My head is still reeling from the news that our dream is now a reality. We are owners of 5.8 acres of land just outside Guntersville city limits. It has already been cleared but is in need of being bush hogged. We have someone who is already prepared to get this done. We are all super excited and ready to start working on what needs to be accomplished so we can set up a temporary office and prepare to hold PowWow on our land, but first we have to wait for the closing to be completed. The attorneys handling the closing are trying to get this accomplished before the end of the year. So while we are waiting for this to take place everybody is working on a ToDo List. I am going to make an effort here to list as much of what will need to take place as I can.
ToDo List for UCAN tribe to establish temporary office at 221 Pleasant Hill Road, Guntersville, AL 35976
Priority number one will be to get together on the land and decide where to put the driveway and where we will want to locate the temporary office and where the permanent structure will be placed.
Since there are power lines running across the entrance to the property this may be the perfect area to place a parking area
Culverts will need to be purchased and put in place
We have purchased a trailer to be put on the land for storage. We have a great deal of stuff that will have to be stored until we can raise the funds needed to purchase and/or build a permanent structure.
Once we have a general layout of the land we can begin work on getting the power, water and septic tanks put in. We have several individuals with equipment that will help in getting the power and water set up, but we are still going to need all able bodies available to help get this done. The septic system will have to be put in by a contractor. We are already in touch with a contractor about getting this done.
Prayerfully someone will donate a mobile home that we can set up on the land for a temporary office
We have a new address: 221 Pleasant Hill Road, now we need a mailbox. This needs to be one that will stand up to baseball bats and other attacks. My own personal mail box is a large steel pipe made by my husband. It has been backed into, and assaulted with various weapons but no damage is ever done. We have picked up pieces from brake lights and even had to straighten the pole in the ground and add some concrete for added stability from time to time, but it has withstood every attack.
For our protection and the neighbors, we are looking at putting a fence up. This will likely only need to be across the front area. We will need help in researching the best place to purchase this. A suggestion was made to watch government sites for sales on these.
We will need to check into the phone and internet service.
We need to inquire about County noise regulations in the area so we do not get into any violations when we have our PowWow.
We need to make inquiries about getting our sign placed by the road and also make sure there are no rules governing whether a sign can be placed under the power lines. If we are allowed to put the sign up we will also need to look into having an additional, matching sign made for a two sided sign. We will need material to have the signs placed by the road.
We will be having a planning committee as soon as the closing is done. I am recommending that we set up a canopy, tables and chairs and do this on the land. My husband and I are considering bringing our Ranger so we can ride around the land and get a better picture of what we are looking at for layout planning. That will depend greatly on the weather at the time as to whether we will be able to do this or not.
I am horrible at remembering to take pictures so if you are attending any of the planning meetings or work sessions snap some pictures for us to share. I would like to keep a picture scrapbook of all of this so all can enjoy and be a part of this historical time in our tribe’s history. There are great many of our citizens who do not live locally and would take great joy in being able to be a part of this through pictures.
Any progress or activity that will be going on concerning the land will be posted on our Facebook page as well as our website so please keep checking to see what is taking place.
We are going to need all the able bodied individuals we have available to us to get everything done.
There is a great deal in the tribal office that will need to be packed and stored and a lot that will need to be disposed of, so we will need to look into getting a dumpster in place when we begin the packing stage of this project. The packing will be in stages. 1st stage will be display cases, books and items that are not used frequently and can be stored for an indefinite period of time. The 2nd stage will consist of items that we use occasionally, such as PowWow items. Those will also be loaded into the storage trailer but close enough to the door for easy access. The final stage will be the store front and general office equipment and supplies which will be needed in the temporary office.
Needless to say we have a very limited budget to work with so just because we have been successful in purchasing the land it does not mean we are no longer in need of funds. The land being purchased was just the first step. We now need as much help as all of you can offer us. For those in our tribal family that are unable to physically help with the work being done, you can still be a very big part of this effort. Go to the home page on our website and click on the donate button. If you shop at Amazon, sign in using smile.amazon and select our tribe as your charity to donate to. We also have been set up for donations to come from RADA Cutlery. We have a link on our Facebook page and our website that will allow you to shop from this amazing company and 45% of your purchase will be donated to our tribe. Be sure to select our tribe as the charity you are donating to. This is a momentous time in our tribe’s history and something we can all be very proud of. A lot of hard work went into making this dream possible and there are a lot of individuals that sacrificed of their time to work at fundraiser’s over the last 3 years. Many of you have been shopping at smile.amazon and encouraging your friends and family to do so as well. Since our latest fundraiser with RADA started we have received over $100 in donations from them. Several citizens have donated crafted items or family treasures for us to offer in silent auctions to help with raising funds. I know you are all tired of hearing me say it but I am gonna keep saying it until our final goal of having a permanent office, with a fellowship hall, classrooms and museum are completed…….we need your help. Everybody please donate, shop at one of our fundraisers, pay your communication fees. These are all ways that each and every citizen of this tribe can show their Native Pride and be an Active and Involved Citizen of United Cherokee AniYunWiYa Nation!!!!!!!!!
