Snow Riders Salute to Sponsors

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NATIVE VOICES FOUNDATION SALUTES

OUR AMERICAN INDIAN NATION SPONSORS
"Because the Youth are our Future!"

FOUNDING TRIBES

Southern Utes, Ute Mt Utes, Northern Utes
and Navajo Nation who started all this!

PARK CITY PRE-OLYMPIC SNOW CEREMONY - Ended Snow Drought Year before the 2002 Utah Olympics!

Ceremony led by Utah Tribal leaders/Elders, champion dancers & singers, Forest Cuch (Utah Indian Affairs), and organized/ hosted by Roseann Abrahamson (honored at White House as descendent of Sakajawea) and NVF's co-chair, Suzy Chaffee.

Sponsors: Tex Hall (President of National Congress of American Indians, Chief of the Affiliated Tribes of N. Dakota (Mandan-Arikara-Hidatsu), NVF co-chairman, along with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla (Oregon/ Washington & Wild Horse Casino), and Utah Office of Indian Affairs, in partnership with SKI UTAH! It worked and lasted through the Olympics!

The following events were sponsored by the Morongo Band of the California Mission Indians, partnered with Aspen's Denise Rich, Brandon Pritcher (Navajo Sustainable Communities award winner), and Sarah Pletts' Living Arts Foundation (ceremony only), and Utah Indian Affairs, Roseanne Abrahamson (Shoshone Sakajawea descendent & Medals PLaza Host) hosted Gratitude Ceremony at Canyons Tepee - organized by Native Voices Foundation	Salt Lake "OLYMPIC PROTECTION CEREMONY" CLOSING PRESS CONFERENCE, UTAH TRIBAL RECEPTION HONORING NAOMI LANGE (Karuk), SLC Olympic Ice Dance Star - 5x National Champion, Pride of Indian Country!
Roland McCook, N.Ute Tribal Chairman/Host of the 2002 Salt lake City Games, leading "Utah Olympic Protection Ceremony" (advised by Lakota Chief Arvol Lookinghorse) with Sarah Pletts (Penobscot drummer), and a dozen Ute, Lakota, Navajo, Iroquois... some on 4 horses facing the 4 Directions -on elk hoof prints in the powder snow next to Park City's Teepee, as a reenactment of the Black Elk Prophesy - 4 horses representing 4 Colors of Humanity coming together around turn of the Millennium.	UTAH OLYMPIC PROTECTION CEREMONY Chaffee read Muhammad Ali's note: "I stand next to my Native American brothers and sisters in supporting this...." (Hopis & Navajo also led protection ceremonies at dawn at the Athletes Village that together safeguarded the games from (expected) terrorism.)
	Miss Indian World Ke Aloha Alo (Apache-Hawaiian snowboarder law student) shared the reaction she'd heard driving to Salt Lake after the Indian Opening Ceremonies: "Thank you Olympic leaders for making it cool to be an American Indian." Speakers, like Forest Cuch, (he & Larry Blackhair (N.Utes) were the Olympic tribal Opening dream-makers) inspired headlines, "Indians End Games on High Note." (Giving tribes World Voice). The French-speaking Ke Aloha (with Suzy) was then celebrated in Gstaad (Switz) by NVF's French Princess Caroline Murat and the movers & shakers of Europe.

3rd ANNUAL NUGGET'S NIGHT SALUTING "AMERICAN INDIANS OF COLORADO"

In 2004, 17 Colorado Olympians came to honor the tribes.

When the tribes dance the Nugget's always win - 3 for 3, and share clinics with Indian youth.

Sponsored by Nuggets Manager Kiki Vandeweghe (Blackfeet), Pepsi Center owner, Stan Kroenke (Cherokee), Shawn Martinez (Navao half time show director), NATIVE AMERICAN BANK, PEAK BANK - Cleo Arrellano, (Apache) Vice President. In 2005, the Southern Ute NVF Founders, led by Chairman Clement Frost and Alden and family of Eugene Naranjo, including wife Dixie and daughter Mikki Roubideaux's Shadowland Dancers, were honored..
Magnificent half time show dancers have included Denver's Mile High & 7 Falls dancers and singers, the Northern Ute Dancers and singers, Denver March Pow Wow, Southern Utes - Carrie Howell - coordinator. Denver Indian Center Chairman Dee St Cyr (Winnebego) sings anthem & spiritual leader, like Alden Naranjo, lead prayer.

SALUTE TO "AMERICAS FIRST CARETAKERS" AT THE 2004 DENVER, SEATTLE, SACRAMENTO AND LA SKI & SNOWBOARD SHOWS

SPONSORED BY: NUTIVA (Nutritional Hemp), SWEATLEAF Stevia - a sweetner that doesn't raise blood sugrar from trees discovered by S Am Tribes. Hosted by Olympians Billy Kidd and Suzy, NVF organizer

Starring the Native American Ski Team, (Stew Young, Gene Tagaban & Billy Kidd), with Snow Ceremonies led by Eddy & Betty Box, Woody Vaspra, Bennie "Blue Thunder" LeBeau, Lisa Santana (Lummi VP of NW Indian College), and Akima Casteneda, with dancers and singers from Denver's 7 Falls & Mile High dancers, at Seattle, the Northwest Indian College dancers and GeneTagaban's Ravendance, Sacramento's Midou and Mewuk (Sacramento) Dancers, and LA's Chumash and S. Cal's top dancers

ATHENS OLYMPIC PRESS CONFERENCE
HONORING "Tribal Gifts to the Olympics."

