Doug Botone - September 2002

My name is Doug Botone and I am a Kiowa Indian from Carnegie, Oklahoma. I am a registered engineer and am currently employed with Peabody Western Coal Company at their Arizona Operation on Black Mesa.

I grew up in a time and place that was hard on Indian people, especially the younger people. It seemed as if there were more opportunities for trouble than there were opportunities for success. Whatever positive things I have accomplished in my life, I owe to the fact that peopled have helped me. It may have been someone taking an interest in my accomplishments, or someone giving some of their time, or someone helping me financially. To them it may have even seemed a small thing, but to me it made all the difference in the world, and these are things that I rely on in my memory as I go forward in life.

I am grateful to Navajo United Way for giving me the opportunity to contribute what I can to help others. The gifts we give to Navajo United Way not only go toward helping others in need, they allow the younger people to take advantage of opportunities they might otherwise miss due to a lack of resources. We have all benefited from the help of others at some time in our life, but our lives are made even more abundant when we give. I encourage each of you to continue to support your communities through your contributions, because together we can make a difference, the Navajo United Way.

This is a picture with two of my daughters Jessica and Ashley at the Kiowa Gourd Clan Celebration in Carnegie, Oklahoma, 2001.