Tribal Education Program
VAWA Program receives FBI award
The Albuquerque FBI Division has presented the 2018 Director’s Community Leadership Award to the Mescalero Apache Tribe Violence Against Women Awareness Program (VAWA).
Started in 2015 as part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, the program provides services to victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes as well as implements educational programs about domestic violence and human trafficking.
Each of the FBI’s 56 field offices annually selects an individual or organization to receive the award, which recognizes efforts in combating crime, terrorism, drugs, and violence in America.
VAWA Director Lola Ahidley has been invited to a ceremony in Washington, D.C., where FBI Director Christopher Wray will present her and other recipients with crystal awards.
“The Mescalero Apache Tribe Violence Against Women Awareness Program has greatly increased awareness of domestic violence and other crimes,” Albuquerque FBI Special Agent in Charge James Langenberg said. “The FBI is proud to recognize the hard work of those who are improving communication among victims, families, law enforcement, and the courts to help break the generational cycle of violence.”
Ahidley, who is Mescalero Apache, works with two assistants to offer free counseling to domestic violence victims and conduct no-cost community prevention and education on bullying, elder fraud, sex trafficking, and domestic violence.
VAWA meets regularly with U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) victim services specialists to staff cases and to provide for immediate needs not funded under BIA or FBI programs, such as lodging, clothing, hygiene items, and cellphones for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes.
VAWA attends arraignments for domestic violence victims in Mescalero Apache tribal court, and successfully requested to have an ordinance passed by the tribal government to allow advocates in court at the request of a victim.
The program recently sponsored a two-day “women’s self-defense training” seminar that was so popular that Ahidley has been asked to repeat it.
VAWA is conducting a program to raise awareness of human trafficking, especially around the tribe’s casinos and truck stops. They offer training for employees of those businesses and have put messages on billboards throughout the reservation.
More information about VAWA can be found at: https://mescaleroapachetribe.com/mescalero-vaw/
AmeriCorps Vista members contributing to the community
Mescalero welcomes two AmeriCorps Vista members – Meredith and Hannah. They will be around the Mescalero community working and helping on several projects with some of our tribal departments. You may have already seen Meredith walking her dog!
Hi! My name is Meredith Bottino and I’m an AmeriCorps VISTA member working with Native Food Sovereignty Fellows. I’m originally from Connecticut but will be here in Mescalero for one whole year. I’m working with the Department of Resource Management and Protection and looking forward to getting to know this land and its people.
My goals for this year are to make traditional Mescalero Apache foods and healthy foods easier to access on the reservation, as well as to evaluate what the Mescalero community feel about food access. I hope to later start programs on the reservation to help allow the Mescalero Apache people to grow their own food, as well as make historical diet and food preparation common practice again. Traditional Native foods have been shown to be far healthier than diets introduced after the reservation system was enforced; so rebuilding that connection to the Mescalero Apache diet will not only improve health but also help preserve cultural knowledge. Food is power and a great way for a community to grow stronger is to work together to feed themselves with independent and sustainable food systems.
I want to know what food sovereignty means to you! Please reach out to me at [email protected], or come by DRMP if you would like to talk about food access or if you have any ideas about how to make your community and culture healthier through food. I’m very interested in learning how traditional meals are prepared and what traditional plants you would like to see made available on the reservation. If you have a recipe to share, I’d love to learn!
Thank you Meredith, lastly here is Hannah from Arizona.
My name is Hannah and I’m from Mesa, AZ. I’m very excited to be spending the next year here in Mescalero as an Americorps Vista volunteer. As a member of the Ancestral Lands program I’ll be working with the tribe, White Sands National Monument, and other agencies to ensure that the Apache people are able to manage and access their land in a way that best supports their wants and needs. I recently graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in English and Art Studio, but I focused my writings on environmental health. My interest in this area peaked at a young age when I learned about chemical dumping in the Tucson area. My mom grew up on a ranch in South Tucson, where the area was mostly rural and was used by multiple corporations as a dumping grounds. A toxic chemical got into the water supply of my family’s ranch and because of this my mom developed a brain tumor later in life. As a child this impacted my family and me greatly. It also made me aware of the connection between the environment and our health, and instilled in me the importance of giving the people a say in how their land is treated. I think a big part of ensuring that environmental degradations like this continue is creating a connection in our younger generations, instilling in them the benefits of healthy lands. During my time at UNM I learned about how these environmental health issues disproportionately impact Native communities. This year I hope to learn more about the people of Mescalero, their connection to the earth, and how I might be able to advocate with and support a community like this in my future career. If you have any ideas or questions feel free to reach out to me! You can contact me at [email protected].
What a great time to be an AmeriCorps Vista member – welcome to our community, ladies!
Let’s explore!
