Volume XXVII. Number 26
ZiT o m m n n 11 v
It n h a r
Fishing derby set
S eniors w ill cast th e ir lin e s at the an
nual fis h in g d e rb y at R oselyn Lake on
F rid a y, June 27. The e vent, sponsored
by the U rb a n League o f P o rtla n d ’ s
M u ltic u ltu ra l S e n io r C e n te r, is open to
seniors, yo u n g people and others w h o
w ish to spend a fu n day w ith elders fro m
o u r c o m m u n ity . Busses w ill depart fro m
5325 N E M a rtin L u th e r K in g Jr. B lv d . at
9 a .m . and re tu rn at 4:3 0 p.m . A $5 d o n a
tio n fo r tra n s p o rta tio n and lu n ch is re
quested. C a ll Jam ie Lam bos at 2 4 8 -5 4 7 0
fo r reservations and m ore in fo rm a tio n .
Concert at the Rose
M a rtin Prechtel, a singer and m usician
from New M e xico , w ill be p e rfo rm in g a
bv N ku .H kii . pern
D
For different reasons, these tw o young
boys were attending the 28th annual Pow
W ow in Northeast Portland’ s Delta Park.
The pow w o w attracted people fro m more
than a hundred western tribes and num erous
non-Indian visitors. C olors from the fo u r
w inds splashed the landscape as dancers,
the meeting, Raymond wearing a darker shade
com plexion and hair from his W ann Springs
Indian Reservation ancestry.
They were aware o f the differences, in
Summer bus pass returns
Area youth can enjoy u n lim ite d travel at
a bargain price this sum m er on T ri-M e t’ s
“ The Pass” now on sale fo r hal f the price o f
regular fares. In fo rm a tio n is available by
c a llin g T ri-M e ta t2 3 8 -R ID E .
Readers needed
Y ou can take part in im p ro v in g your
com m unity by becom ing a tu to r at the
W o rld L iteracy Crusade, 3548 N. M issis
sippi. The crusade is a free co m m u n ity
service, w o rkin g in association w ith A p
plied Scholastics International and uses
the learning methods o f L. Ron Hubbard.
cused on a bird dancer w ith lots o f feathers, a
man w ith straw clothing and a raccoon hat.
"H e thought the man was a m edicine man,"
said his mother, noting “ It is not like Finnish
fo lk music at a ll.”
"L o o k at D o m in ic." she said, pointing to
the increased foot stomping by the little blond
boy w ho was gently im itating the movements
o f the native dancers. “ He tries to connect and
be one o f them.”
D om inic turned, smiled w hile continuing
his movements, and said, “ I dance like an
Indian too."
drum m ers, vendors, youngsters and o ld
people, greeted one another to share and
learn.
A lberta on Thursday, July 3. at 8 p in. The
show w ill feature P rechtel’ s S panish-fla
vored gu ita r p la yin g and so u lfu l singing in
both E nglish and Spanish.
state. A street dance w ill be held, featuring
live music by various Portland bands from
2p.m . to 10p.m.
own soul and he soon found h im se lf dancing
in place w hile the various tribal representa
tives displayed their talents o f motion.
A fte r members o f the American Indian
Veterans Association proudly marched in w ith
the United States flag, an M IA -P O W flag and
other Indian pennants, D o m in ic’ s eyes fo
ominic Hilman and Raymond
Torres live in two different worlds
and they discovered each other
last weekend on a patch of grass sur
rounded by Native American arts and
crafts booths at Delta Park.
When the boys met. they looked at each
other
D om inic bringing blue eyes, "snow
w hite” Scandinavian skin and blond hair into
The L in n fa m ily and friends w ill hold a
neighborhood celebration Saturday, June
28, m arking the end o f an era when the large
fa m ily house on 17th and SE W ashington
became the first fa m ily group home in the
June 25. 1997
Two worlds meet at Pow Wow
show entitled “ Fire and Jasmine, “ at the
Rexall Rose Cafe & Theater, 2403 N.E.
Linn home marks era
Committed to cultural diversity.
Four young girls in fringes, bells, medium
or ankle length braided hair paraded around
the circle after one dance number and group
drum m ing, carrying a blanket. The announcer
appearance and in customs. Yet, each felt the
bond o f youth exploring the varieties o f life ’ s
experiences.
explained this was a collection blanket fo r
people to donate toward the expenses o f the
particular group w hich had come a long dis
D om inic, 6, was visitin g his A unt A nita
Waiters, o f Portland. He was on vacation w ith
parents Bryan and Fia Hilm an and I 1/2 year
old sister Angeline. The Hilmans live in Pargas,
Finland.
tance to attend the pow w ow. A lthough most
groups were from Oregon and Washington,
several came from places as far as Montana
and Canada.
Raymond, 7. was under the guiding w ings
o f his mother, Rina Spine, w ho had brought
five o f her own children and seven other
youngsters from the reservation East o f the
Cascades. A ll were here to dance except the
youngest two.
Young people keep Native American culture alive at the 28th annual Pow
Wow at Delta Park. More than a hundred western tribes and many non-
Indian visitors enjoyed the gathering o f arts, crafts and entertainment.
Raymond had taken part in the grass dance
and D om inic was intrigued w ith the narrow
strips o f material dangling from the bright red
and w hite grass dance costume Raymond was
wearing.
(Photo by Nell Hellpern)
Raymond soon scurried o f f to prepare for
another dance and D om inic urged his parents
towards the popcorn vendor.
