Effective Date: June 3, 2026
This Privacy Notice explains how the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, through its Cultural Preservation Department and any authorized tribal program staff or service providers working on its behalf, collects, uses, protects, and governs information relating to the Peoria Language and Cultural Education Portal.
For purposes of this Notice, the “Portal” includes the main protected portal at peewaalia.com and the connected course website at leepwaaminta.peewaalia.com, together with related digital systems, forms, communications, learning tools, and support functions used for Peoria language and cultural education.
This Notice is intended to work alongside the Terms of Use, Copyright Notice, course procedures, and any other applicable tribal policies or notices.
1. Tribal authority and data governance
The Portal is a sovereign Peoria Tribe digital space operated under the Peoria Tribe’s inherent sovereignty, constitutional authority, and governmental authority to protect tribal interests, including language, culture, educational resources, citizen privacy, and related data.
Information collected through the Portal is governed according to applicable tribal policy, authorized program procedures, contractual protections, and Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles recognizing the Peoria Tribe’s authority to govern the collection, ownership, stewardship, and application of data relating to its citizens, programs, language work, and cultural resources.
References to “Peoria language” and “Peoria culture” in this Notice are used as cover terms for the heritage Indigenous languages, dialects, and cultural lifeways of the people who historically and now are part of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. These languages, dialects, and cultural traditions include, but are not limited to, those associated with the Tribes of the Illinois Confederation (Illinois Nation), and with the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankeshaw, and Wea Tribes. Peoria language and Peoria culture are inseparably intertwined, and both are protected together as part of the living heritage of the Peoria Tribe.
This Privacy Notice is adopted under the inherent sovereign authority and applicable laws of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and is intended to operate, where relevant, in a manner consistent with any applicable laws of the United States regarding privacy and data protection.
2. Who this Notice applies to
This Notice applies to information collected from or about:
- All visitors of the Portal.
- Peoria citizens accessing the Portal.
- Peoria Tribe staff, instructors, language workers, and authorized program personnel using the Portal in their official roles.
- Contractors or vendors who are given limited system access for approved services.
- Individuals who contact the Cultural Preservation Department or related tribal offices through website forms, registration forms, email, or other communications connected to the Portal. All visitors to public portions of the Portal.
The Portal may be visited by non-Peoria visitors for general educational outreach, but use of Portal materials and content remains subject to the Portal Terms of Use, Copyright Notice, and any applicable cultural protocol or access notice.
3. Information the Portal may collect
Depending on how a person interacts with the Portal, the Tribe may collect the following categories of information:
3.1 Registration and identity information
When a person enrolls in a course, class or workshop, on the student course website (leepwaaminta.peewaalia.com), the Portal may collect information such as:
- Full name.
- Date of birth.
- Email address.
- Phone number.
- Mailing address.
- Username or account identifier.
- Peoria citizenship-related information submitted for verification, such as citizenship status and, where used by the Tribe, tribal identification or other identifying information reasonably necessary for verification and access administration.
3.2 Citizenship verification information
Where access or enrollment depends on Peoria citizenship, information submitted by the user may be checked against official tribal enrollment records and verification procedures by the Peoria Tribe Enrollment Department.
This verification may include internal review of the identifying information submitted by the user, follow-up requests for additional information where necessary, and recording whether citizenship-based eligibility has been confirmed, denied, or placed on hold according to tribal procedures.
3.3 Course and program participation information
If a user participates in classes, workshops, language learning activities, or related educational programming, the Tribe may collect and maintain information such as:
- Course registration details.
- Attendance or participation records.
- Program communications.
- Assignment or learning-platform information.
- Consent or permission records where applicable.
- Support requests related to participation in classes or workshops.
3.4 Communications and contact information
If a person contacts the Tribe through a contact form, email, RSVP form, registration form, or other communication channel connected to the Portal, the Tribe may collect the person’s contact information and the contents of the communication in order to respond, provide support, administer programming, or maintain records of program communications.
3.5 Technical and usage information
Like most password-protected digital systems, the Portal may automatically generate or collect certain technical information, which may include:
- IP address.
- Device type.
- Browser type.
- Operating system.
- Date and time of access.
- Login attempts.
- Access logs.
- Activity logs relating to use of public and protected portions of the Portal.
- General diagnostic, security, or performance information generated by the hosting environment or connected services.
3.6 Vendor-processed technical information
Where the Tribe uses approved vendors or contractors to host, secure, maintain, repair, back up, or support the Portal, those providers may process limited technical or account-related information as necessary to perform authorized services under tribal direction and contractual restrictions.
4. How information is used
The Tribe may use collected information for the following purposes:
- To verify Peoria citizenship where citizenship-based access, enrollment, or priority applies.
- To administer classes, workshops, and educational programming.
- To communicate with users about accounts, registrations, schedules, support issues, policy updates, security matters, or program participation.
