REGION
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
UMATILLA
Prison’s irst pow wow digs into the roots
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
People sang, danced
and drummed Saturday in
Umatilla, on the inside of the
high prison fence.
Two Rivers Correctional
Institution held its irst
powwow, attended by 63
inmates, more than 50 guests
and 27 representatives from
American Indian tribes
and organizations. The
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
and others provided salmon,
huckleberries and traditional
foods for the event. Prison
“I know for me, it’s one of my Zens. It
takes me away from inside these walls.”
— Paul Stover, TRCI inmate and CTUIR member
administrators even directed
staff overseeing the powwow
to forgo uniforms for a more
casual approach, including
khakis, polos and shorts.
Naomi Strawser arrived
in tribal regalia representing
Lakota Oyate Ki, an Amer-
ican Indian culture club that
originated with inmates at
Oregon State Penitentiary,
Salem. She said she advo-
cates for alternative forms
Staff photo by Phil Wright
Inmate Paul Stover waves sage smoke over fellow
inmates during a smudging ceremony Saturday in
preparation of the irst pow wow at Two Rivers Cor-
rectional Institution, Umatilla. Stover said engaging in
such cultural practices reduces criminal thinking and
behaviors.
of justice and the need for
Indian inmates to have a rela-
tionship with their culture.
Without that, she said,
they don’t know who they
are. Building those bonds,
though, connects them to a
greater community.
“I think it helps give heart
and hope,” she said. “This
gives people a road back
home.”
Inmate
Paul
Stover
echoed that notion. He is a
member of the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation and handled
most of the smudging, or
cleansing ceremony, for
participants and guests.
“I know for me, it’s one of
my Zens,” he said, “it takes
me away from inside these
walls.”
TRCI already has a sweat
lodge and a beadworking
program, he said.
Two Rivers chaplain
Jaime Cardona said planning
the powwow took almost a
year and served as an incen-
tive for inmates to behave and
work toward a goal. Many of
the men taking part in the
ceremony invited family,
Cardona said, and they did
not want to get in trouble and
then miss out on their culture
Staff photo by Phil Wright
Two Rivers Correctional Institution, Umatilla, held its irst pow wow Saturday, com-
plete with donated traditional American Indian foods, drumming and a few cere-
monial dancers. TRCI had 41 American Indian inmates in July, according to state
prison demographics, but other inmates also participate in Indian traditions and
ceremonies.
and their loved ones.
Patricia Jordan is execu-
tive director of Red Lodge
Transitional Services, a
nonproit that helps Amer-
ican Indians leaving prisons
make better lives for them-
selves. Two Rivers oficials
and inmates said Jordan was
instrumental in making the
powwow a reality. She has
been a religious services
volunteer with the Oregon
Department of Corrections
for 16 years and help prisons
start
American
Indian
programs.
“We believe that culture
is best practice,” she said.
Jordan said that helps Indian
inmates ind an identity
and a path out of crime and
addiction.
She and fellow Red Lodge
volunteers Mable Jackson
and Sarah Franks also made
fry bread Saturday for the
festivities. And Sunday
they headed to Ontario for
a powwow at Snake River
Correctional Institution.
Franks recalled a speaker
at a another prison powwow
who encouraged inmates to
join the dance circle. He told
the crowd that not joining the
circle is what landed them in
prison in the irst place.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0833.
Tribes set to harvest largest ishery of year Life boat available to
East Oregonian
The largest tribal ishery of
the year is underway on the
Columbia River.
Anglers from the Umatilla,
Nez Perce, Warm Springs and
Yakama tribes have started
harvesting fall salmon, with
an estimated 778,000 chinook
expected to migrate past
Bonneville Dam. Another
200,000 coho, 149,000
summer steelhead and 19,700
natural-origin Snake River
chinook are predicted upriver.
The Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
says the resurgence of the fall
run in recent years is a direct
result of tribal restoration
projects that have steadily
increased the number of ish
returning to the Columbia
River system. Last year’s fall
chinook returns broke records
in the Columbia, with a whop-
ping 1.3 million total ish.
“The fall harvest represents
many things to tribal ishers
along the Columbia River,”
said CRITFC Chairman
Patrick Luke. “The fall ishery
is the economic backbone for
our ishing communities, is the
continuation of knowledge and
tradition that has been passed
down through the generations
and represents decades of
hard work and dedication to
rebuilding salmon runs.”
Tribal ishermen could
catch more than 200,000 of the
ish during this year’s season,
representing approximately
3.4 million pounds of salmon.
Most of the commercial
harvest will be sold to whole-
sale ish dealers, which ends
up in stores and restaurants
throughout the Paciic North-
west, though individuals can
also buy salmon and steelhead
directly from tribal ishermen
at certain locations along the
river — including Marine
Park in Cascade Locks; North
Bonneville, one mile east
of Bonneville Dam on the
Washington shore; Koberg,
just east of Hood River; and
Celilo Village.
