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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1997)
Spilyay Tymoo Warm Springs, Oregon July 3, 1997 3 Full Gospel Church send youth to Jackson Eleven participates from here went on a trip to Jackson hole, Wyoming Tor a leadership summit, This group Ten on June 29 and will return in a month from now. This group went down on Billy Jo Berry's pick up and Marti Rui Wells' van. At first Berry didn't know how he was going to get there all he knew was that he was going to make it. I think they put a camper on Berry's' pick up that is almost ready to fall apart, but will tap it down with a few pounds, throw on a few blankets and head out. I know for sure I wanted to take a train, but I know that i have to get back also to keep the youth night going on. The group will be at the Rocky Mountain Lodge Jackson hole, Wyoming from July 1 to July 8. They will jump on a big, long couch with them to travel to Montana, Idaho, Umatilla, and buck in here. It is tentative if they were to go to get on from here and go toChiloquin and down to Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The couch has ull the works a TV, VCR, and a bathroom. This trip that they went to started from a tape that they have sent to Berry, The people heard about the youth revivul and how it has gone. They called up Berry a couple of days later and said they huve a leadership summit going on right now. Wanting to know if we can bring up some youth. Berry said "yeah, were on it." Ron Hutch Craft from Wayne, New Jersey already paid for everything for the one week to stay in Jackson hole, Wyoming for the Warriors Leader's Summit. This group goes to all different reservations all summer long. They have recruits in different reservations in the United States and Canada. Somehow how Hutch Craft got Berry's phone number somebody gave Hutch craft Berry's number but they got it. They sent him a big whole packet of information, tapes, books, and even sent 400 bibles for the young people around here. Hutch Craft is from Wayne, New Jersey. He is the minister of the group 'On Eagles Wings.' He has been a minister for 30 years working with young native Americans. Saying that every reservation that he ministered on all the young people is wearing the same things, listening to the same music, hanging out in the same crowd and all have the same thing in common. The On Eagles Wings group found out that most of the young people these days are rising themselves on MTV, walkmans, and other stuff like that lot of them that have divorced and dysfunctional families, they have no where to live, nothing to do, and nobody to guide them. The youths are going to be with all News from Community Health Education Team HEALTH BUZZ! News from the Community Health Education Team Many activities have been keeping the Health Education Team very busy. Planning has been in process for many activities. Following are a few upcoming events and different things that we have been involved in: May 15th: Youth the White Buffalo Jr.'s Dance and Drum Club were at KWSO to do a few radio public service announcements. They were all excited about hearing their voices on the radio. The youth did an excellent job, considering it was their first time in the pro-duction room. They learned a lot about putting together a 30 second PSA. We will be using the youth to do other announcements throughout the year. We hope to see the youth stopping by the Vern Jackson Home to visit over . the summer. May. 20th: LIVE WIRE actors from the community and Jefferson County Middle School were on hand at the Kah-Nee-Ta Village opening. People were given flyers that advertised the June 3rd performance at the Lodge. June 14th: The annual Bike Rdeo was scheduled to take place behind the Community Center on May 3 1 st, but was called to a sudden halt due to the weather. The bike rodeo was re-scheduled for June 14, 1997. A bicycle obstacle course, bicycle safety and bicycle repair sessions were kept busy all day. Topping off the afternoon was the annual bike rodeo barbeque! June 3rd: LIVEWIRE Theater, a local performing arts group spent many hours preparing for the 25th anniversary of the opening of Kah-Nee-Ta Lodge. The group which involved W.S. youth, did the story of how the Kah-Nee-Ta Hot Springs Came to be. The story was pulled from the Kah-Nee-Ta Archives. It was told in 1967 by May Johns. C.H.E.T. spoke with the family and received the go ahead to use her version of this story, making an exception for the time of year to tell story in honorof the 25th anniversary. The youth involved were very excited about the performance. The Director, (Carolyn), however, was pulling her hair out as curtain time drew nearer. Anita did an excellent job calming the kids down backstage, and Judy assisted in making sure the props were all in place. The youth worked on masks, props and costumes for this performance. The parts for characters filled fast! The performance was held at 7:00 p.m. at the Kah-Nee-Ta Lodge in the upper conference rooms with over 100 people in atendance. What an experience this whole effort was !!! Also in June: C.H.E.T. will be busy this summer conducting health education sessions with the Summer different youth from different reservations. There are ull into the same thing that is learning how to minister to there own people on their own reservations, lis kind of like on the job (ruining type of a deal to gel trained and everything. To see some of the young peoples hearts to if they have the leadership to sec them making an attempt to be there to be a friend and he a leader and to pray, Ten steps to the wurrior's circle of Jesus Christ, An experience in god on how to claim you creator's name, how to stand up to your enemy, he w to live a Jesus day, and how to chose a path of no regret. There are daily activities on the Tclon in Jackson hole, Wyoming thcrt is going to be rafting in the Snake River, hiking in the Teton, and be able to celebrate Fourth of July there while wc arc there. It is fifteen to thirty who have demonstrated leadership, potential and growth in following Jesus Christ. Participate urc selected based on previous eagle William's experience and resented by filling out the app'ication. Hutch Craft he uses that he uses (he scripture in the bibl; its that the lord has eternity in our heart and that the young people or anybody is looking for that something to All that