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TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Portland-Area Tribal Members Work
on Culture Projects
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Dance Away the Drugs
chu'-yvstlh-'an' nee-ghayt-dash
Several youth front Siletz Valley School and Siletz Valley Early College Academy
participated this year in the Drug Awareness Project, a continuing series of projects
that comhines education with filmmaking. Joe Scott, who teaches Siletz culture
at SVS; DeAnna Pearl, Tribal A&D Prevention coordinator; Jamie Mason Tribal
tobacco prevention coordinator; and Rob Bovette, Lincoln County district attorney
also were involved in guiding the students as they created films, banners and
logos on issues relating to drug abuse. The Siletz students'goal for the project is as
follows; Historically, the majority of youth do not engage in drug abuse behavior
Youth often do not connect their actions with perception of peers and community.
Speaking out or taking a healthy risk to change perception is difficult and often
perceived as a costly social mistake. The Siletz D A P project is to encourage
youth to speak out and often to influence perception in a positive direction.
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Selene Rilatos (fourth from right) and Mona Fisher (fifth from right) help
Portland-area Tribal members make leather moccasins.
By Katy Kaady
The Siletz Cultural Department recently came to the Portland Area Office to help
Tribal members (Elders, youth and adults) make leather moccasins.
. Sxlene
fr°m the Cultural Department guided Tribal members in this pro
cess. Mona Fisher and Rick Leaton accompanied Selene to help.
Portland-area Tribal members who began the first class included elders
addlne
Fernandez and Angelina Artiago; Sherri and Sarah
Addis; Debbie Claiborne and Siletz Tribal granddaughter Aundrea Pirtle; and Selina
ashington and daughter Glenda Washington. Portland Area Office participants and
helpers included Lauren Patterson and me.
Almost every Tuesday evening at the Portland Area Office you will see families
and Elders gathered around sewing machines making their first regalia. The classes
began in April and continue to meet every Tuesday evening.
Instructor and expert seamstress Colleen Payne instructs participants in every
aspect, from cutting out, sewing, colors and styles. For elders Pauline Montana and
Delores Fernandez, this will be their very first wing dress. Many are planning their
coming out at the Tribe’s Restoration Pow-Wow.
Funding through carryover funds and Adult Education also has made it possible
for Portland-area Tribal members to begin a quilt project. Each participant will learn
how to make their very first quilt.
The inspiration for this class began when people saw the completed projects the
Salem area office had done. With help from Bev Owen, Salem Area Office supervi
sor, we were able to get this off the ground and funded. Through the guidance and
instruction from Shem Addis, Portland Area Office supervisor, about 12-15 Siletz
Tribal members are making their first quilts.
If Portland-area Tribal members would like to join some of the classes please
contact Sherri or me at 503-238-1512.
Walt’s Words of Wit and Wisdom
By Walt Klamath
The other day, some of us were talking about the old cars we thought were better
built The old Chevy body was made of wood, the old Ford was the same wood fram
ing. Pontiac and Nash both had wooden panels on the sides. These did not last long
they were better?
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We also talked about some of the standard equipment that came with many of the
cars I know about. That was a crank. Many a time after I turned 17,1 had to crank the
old Ford and Chevy to get started; couldn’t afford a good battery.
Of course, one thing led to another and we started talking about all the old cars
we knew about. This stirred up a potpourri of cars - the old Whippet, the Hupmobile,
the Dodge Ford, Terriplane - these all were nice looking coupes. Their doors were
called suicide doors because they opened front to rear.
Many years ago way back in the woods in an old broken-down bam with big trees
growing in it, there were three rigs - a Moon, an Oakland and a Durant. I don’t know
where I was or don’t remember who I was with. I though those cars were here forever.
No roads, big timber, all the obstacles one can think of, but logging did catch up. As
rar as I know, everything was either taken or destroyed.
Tuton Rilatos was our school bus driver in Logsden. In the school bus was a
Franklin, a six- or eight-cylinder air-cooled engine, and it had four rows of seats.
The fellow who taught me to skin a bear so it would lie flat, Herbert Kennison
had a Star convertible, again wooden frame. He had it hay-wired every which wav to
keep the seats sitting up.
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One time I traveled all through the woods looking for scrap metal. I came on a nice
heavy car - a gold mine. So I cut it up, loaded it on a trailer and headed for Portland.
This was before the freeway.
As I went along minding my own business a car passed me, pulled front of me and
we came to a stop. He was about to have kittens, I think. He says do you know what
you did. Of course I knew. Well, what I didn’t know was that it was a Maxwell. Then
he told how much it would have been worth and I almost had kittens.
Out of a swamp area I dug an Aperson, one my grandpa had. Our neighbor, ole
man Bemrose, had a big Studebaker. It was gigantic or I was small, maybe.
My uncle had a Willys Overland. Everything worked, from the horn button,
ig -low beam lights, horn starter. My grandpa on my mom’s side had a Willys 77 a
narrow-gauge car. He also had an REO. That was the first one with hydraulic brakes
Dodge was next.
•Most °£±ese cars are 8°ne now- Sometimes you might see one. I don’t recall ever
seeing a Whippet or Aperson Star or Durant at the local car shows. Maybe I didn’t
recognize them when I saw them. Only if foresight was half as good as hindsight,
there would have been pictures of all these vehicles.
I fell in love with a LaSalle, a 1938. My uncle said by the time I could have one
it wouldn t be. He was right.
I also liked that Buick with the pipes coming out the side, a spare tire on each front
fender - kind of looked like a Dusenburg. I have had 50 or more cars in my lifetime
but none of them were exotic old Chevys, Fords, Nashes or Laffette.
Now it s hard to find parts. So many changes are going on constantly, sometimes
it takes several tnps to the parts house to get the right one.
Years ago, let’s pick on Plymouth or Dodge, you could get a part that would fit
tor maybe 10 years. Ford too, as far as that goes.
I never had all that much experience with Chevy, that was the rich kid’s car.
July 2009
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Siletz News
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