Dorris joins Siletz Clinic following stint in US Air Force
By Diane Rodriquez
Dr. Jalien Dorris is a new physician
at the Siletz Community Health Clinic
who came to Siletz following four years
at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas,
where she practiced family medicine and
paid the Air Force back for a scholarship
to medical school.
“I applied for a scholarship to medical
school. I was accepted and they paid for
years of medical school. Then I owed them
four years,” she said. “The family medicine
caveat is that you have to go to a military
hospital because the need is so great …
I learned a lot about being a physician.”
Dorris also became a medical acu-
puncturist while in the Air Force following
300 hours of training.
Traditional acupuncture, she said,
focuses on energy flows and is effective.
Medical acupuncture, however, focuses on
genetics and medical issues and how they
intertwine. She then can tailor treatment
to fit each patient.
During her final year at Nellis, she
was the medical director as a captain, a
position usually reserved for a colonel.
Dorris is an osteopath, which means
she completed all the classes required of a
medical doctor, plus 200 additional hours
of musculoskeletal training and manipula-
tion, like the training for chiropractors.
Dorris said she likes family medicine
“because it’s from womb to tomb. I love
kids all the way to geriatrics. I can tailor
medicine to what I believe medicine should
be – focused on the person and not the
disease. I can tailor it to what their cultural
beliefs are, what they’re willing to accept.”
Listening and teaching are the hall-
marks of Dorris’ approach to patient care.
“If you listen to a patient, they will tell
you what they need, what they don’t need
and what’s wrong with then – if you just
listen. That’s good medicine to me,” she
said. “I teach to my patients why doing or
not doing things is good or bad and this is
why. If my patient understands why they’re
doing something, they are less fearful in
any situation.”
Dorris lives in Philomath with her
husband, Jesse (Comanche), and two sons
on a homestead with chickens, quail and
Noni, their border collie/lab/whippet mix.
Goats soon will join the group.
She said the family is quite happy with
the move to Oregon and feels settled after
several years in the military. The medical
training she received has helped pave the
way for a satisfying career.
“I love what I do, love being a physi-
cian and being here for patients, offering
alternative medicine when they’re so
disgruntled with modern medicine that
won’t fix them,” said Dorris. “I’m here to
fix things and not put Band-Aids on them.”
Photo by Diane Rodriquez
Dr. Jalien Dorris
Report finds that women fill leadership ranks at American Indian nonprofits
LONGMONT, Colo. – A new report
issued by First Nations Development
Institute (First Nations) examines gender
and leadership within the American Indian
nonprofit sector. Overall, it finds that the
leadership ranks of American Indian non-
profits look very different from the national
or mainstream nonprofit sector, with Native
nonprofits largely led by women.
The new research report, issued Nov.
14, is one of few that attempts to examine
leadership trends within a specific nonprofit
subsector, namely looking at gendered
leadership within mostly rural and remote
reservation-based nonprofits that primarily
serve American Indian populations.
Titled Native American Women,
Leadership and the Native American Non-
profit Sector, the report was authored by
Raymond Foxworth, Ph.D., vice president
of grantmaking, development and com-
munications at First Nations, a national
American Indian-created and led non-
profit organization.
The report documents that approxi-
mately 61 percent of Native nonprofit
organizations are led by women, com-
pared to only about 45 percent of other
nonprofits nationally. It suggests that the
Native nonprofit sector seems to be doing
a better job with issues of gender and
equity than the national nonprofit sector.
Through interviews, the report also
offers some possible explanations for
this gendered leadership trend and also
highlights other challenges Native women
face as leaders in this sector.
Foxworth researched and wrote the
report as one contribution to his partici-
pation in Independent Sector’s American
Express NGEN Fellows Program. In the
yearlong fellowship, the 2015-2016 cohort
examined issues related to gender and
leadership within the nonprofit sector.
“As part of this fellowship, it was
important for me to provide voice to the
Native nonprofit sector as it relates to
gender and leadership,” Foxworth said.
“As this report notes, contrary to national
trends around gender and leadership,
Native women are leading the way in
Native nonprofit sector, which perhaps
offers some valuable insights into condi-
tions that facilitate and encourage more
women in key leadership positions.”
The full report is available as a free
download at firstnations.org/NativeLead-
ership or in the Knowledge Center section
of First Nations’ website at this link – first-
nations.org/knowledge-center.
