TRIBAL MEMBER NEWS
NIEA Convention Set for Hawaii
by Tiffany Wisdom
Aloha-Greetings. I want to tell you
about my firsthand experience with our
relatives on the island of Hawaii.
This past December, I visited Ho
nolulu. Hawaii. The National Indian Edu
cation Assoc. (NIEA) Board of Direc
tors met to plan for the 2007 NIEA
Convention on Oct. 25-28 in Hawaii.
We started our meeting off on a tradi
tional Hawaiian canoe trip.
The places we visited between our
meetings were Pearl Harbor. USS Mis
souri. Polynesian Cultural Center,
Bishop Museum. Kamehameha School,
and we attended a fund-raising recep
tion hosted by Don Ho.
During our meeting, we met with
various groups from Hawaii that are
partnering with NIEA to have a suc
cessful convention. The local planning
committee, the Native Hawaiian Edu
cation Association (www.nhea.net), has
done a spectacular job planning for all
of the events.
There are events for junior high/
high school student strand. Native lan
guage revitalization, college/university
student symposium, and the tribal lead
Tiffany Wisdom poses with a dancer at the Polynesian
island of Oahu in December.
C
ulture Center on the
Shell People They Call Us
by Selene Rilatos, ©1997
I dance for those who can’t
I dance for those
who have been
here before
and for those to come.
The prayer song is given,
the men move to the rhythm
of the music.
Then come the women
to make the line complete.
With each step, each heartbeat,
I am one with the spirit.
We connect our arms,
the men and the women,
the line is dancing
all in time with the singer,
this is unity at its finest.
This is the center of the universe,
a ceremony of world renewal.
It's close to dusk.
the women are dressing their hair,
putting on their finest shells,
laughing and smiling
to try and calm the butterflies,
like their grandmothers before them.
The sacred fires are built outside,
as there is one for the men
and one for the women.
The people are filling up
the dance house,
waiting patiently
for their grandchildren and relatives
to dance for them.
*The medicine is burned
to cleanse the dance house,
the people, the future generations.
18
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Siletz News
•
The dancers are praying
with every step, every heartbeat
we dance for our ancestors,
for the future generations
and for the New Year.
The dancers’ shadows reflect
the spirit of our ancestors,
as they are smiling with them,
as the fire is burning,
wordless prayers are spoken
and the abalone shells
are glistening all over this land.
I dedicate this poem and dance for
all my loved ones who are healing and
helping with the healing of the family
circle, All My Tillicum.
For Randall and Levi
Nush Te Tillicum
June 2007
ers task force. I look forward to the
pow-wow. culture night. Hawaiian cul
tural field trips, and educational work
shops. I encourage everyone to visit
www.niea.org for all the events and for
more information.
I would like to thank our NIEA
president, Dr. Verlie Ann Malina-
Wright (Native Hawaiian), for her fund-
raising efforts that enabled the board
to visit Hawaii at no cost. Also, I would
like to thank Dr. Wright and all of the
hosts in Hawaii for giving us a warm
welcome to their Native land and show
ing us around Hawaii.
Our relatives in Hawaii gave me the
feeling of Aloha and 1 know they will
welcome you just like family too.
Hvm’chi and Aloha
Tiffany (Stuart) Wisdom
Teacher Candidate, c/o 2008
Haskell Indian Nations University
(Lawrence. Kansas) - www.haskell.edu
Tribe: Confederated Tribes of Siletz
Indians - www.ctsi.nsn.us
National Indian Education Association-
Board of Directors Member -
www.niea.org
NIEA 38th Annual Call to Convention!
Registration and Forms Now Available Online
NIEA is now accepting registra
tions, workshop proposals, scholarship
applications, awards, and board can
didate nominees. Please see deadline
dates below and visit this link - Cali to
Convention www.niea.org/sa/uploads/
whatsnew/15.21 .NIE A_CTC07_
final.pdf - to download all forms.
Convention pre-registration dead
line: Sept. 28, 2007.
Research proposals must be post
marked by Aug. 3, 2007.
Workshop proposals must be post
marked by Aug. 24, 2007.
The John C. Rouillard and Alice
Tonemah Memorial Scholarship appli
cation forms must be postmarked by
Sept. 10, 2007.
Resolutions must be postmarked by
Oct. 10, 2007.
Sponsorship Opportunities dead
line is Sept. 25, 2007.
Official program ads due post
marked by Sept. 17, 2007.
Reserve your awards banquet table
by Sept. 28, 2007.
Trade Show - Reserve space now;
deadline is Sept. 10, 2007.
2012 convention site bid informa
tion due postmarked by July 2, 2007.
E HO‘I I KA P1KO ALOHA
JUICA 0AA7 Return t0 Cultural
Il I CM £ W I HONOLULU
Honor and Caring
HAWAI
I
NIEA Host Hotel - Hilton Hawaiian
Village Beach Resort & Spa. To book
online, please use “AAI” code to re
ceive NIEA convention rates at
www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com .
Check out the Web site for infor
mation: www.niea.org or write to/call
the National Indian Education Associa
tion, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 104,
Washington, D.C. 2(XX)2; 202-544-7290;
fax 202-544-7293.
Tiffany Wisdom, NIEA Board
of
Directors
member,
e-mail
tiffany.wisdom@yahoo.com