the Native American Chamber of Commerce
at (832) 251-6367.
Nancy Flake can be reached at nflake@mail.hcnonline.net.
