Well, we had a great time at the Conejo Valley Days Parade and also won a plaque for second place overall! Thanks to everyone who came out to participate in the parade and a special thanks to Jeff Halfen and the Sequoyah Nation for all of their help in organizing the event. I also want to thank our Indian Agent, Red Feather for his help too! Also, a big hand to all of you who helped with the YMCA Hamburger Booth. The Y’s Men really needed every one of you who grilled, stacked and wrapped. Thanks for volunteering! Tomahawks are waiting for you.

As I’ve mentioned previously, it is now time to finalize our council for next year. We still have positions available. If you are going to be in the program next year, please consider getting involved a little more and being a part of what happens behind the scenes. The only way our program continues is by those of you who volunteer to help keep it going. Please see any of the current council members for more information.

I hope you are all working on those award winning race cars, because the Pinewood Derby is almost here! It’s Saturday May 21 and car kits are still available at the YMCA office. There will be prizes for fastest cars and best Indian theme. These awards will be given for each Nation.

And finally, I hope you are all planning on attending our last campout of the year, Witiapi. It is a family event, so bring the whole family and let’s make the graduation campfire one that all of our graduating Braves and Princesses will never forget. I look forward to seeing you all there.

God Bless,

Another tool that tribes have used is to gather up all of the photos that tribe members have taken throughout the year; photos taken at campouts, other federation events, tribal meetings and outings. One dad takes all of these photos, and puts them on a CD, making copies for all of the tribe members. Other parent/child pairs take the time to keep an actual photo album of their Y-Indian experiences, with son or daughter doing the cover design for the album. No matter what, though, we get to keep these memories in our hearts - memories that last a lifetime.

Future memories: Let’s also remember that most of us are continuing on next year. It’s not too late to start submitting ideas for next year’s T-Shirts; having t-shirts as early as possible in the program year adds to the feeling of being part of something important in our lives.

For those graduating at Witiapi, the Trailblazers program continues the parent/child experience, giving us the chance to have even more memories.