Sautéed Greens
Hot Spiced Apple Beverage
Bunch of fresh greens, chopped; such as
spinach
1-2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
To taste – lemon juice or vinegar
To taste – salt and pepper
Yield: 3 quarts
Grain-free winter comfort foods
By Nancy Ludwig, MS, RD, LD, Siletz
Tribal Head Start Nutrition
As part of my role as a consultant
nutritionist to Siletz Tribal Head Start, I
offer information for families. This seg-
ment features easy suggestions for winter
comfort foods that also happen to be
grain-free and are low in starch and sugar.
Traditional diets did not include
grains, starches or sugar. Modern diets
tend to use grains, starches and sugar,
which can contribute to poor health.
A return toward more traditional food
may offer benefits for people who struggle
with illness or autoimmune conditions,
such as diabetes, celiac, rheumatoid
arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, Hashi-
moto’s Thyroiditis and more.
Please check out the following recipe
ideas for modern-day nutritional equiva-
lents to help reduce reliance on grains,
starches and sugary foods.
gravy. Drippings are not required and with-
out them this gravy can be made vegetarian.
Transfer the blended cashew mix-
ture to a saucepan and heat on medium
while stirring frequently to thicken (the
vegetarian option is also delicious with
mushrooms sautéed in butter or other oil).
Adjust seasoning as needed with salt, pep-
per and poultry seasoning, such as sage,
thyme, parsley and optional rosemary.
Serve with cooked poultry (chicken/
turkey). Pour over sliced meat or with
chunks of chicken heated in the gravy.
Note: This ground cashew mixture
can be baked with raw chicken pieces in a
casserole or baking dish for an easy meal.
Pour sauce and sautéed mushrooms
(optional) over the chicken and bake
covered approximately 45-60 minutes at
350 F until sauce is bubbly and chicken
is completely baked. Adjust seasonings.
Serve with mashed cauliflower (as
mashed potatoes) and a green vegetable.
Cauliflower “Potatoes”
Cashew Gravy (grain-free)
Yield: 1 cup
½ cup cashews, raw or roasted salted
1 cup water, slightly warm for better
blending
Various options or seasoning ideas below
Place cashews and warm water in
blender and blend until smooth.
Add to drippings (after cooking meat
in a skillet or roasting pan) to create savory
4
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Siletz News
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1 cauliflower, large head cut into pieces
¼ cup butter or homemade yogurt (or
non-dairy oil such as coconut)
To taste – salt and pepper
To garnish – parsley and paprika
Cook cauliflower until just tender.
Drain. Puree in blender or food proces-
sor. Add butter or yogurt, salt and pepper
and blend thoroughly. Reheat and serve.
Garnish with parsley and paprika.
December 2016
Clean and chop fresh greens.* In a
frying pan, heat oil and sauté greens until
tender. If you use spinach or chard, this
will occur quickly. Other greens require
longer cooking.
*Greens include spinach, kale,
collard, mustard and turnip greens, or
Swiss chard.
Tart Cranapple sauce
12 ounces (1 bag) fresh cranberries
2 each apples, peeled and chopped small
Zest – orange peel (organic)
¾ cup orange juice, fresh-squeezed
¼ cup water (combine with orange juice
to make 1 cup total liquid)
+
¼ cup honey, to taste (still tart at ¼ cup)
1 cinnamon stick
Place all ingredients in a medium
saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring
occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for
approximately 10 minutes until the sauce
thickens. Remove cinnamon stick (or keep
it for fun). Refrigerate until ready to use.
Variations, if desired – add walnuts
and celery.
8 cups apples (or apple scraps from
another apple recipe)
12 cups water
5 + cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon cloves
1 teaspoon juniper berry (optional)
1 slice orange with peel (optional)
1-2 tablespoons honey (to taste)
Wash apples and cut out any bruises
or rotten areas. It is OK to use the entire
apple, as it will be discarded later. This
is also a good place to use apple scraps
from baked apples, apple pie or crisp, etc.
(be sure to eliminate rot; OK to use skin
and seeds).
Place apples in a large cooking pot;
add water and spices. Simmer for several
hours. Using a wire mesh strainer, collect
the liquid. Press the apple scraps gently to
maximize yield (the harder you press, the
more soluble fiber you will collect – be
careful as this is food for bacteria).
Taste and adjust sweetness with honey,
if needed. It is also delicious with carda-
mom pods.
Siletz Tribal Head Start offers my
time at no cost to you to support family
nutrition over the telephone. Please con-
tact me if you have nutrition concerns
about your Head Start child.
