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THE DAILY ASTORIAN FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2016
Naselle Youth Camp potlatch
focuses on better pathways
Dementia, early stage
Alzheimer’s patients
eligible for program
The Daily Astorian
By DAMIAN MULINIX
For EO Media Group
NASELLE, Wash. — One
after another, the residents of the
Naselle Youth Camp stepped
forward to Loran Bacon, a
member of the Native Broth-
erhood group at the camp, and
received their smudge. With an
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dering sage, Bacon waved his
feather through the smoke,
coaxing it forward onto their
bodies, in a Native American rit-
ual meant to purify the receiver.
“We’re giving good spirits,”
said Bacon, who was an active
participant in last week’s annual
potlatch at NYC. “It makes me
feel real good. I think about my
family, and I pray about them
every day. I like to smudge. It
gets me in the spirit.”
To give away
Bacon, and the brotherhood,
were the hosts of the event, a tra-
ditional gift-giving feast which
is practiced by Native Ameri-
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Northwest. The word comes
from the Chinook jargon mean-
ing, “to give away.” Perhaps
what was given most freely was
goodwill toward those in atten-
dance and their ancestors.
“It’s pretty holistic,” said
Michael Nolan, a native Cree,
who is a drug and alcohol coun-
selor at the youth camp and
is the facilitator of the Native
Brotherhood. “I kinda have the
role of their elder. I think they
maybe look at me as younger
than I am. I’m in my 30s, and I
can still remember those days. ”
The event welcomed rep-
resentatives from the Chi-
nook and Shoalwater tribes, the
3DFL¿F&RXQW\6KHULII¶V'HSDUW-
ment, even local musician Krist
Novoselic, featured poetry read-
ings, drum songs and food.
“Once we walked the earth
and our bodies were strong. Once
we started each day with deep
breaths and grateful thanks for all
around us … Our sacred breath
— it’s time to take it back,” read
one of the brotherhood prior to a
lively drum circle song.
A spirit quest
Nolan said that the native
youth are hungry for that famil-
ial spirit that binds them together
and allows him to make a strong
connection with the young men.
“They have that respect and
it’s almost more than if I were
just a counselor,” he said. “It’s
Photos by Damian Mulinix/For EO Media Group
ABOVE: Loran Bacon of the Native Brotherhood at Naselle Youth Camp brushes smudge
onto another resident of the facility prior to Friday’s potlatch. The ceremony included
applying smoke from a smoldering bundle of sage. BELOW: Michael Nolan, a counselor
at Naselle Youth Camp and facilitator of the Native Brotherhood that hosted the potlatch,
performs a drum song with the group Friday.
built into their culture.
“A lot of these guys, even
though they come from the res-
ervation and they’ve partici-
pated in powwow. A lot of them
come from a culture of poverty
that’s so rampant in that system,
where their father or mother are
in jail and so they’ve lost a lot of
their ceremonies. They’re learn-
ing and relearning. It’s a way to
own it for themselves. So when
they leave here, they feel like
they can walk in a better way.”
Nominate Astoria
school staff, faculty
impact student learning.
Nomination forms are
Nominations are open for available on paper at each
A Tradition of Excellence, school in the district and
the new program by the online at http://tinyurl.com/
Astoria School District and jebcc98. Nominations are
Astoria School Foundation due by April 4.
to honor staff and faculty.
A nomination commit-
The categories for nom- tee made up of staff, faculty,
ination include a classi- administrators and a school
¿HG VWDII PHPEHU RI WKH board member will review
year to honor a member of the applications and make
the district’s support staff, selections for the awards.
such as food service work- Staff members will be rec-
ers, bus drivers, secretar- ognized at the A Tradition
ies and instructional assis- of Excellence Awards 7 p.m.
tants. Another category is May 4 in the Astoria High
IRU D FHUWL¿HG VWDII PHPEHU School auditorium. Also
of the year for a teacher in honored will be employees
the district. A third category who have reached 10, 20 and
honors a collaboration 30 years of employment in
among teachers to positively the district.
The Daily Astorian
Honoring Gardner
Also honored at the cere-
mony was the life of late Chi-
nook Chairman Ray Gardner,
who died late last year. Gardner
had been a regular contributor to
the group in previous years and
the group planted an evergreen
tree in his honor as part of the
ceremony.
Nolan explained that the boys
at the Youth Camp are now there
for a limited amount of time, usu-
ally three to four months, before
being transferred to a different
facility or group home. Unfortu-
nately, the current group in the
Native Brotherhood did not have
the opportunity to meet Gardner,
but Nolan said his legacy and
spirit are still present today.
“It’s like everything in our
culture, with the oral tradition,
he’s alive in our stories shared in
sweat lodge,” he said. “They all
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alive in that sense.”
WARRENTON — A
four-week program for those
diagnosed with early stage
Alzheimer’s disease or other
dementia-causing
condi-
tions, “Staying Connected,”
is 1:30 to 3 p.m. Fridays
through March 24 at North-
West Senior and Disability
Services, 2002 S.E. Choke-
berry Ave.
Staying active and keep-
ing the mind engaged can
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ory. Participants will learn:
strategies to help carry out
enjoyable pastimes; how to
cope, and live, with having
early memory loss; how to
celebrate accomplishments
and how to communicate
memory loss to others.
This program has been
developed to engage indi-
viduals in the early stages
of Alzheimer’s disease or
related disorders and their
care partners. Early stage
refers to people, irrespective
of age, who are diagnosed
with Alzheimer’s disease or
related disorders and are in
the beginning stages of the
disease. In this stage, they
retain the ability to partici-
pate in daily activities and a
dialogue. This also includes
those with “younger onset”
who develop dementia
before 65, and are still in the
early stages of the disease.
Researchers at the Uni-
versity of Washington have
developed this program,
which is being offered by
Oregon’s Aging and Dis-
ability Resource Connection
and the Alzheimer’s Associ-
ation Oregon Chapter, and
is funded in part by a grant
from the Administration for
Community Living.
“Staying Connected” is
free, but screening and regis-
tration are required. For infor-
mation, call 800-272-3900.
You don’t have to move to
get that new-home feeling.
A potted evergreen tree was on display during Friday’s
potlatch, which would later be planted in honor of former
Chinook tribal chairman Ray Gardner who died in 2015.
W A NTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500
Live broadcast
from the
Astoria Event Center
February 26, 27 & 28
starting
g at 6pm
p
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