RECORDS
Native American students face education challenges
Thursday, November 30, 2017
NATALIE PATE
Statesman Journal
SALEM — Debbie
Austin grew up in the Great
Depression, a “time when it
was not a good thing to be an
Indian.”
Talked down to by
teachers, professors and
medical
professionals,
berated by passersby, Austin
thought, “If we were white,
things would have been a lot
easier for us.”
But she doesn’t want her
more than 40 grandchildren
and great-grandchildren to
grow up the same way.
“I (don’t) want my
children to feel bad about
themselves,” Austin said.
Austin and her husband,
Warner Austin, are elders in
and founders of the Native
American Cross Cultural
Association, based in Salem,
which celebrates various
indigenous cultures across
North America.
They advocate for more
Native American studies and
experiences to be shared in
the classroom and encourage
Native students to pursue
their education.
But they are working
against myriad obstacles.
Native American students
in Oregon are graduating
at lower rates, performing
worse on state assessments,
attending fewer days and
receiving more suspensions
and expulsions than their
peers, according to a report
released last week by the
Oregon Department of
Education.
For graduation rates alone,
Oregon’s Native American
students are graduating at
about 56 percent, compared
to the state’s overall four-
year graduation rate of 74.8
percent.
“It’s clear from the data
East Oregonian
DEATH NOTICES
Wesley Berdar
“It’s a good indicator
that implementing
culturally relevant
programs provides
benefits to all
students, not just
those from specific
student groups.”
Molly J. Smith/Statesman-Journal via AP
In this June 24 photo, Jessi Soliz dances as members
of the Native American Cross Cultural Association per-
form at the 20th annual World Beat Festival at River-
front Park in Salem.
that there are significant
opportunity gaps for Amer-
ican Indian and Alaska
Native students,” said Colt
Gill, acting deputy superin-
tendent for the state.
“The data allow us to see
the problem, but it is up to
us to partner with our tribes,
communities and districts
to ... better support our
American Indian and Alaska
Native students in culturally
responsive ways.”
Experts believe a few
key issues causing these
negative outcomes include
the lack of culturally relative
curriculum, a lack of Native
American teachers and staff
in schools, a gap in services
available to the families
along with additional obsta-
cles many Native American
students face outside of the
classroom.
A doctor in Pennsylvania
told Debbie Austin in the late
1970s when she was a young
mother, “Don’t ever bring
your child here again — You
people carry syphilis and
tuberculosis.”
Shortly after, a college
professor in Oregon told her
the same thing. So did her
textbooks.
“Our children need to
know that is not true,” Austin
said. “They need to know
who they are and where they
came from.”
Austin argues there needs
to be more curriculum about
the Native American experi-
ence and more teachers and
staff who identify as Native
American in schools.
Shelby Maerz, who works
for the Indian Education
Department for Salem-
Keizer Public Schools,
agreed, saying students
“need to be able to see
themselves throughout the
system.”
And according to state
workers, student outcomes
improve when an effort is
made to be more inclusive.
The Tribal Attendance
Pilot Project, for example,
has been working to lessen
the rate of chronically absent
Native students.
By partnering school
districts with the nine feder-
ally recognized tribes in the
state, the program creates
culturally specific plans and
materials designed to the
needs of each community.
Hermiston
July 27, 1935 - Nov. 18, 2017
Wesley Berdar, 82, of Hermiston died Saturday, Nov.
18, 2017, in Hermiston. He was born July 27, 1935,
in Roundup, Mont. A memorial service will be held
Saturday, Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. in the Burns Mortuary chapel
in Hermiston. Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in care of
arrangements. Leave an online condolence for the family
at www.burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
Michael Jon ‘Mike’ Franklin
Beaverton
April 19, 1949 - Nov. 27, 2017
— April Campbell,
Indian education advisor
for Oregon
Former Milton-Freewater resident Michael Jon “Mike”
Franklin, 68, of Beaverton died Monday, Nov. 27, 2017,
in Weston. He was born April 19, 1949. Munselle-Rhodes
Funeral Home in Milton-Freewater is in charge of
arrangements.
Though the chronic
absenteeism rate for Native
students is higher than that of
their peers, according to the
report, the rate held steady
at 30 percent in the last year
recorded. The rate of chron-
ically absent non-native
students increased from 17
to 19 percent.
“Despite an unusually
harsh winter, the majority of
the schools with Tribal Atten-
dance Pilot Project family
advocates had improvements
in their chronic absenteeism
rates,” said April Campbell,
the Indian education advisor
for the state.
