TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Walt’s Words of Wit and Wisdom
The Vaughn family enjoys the holiday gathering in Portland.
Portland-area elders gather for the community Christmas gathering, including
back row, I to r: Charlotte Squires, Diane Robertson, Connie James, Kay Steele,
Geneva Johnson, Pauline Montana, and Victorine Harrison; and front row,
I to r: Shirley Walker, Sister Francella Griggs, Connie Hartt, and Doris Riding In.
Over the years that I have worked
for the tribe, I have almost been racist.
I wouldn’t attend trainings unless they
were Indian-sponsored. That has kinda
changed now. I don’t want to fly
anywhere, don’t want the hassle at the
airport and just plain don’t want
anything to do with an airplane, so now
I have to take trainings wherever I can
to keep my certification.
During some of these trips, I’ve had
the honor of meeting medicine people.
Now, they don’t wear little badges that
say IMM or anything like it. Someone
tells another that this is a medicine man.
I’ve had the good luck to have
talked to a few on different occasions.
One time, I was talking to a man, a
blood tribal member. Later, another
person told me that he was a Native
healer. I did go back to talk to him. One
thing I asked about was what schools
trained Indian medicine men. He said
there were no schools. He said that this
is something that’s spiritual and the
children are bom with it.
Another person there shared that
the medicine man has helpers that sort
of screen out the people seeking help.
He said that if a person wasn’t connected
Portland Area Celebrates Christmas
Siletz Tribal members in the
Portland area gathered together on Dec.
18 at a local V.F.W. Hall to celebrate
the Christmas season at the Portland
Area Annual Christmas Gathering.
All ages were represented, from
newborn babies to our honored elders,
to enjoy a Christmas dinner, carols,
door prizes, gifts for all our tribal youth
(including ice skating passes), gift
baskets, and poinsettias for our elders.
The Portland-area staff would like
to thank all of the programs and staff
who contributed to this annual
Left: Jess
and Hannah
Ramsey
celebrate
baby
Jordan's
first
Christmas.
Right:
Albert
Worthington
and Pearl
Scott learn
drumming
techniques.
6
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Siletz News
□
February 2003
Christmas community gathering. We
also would like to thank
City
Liquidators and Chinook Winds for
their donations and all our tribal
members who made the Portland-area
Christmas gathering possible.
with Mother Earth and didn't believe,
then that person would be sent to a
physician. A person seeking the help of
a medicine man must believe that all life
is related, i.e., all the plants, animals,
birds, fish, that all is connected.
One time while at a Sun Dance on
Mt. Hood, I had the good luck to have
a medicine man contact me. It was
during a sort of break in the dancing.
The medicine man was walking by and
suddenly turned and came to me. He
said, “You wanted to talk to me?”
I was stunned for a moment and
couldn’t do anything but stammer, trying
to find some kind of words. Finally, I
said yes, that I would like to have him
come to Siletz sometime and talk to my
group. At this time, I had several people
in Eugene, Siletz, and Salem.
He said that he would like to do it,
but didn’t think that he could find time
to do it as he was going all over doing
Sun Dances. He was the one who would
put the ties in the Sun Dancers’ skin to
break. After he left me, he went to
another pipe circle
and talked to a man.
He said that you are /
about to cry, then he
went on to tell him
what he was con
cerned about.
To me, it was almost unbelievable
that this man could sense these thoughts
that were going on in our heads. I have
since talked with others who have had
experience with medicine men and the
things they have to say again sounds
unbelievable, but it does make a
believer out of me.
The word medicine man is
probably the wrong term. Many of the
very best medicine people are women.
The Boat people say that the
medicine people use hocus-pocus
tactics in that they used ceremony,
rattles, and songs. They said that the
Indians were very good psychologists.
The Indian people had more than 200
medicines and 42 percent of the
medicines are still in use today. The
medicine people say that ceremony is a
big part of healing.
My regret is that I cannot remember
all the answers I got or even the
questions that I had, but I was, and still
am, very impressed.