Shareholders Author Book About Tlingit Totem Poles
CIRI shareholder Marilyn Williams and her daughter Gloria Williams, also a shareholder, authored the book “Tlingit Art: Totem Poles & Art of the Alaskan Indians,” an informative social, cultural, and artistic examination of Tlingit totem poles, carvings, and other artworks. Marilyn, who writes under the pen name Maria Bolanz, is a descendant of the Blackfoot Nation and through marriage to a Tlingit is a member of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation in Canada and a CIRI Shareholder. The book is available at Amazon.com or may be found in Anchorage book stores.

West Thanks CIRI Foundation for Achievement
CIRI shareholder and CIRI Foundation recipient, James C. West III recently completed the Commercial Driver Training Program through the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith. West lives in Oklahoma and plans to drive professionally for a major trucking company in the Lower 48. “When you do something you already enjoy and get paid for it, that’s success in life,” said West. The CIRI Foundation’s mission is to promote individual self-development and economic self-sufficiency through education among Alaska Natives who are original enrollees of CIRI and their lineal descendants.
Information about the scholarship and grant opportunities available through The CIRI Foundation can be found on their web site at www.ciri.com/tcf.

Baby Morning Bird
Robert Paul Siples “Morning Bird” was born on March 12 at Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. He weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces. His parents are CIRI descendant Amy Siples and Paul Siples. His grandparents are CIRI shareholder and Board member Harold F. Rudolph, Sr. and Carol M. Watson Rudolph.

Baby Cy
Cy Cobalt Robertson was born Nov. 28, 2004, to Craig Robertson and CIRI shareholder Shelley Lay. He weighed 8.6 pounds and was 22 inches long. Cy has an older brother, 11-year-old Willie, and two big sisters, 12-year-old Cavalier and 10-year-old Fanzana. Cy and his family live in Highland, Calif., with their two dogs, Simba and Max. Cy is the pride and joy of this family and can expect to get spoiled rotten.

Baby Maximus
Maximus X. Lyons was born to CIRI shareholder Bill Lyons and his wife, Kerrie Max, on Aug. 1, 2004, in Soldotna, Alaska. He weighed 7 pounds, 2.5 ounces and was 21 inches long. Maximus is welcomed with much love by his grandmother, Lena (Bunny) Clark, of Clark’s Point, Alaska, and aunts, CIRI shareholders Gale Vidal and Cheryl Nelson, both of Soldotna.

CIRI Shareholder Recognized by AFN
Donald Standifer, Sr. received the Alaska Federation of Natives Presidents Award for Small Business Person of the Year at the 2004 convention. He is owner and operator of Alaska Oilfield Contractors (AOC), an oilfield services and civil construction company located in Tyonek, Alaska. The successor to Standifer’s first oilfield business, Standifer Enterprises, which he formed in 1988, AOC was organized in 1992 and later formed an alliance with Tyonek Native Corporation as a member of Tyonek Contractors LLC. Standifer manages Tyonek Contractors LLC, and through AOC, owns 49 percent of Tyonek Contractors LLC.