Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1979)
SpllyayTymoo July 13,197» P»s«,9 Trio will assist students in exploring careers Dropouts, mainstream stu- dents (those who plan to attend school this fall) and recent high school graduates now have the opportunity to uncover their true aspirations and figure out a life plan. A new tribal pro gram, Career Exploration, has been developed to aid those who need help setting up goals and objectives for their lives. Director of the program Chuck Lone Wolf, who is half Kiowa, says those working for the program “are not teachers, but facilitators and coordina tors” of the program. “We’re here to help students set goals and objectives, and to build up their self-confidence so they feel they can do anything.” identified the need for such a program when he was a high school counselor five years ago. According to statistics, 90 per cent of the youth intend to live and work on the reservation and there is a 50 percent non completion rate at the high school. Both of these factors led to the . development of the career exploration program, according to Calica. Lone Wolf attributes the high dropout rate to impracti cal subjects being taught in school. “There are many sub jects that are not often used in the working world, such as for eign languages, algebra and Trigonometry.” Lone Wolf anticipates 30 to 60 students* under the program during the school year which will include on-the-job train ing, interviews, testing and some classroom instruction depending on the individual needs. The students will be working not only within the tri bal organization, but job sites will be arranged in the com munity as well. Community role models will be chosen so that the students will have a well-rounded introduction to a variety of careers. Tribal education director Charles Calica stated that he The program operates on three levels. It will (1) improve basic skills, such as reading, writing and other skills learned in high school, (2) establish ad u lt survival skills and increase knowledge of culture, tribal history and government and federal and Indian legisla tion and (3) establish and improve job skills. “The only way a person learns job skills is to be on the job,” says Lone Wolf. The program will be working closely with the school district, parents, job site and students to help insure success and good communication. Culture will CAREER EXPLORATION- Wendell Jim left, Theresa Katchia, center and Chuck Lone Wolf, right are all working fo r a new tribal program, the Career Exploration program. The program will help young adults make life plans and set goals and objectives for themselves. play an important part in the education as the elders will be working with students. Lone Wolf says he “would like to see the Career Explora tion program expanded in' scope to work very closely with college students to gain rele vant summer employment and academic skills they need to work for the tribe. Job skills are just as important as that college degree.” Program assistant Theresa Katchia, student coordinator Wendell Jim and Lone Wolf are presently actively seeking eligible students. If you are interested, they can be reached at the Adult Learning Center at 553-1428. Wilderness experience may help troubled teens The old Schoolie Ranger Station has not been used for years. But its secluded setting in the woods next to the Warm Springs River appears ideal for the Tribes’ new wilderness program. Evidently the concept of a' wilderness program sounded worthwhile to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. Warm Springs was awarded $64,000 for the program, the only new NIDA grant offered in the United States this year. This amount has been beefed up with a 20 percent matching grant from the Tribes, making a sum of $85,000 available for the program. The Wilderness Program is being set up to deal with troubled youth—kids who’ve been in and out of trouble with law—kids with problems, and kids who need placement, said alcohol and drug program director Steve Bekofsky. He noted that the program will also offer an alternative to a jail situation. Ten kids at a time will be accepted into the on-going program for a period of 90 days. “We’ll offer Outward Bound-type activities such as hiking, hunting and fishing, and horse and cattle-raising, said Bekofsky. “ T hrough accomplishment and a new sense of Vesponsibility we hope to help raise their self-esteem and sense of okayness,” he explained. With a goal of starting the wilderness program at the first of August, a couple has been hired to serve as residential supervisors at the ranger station. Don Moccasin, an Assiniboine from Montana, an.d B ev erly S n o w a re enthusiastic about the program and pleased with the natural setting. But it’s a bit too natural right now. The house needs windows and doors and there is not a stick of furniture in the place. Repairs and general cleanup are still being taken care of by YCC crews who have already replaced the roof, torn out rotting floors and cleared the area of litter and debris. Don and Beverly envision the place as ev en tu ally b e c o m in g a lm o s t s e lf- sufficient. Since there is no electricity, they are discussing ways of devising equipment to harness solar and wind power. Beverly said they are hunting around for a wood heater and wood stove, but that the Tribal Council has asked them to get a refrigerator which can be run off a propane generator. no TV’s and no radios, with the exception of a two-way radio for emergencies. “We’re all going to get an education out there, that’s for sure,” remarked Don. They want to make the kids aware of ecological concerns and teach them respect for Mother Earth. And they say that parental and community involvement in the program will be crucial. “The parents need to know what’s going on in order to play a supportive role,” they said. “And the involvement of the elders will be important,” they noted often. They feel that this pilot project has a good chance of succeeding. They will be working to change a lifetime of negative feelings which they believe plagues each child they will be working with. “We see unlim ited possibilities for everyone,” they conclude. They noted that there will be CHECKING THE SEWER LINE - YCC crews have been busy evicting rats and bats from the attic of the Schoolie Ranger Station and performing general clean-up duties in preparationfor the Tribes' Wilderness Program scheduled to begin A ugust 1. The workers even located the sewer line and dug it up by hand. Spilyay Tymoo Photo by Rangila BACK TO NATURE - The residential supervisors fo r the Wilderness Program are enthusiastic about the natural setting and feel the program has good potential to work. D on Moccasin and Beverly Snow will work with 10 kids at a time on a 90-day basis. The four counselors working with them will be Fred Muniz, Austin Smith, Robert Vanderbeck and Mark McKenzie. Spilyay Tymoo Photo by Rangila