- To maintain system security, investigate suspected misuse, monitor compliance with Portal rules, and protect protected materials and tribal interests.
- To maintain records needed for tribal administration, program continuity, and authorized reporting or documentation.
- To improve the reliability, security, and functionality of the Portal and related systems.
The Peoria Tribe does not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.
5. How information may be shared
The Tribe may share information only in limited circumstances consistent with tribal authority, program administration, and applicable policy, such as:
- With authorized Peoria Tribe personnel whose duties require access.
- With the Enrollment Department for citizenship verification where citizenship-based access or enrollment depends on verification.
- With instructors, program staff, or support personnel who need certain information to administer courses, workshops, or participant support.
- With approved contractors or vendors who are bound by confidentiality, acceptable-use, data-protection, and scope-of-work restrictions approved by the Tribe.
- When necessary to investigate misuse, unauthorized access, threats to system integrity, or violations of Portal rules or tribal policy.
- When disclosure is required or authorized under applicable tribal law, valid tribal process, or other lawful authority recognized by the Tribe.
6. Protected materials and privacy limits
The Portal contains or may contain protected language, cultural, educational, and related materials subject to tribal rules, cultural protocol, access restrictions, and terms of use.
This Privacy Notice governs personal and account-related information. It does not grant any right to copy, distribute, repost, download in bulk, extract, mine, scrape, profile, or otherwise use protected language or cultural materials outside the scope of authorized access.
Users remain subject to the separate Terms of Use, including restrictions on sharing credentials, creating duplicate accounts, harvesting data, using automated or manual extraction methods, using AI or machine-learning systems without authorization, or combining Portal data with outside datasets to profile or identify tribal citizens, households, staff, or community information. The Portal may be visited for general educational outreach, but use of any materials and content remains subject to the Terms of Use, Copyright Notice, and any applicable cultural protocol or access notice attached to the material.
7. Account security and user responsibilities
The connected course website leepwaaminta.peewaalia.com users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their usernames, passwords, and other login credentials.
If a user believes an account has been compromised or used without authorization, the user should contact the Tribe promptly using the contact information provided below.
8. Cookies, analytics, and similar technologies
The Portal may use cookies, session tools, login-state tools, security technologies, or similar website functions that are reasonably necessary for authentication, fraud prevention, performance, security, or basic site functionality.
We use the following third-party services, which may collect data as described in their respective privacy policies:
- Jetpack (Automattic) — Analytics and video hosting via VideoPress. Privacy Policy
- Google Analytics — Website analytics. Privacy Policy
- Adobe Fonts — Web fonts for site typography. Privacy Policy
- Bluehost — Website hosting. Privacy Policy
- YouTube — Embedded podcast and video content. Privacy Policy
Embedded content from third-party sites (such as YouTube) behaves as if you visited that site directly and may collect data, use cookies, or track your interaction with that content.
9. Data storage, retention, and deletion
Information collected through the Portal may be stored by the Tribe or by approved service providers acting on the Tribe’s behalf, subject to tribal direction, vendor restrictions, and applicable security measures.
The Tribe may retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to verify accounts, administer programs, maintain records, protect the system, comply with tribal requirements, resolve disputes, investigate misuse, or support continuity of cultural and educational programming.
10. Security measures
The Tribe may use reasonable administrative, technical, and operational safeguards designed to protect information collected through the Portal, such as restricted access, identity verification processes, role-based permissions, password protection, account monitoring, vendor confidentiality requirements, and related security measures appropriate to the system.
The Tribe works to protect information collected through the Portal but cannot guarantee absolute security of transmission, storage, or against unauthorized third-party interference.
11. User choices and requests
Subject to tribal law, policy, system needs, and practical limits, a user may contact the Tribe to:
- Update account or contact information for the student course website leepwaaminta.peewaalia.com
- Ask questions about how their information is being used.
- Request help with account access.
- Report suspected unauthorized use.
- Ask where to direct concerns about privacy or data handling.
12. External websites and services
The Portal may contain links to external websites or services not controlled by the Peoria Tribe. This Privacy Notice does not govern those outside sites or services, and users should review the privacy notices and terms that apply to them separately.
13. Changes to this Notice
The Tribe may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in law, policy, technology, security practices, program design, or Portal operations. When this Notice is updated, the effective date at the top will be revised and the updated Notice will be posted on the Portal or communicated through other appropriate means. Continued use of the Portal after the change constitutes acceptance to the extent allowed by Peoria Tribe law and policy. All updates to this Privacy Notice remain governed by the inherent sovereign authority and applicable laws of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and, where relevant, by any applicable laws of the United States.
14. Contact information
Questions or concerns about this Privacy Notice or the Portal’s data practices should be directed to:
Robert McCollum Tribal Administrator
Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
P.O. Box 1527 Miami, Ok 74355
Phone 918-540-2535