At 8:30 a.m. registration and membership was conducted by Bob and Bev Deister. Members were given time to get reacquainted and have coffee and donuts prior to the start of the meeting.
At 9:45 a.m. members and guests moved outside to participate in a smudging ceremony conducted by Arlene Miccuci. She explained that smudging cleanses the spirits of any bad feelings or negative thoughts and allows for both physical and spiritual cleansing. Following the smudging ceremony, Mary Grinter gave a brief overview of the purpose and method of native american dances and led the group in the traditional “Bean Dance” of the Delaware.
At 10:15 a.m. Chief Jim Grinter called the business meeting to order. Ken Vernoy led the group in prayer to begin the meeting. Introductions were made around the room with members in attendance and their many guests.
Sharon Schmidt gave the Treasurer’s Report for the year with totals for the general and scholarship funds. It was noted by Chief Jim Grinter that Kansas Delaware t-shirt sales and a percentage of the money from the Native American craft items made and sold by the Vernoy family support the Scholarship Fund. There were no scholarship applicants for this year but it was noted we should have several next year.
A new meeting feature this year was a projected PowerPoint presentation given by Linda Graff as a recap of the 2009 meeting. The presentation was fun and everyone enjoyed seeing highlights of last year’s meeting. Bob Deister read the 2009 minutes in the absence of secretary Lisa Sylva.
Nominations were posted for Tribal Council and the following members were elected: Jim Grinter, Bob Deister, Sharon Schmidt, Ken Vernoy, Linda Graff, Arlene Miccuci, Kameran Zeigler, Ron Zeigler, Sam Grinter, Anne Heaton and Jessica Weeks Smith.
Sam Grinter presented a hands-on technology session. Many members brought laptops for use by everyone to practice accessing our website at http://kansasdelaware.org/, our wiki page at http://wiki.kansasdelaware.org/ and our forum page at http://forum.kansasdelaware.org/. Use of these webpages will allow members to post information and communicate with each other. Kansas Delaware t-shirts and crafts items for sale are being added to the website to raise money for the scholarship fund. Sam also gave instructions on how to create other pages on the wiki website and change information as needed for updating and correcting. It was a useful and informative session.
Jim Grinter discussed the ongoing updating of our website and new categories included on the site. He also displayed a webpage he made for Kansas Delaware genealogy information at www.tribalpages.com. Everyone expressed interest in contributing to the genealogical postings for Kansas Delaware descendants and discussed the possibility of updating family trees at our annual meetings.
A tribute page has been added to the website and for recognition of “winter count” members lost during previous years.
Lexi Taylor presented her 5th-grade report on the Lenape tribe. She displayed paper dolls used to portray Lenape native dress. Lexi will post on our website the the resource books used in her research so other members can access this resource for their own studies.
Jim Grinter discussed Delaware powwows that his family attended again this year in Copan, Oklahoma. Pictures were posted on the website of Mary and Sam Grinter participating in some of the Delaware events. It was noted that our meetings have become more interesting and informative with the sharing of Delaware culture and history.
At 11:50 a.m. Ken Vernoy moved that the business meeting adjourn. Motion was seconded and passed.
Following the business meeting, lunch was served with several Native American dishes on the menu including Algonquin succotash, bison jerky and Indian cornbread provided by Mary Grinter and smoked salmon from Anne Heaton. Many other deli, veggie and fruit trays were enjoyed by all.
Following lunch, Ken and Theresa Vernoy taught a class on how to make dream catchers. They provided materials and instruction for everyone in attendance. Ken explained that bad dreams are caught in the web of the dream catcher while the good dreams filter through the feathers and strings to spread out and surround us. Many good dream catchers resulted from the hour-long lesson, and everyone had a wonderful time and left with their own dream catcher. The crafts session was a great way to end an eventful day.
The next annual meeting of the Kansas Delaware Indian Tribe is scheduled for Saturday, June 25th, 2011, at the Wyandotte County Museum.