Santa Clara City Council approves proclamation making November American Indian Heritage Month

Santa Clara City Hall, Santa Clara, Utah, Nov. 13, 2019 | Photo by Ryann Richardson, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — November in Santa Clara will from now on be known as National American Indian Heritage Month after a 5-0 vote at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. 

Before the vote, Mayor Rick Rosenberg read the proclamation to set November as a heritage month and encouraged all citizens of Santa Clara to observe the festivities associated with it. Judy Lehman, the American Indians Chair of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution American Indians Committee, and Valerie King, Regent of the Color Country Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, attended the meeting over Zoom and thanked the Council for their support. 

Santa Clara is the third city to approve a proclamation setting November as National American Indian Heritage Month, King said, and the Daughters of the American Revolution are waiting on Ivins to be the fourth. 

“This is the highest number of proclamations we have received in a given year to observe National American Indian Heritage Month,” King said in an email to St. George News. “Getting cities to recognize and observe the contributions, culture and traditions of American Indians, especially in the month of November, is our mission. And we are happy we’ve made inroads in shining light on all American Indians, and especially our local tribes, with our local municipalities.” 

In its efforts to support Native American educational opportunities, the American Indians Committee offers a summer camp to children ages 10-14 at its two schools and an American Indians scholarship. Locally, the coronavirus pandemic impacted several things the committee had planned for this year, King said. The committee was able to supply face masks to the children at the Shivwits tribe and still plans to hold its Wreaths Across America event on Veteran’s Day. 

In July, the Santa Clara City Council, Heritage Council and the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Tribal Council approved a large, colorful mural along Santa Clara Drive. The mural was created by a member of the Cedar Band of Paiutes. King credited City Council with recognizing Native American culture locally. 

Later in the meeting, the City Council voted to approve several other measures, including a new parking lot at Little League Park. Rosenberg turned the meeting over to Councilman Jarett Waite at that point and left the room while the item was being discussed. His own civil engineering firm, Rosenberg Associates, was the sole respondent to the city Parks and Trails Department’s request for bids on the project. The City Council voted to award $31,160 to the project. Council members agreed the parking lot would fill a great need at the park. 

The City Council also voted to award $200,000 to coronavirus relief funding for small businesses. The funds will go to businesses that hold a Santa Clara business license and employ 50 or fewer full-time employees. The grant money will be used to reimburse businesses for things like rent, mortgage, utilities or COVID-19 prevention.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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