August 04, 2009 –
MAYETTA: PBPN staff and volunteers are getting ready for the Gathering, Almost 1,000 people have pre-registered and many more are expected to converge on the Potawatomi Common Land in the next two days.
Tomorrow things get underway with Potawatomi leaders who will gather at an All-Bands Council Economic Summit Meeting hosted by Tribal Chair Steve Ortiz and a Judicial Conference will also be held at the Prairie Band Casino & Resort. Evening activities will include a Community Potluck at Prairie People’s Park and the opening of the Youth Leadership Seminar at the Bingo Hall. Singles can also mingle at a get-together in the park beginning at 7 p.m. For a complete schedule see Gathering on this website.
Below are some photographs taken yesterday and today of PBPN preparing for their guests.
Aaron Hale, Maintenance, painting the Government Center.
Supplies lined up at the Bingo Hall where volunteers assembled 3,500 bags for Gathering.
Left to right, Julia Lewis, Bernadette Lewis and Linda Yazzie displaying the carry packs that will be given to registrants.
Volunteer Marilyn Brewer showing the dish that is inside the dish bag. The PBPN are “going green” and will pass out dish bags that can be washed and reused.
Registrants will receive a carrying pack that contains a dishbag (on right), spoon, a divided dish container, glass, bottle of hand sanitzer and neck cooler. Tribal members sewed the dishbags that are mostly handmade.
Volunteer assembly line at the Bingo Hall yesterday.
Cindy LeClere, Language Coordinator, was a volunteer and will also be busy at the Language Conference that is scheduled for Thursday and Friday at the Casino. Approximately 200 participants are expected at that conference.
Paula Hopkins and LaVerne Hale have been organizing the Gathering since last year.
Families began setting up camp yesterday at Prairie Peoples Park.
Some RV campers already parked in Prairie Peoples Park.
Tribal member Vincent Hernandez, who works for the PBPN Department of Planning, took a large haul of recycled trash away from the Bingo Hall this morning.
Linda Yazzie was back in the office of Steve Ortiz, Tribal Chair, today after helping organize the bag assembly line at the Bingo Hall. Linda is also a member of the Gathering Committee and has helped organize it throughout the year.