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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2008)
TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS Cut Wood for the Elders Day ATOD Awareness (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs) hy Delina John I will continue my efforts to edu cate you, the parents, so you can edu cate your child/ren on the harmful ef fects that alcohol and other drugs can have on the body, mind and spirit. Abuse of dangerous drugs by chil dren is widespread - not just marijuana, heroin and cocaine, but also alcohol, tobacco, anabolic steroids, and a vari ety of inhalants, stimulants, opiates, and tranquilizers, both prescription and over-the-counter. Some easily obtained substances seem harmless but can be deadly: room deodorizer, spray paint, nail polish re mover, paint thinner, liquid paper, gasoline and insecticide. These are rap idly absorbed by the brain and can cause convulsions, blood vessel dam age, heart attacks and death. Kids are offered drugs at an alarm ingly early age. It’s imperative that par ents know and watch for early signs of drug abuse: • • • • • • • • • • • • Problems in schoolwork: low grades, assignments not completed Skipping school Memory lapses Short attention span Bloodshot eyes Carelessness about appearance Withdrawal from parents and family Breaking away from old friends/ having a new set of friends Loss of interest in hobbies and favorite activities Possessing drug-related magazines Violent behavior Listlessness If you believe there is a problem, here are some steps to take: • • • • • • • Learn all you can about ATOD. Find out about the drug problems in your community and schools. Talk to other parents and school personnel. Get involved with community anti drug groups. Look for support groups, such as AlAnon, CEDARR and Families Anonymous. Discuss your suspicions with your child in a calm manner - and not while he or she is under the influ ence of alcohol or other drugs. Stated the concern and the signs: “I am concerned about ...” Have a plan to deal with denial. Don't set your child up to lie. If you al ready have evidence, state it clearly. Give your expectation for correct ing the problem, for example, hav ing a consequence and another adult to help you enforce it. Seek help from drug counselors. The best course of action is preven tion. Don’t wait until your child shows signs of a problem. Begin talking about the dangers of alco hol, tobacco and other drugs while your child is young. Model good behavior - don't talk about the dan gers of smoking as you light your cigarette. If you are a smoker, at least let your child know that you would like to quit and let him or her see you make an effort. Above all, keep communication lines open. Be a good listener and let your child know that he or she can talk to you about any subject, no matter how sensitive. The Tribal Natural Resources Com mittee and Natural Resources Depart ment will sponsor another "Cut Wood for the Elders Day” on April 12. The woodcut will be held at the old log yard at the tribe's Toledo Mill property. We need lots of volunteers to help cut and split firewood for tribal elders. Bring your chainsaws, hydraulic wood splitters, splitting mauls, axes and lots of energy. Even if you don't have any of those, we can use the moral support! Lunch, drinks and snacks will be provided. We will meet at the tribal ad ministration building at 8 a.m. and caravan to the mill. For anyone wish ing to come later, directions to the mill will be posted on the front door of the building. The goal of this event will be to stockpile firewood for future delivery to elders. Elders’ Coordinator Angela Ramirez maintains a list of elders who burn wood for their winter heat. People willing to haul fire wood to elders outside of the Siletz area should contact Angela at 800-922-1399, ext. 1225, or 541-444-8225 and she will pair you up with an elder in need. We especially need folks who can haul wood to the Eugene. Salem and Portland areas. If you have par ents or grandparents who burn wood in the winter to stay warm, you need to help out at this event! March USDA Distribution Dates Salem Siletz 9 a.m. Monday, March 3 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 4 Wednesday, March 5 9 a.m. 9 a.m. Thursday, March 6 9 a.m. Friday, March 7 - - - - - 3 3 3 3 3 p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. p.m. Monday, March 10 1:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday, March I 1 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. As you will notice, the distribution time for Salem is one week earlier than usual. This is to allow staff to attend the annual Western Regional Confer ence (WAFDPIR) in Reno, Nev. The warehouses will he closed the full week of March 17-21. Also, for our clients who pick up their food at the Siletz warehouse, be sure to call the office to make sure you know where we are. If you haven't noticed, the new building is getting very close to completion and we may be moving very soon. If you need assistance, call Joyce Retherford at the toll-free number, 800- 922-1399, ext. 1393, or call direct at 541-444-8393. Have a great month. Happy meals! Walt’s Words of Wit and Wisdom hy Walt Klamath We have been doing program and community sweats now for over 20 years. My, how time does fly. Anyway, we had one on Christmas Eve. Heard some say they didn’t think we would do it on Christmas Eve. Well, the sweat lodge is dedicated to recovery and what are holidays to the alcoholic and addict? That's a double up day, sometimes triple up. Seems to me we don’t get holidays in the addictions for some reason. Then on New Year’s Eve there also was a sweat. There were 10 Christmas Eve and nine on New Year's in atten dance. I too didn't expect the turnout. I had figured we would do a quick sweat, maybe a couple of hours, but it turned out to be pretty lengthy. I have done sweats in prison on holidays and even on my own birthday. We in the past have done two a week. There was a group from the Salem- Sweet Home area that used to come ev ery Sunday. The instigator of that sweat did cross over. It did continue a few more months, then the numbers be came so low we decided to put them together seeing as there were just one or two. We still get some from the Sweet Home area occasionally I keep saying I need to have a guest register, but so far have not. Maybe in the next 20 years I'll get one. We have had many international people in the lodge. This is because of Rick Bartow’s connections around the world. We get calls call from different states asking about the sweat days: not many do show from those inquiries. Then we do have travelers who stop by saying they heard there is a sweat lodge here and asking if they can come. Sometimes we have 20 show up on Monday night, sometimes five or six Siletz Tribal members and other tribes and many different religions. The sweat lodge is not a religion, though it is spiritual. Speaking of the land of giants on the upper Siletz River, we have them at the lodge. Three huge spruce trees; one where my ashes will be around is about 10 feet in diameter. This is used as a metaphor for spiri tual explanation. That tree is huge and tall, gets a lot of wind. We can sec that is you. Under the tree is a big root sys tem that covers a wide and deep area. That part we cannot see, it's the spiri tual part of you. We all have to have a good spiritual foundation. Years ago, sweat lodges were not allowed. An old-timer told me they could have a Swedish sauna but not a sweat lodge. He said they used that Swedish sauna as a sweat lodge, here in Siletz. The fellow has since crossed into the spirit world. It’s also a proven factor that sweat lodges are good for a person's health. It cleanses from inside out. I know one can sleep very easy after coming out - or while inside far as that goes. We have had some loud snorers in there. In fact, one time the door person went to sleep. When awakened to open the door, was disoriented and couldn't find the door, and it was one of the very hot sweats. I am told there are getting to be several family sweats around the coun try, not very many community sweats though. Maybe someday there will be many of them. They almost have to be on private property because of vandal ism, I think anyway. There is quite a bit of work in keep ing a lodge - wood cutting, hauling, stacking, rebuilding the lodge every year and so forth. I believe it s worth it in the long run. March 2008 Siletz News • 7
