Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1978)
JUNE 16, 1978 PAGE 5 Cll/IMX OF INDIAN STUDIES COURSE TEACHERS FACE INDIAN STUDENTS AND PARENTS As a climax to a ten-week Indian Studies course, District 509-J faculty and staff were invited to Warm Springs to meet Indian students and parents face to face in a panel discussion — an effort to spark communica tion at a “gut level” , according to'coordinator Marie Calica.. Welcoming cheers rose from the participating Warm Springs parents, staffers and committee members at the appearance of many unfamiliar faces on this side of the river, But one teacher remarked later, “I ’d never been invited down here before.” The special session was -scheduled into the regular Joint Education meeting June 7. Chairman Mike Clements com mended the effort as a worth while “confrontation” even if there were no “concrete re sults.” “The water has to be gap ped,” said Clements, and’ the solution to problems must come from both sides of the river. One student said she had never had the opportunity to express herself so openly to teachers, while another student felt that everything had been said before. With time to respond to only a handful of the many questions prepared ahead of time by tea chers, three students, three par ents and two staff people addres sed such major concerns as poor attendance, dropping out, cur riculum needs, and growing up Indian. Teachers soon learned that opinions and attitudes are as varied among Indian students and parents as they are in any community and that there is no “formula” for working with them. Student panel m em ber Roger Stwyer noted that even so, teachers were getting just part of the picture by hearing only from students who failed to graduate or had dropped out. Attendance: A crisis at home The “crisis point” in at tendance, defined variously by panel members, was generally laid at the parents’ feet, with a plea from students for more concern and guidance from par ents. Recognizing the impact of home life on school perform ance, Liz Woody, who dropped out in her,senior year, suggested that parents become more in volved with their students’ cur riculum and activities. Don’t “give up” on your kids by allowing unlimited freedom, she said. The “crisis point” can change from one missed day of school to weeks of skipping unless parents provide encour agement, said Woody . Parent Arlene Boileau noted that a parent’s expectations should be more clearly defined while Marilyn Lawrence, mother of several school age children, admitted that “Indians don’t communicate well with their children.” Peers were also seen to have a powerful influence on atten dance. and successful perform ance. Watching friends fail can reduce a student’s expectations of herself, said Woody. Calendar of Events JUNE 16-18 23-25 23-25 23- 27 23 24- 25 24-25 30 June June June June 27 29 30 30 -Orange County Powwow, Los Angeles, Calif. -Pi-Ume-Shaw Powwow, Warm Springs, Oregon, -Reno, Nevada, Powwow. -Fort Washakie, Wyoming, Powwow. -Summer Recreation Program field trip to Mt. Scott Community Center in Portland. -WSIRA approved Rodeo, Warm Springs rodeo grounds, 1 p.m. daily. -Sixth Annual Fried Bread Open Golf Tournament, Kah-Nee-Ta Golf Course -Summer Recreation Program field trip to Blue Lake. - July 1 - Culture Camp at Peters Pasture, first session - July 5 - Flathead Res. Flathead, Montana, Powwow. - July 4 - Navajo Res. Powwow, Navajo, Arizona - July 4 - Northern Cheyenne, Montana, Powwow. PI-UME-SHA IS UPON US Anticipating a large turnout again this year, Warm Springs is. in the midst of preparations for the ninth annual Pi-Ume-Sha June 23, 24 and 25. Numerous dance divisions and categories are featured this year and the special attraction will be a South western dance and drumming group performing non-competi tive traditional tribal dances. The powwow will begin with the corppation of Pi-Ume-Sha Queen on Friday evening. Rosa lie Polk, Eydie Switzler, Collee Seelatsee and Mona Jim are selling tickets at one dollar each, hoping to sell the most and be crowned queen. These tickets are for the raffle drawing on Sunday afternooii. Registration deadline for the competitive dancing is just prior to the Grand Entry at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening. Fancy, War, Round and Team Dancing are just a few of the different dance categories for all persons in different age groups. And, as he has done for the past five years, Nathan “Eight Ball” Jim will serve as “MC” again this year. The Pi-Ume-Sha committee is requesting that the local people “open their hearts and homes to feed visitors and treat them as we would want to be treated.” Also, the local people are requested to bring their own tepee poles so that there will be more available for the visitors. In addition, tribal members are asked not to cut the poles up for tents and sheds. Special privilege tax per mits can be acquired for $25.00 from the vital statistics depart ment between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily or from the police depart ment after hours and on week ends. Also, each vendor is re quired by the committee to donate $15.00, either in goods or cash. Stick games have been a favorite attraction at all Pi- Ume-Sha powwows. The regi stration fee is $35.00 per team and the registration closes for the games at the hegimaing of Students and parents agreed that intervention by school staff should come earlier, before the crisis point is reached. It was felt that Indian support staff could be even more effective in this area if allowed to fulfill their actual job descriptions... fered several suggestions. Beefing up the curriculum in the areas of language, fine arts, behavioral science and vocation al education would be a start. Boileàu, who also works in the Tribal Group Home, described the many talents “locked up Prejudice and misunderstanding inside” Indian kids, that with in school caring and encouragement can In-school problems center be drawn out. Indian kids seem on racial conflicts and mis to be especially talented in understandings, said students working with their hands, who agreed that stereotypes are creative writing, drama and too often the basis for inter music, she observed. action. Stwyer suggested that Stwyer and Woody offered prejudice results from the spe themselves as classic examples cial status enjoyed by Indians of gifted students who became through federal programs and bored with school and failed to tribal benefits. Woody, who