Aya,

As I sat down this afternoon at the keyboard, I must admit I had a very different direction for this letter in my mind.Today two of our Peoria Citizens made a planned and deliberate stop here at our TribalHeadquarters in Miami, OK. They shared their story of wanting to make this visit for years.Today they shared their family stories that had been told and retold. Stories of when the family lived here. Stories of family members resting in our Peoria Cemetery. They shared stories of the research and study that had been done by family members and how much they would enjoy reading back over those details after this visit. They visited several of our sites today and had great smiles on their faces when they left.It wasn’t wasted on me that this could have been the story of every one of our families. We all know that the remainder of this troublesome year, 2020 , will be spent gathering with family and telling these stories. Stories of remembering our pastand praying the best for our future. Let us not miss a chance to visit the family members we miss, eat festive meals together, listen to our Elders tell their great stories and teach our children as they ask us questions.Today, for a moment, there was no pandemic. No election turmoil. The sun was shining, the leaves were falling and our beautiful pine trees were as green as ever. It was a great day. Let us walk in peace the remainder of this year. Please stop by the Offices in Miami when you can.#PeoriaProud

Be Well,

Craig Harper

Chief