Page 6 - August 2011 • Southern California Gaming Guide

August 2011 Tribes in the News
SOan Manuel Tribe Aids Flood Victims
n June 29th, it was announced that the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians had made a $200,000 charitable contribution to the American Red Cross of Montana for ongoing relief e orts to assist American Indian communities that had been directly a ected
by late spring ooding along the Little Bighorn and Missouri Rivers. Initially, damage a ecting the Crow Indian Reservation grew to include the Fort Belknap Indian Community and Rocky Boy and Fort Peck Indian Reservations. In response, the American Red Cross of Montana was called to action to provide emergency relief through shelter operations, mass care and feeding.
“At one point during the operation, we had 330 Crow people in our care under one roof, and were the largest Red Cross shelter in the national system during a year of nationwide storm devastation,” said Rod Kopp, CEO of the American Red Cross of Montana.“We did, and still do, take that responsibility seriously, and pledge to help people get back on the road of recovery and a renewed quality of life.”
e San Manuel Tribe has a long history of working with the American Red Cross following natural disasters and emergencies in California and beyond. San Manuel has provided funds to the American Red Cross Inland Empire chapter to support Southern
California communities swept with wild res in 2003 and 2007, and recently with oods near its San Bernardino area reservation in late 2010.
In 2010, San Manuel contributed $1.7 million to the Red Cross Haitian earthquake relief, and $320,000 to the organization to assist tribes in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Arizona with their emergency relief e orts in response to 2010 winter storms.
San Manuel’s contribution was intended to
support recovery and cleanup e orts, which
had continued to be hampered by a limited availability of funds and the potential for more
ooding as winter snows melted. e funds
will be used to secure ongoing shelter and the
necessities of daily living for families displaced from homes.
“San Manuel recognizes that our brothers and sisters in Montana are facing a di cult period of recovery and wants them to know that we stand by them through this process,” said San Manuel Chairman James C. Ramos. “We are grateful for our ongoing partnership with the American Red Cross. ey have the capability, organization and expertise to mobilize quickly and e ectively when disasters strike anywhere in the world.”
e need for ongoing support still remains, with hundreds of reservation homes badly damaged or destroyed by ooding, and many residents still displaced. Over the course of a ve-week period, the
American Red Cross of Montana listed 3,111 night stays for families and individuals a ected by ooding. Also during that time, the organization counted 16,797
meals and 30,511 snacks served to help those in need of assistance to meet basic needs.
$I100,000 Donated to American Indian College Fund
n late June, the American Indian College Fund received a $100,000 grant from the San
initiatives: $50,000 will support the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians Tribal College Scholarship Program; $25,000 will go towards the Sovereign Nations Scholarship Fund Endowment, which provides scholarships to Native American students in perpetuity; and $25,000 will support expenses for the American Indian College Fund’s annual fund raiser, the Flame of Hope Gala, on ursday, October 20th, in Denver, Colorado.
Indian people, and the San Manuel Band of Serrano Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians. e grant will be divided to support several major Mission Indians has been instrumental in this e ort.”
“We are honored that the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians is continuing its support of American Indian education,” said Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund. “ eir
generous gift is an outstanding example of how Natives are helping to transform Indian Country through its grass roots e orts. A college education is the rst step towards eradicating poverty and empowering American
With its credo “Educating the Mind and Spirit,” the American Indian College Fund is the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships for American Indian students, providing an average of 6,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education and support to the nation’s 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities. For more information about the American Indian College
Fund, please visit collegefund.org.
PAGE 6
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
AUGUST 2011