Aunt Anita placed a native American silver
and turquoise eagle around his neck as a re
D om inic reached out to touch the fringes,
exclaim ing, “ It feels like grass!" Throughout
the day he frequently switched between his
membrance o f his first encounter w ith real
American Indians.
native Finnish tongue and English, sometimes
a bit too shy to answer questions in English
“ They are a little bit different from televi
sion," D om inic told his parents, noting the
and turning to his mother fo r a translator.
abundance o f feathers. He was especially in
trigued w ith numerous eagle feathers in one
m an’ s plumed costume.
When they reached the dance area, Dom inic
busily scanned the large circle, edged with
tents to protect the people from the weekend's
on-and-off-again rains. His fascination dur
ing the grand entry and its many styles o f
native costum ing started the energy w ithin his
D om inic felt a connection and wanted to
help. He was soon w a lkin g up to the approach
ing blanket bearers and solemnly dropped a
dollar before returning to his parents w ith a
satisfied look on his face.
Hie announcer called for the tiny tots circle
dance and D om inic q u ickly recognized the
red and white costume o f his new friend.
Raymond was in the circle, stoically guiding a
little sister's steps, guided by deep inner con
nections w ith the energy o f all his ancestors
feet purposely meeting the ground in a tap-
stamp-tap-stamp cadence and torso bobbing
in its native American rhythm ic manner.
The rains came again, as the three day pow
w ow came to a close. The rains cleansed the
air and the pow w ow expanded the horizons o f
tw o little boys — and some older ones as well.
Call 203-1301.
Films cross cultures
Some o f the most articulate and humane
voices o f the 20th century can be heard in
the three pow erful film s entitled, A ll Power
Independence observed in Portland Juneteenth celebration
Freedom
celebration
to the People; Frantz Fanon: B lack Skin,
W hite Mask; and A rnie Cesaire, A voice fo r
H is to ry . T he film s
are part o f the
D ecolonized M in d series presented June
26 through June 29 at the N orthw est F ilm
Center in cooperation w ith the B lack S tud
ies Departm ent at Portland State U niver-
I sity.
Independence celebrated
The Portland A rt M useum celebrates
the sp irit oflndependence D ay w ith a spe
Addressing
celebrants is
Bernard Walker, a
member o f the
m inister's s ta ff at
Northeas t Portland s
Bethel Church.
cial exhibition of early American art, on loan
from public and private co lle ctio n s from
around the country . On vie w from June 28
to Sept 14, the A rt o f Independence fea
tures some 35 objects, in clu d in g rare docu
Virginia Lopez picks up the drums to
entertain a festive audience.
ments, portraits, engravings, fu rn itu re and
other decorati ve arts, that he lp tel I the story
o f the founding o f the U nited States.
Juneteenth
comes with a
bounty o f
'home cookin',
served in part
byLynia
Briggs.
Catlin Gabel honors
Schubert
You can celebrate Shubert’ s2(X)th b irth
day by b rin g in g your brow n-bag lunch to
the gazebo on the C a tlin Gable school
grounds July 2 as five w orld-class m usi
cians rehearse S chubert’ s Q uintet in G
M a jo r fo r Strings. The open rehearsal be
gins at 11 a.m. w ith seating requested be- I
tween then and 11:45 a m.
Safe sports class offered
RedCross w ill o ffe r sport safety training
at its Oregon T ra il C hapter, 3131 N
Vancouver, Sunday, June 29 from 8:30a.m.
to 4:30 p.m. The course provides s k ills to
provide a safe environm ent fo r athletics
and emergency procedures in case o f in
ju ry or sudden illness. For more in fo rm a
tion or to register, cal 12 8 0 -1440.
SI E M IS S IO N S : C om m unity
C alendar in fo rm a tio n M ill be given
p rio rity i f dated tw o Meeks
before the event date.
Bethel church officer Janis Allen (left) and Clara Peoples
make another Juneteenth successful. The day
commemorates the year many black Americans learned
they were free by the Emancipation Proclamation.
Members o f the Sabin Elementary School
drill team find com fort at the desert table.
Oregon researchers find outrageous gouging
Rent To Own stores target low income, poor
with 115 percent interest rates
regon S tate Public Interest Re
egon. and found that the industry charged
search Group released a report
Oregon consumers an unbelievable average
which examined the outrageous
o f 115% interest ju st to buy a household
interest rates the Rent To Own industry
appliance. T his was higher than the national
is charging its custom ers, a large major
average o f 105%
ity of whom are low income citizens with
The RTO industry in Oregon and 45 other
poorcredit histories.
states, un I ike other retai I and cred it businesses,
O
The report surveyed 124 Rent To O w n
stores nationw ide, in c lu d in g 5 here in O r
is not subject to mandatory interest rate caps
and is not required to disclose the sky-high
interest rates it is charging. “ The Rent To Own
industry, through past lobbying, has been able
to dodge out from Oregon’ s disclosure and
consumer protection laws,” said M atthew
Berndt, an OSPIRG consumer researcher, “ thus,
it can charge consumers hundreds, or even
thousands o f dollars more in interest.”
In addition to the high interest charges the
R TO stores collect, these stores also set the
around $200. Used items are also sold at a
much higher rate A Portland Rentown USA
store charged $419 fo r a used 27” T V , hun
dreds o f dollars more than the market value.
When coupled w ith the high interest rate, a
consumer could pay a R TO store 3 to 8 times
m ore than the items retail value.
A lso in each o f the stores OSPIRG sur
in itia l cash price o f the item far above its true
veyed, the interest rates were nowhere to be
found When OSPIRG calculated the A nnual
retail value. A Portland area R ent-A-C enter
charged $408 fo r a 19" T V that retailed fo r
Percentage Rates, it found that the Oregon
stores charged as high as 123 percent,
i