TULSA, Okla. — The Kiowa Tribe traveled to its legislative office in Tulsa to provide some community outreach to its citizens living in the area.
They provided families with gift cards of $250 dollars for back to school expenses as well as backpacks filled with needed school supplies.
Danielle and Scalett Chanate were grateful to be able to take advantage of the opportunity.
While Scalett is excited to expand her knowledge in all subjects, her sister is thankful for the resources she's being provided with.
"I think it will help her remember all of her school supplies just because we tend to lose a lot of pencils, erasers," she said. "Hopefully, it'll help her learn to be better prepared."
She added that it's so helpful to provide children with funds they may need.
"There are some children who don't get the chance to have new school clothes, new school shoes," she said.
Vice Chairman of the Kiowa Tribe Jacob Tsotigh said he knows it can be tough for families to afford all of the costs that come with schooling.
He also understands that it's important to care for residents who live outside the tribe's jurisdiction.
Tsotigh is thankful for all of the partnerships that helped the Kiowa tribe, like the Khan Ohana Foundation.
Founding member and Programs Manager Crystal Isaacs said the group is trying to expand its aid all over Oklahoma.
Because of the foundation, the Kiowa Tribe was able to give families free backpacks and hygiene packs.
"Our mission is to end generational poverty, and that's through promoting education," she said.
"One of our big projects is the student support services, which provides grocery and hygiene packages."
She said people can reach out to the organization's website to find out if they are eligible for assistance.
Another partnership that Vice Chairman Tsotigh said he's grateful for is the tribe's connection with Tulsa Public Schools.
"We're hopeful at some point that we may be able to engage a Kiowa language class as part of the regular school curriculum," he said.
Tsotigh said less than 100 members of the tribe can fluently speak the native language of the Kiowa people, so he hopes this class will change that.
"If you don't have your language, then you could lose your identity," he said.
Assistant Executive Director of the Kiowa Education Agency, Toni Tsatoke-Mule, agrees that the language needs to be revitalized in the community for both children and adults.
She said, unfortunately, the language has faded due to assimilation throughout the years, which took a toll on the tribe.
"What we're doing is trying to just combat that and work with our students as young as possible and just expose even our adults as well- adult learning is very important," she said.
In order to help with promoting their language, the Kiowa tribe also came out with a coloring book.
"This is kind of a collaboration between our education departments and our language department, so we want to be current and offer new products for our children and our families," she said.
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