“It’s a good indicator
that implementing culturally
relevant programs provides
benefits to all students, not
just those from specific
student groups,” she said.
There has also been action
at the state level to improve
representation in course
materials.
Senate Bill 13, passed
earlier this year, requires
the Oregon Department
of Education to develop
curriculum exploring the
Native American experience
and provide professional
development to teachers and
administrators relating to the
curriculum.
Jack Marshall
Hermiston
Nov. 20, 2017
Jack Marshall, 55, of Hermiston died Monday, Nov.
20, 2017, at his home. A celebration of life with military
honors will be held Monday, Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. at the Baker
City Christian Church. Arrangements are under the direc-
tion of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home & Cremation
Services. Online condolences may be shared at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com
Alfonzo Alva Reyes
Milton-Freewater
Nov. 16, 2017
Alfonzo Alva Reyes, 58, of Milton-Freewater died
Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017, in Pendleton. Visitation will
be held Saturday, Dec. 2 from 3 to 8 p.m. at Pendleton
Pioneer Chapel, Folsom-Bishop. Online condolences may
be shared with the family at www.pioneerchapel.com
Jenneene Faye Runyon
Pendleton
Sept. 29, 1957 - Nov. 26, 2017
Jenneene Faye Runyon, 60, of Pendleton died Sunday,
Nov. 26, 2017. She was born Sept. 29, 1957, in Oklahoma.
Burns Mortuary of Pendleton is in charge of arrangements.
Sign the online condolence book at www.burnsmortuary.
com.
Harriet McKim-Cable-Thompson
Pendleton
Nov. 22, 2017
Harriet McKim-Cable-Thompson, 54, of Pendleton
died Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017, in Portland. A graveside
service will be held in the spring of 2018 at Pine Haven
Cemetery in Halfway (date and time to be announced).
Arrangements are under the direction of Tami’s Pine Valley
Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Online condolences
may be shared at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
TUESDAY
9:01 a.m. - Milton-Freewater police
took a report for the theft of a 2001 GMC
Yukon from the 300 block of Northeast
13th Avenue.
9:04 a.m. - A Boardman resident
on Wilson Lane told law enforcement
a neighbor has been harassing her
13-year-old daughter.
9:09 a.m. - Umatilla police received
a request to respond to Interstate 82
and Highway 730 to help an Oregon
Department of Transportation employee
with a female bicyclist who refused
directions.
9:46 a.m. - A Milton-Freewater
resident reported the theft of items from
an unlocked shed on the 100 block of
Southeast Fifth Avenue, and at 4:24 p.m.
a caller on the 200 block of Northeast Fifth
Avenue reported a break-in at a storage
unit.
9:57 a.m. - Pendleton police tagged the
first of five abandoned vehicles for towing.
One was at Southeast Hailey Avenue
and Eighth Street, two were in the area of
Southeast Byers Place and 19th Street,
and two more were around Southwest
Hailey Avenue and 31st and 37th streets.
11:56 a.m. - Good Shepherd Medical
Center, Hermiston, told the Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office to be on the lookout for an
Irrigon man who walked out of the hospital
and was hallucinating and paranoid and
needs to be back in the hospital.
12:26 p.m. - A Hermiston woman came
to the city police department, 330 S. First
St., and complained about having mold in
her swamp cooler.
1:28 p.m. - Gunfire sent a herd of
about two dozen deer over a hill near
the Kilkenny Ranch, 79074 Highway 74,
around 10 miles east of Heppner. The
caller said there were at least two shots.
1:30 p.m. - The Morrow County
Sheriff’s Office received a report of a son
slapping his father across the face.
1:37 p.m. - An Irrigon resident on
Columbia Lane reported a pit bull dog and
a Rottweiler were chasing the neighbor’s
goats.
4:06 p.m. - A caller at Simtek Industrial
Controls Automation, 1706 N.W. 52nd St.,
Pendleton, reported the theft of his Pioneer
CD player from his car.
4:23 p.m. - An Irrigon caller told
the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office his
stepfather said “snide and inflammatory
things.”
11:17 p.m. - A woman told Pendleton
police her husband kicked her out of the
home.
11:52 p.m. - A Pendleton 911 caller
caught a male trying to break into a car
at Southwest Second Street and Nye
Avenue.
UPCOMING SERVICES
THURSDAY, NOV. 30
KOWALESKI, CASEY — Memorial service at 10
a.m. at Burns Mortuary, 336 S.W. Dorion Ave., Pendleton.
