Ft. McDermitt Ceremony Ground Restoration
Donation protected
Ceremony Relatives,
For many years, the Fort McDermitt Paiute/Shoshone ceremonies have provided many blessings to all of us.
Whether we've danced, supported, attended NAC meetings, or just visited, we’ve all benefited from Stanley and Janice Smart's family, land, and home. This year, the Smart family, helpers, and the community made the decision not to hold our sacred ceremony because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This mindful decision was made to protect the families of the Fort McDermitt Paiute/Shone community, as well as your own families. Since there will be no ceremony this year, the Chief Myron Smart, asked that we do not waste this time, and instead focus on rebuilding the kitchen and replacing the arbor poles in preparation for next year's dance.
Our kitchen has been falling apart for years and has become unsafe for our community and our cooks.
The arbor poles used during the ceremony are now brittle and cracking. Both the kitchen and poles need replacing. We are estimating about $8,000 for both projects. We estimate $5k will take care of rebuilding the kitchen to make it safe and large enough for everyone to enjoy for many years to come. With the remaining $3,000, we will purchase new poles for the arbor. Currently, each pole cost $15 each, and we need about 200 poles, which adds up to $3,000. The first step is to fundraise for the materials, and then we will talk with the community about when tear-down and rebuilding the kitchen can be scheduled. We will be resourceful and purposeful with all of the existing materials and purchases. Once we cover the costs of the materials, we still need to figure out how to get everything to McDermitt.
$8,000 sounds like a lot of money, but we've already raised $900 in one month between a handful of people. We are humbly asking everyone to contribute to these efforts since we all at one time or another have shared food, prayers, laughs, conversations, and even mourned with our relatives in our sacred space. If everyone could donate $5 here, $10 there, over time, we’ll be able to achieve our goal to purchase the materials. We’d like to hit our target by October. This is going to take everyone's effort. Please think about different ways you can help financially and physically to make this happen. We ask you to share our fundraiser efforts with any of your relatives or friends that have either gone to McDermitt or requested prayers during our dance. With everyone's contribution, we can easily reach our goal.
Thank you,
Myron, Tomas, Michelle, Sal, and Jaime
For many years, the Fort McDermitt Paiute/Shoshone ceremonies have provided many blessings to all of us.
Whether we've danced, supported, attended NAC meetings, or just visited, we’ve all benefited from Stanley and Janice Smart's family, land, and home. This year, the Smart family, helpers, and the community made the decision not to hold our sacred ceremony because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This mindful decision was made to protect the families of the Fort McDermitt Paiute/Shone community, as well as your own families. Since there will be no ceremony this year, the Chief Myron Smart, asked that we do not waste this time, and instead focus on rebuilding the kitchen and replacing the arbor poles in preparation for next year's dance.
Our kitchen has been falling apart for years and has become unsafe for our community and our cooks.
The arbor poles used during the ceremony are now brittle and cracking. Both the kitchen and poles need replacing. We are estimating about $8,000 for both projects. We estimate $5k will take care of rebuilding the kitchen to make it safe and large enough for everyone to enjoy for many years to come. With the remaining $3,000, we will purchase new poles for the arbor. Currently, each pole cost $15 each, and we need about 200 poles, which adds up to $3,000. The first step is to fundraise for the materials, and then we will talk with the community about when tear-down and rebuilding the kitchen can be scheduled. We will be resourceful and purposeful with all of the existing materials and purchases. Once we cover the costs of the materials, we still need to figure out how to get everything to McDermitt.
$8,000 sounds like a lot of money, but we've already raised $900 in one month between a handful of people. We are humbly asking everyone to contribute to these efforts since we all at one time or another have shared food, prayers, laughs, conversations, and even mourned with our relatives in our sacred space. If everyone could donate $5 here, $10 there, over time, we’ll be able to achieve our goal to purchase the materials. We’d like to hit our target by October. This is going to take everyone's effort. Please think about different ways you can help financially and physically to make this happen. We ask you to share our fundraiser efforts with any of your relatives or friends that have either gone to McDermitt or requested prayers during our dance. With everyone's contribution, we can easily reach our goal.
Thank you,
Myron, Tomas, Michelle, Sal, and Jaime
Fundraising team: Children of The Sun Fundraising Team (2)
Tomas Tulier
Organizer
McDermitt, NV
Jaime Lemus
Beneficiary
Michelle Tulier
Team member