Olympians from 7 countries honored Native Americans for inventing the roots of 10 Olympic Sports, organized by NVF.
Sponsors: by Northern Paiutes (Bishop CA.), NUTIVA (Nutritional Hemp), SWEATLEAF STEVIA, the Mayor of Athens for bringing Fernando Jose's Navajo-Pueblo-Inca Group, "Color Indigo," to lift Athens, and make it possible for us to honor them at the press conference/celebration in front of the site of the First Modern Games in 1896. (See European photo Gallery)

TORINO INDIAN OLYMPIC BID

Stew Young (Tulalip), represented NCAI President Joe Garcia, in spearheading the bid at the Torino Olympics with Suzy Chaffee. Woody Vaspra, President of World Council of Elders, guides the Bid process.
Sponsors: Iroquois Confederacy (Iroquois Faithkeeper Oren Lyons spearheaded Proof of Soveignty for Bid), in partnership with NVF's Euro Leader French Princess Caroline Murat, Veysonnaz (Switz) Resort, and American's Kit & Calvert Collins

Native Wind
nativewind.org

Native Energy
nativeenergy.com/businesses.html

BioEnergy of Colorado
bioenergycolorado.com

Snow Sports Industry America
snowsports.org

NuStevia
nunaturals.com

WWW.SNOW-RIDER.ORG LAUNCH

CONCEPTION: Jim Covorubbias, (Apache-Walapai Artist and Phil Goldfeld (economic developer for Navajo) who met with Michael Berry, President of National Ski Areas Associaton in 2005, in Phoenix, which helped inspire the launch of Snow-riders.org. NVF's Michael Day (Ho-Chunk) suggested Jim and launched Native youth participation in the Mid West's Birkiebeiner X-country event, which saved the event with snow!

BIRTH: Woody Vaspra guided the creation of the site designed by tekkie Janet Boyd and Chaffee....
Paul Chavez, as director of the Paiute's TANF (Temp Assistance of Needy Families) Prevention Model - is our MVP of spreading ski & snowboard ops across Indian Country. Others include Colorado's Tribal Founders, including N. Ute Loya Cesspooch, (who did such an inspiring job bringing her tribe's skiers and dancers to Aspen...., that her kids asked, "Why do they treat us almost like celebrities in Colorado"), Billy Kidd, Washoe Chairman Brian Wallace, Shasta Nation Vice Chair Gary Lake, (first tribal leader to support an Olympic Hopeful, Naomi Lange, who inspired a standing ovation,) and Dr Lisa Tully (Cherokee). White Nation MVPs include: Telluride's Loey Ringquist, Aspen's Lea Stein, Jonas Weil, Alex Kaufman, Scott Halazon (Biodiesel), Judy Grant, Connie Marlow, as well as Barry ZeVan, Sue Miller, Mary Piller, and other NVF board advisors.

THANKS TO NVF Co-FOUNDERS & CHAIRMEN

Honorary Cofounders: Daniel "Rollingbears" Quintana (Lakota, Tewa, Pueblo, Azteca), Eugene Naranjo & Oren Box (S.Ute), Tony Tallbirds, Terry Knight, Norman Lopez (Ute Mt) & Telluride's Rabbi Michael Saftler
Official Co-Chairmen (with Suzy): Alden Naranjo (S. Ute), Tex Hall (NCAI President), Brian Wallace (Washoe Chairman), and Ed Hall (Affiliated Tribes).
Special thanks to Joe Garcia, NCAI President, and Woody Vaspra, WCOE President, for their Olympic leadership on behalf of the youth.

AND SO MANY MORE

Include: The Native American 2002 Foundation (US Tribes led by Larry Cesspooch & Forest Cuch, (N Utes)), National Indian Tourism Assoc (sponsored Suzy sharing Olympic Tribal ops at Salt Lake), BIA (Hosted Suzy addressing National Indian Gaming Association during the 2000 Inauguration on Olympic Ops, thanks to Ed Hall, which took NVF national), plus Cheyenne River Buffalo Company for Lakota Ski Event with Arvol Looking Horse at Deer Mt, and Dan Parra (Apache) for feeding the people with donations by major food companies thanks to his semis & warehouses; and developing a Native American Alternative Med Program in LA with Dr Roberto Villafana, (Mayan-Yaqui founding 1st Native American (mercury-free) Dental School) with Suzy.

See www.nativevoices.org/contributors.html for so many more contributers,
including NVF's 1st Sponsor, Rolex, because CEO Roland Puton said, "This is about time!"

THE TRIBES THANK SKI INDUSTRY LEADERS AND THE 60 PIONEERING SKI AREAS AND COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE INVITED THEM BACK TO THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS TO SKI, SNOWBOARD, REBALANCE NATURE, AND GIVE THEIR YOUTH A CHANCE TO MAKE OLYMPIC TEAMS!

Click Here for Pioneering & Interested Ski Areas
Click Here for Sports Industry Gifts
Click Here for Pioneers of Native Skiing

AND THANKS TO THE OLYMPIANS FOR TAKING OUR INDIAN KIDS SKIING, AND VOTED NVF THE TEXACO STAR AWARD GRANT TO LAUNCH ALL THIS, SO THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS CAN HAVE OUR CHANCE, THROUGH THE WISDOM OF THE TRIBES, TO SKI AND BOARD!