MOSES, LILLIAN — Recitation of the rosary at 7
p.m. at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, 48022 St. Andrews
Road, Mission.
WINTERS, COLIN — Funeral mass at 10:30 a.m. at
St. Henry Catholic Church, 346 N.W. First St., Gresham,
followed by a concluding committal service with military
honors at Willamette National Cemetery, Portland.
FRIDAY, DEC. 1
MOSES, LILLIAN — Mass of Christian Burial at 10
a.m. at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, 48022 St. Andrew’s
Road, Mission. Burial services and a reception will follow.
SUMNER, JOAN — Recitation of the rosary at 10
a.m., with Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 11 a.m., at
St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 525 N. Gale St., Heppner. A
celebration of life will follow at the Heppner Elks Lodge,
142 N. Main St.
WHITMAN, PAT — Celebration of life at 2 p.m. at
the Pendleton Eagles Lodge, 428 S. Main St.
MEETINGS
For a complete listing
of regional events, visit
easternoregonevents.com
THURSDAY, NOV. 30
SALVATION ARMY ADVI-
SORY BOARD, 12 p.m., Sal-
vation Army, 150 S.E. Emigrant
Ave., Pendleton. (Susan Lamb
541-276-3369)
WESTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
STAKEHOLDER MEETING, 2-4
p.m., Memorial Hall, 210 E. Main
St., Weston. School and city staff
will interview stakeholders re-
garding changes to walking, bik-
ing and driving access to Weston
Middle School. Parents, bus
drivers, residents and business
owners surrounding the school,
teachers/staff and others invest-
ed in improving safety and traffic
flow are encouraged to attend.
(Paula Warner 541-566-3551)
MILTON-FREEWATER LI-
BRARY BOARD, 4 p.m., Mil-
ton-Freewater Public Library, 8
S.W. Eighth Ave., Milton-Free-
water. (541-938-5531)
PORT OF MORROW COM-
MISSION SPECIAL MEETING,
LOTTERY
Estimated jackpot: $23,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 3-5-6-7
4 p.m.: 3-8-2-3
7 p.m.: 8-6-8-7
10 p.m.: 0-2-8-6
Tuesday, Nov. 28
Mega Millions
10-17-47-51-61
Mega Ball: 5
Megaplier: 2
Estimated jackpot: $132
million
Lucky Lines
01-08-10-13-FREE-18-23-
26-30
4 p.m., Port of Morrow, 2 Marine
Drive, Boardman. Via confer-
ence call. (541-481-7678)
UMATILLA COUNTY SPE-
CIAL LIBRARY DISTRICT SPE-
CIAL MEETING, 5:15-8:15 p.m.,
Athena Public Library meeting
room, 418 E. Main St., Athena.
Annual Library Service Plan re-
ports from last fiscal year will
be presented. (Dea Nowell 541-
966-0917)
UMATILLA COUNTY PLAN-
NING COMMISSION, 6:30 p.m.,
Umatilla County Justice Center,
4700 N.W. Pioneer Place, Pend-
leton. (541-278-6252)
PENDLETON
PLANNING
COMMISSION, 7 p.m., Pendle-
ton City Hall, 501 S.W. Emigrant
Ave., Pendleton. (Jutta Ha-
liewicz 541-966-0240)
FRIDAY, DEC. 1
No meetings scheduled
MONDAY, DEC. 4
STOKES
LANDING
SE-
Wednesday, Nov. 29
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 5-0-6-9
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OBITUARY POLICY
The East Oregonian publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can
include small photos and, for veterans, a flag symbol at no charge.
Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style.
Expanded death notices will be published at no charge. These in-
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more information, call 541-966-0818 or 1-800-522-0255, ext. 221.
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NIOR CENTER BOARD, 6 p.m.,
Stokes Landing Senior Center,
195 N.W. Opal Place, Irrigon.
(Karen 541-922-3137)
HEPPNER
PLANNING
COMMISSION, 7 p.m., Heppner
City Hall, 111 N. Main St., Hep-
pner. (541-676-9618)
M I LT O N - F R E E WAT E R
PLANNING COMMISSION, 7
p.m., Milton-Freewater Pub-
lic Library Albee Room, 8 S.W.
Eighth Ave., Milton-Freewater.
6:30 p.m. study session, 7 p.m.
regular meeting. (541-938-5531)
WESTON PLANNING COM-
MISSION, 7 p.m., Memorial Hall,
210 E. Main St., Weston. (541-
566-3313)
12/6 12:00 PM
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