Daniel Crawford, Washoe Native TANF Project and Resources Specialist
WHAT IS THE WASHOE TANF PROGRAM?
(by Rotarian Korliss Miller)
Today’s speaker was our very own Rotary member Daniel Crawford who is the Project and Resources Specialist for the Washoe Native TANF Program. TANF was enacted in 1996, and was the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federally funded block grant program. In 2003 The Washoe Native TANF Program was administered by the Washoe tribe of Nevada and California. It provides essential temporary aid and services to Native American families with children that are at risk of welfare dependency. The program focuses on providing services that strengthen families, prepare workers for jobs and encourage participants to achieve self-sufficiency. Services include career development services, education and employment services, youth program services, achievement incentives, and support services.
To achieve these goals Daniel, along with help from the agency and members of his own family, put on programs that bring the community together to celebrate their heritage and learn life skills from many sources as well as from their elders. Thanks to a slide show, we were able to see many of the activities Daniel has orchestrated. One recent activity involved Washoe skirt making. We saw a variety of skirts sewn for women and children. Another sewing project was sewing traditional patterns onto shirts along with the rick-rack pattern that is a traditional symbolic design worn on men’s women’s and children’s clothing.
Each year a Washoe Princess is crowned, which includes a competition of native language speaking. The participants introduce themselves and tell about their parents and grandparents while speaking in their native language. Because the Washoe Tribe is a matriarchal society, the Princess crowning is an important event. However, fathers are not overlooked or in any way denigrated, in fact they are encouraged to set positive examples for their male family members. Daniel brought together tribal members to learn safety and preparedness programs and community emergency response initiatives, including fire suppression. Preparedness packs were given to the participants for keeping their and their neighbor’s homes safe.
Learning the heritage and culture, creating traditional clothing, beadwork, basket weaving, tribal designs, crafts and swapping with other tribal communities are other areas where the younger generations can learn from their elders and Tribal leaders like Daniel. Daniel’s programs are also helping the tribal youth in providing incentives for good grades, learning economic independence and self-sufficiency. We are proud of his commitment to his community and also to have his membership in our Rotary club.
