Tribal-council-news

TRIBAL-COUNCIL-NEWS

TRIBAL NETWORK

For the past two weeks the Tribal Network (663-4208) has been the recipient of a resounding phone that brings inquiries as to events, meetings, rides, and referral to other organizations. The Ride Switchboard, the calendar, the files of organizations have all been hit on for information, and at times have even received information from callers from the community.

But, in no way has the Tribal Network been inundated with the buzzzing of the phone, which has given us the time to continually increase the information in our office, but hasn't presented us with the iterated opportunity to hurl this information back out into the community where it is needed.

The whole idea of a community self-determination project, such as the Network, is to institute a people's organization that is operated by the energy of the community. The people in the community can put their energy into the organization in various ways: 1 ) to actively participate in the organization and production of the project; 2) limited participation (spare help); 3) help support the project through financial contributions; or 4) by simply using the self-determination project once it is in operation. The reason we define it as such is that most of the institutions that now purport to serve the needs of the people are owned, operated, and controlled by a few select individuals (the ruling class) that have no practical connection whatsoever with the large majority of the community. So, they ain't motivated out of any sense of duty to the people because they don't have any idea who the people are, you know what I mean. Let's take for example the Ride Switch Board.

Each city, county, and state has a 'system' of transportation- city buses, county roads, interstate highways, etc. But none of it is consolidated, and none of it alone is enough to fill the need of the people to get to shopping centers, work, the medical facilities, to a prison to see our brothers and sisters, or across the country. This is all wasteful and almost inaccessible to the majority of the people that could really use them. Everyone just rides around in his/her individual car, and because of all the honky propaganda against all hitchhikers, coupled with the fact that there are a lot of people running around doing crazy shit, it's hard to cop a ride while hitchhiking (for the most part). Anyway, what the ride switchboard does is hook up people that do have cars and are going to the same place. That's just taking what materials we already have, organizing and consolidating them, and putting them to the best possible use. The basic principle of USE WHAT YOU GOT TO GET WHAT YOU NEED!

I used that example because about half the calls that come into the Tribal Network right now concern the use of the ride switchboard. But, as is the case with all the different kinds of information already obtained by the Network (which, by the way was no small task) the need greatly outweighs the supply.

The Tribal Network is functioning 16 hours per day, with about 28 staff members but this still isn't enough people to staff the office the needed 24 hours. And we can continually use updated information, flyers, notices of events or meetings, and just about anything else that is happening. We make an undaunted attempt at copping all the needed information, but with limited staff, that already do a million other things, it's impossible to obtain all the information that permeates our streets in various degrees of availability.

I really shouldn't ramble on about the Tribal Network anymore this time, but I wanted to make you all aware that the Network is open and ready for your use. But again, as with everything else we have got to have, we have to do it for ourselves, self-determination, because the people that are presently saying that they are providing for our needs have in fact done nothing- and they have had thousands of years to get it all together. The Tribal Network can only happen properly with all our participation, so call 663-4208, whether it be for information, telling us you want to work, telling us you're going to give us millions of dollars, or a few cents. The Network functions for us- let's make it happen.

SELF-DETERMINATION FOR ALL PEOPLE! - John Collins, for the Tribal Network