Graduates!
After about four years of Katy (Hol-
land, education specialist at the Portland
Area Office) telling me I could go to col-
lege, I was finally convinced. I enrolled at
Clark College in 2011 and graduated with
an AA in 2013. I then enrolled at WSU
and graduated this past spring with a BA
in sociology.
I learned a lot of things. Being an A
student in high school doesn’t necessarily
mean you will be an A student in college
30 years later. It is possible to miss a test,
a deadline or an entire assignment even
though you can read and are considered
intelligent (sorry I yelled, boys).
I can not only do algebra, I can under-
stand physics (and enjoy it!). You teach
people how to treat you and if you act like
a student, you get treated like one.
I am grateful that years ago, as a
Tribe, we all decided that education was
Courtesy photo
a priority. The successes I will have in the
future will remind me of those who have Siletz Tribal member and young elder
helped me: Katy, for her encouragement Rhonda Green, in the midst of major life
and assistance with all the paperwork; the challenges, completed her Bachelor of
Tribe, which helped fill in the gaps fund- Arts degree in social science at Wash-
ing classes, books and living expenses; my ington State University. The Siletz Tribe
three sons, for their patient tutoring and honors Rhonda for her accomplishment
encouragement and for never voicing any by presenting her with a Siletz Tribal
doubt that I was smart enough to earn a Rogue River Treaty Pendleton blanket.
degree even though they took great delight
when I got my first C, missed my first deadline and complained that I was the only one
with gray hair in the room (including the teacher).
Again, I am grateful to the Tribe for all its assistance. And the Pendleton blanket
is a beautiful reminder of all this.
Courtesy photo
Sue Martinot graduated with a Bachelor
of Science with President Honors degree
in nursing at Chamberlain College of
Nursing while working full time at
Legacy Health in Portland and raising
two daughters. Congratulations!
Tribal RV parks have space
available for you
Logan Road RV Park, Lincoln City,
Ore. – loganroadrvpark.com or
877-LOGANRV
Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort, Salem,
Ore. – heeheeillahee.com or
877-564-7295
Courtesy photo
Congratulations to Tylan Moore on
graduating from the Springfield College
of Beauty in Springfield, Ore. He now
works at Great Clips at 55 W 29 th Ave. in
Eugene, Ore.
Restoring, continued from page 1
Valley School opens up the site for educa-
tion and hands-on learning experiences.
In the Willamette Valley, staff has
been working with private land owners
interested in restoring native habitats on
their property. Staff is evaluating potential
properties for cultural significance and
ecological importance.
The restoration of these sites, which
focus on oak savannah habitats, would
increase access to traditional Tribal food
resources, such as camas and acorns.
On the marine side of restoration,
staff is again partnering with Oregon Oys-
ter Company to begin small-scale native
oyster restoration plots in Yaquina Bay.
This work originally began several years
ago, but ended due to a lack of funding.
Staff is working to revive that effort
and carry it forward with more funding
support and energy as well as more part-
nerships, such as The Wetlands Conser-
vancy and Oregon State University.
In addition, staff has started monitor-
ing bay clam populations in Yaquina Bay
on an annual basis, looking for shifts in
species abundance and distribution. Staff
also annually monitors habitat availability
for bay clams, determining if there is any
Restoring Oregon oak savannas, like the one below, not only will provide habitat, but
also will increase access to acorns, a traditional Tribal food resource.
loss of suitable habitat due to changes in
ocean conditions.
By monitoring current bay clam dis-
tributions on a regular basis, the Tribe can
better determine if changes in populations
are due to yearly variability or the effects
of climate change. Having this data gives
the Tribe an increased ability to move
forward with preserving the Tribe’s rich
history of management and harvest of
shellfish resources, and to preserve a shell-
fish fishery in the face of climate change.
The Natural Resources Department
has been working to not only restore cul-
tural resources, but also to increase Tribal
members’ access to them.
A 2016 NW Youth Corp TYEE crew
constructed a 4,000-foot trail to the top of
the ridge at the hatchery property, open-
ing access to several mature huckleberry
patches. Natural Resources plans to main-
tain the huckleberry bushes to increase
production.
The trail includes benches to sit on
and enjoy the view. Additionally, in part-
nership with the Cultural Department and
Healthy Traditions program, the Tribe is
working to remove a 1.6-acre invasive
blackberry patch on the west side of the
dance house driveway and to restore camas
and other native plants to the site.
Through habitat restoration, not only
are we able to work toward healing the
land, but also on developing and main-
taining important traditional and cultural
resources for the future.
Courtesy photos
Fields of camas, which is a traditional food source, sprout up in wetlands, grasslands
and oak savannas in the Pacific Northwest.
8
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Siletz News
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April 2017