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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2015)
Courtesy photo Hand drum made by Joe Scott Courtesy photo by William Whitehead James Foster, Jazzy Metcalf, Levi Lancaster, Trenton Reeves, Ryan Pool, Hannah Garcia, Colton Burr and Kumu Tseshani. Not pictured: William Whitehead, who took the photo, and Larry and Mary Parker. Congratulations, Baby! You worked hard all year to reach your goals! This is your second year on the Newport Cheer Squad, this year being chosen as the New- port JV Cheer Captain! So proud of you! Lovies, Momma Natural Resources Department Contractors List The Tribal Natural Resources Department periodically solicits bids from contractors for a variety of work. If your company would like to be included on our lists to receive requests for bids/proposals for any of the services listed below, please contact Natural Resources Manager Mike Kennedy at 541-444-8232 or 800-922-1399, ext. 1232, to be put on the appropriate list. Tree Planting Precommercial Thinning Hazard Tree Removal/ Tree Trimming Mechanical Brush Cutting Logging Road Construction/ Maintenance Logging Log Hauling Timber Falling Herbicide Spraying Concrete Construction Statistical Analysis Macroinvertebrate Identification Water Quality Monitoring/Analysis Students take trip to Yucután, explore Mayan culture By Joe Bailor, Media and Technology Teacher, SVECA The end of May found eight students from Siletz Valley Early College Acad- emy (SVECA) embarking on a nine-day educational tour of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Jazzy Metcalf, James Foster, William Whitehead, Colton Burr, Levi Lancaster, Hannah Garcia, Trenton Reeves, and Ryan Pool were led by SVECA teacher, advisor and math guru, Kumu Tseshani. These students worked very hard dur- ing the school year to raise the necessary funds and keep their grades up for the opportunity to study Mayan archaeology and culture up close. The group was led by a local Mayan archaeologist as they toured Mayan ruins, pyramids, cenotes (underground caves with water) and a local wildlife refuge. The archaeologist, Juan Muna, was gifted with a bone and shell necklace made by Tseshani. The group visited the following areas on the Yucatán Peninsula of southeast Mexico – Valladolid, Ek Balam, Ria Passages Policy Submissions to Passages are limited to two 25-word items per person, plus one photo if desired. All birthday, anniversary and holiday wishes will appear in the Passages section. Siletz News reserves the right to edit any submission for clarity and length. Not all submissions are guaran- teed publication upon submission. Please type or write legibly and submit via e-mail when possible. 20 • Siletz News • July 2015 Lagatos Biosphere Reserve, Chichen Itza, Cenote Ik Kil, Mayan village of Yachuna (and Mayan school), Uxmal, Kabah, Mani, Muna, Oxcutzcab, Coba, Puerto Morelos Marine Reef Reserve and Tulum. “The snakes and crocodiles scared the poop out of me! But I loved the wild mon- keys and beautiful birds we saw. Kumu even caught the most poisonous snake in Mexico and tossed it off the path so we would not get bit! Our guide was scared, but Kumu was not!” said Whitehead. The group experienced a taste of the local culture by having a meal with a local Mayan family, who was gifted with a hand drum made by teacher Joe Scott, and took part in a ceremony with a Mayan shaman. “The shaman was a key part for me, an eye-opening step in my own spiritual journey. I loved it. When Kumu Tseshani and I had the honor to present him an eagle feather, it just about made me cry. The shaman was so honored,” said Metcalf. Visiting a Mayan school Perhaps the entire trip could be summed up in the group’s visit to a local Courtesy photos Jazzy Metcalf holds a crocodile (left). The Siletz group donated school supplies and other items to children at a Mayan school (below). Mayan school, to which the group donated soccer balls, basketballs, rulers, protrac- tors, markers, pencils, colored pencils, erasers and solar-powered calculators. “(It’s) amazing that the kids were more excited to be gifted pencils and school supplies than they were about the soccer balls and basketballs. It made me rethink my priorities,” said Burr. Foster was equally blown away, saying, “It is eye-opening that these kids have no electricity or supplies, yet still managed to blow the United States away in math testing. Just shows how much we take for granted. We live in a low-income commu- nity, but this is true poverty, very humbling.” The group felt this was a great privi- lege to take a little piece of our commu- nity and exchange it for a double dose of Mayan education and cultural experience. Thanking the community The students also thank the com- munity for its help with fundraising for this trip – Big thanks to Kumu Tseshani, Christy Linden, Jen Metcalf and Cheryl Hurley! Also much gratitude to many organizations, including Muggley’s Bowl- ing, Georgia-Pacific, Newport Cinemas, Flippin Chicken, Cobblestone Pizza, Little Chief, Safeway, Cash & Carry, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Oregon Coast Glassworks, Wilkison Video, Newport Candy Shoppe and Adeo Home Care. Without your help, the trip would not have been possible! Tseshani and many other SVECA students have been considering the next cultural education trip for 2016.