For up-to-date information
on sales locations, availability
and purchasing tips, call the
CRITFC salmon marketing
program at 1-888-289-1855 or
visit www.critfc.org/harvest.
those treading murky
Medicare waters
By ALEXA LOUGEE
East Oregonian
Photo contributed by Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Jordan Wheeler, right, and Jordyn Brignam harvest
fall chinook from nets along the Columbia River.
BRIEFLY
Sipe to speak
at school board
convention
UMATILLA — Joining
other high-proile
educational speakers
from across the country,
Umatilla School District
Superintendent Heidi
Sipe will deliver one of
the keynote speeches at
the Oregon School Board
Association convention in
Portland Nov. 13.
According to the
association, Sipe’s
interactive presentation will
focus on how school boards
help develop a district’s
vision and translate goals
into reality.
Umatilla’s
superintendent since
2007, Sipe won the 2016
Oregon Superintendent
of the Year award from
the Oregon Association of
School Executives and the
Confederation of Oregon
School Administrators.
“What sets Heidi apart
is her keen ability to
think strategically, guided
by her integrity,” the
website states. “She is a
collaborative leader, known
throughout Oregon for
being a good listener and a
bold educator.”
retired journalist, systems
ecologist and ESL teacher
in China, Haug has
become a climate change
educator. He will speak
Thursday, Sept. 1 from
6-7:30 p.m. at Echo City
Hall, 20 Bonanza St. The
presentation is free.
For more information,
call Joe Ramos at 509-366-
3980.
ECHO — A discussion
about climate change
and what individuals can
due to reverse its global
ramiications is planned in
Echo.
After sitting on the
fence about global
warming, Peter Haug began
researching the topic and
taking online courses. A
HELIX — Ryan
Raymond, of Raymond &
Son Inc., has been elected
as a delegate to the 133rd
Helix cattleman
Discussion focuses headed to Angus
on climate change conference
HERITAGE
LUNCHEON 2016
A Walk Through Oregon
K ERRY T YMCHUK • Executive Director
Oregon Historical Society
Saturday • October 1st •12-2 pm
Pendleton Convention Center
$40 UCHS M EMBERS
$50 G ENERAL P UBLIC
Tickets available at Heritage Station Museum & Pendleton Book Company
annual American Angus
Association Convention
Nov. 5-7 in Indianapolis.
The American Angus
Association, based in Saint
Joseph, Missouri, is the
nation’s largest beef breed
organization, serving nearly
25,000 members across
the United States, Canada
and several other countries.
Raymond is one of 328
Angus breeders who have
been elected by fellow
members in their state to
serve as a representative at
the annual meeting.
For more information
about Angus cattle and
the 2016 convention, visit
www.angus.org.
Medicare is such a compli-
cated issue the state of Oregon
has put out an 87-page guide
to Medicare insurance plans.
The federal government,
through grants from the
Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services, provides
free help in navigating
Medicare’s sometimes murky
waters.
The grants fund the Senior
Health Insurance Beneits
Assistance program, which
recently held a series of
“Medicare 101” meetings
in Eastern Oregon. Certi-
ied volunteer counselors
with SHIBA explained the
services they provide, walked
attendees through the different
Medicare insurance plans,
answered questions, offered
ideas for saving money and
provided overall support.
SHIBA volunteers can help
enrollees select a prescription
drug plan, ind out if they are
receiving all possible beneits,
compare supplemental health
insurance policies, evaluate
long-term care need, and ile
an appeal or complaint.
These services are avail-
able at no cost to people
with Medicare, their family
members, caregivers and
advocates.
Last Thursday morning
in the Stanield Library, two
community members, both on
the verge of turning 65, met
with SHIBA representatives.
Tom Humphreys and Kristine
Lindner sat with volunteers
for two hours while they
walked through their indi-
vidual needs.
Humphreys is a retired
state employee and is navi-
gating what Medicare and
“I never knew
I wanted to turn
65 so fast.”
— Kristine Lindner,
retired state employee
PERS mean to each other.
Lindner is a widow, deter-
mining what beneits she is
eligible for. After learning her
premiums would decrease
signiicantly once she is was
on Medicare she said, “I
never knew I wanted to turn
65 so fast.”
Donna Delikat, a SHIBA
ield oficer, warned of Medi-
care scams on TV, cautioning
people not to call those
phone numbers because the
company just sells personal
information to other compa-
nies.
Cynthia Hylton is also
a SHIBA ield oficer and
presented at the Eastern
Oregon meetings. She said
there is $60-90 billion in
Medicare fraud every year.
Open enrollment for
Medicare begins Oct. 15 and
runs through December.
Umatilla County has
SHIBA volunteers at Good
Shepherd Medical Center.
They can be reached at
541-667-3507.
TWO
HOURS
every
morning
paid off
my credit
card debt.
Become an
East Oregonian
Carrier.
211 SE Byers Ave.
Pendleton
or call:
541-276-2211
1-800-522-0255