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This Website is Dedicated to Alvin Alexander Cheyne January 10, 1921 - June 17, 2005 |
New
Web site networks info for off-reservation Yuroks
Jessie
Faulkner
The
Times-Standard
Two brothers said
increasing frustration at the choppy flow of information from the Yurok
Tribe to out-of-the-area tribal members prompted them to launch a Web
site providing a forum to share information.
The most recent example
of that information void, Dunlap said, was the result of the vote on how
the settlement monies would be dispersed. While the result of the vote
could have been placed on the tribe's Web site, Dunlap said it hasn't
been updated for more than a year.
In fact, the impetus for
the site -- launched Jan. 11 -- was a discussion on the Times-Standard
Web site comment section related to the story on the settlement vote.
”A lot of us who live
off reservation never get any information,” Dunlap said. “Anything
with deadlines is always late.”
With YurokVoices.com, the
intent is to get the information and share it with others on the Web
site. http://www.yurokvoices.com/
The
lack of information shared is an ongoing issue for tribal members who
live out of the area, the brothers said.
”It's frustrating for
everybody,” Dunlap said.
Sanders agreed.
As it is now, he said, if
a tribal member wants to send a flier or letter to the all of the
tribe's members, the information and the cost of postage must be
submitted to the tribe for mailing.
”With the forum,” he
said, “we'll be able to talk among ourselves.”
Yurok Tribal Chair Maria
Tripp described several ways in which the tribe attempts to keep its
membership informed about important issues.
For starters, the tribal
council meets twice a month, with the gatherings open to the public and
time allotted for tribal member comments.
In addition, she said,
district representatives hold meetings in their home areas, and the
tribal council calls community meetings to address a variety of
different topics. Other communication efforts include a quarterly
newsletter and special mailings two to three times a year.
Tripp estimated the tribe
spends between $30,000 and $40,000 per year communicating with members.
Currently, efforts are underway to prepare DVDs on issues -- such as the
removal of damns on the Klamath.
”We do try to
communicate,” Tripp said. “We really do try to address individual
calls and letters if we can.”
Jessie Faulkner can be
reached at 441-0504 or jfaulkner@times-standard.com.
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