at graduate. “ I would like to see tended grade school in Madras, graduation requirements chang felt that M adras students have ed,” said Stwyer, who noted that no insight into life and values in school wasn’t challenging Warm Springs and Indian stu enough. There was some disagree dents grow up one-sided, relying too heavily on physical prowess. ment about the proper place for Parents on the panel had cultural training. While some trouble understanding the racial students and parents felt that if problems their kids face. “When should be built into the school I went to school we were ac curriculum, others maintained cepted,” said Mrs. Lawrence, that cultural awareness can and bemused. But she added later should be developed at home. The exhcange of students by that parents often contribute to busing was suggested by Fabian their children’s prejudice. Teachers also contribute to Sutterlee, parent and chairman the failure of Indian students, of the Title IV P art A Parent said panel members. As author Committee, as a method of in ity figures, teachers are not apt creasing understanding and in to consider the individuality and suring fair treatm ent of stu rights of each student, making dents. Woody added that busing would arouse concern among the him “feel sm all,” said Woody. parents of Madras students Improving the school system When asked how the school about the quality of education in system might be improved to Warm Springs. “There should be more pro better meet Indian students’ needs, students and parents of- grams to bring the communities together,” Woody had said earlier. “Even though we’re fourteen miles apart and there’s a river between us we have economic ties and educational ties.” The Indian Studies Course, sponsored by Oregon State Uni versity and utilizing local re sources, was one such effort made to bridge the gap. Faculty and staff were exposed to Indian history, government and culture by such tribal officials and employees as Mike Clements (Planning and Education) , Rudy Clements (Municipal Branch), Bob Macy (WSFPI), Irene Wells (Tribal Court) and Jeff Sanders (Tribal Police), Teachers responded favor ably to having their knowledge of’ the reservation broadened, referring to the “common ground” they now had for com munication with Indian students. “But I still can’t get the kids into my classes to teach them ,” said one teacher. Future courses should build in more interaction between the communities, said teachers, pointing to the panel discussion as good open communication that might eventually lead to the “nitty gritty” of real change Realizing that formulas for working with Indian students don’t exist, teachers are never theless still grasping for “teach ing tools” and left with “un answered questions.” Their lingering question, “Where a re Indian students go ing and how can the schools help them?” still begs an answer. W hat’s H a p p en in g Instructors Course To Be Held An Indian Language Instruc tors course is being offered by Central Oregon Community Col lege and the Cultural-Heritage department of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs July 10-21 at the Warm Springs Com munity Center. The course is being taught by Dell and Virginia Hymes and it is their goal to solicit and identify potential instructors — people who can already speak and understand Sahaptin. An other of their goals is to teach instructors to read and write in Sahaptin. The last of their goals is to develop curriculum to be used in the school and com munity. The course is free of charge, and Nathan Jim would be the person to contact if you are interested. Topics would include; Basic Linguistic Theories, Indian Pho nics and Alphabet, Translation Techniques, Language Teaching i Techniques, Research and In terview prodecures, Oral Teach ing, G rammar, Contrast Analy ses between English and Indian, and How Children and Adults Learn Languages. CULTURE CAMP, NY-MU-MAH Applications are now being accepted at Nathan Jim ’s office in the Community Center for Culture Camp. Scheduled to run June 27 through July 1 for ages 8-11, and July 7-14 for ages 12-15, the camp will be held at Peter’s Pasture, High Country, U.S.A., according to Nathan Jim , Cul tural-Heritage Director. Each session is limited to 50 children from the Warm Springs community. A fee of $20 must accompany the applications the competition at 1:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The purse is bigger than ever with first, second and third prizes being $800, $500 and $300 respectively. Registration can be made by calling Wilson Wewa, Jr. at 553-1459. The Warm Springs Bravet- tes are sponsoring a Hungry Indian Breakfast both Saturday and Sunday morning from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Cost is. $2.00 for adults and $1.50 for children. The breakfast will be served at the Community Center in the Social Hall. The dancing schedule is as follows?’ ' ; along with health and medical forms filled out by the doctor. The participants will be staying in tepees and learning handcrafts such as; basket mak ing, beadwork, hide tanning, Indian language, religion, fea- thercraft, outdoor cooking, sweating, and others. Local re source people will be teaching these subjects. Camp Ny-Mu-Mah will he held at He-He July 10-20 for ages 11 12 and July 24 through August 4 for ages 13-14. Only, 10-15 slots will be open for Warm1 Springs youths each session.! Applications are available at the! Community Center. A total of 80 kjds will attend each session. Camp Ny-Mu-Mah is mainly a cultural and sports camp with some career development. Thé kids will be staying in tepees while attending camp. The camp is sponsored by the American Indian Lawyers Training Program. PI-UME-SHA SCHEDULE FRIDAY JUNE 23, 1978 GRAND ENTRY 7:00 P.M. Little Girls Round Dance (six years and under) Little Boys War Dance (six years and under) Little Girls Round Dance (seven to 11 years) Little Boys War Dance (seven to 11 years) SATURDAY JUNE 24, 1978 GRAND ENTRY 1:00 P.M. Afternoon Session Teen Girls Round Dance (12 to 16 years) Teen boys War Dance (12 to 16 years) “Kussa” Round Dance (50 years and over) OF Warriors War Dance (50 years and over) SATURDAY JUNE 24, 1978 GRAND ENTRY 7:00 P.M. Evening Session Women’s Team Round Dance (17 years and over) Individual Mens Straight Dance (17 years and over) SUNDAY JUNE 25, 1978 GRAND ENTRY 2:00 P.M. Women’s Individual GRACEFUL War Dance (17 years and over) Men’s Individual FANCY.. War Dance (17 years and over)
