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 Volume 11, Fall 2005 |
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PG&E to Divest Lands Important to California Tribes Board Member
Profile: Celebrating Client Achievement: Round Valley Indian Tribes Meet Sam Hough, Directing Attorney of Eureka Nor-Rel-Muk Tribe Fights to Restore Spiritual Site AICLS: Helping Protect and Preserve Indian Language CILS Helps Reunite Indian Family Safe Haven: Foster Families for Indian Children CILS Helps Indian Families Get Back over $100,000 |
An Intern's I-CAN! Experience: Tanya Beatus, Koyukon Athabascan
Working at CILS as an Intern for the Earned Income Tax Credit Program has been very rewarding. Though all of the clients I assisted made me feel good at the end of the day, there are a few in particular that have helped me gain a new perspective. On a day when a number of things were going wrong on my way to work - including the BART short changing me $5 - I was a bit flustered when I sat down to assist people with their taxes and annoyed at having been short changed. By the end of the day, I had completely changed my view. One of the first clients I assisted was a young couple from a rural region in California. A man in his early twenties, with an eighteen year old wife and one year old daughter, called to find out if they were eligible to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit. Before leaving for work as a farm hand, the young man and I began work on their taxes. Three quarters through completing his taxes on-line, the man had to leave for work and couldn't find his last W-2; he promised to call back when he found it. An hour or two later, his wife called and proceeded to work with me on completing their taxes. With the baby crying in the background and the last of many W-2's being entered, we completed the tax returns. Given the number of W-2's that were entered into the on-line tax program, it became clear to me how little job security there is as a farm hand. When we found out that they would receive a little over $3,000 back, I said, "that's awesome!" I actually didn't know what to say and the young woman, who was surprised, quietly but emotionally, responded with "that is awesome." I believe that by assisting a Native family, through an American Indian-run organization, I have helped chip away at stereotypes and misjudgements that are increasingly common and misdirected toward Natives in our State, especially given the tension-filled political environment tribes face. At the same time, this was just a young family in desperate need for help and I am glad that I was part of an organization that was able to be there when they needed it. When I left to take the BART back home, I thought to myself "$5?"
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