Earth Day 2019
Staff at the Mescalero Tribal Administration offices touched the earth at 9 AM MT to honor Mother Earth.
Staff outside Mescalero Admin. offices 
Tribal Council Secretary Sher Skin and Vice President Gabe Aguilar touching the earth at 9 AM 
More staff honoring Mother Earth 
Tribal Council Secretary Sher Skin reading the resolution that was passed by MAT Council 
Current Fire Restrictions
Gather ’round the table for a good cause!
Mescalero Apache Boys & Girls Club at it again!
Grab a bit to eat at Ruidoso Schlotzsky’s TOMORROW from 4 PM – closing, all for the kids at our local Boys & Girls Club! What’s for dinner tomorrow?
Requests for Proposals
Mescalero Apache Tribe
REQUEST FOR BIDS (RFB)
SAFETY/RISK OFFICE
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
All questions must be submitted via email, with the bid title subject heading:
“RFP –Mescalero Apache Tribal Store- Store Front Re-construction and Repairs Services
DUE DATE:
Bids must be received no later than April 12, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. Attention to:
Duane Enjady and Carol J. Woods
Department of Human Resource, Risk/Safety,
PO Box 227, 108 Central Ave.,
Mescalero, NM 88340.
Questions and inquires can be made to [email protected] and
[email protected] All questions submitted will be answered by the Office of Human Resource Risk/Safety Manager in a timely manner.
SCHEDULE OF RFB EVENTS
DUE DATE
Bids must be received no later than April 19, at 2:00 p.m. – Please refer to the Submissions Requirements section of this document for details.
Attending the site visit to determine damaged estimates is mandatory.
Attending bid opening is not mandatory.
For both the Site Visit and Bid Opening, interested parties can meet at Office of Human Resource Safety/Risk office at: PO Box 227, 108 Central Ave, Mescalero, NM 88340 with Mr. Duane Enjady.
In order to be considered for the award, all information must be received by the required date and time. Any bid not received on time may be rejected.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
The documents below are documents mandated by State and Tribal regulations. All documents as listed must be included with your submission package in order for your proposal to be deemed responsible for this offering.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Mescalero Apache Tribe invites BID’s from qualified, license contractors to provide all services related to the re-construct and repairs of the Mescalero Apache Tribal Store.
I. BACKGROUND
The Mescalero Apache Tribal Store is a small grocery/convenience store located at 190 Chiricahua Plaza, Mescalero, NM. The Store serves the Tribal community and the general public. The Store offers grocery and convenience items, cigarettes, butcher meats, souvenirs and hot foods. The exterior front lobby of the Store’s building was damaged in a motor vehicle accident. The damage impedes access to the Store and must be repaired as soon as possible.
II. PROJECT GOALS
A. Make repairs necessary: properly remove damaged material in the exterior lobby, reinforce all metal bars that were affected by the accident to ensure safety and security, repair ceiling tiles, replace several large windows, and any and all other repairs necessary to ensure entrance into the store will be secured after repairs are completed.
B. Store needs to remain open while under construction so it will be the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that a section is cordoned off if necessary to keep the store operating and will not affect patrons in/out of the store.
C. Provide onsite observation to ensure that all repairs are done correctly, in a timely manner and as outlined in Section II, A, above.
Click here for the official PDF document.
Lady Chiefs play their hearts out at State
Mescalero, NM
With a huge crowd of Mescalero Lady Chiefs basketball fans filling the Dreamstyle Arena, a.k.a. The Pit, our ladies took the 2A Girls State Basketball Runner Up trophy. Either outcome, we are ecstatic of the ladies accomplishments! This team is the first to take Mescalero to the New Mexico State Championships and they did so with grit.
With multiple upsets as the ladies climbed the ladder to the championships, one of the biggest was defeating No.1 Texico in the 2nd round of the State tournament. Not to mention, making school history being the first team to play in the State Championships!
Needless to say, we are very proud of these young ladies on a job well done and blazing the trail for generations to come – you are examples of hard work and dedication.
We also recognize other supporters of Mescalero Lady Chief basketball across Indian Country and we thank you for showing support!
There will be a celebratory parade tomorrow, March 19th at 4:30 pm along the Mescalero Parade Route (same as 4th of July Ceremonial). We invite all fans, supporters, friends, family and surrounding communities to show their support and help celebrate the Mescalero Apache Lady Chiefs team.
Go Lady Chiefs!
New memo for all employees of the Mescalero Apache Tribe
Congratulations to our Mescalero Apache High School girls basketball team on advancing to the New Mexico State Basketball Championships!
The Championship game will be at Dreamstyle Arena a.k.a. “The Pit” in Albuquerque, NM at 5 pm on March 15th. We HIGHLY encourage all community members to attend this exiting game!