eternity and what they are looking for is calm and peace. They are findi.ig out that the one that found the lord is finding out its the truth. This is the scripture that he uses from Eclisiation chapter Three verse II it says 'he has made everything appropriated in time these hath also set eternity i.i there heart yet though that man wil'. not find out the work which god hati done form the beginning even to the f. nd.' Berry got a hold of them at the begif ning of the year to be able to do some kind of reaching out here in Warm Springs and all they needed was someone to in vitc them. On July 1 8 to July 20 this group from here will arrive with the 'On Eagles Wings' group to do the reaching out program from the same thing just to get together and teach them about being a disciple. We also don't believe in like how I wrote on my own paper when we first started this we don't lead the people to believe that our Indian ways are gone that they are the wring ways. Know that it is a different generation today and the young people of this generation most of them. If they have little interest in the traditional way that is just the way they are we can't change them. They are going forward not backwards not anymore like I said I don't cut down the Indian ways at all, but like the long house ways and stuff like that. Some of the elders say themselves I even talk to Youth Work Program participants. C.H.E.T. willl be doing five sessions throughout the summer. C.H.E.T. will be welcoming on four (4! Mind you!) Summer Youth workers to assist us for about two months or so. Pi-Ume-Sha is just around the corner! C.H.E.T. is busy preparing an all-around safety campaign to hit the radio waves soon. July 7-18th: C.H.E.T. has also been scheduled in to do alcohol and drug free sessions for the 1997 4-H Wilderness Camp. The camp will be held at Peter's Pasture. You can even catch the staff "roughing" it with the youth for one whole week up the the woods!! Carolyn and Anson will cover the 2nd through 5th Grades during the first week. Anita and Judith will cover the older youth session the second week. August 21st: The 1997 Summer Gathering, "In Tune with Thoughts of Healing" will be a one day workshop coming in August. This workshop will focus on generational impacts on Indian people, with presentations directed at how alcohol and drugs have disrupted the once healthy lifestyles of native people since first contact. This one day session will include historical presentations by Louie Dick, "Wiping Our Tears"; a presentation on battered women by Claudia Ennis, "Battered Women Victimization"; and ending with a presentation by Armand Minthorn, "Transition: Indian Style". Keep an eye out for flyers and more information as the date gets closer. This will be held at the W.S. Community Center. DOWN THE ROAD... November 3rd: C.H.E.T. is planning a workshop for celebrating families. More in-formation on this will be forthcoming. Mark your calendars for this date, as we've already scheduled this time aside. November 18-19th: The larger men's wellness event Gathering of Men III, "Together, Rejoicing, One Journey" is scheduled to be held at this time. This activity will invite Tribes from throughout the Northwest to participate. If interested in the planning, please stop by to join our meetings every Tuesday at 1 2:00 noon. The committee is spending time considering various presenters and have not yet confirmed the choices. Lunch will be provided for all committee members during the meetings. Come on up and join us. Although this is general look at sme of the activities, there may other additional events added as the year progresses. WHAT'S IN THE FUTURE FOR OUR REZ? A few issues back C.H.E.T. did an article introducing the words "risk factors". In this article we hope to explain what risk factors are, and (hem that we still serve the same god well okay. Well these young people today wunt to do it this way, however, they want to do it I urn just giving them a way. All I know is that there is a god Jesus Christ and there is a way. Leroy Allen, Jr. and Wendel got together to put a booth up at Pi-Umc-Sha selling strawberry Shortcake und pop. Did not necessarily wunt to go to the tribe to usk them for money that is how bud they wunted to go. Main thing is our goal when we wrote this out our goal was to be able to bring the young people out of the I guess you could cull it the streets, you know there walking around with nothing to do. We started doing (rips in May wc started taking them in on trips on our own expenses taking them ull over to the west coust to different church groups in Portlund und in different places with different groups. They ure finding out how fun it is to have fun with other young people und to be able to sit with people and express there feeling to reveal there hurt inside. Let them loose they arc really liking it, there coming out and they are realizing we want them to know that they are somebody, there important und they could be somebody. That the lord is using them to touch other hearts younger people. Our other goal is to be able to lead them to be youth leaders themselves rn the reservation maybe something might happen to us. Maybe they can continue to keep busy leaders and keep on with it eventually on whatever happens we don't know but it will grow. We believe it will grow more were going to it is going to lead into more and more except for the young people here virtually. They are finding out it is a good high a natural high that they don't have to be on drugs or drunk on alcohol it is a good high to be on this high to be having fun with each other like a big family you don' have to go to treatment programs. Lot of them are finding out that walking with the lord, walking with Jesus isn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. Lot of them are finding out that it is pretty good. Like the ones we have now they were ones that used to say "aah church that is for old people, that nothing cool that's boring," now they are starting to step in as leaders and they don't even know it. ' Lot of the people are starting to realize that its cool you mean its alright, that's how they talk know days its cool its not that bad. Lot of there friends you know 'hat are still out in the world there starting to realize it instead of talking about them and cutting them down that they want to come in and join there friends. There starting to tell them that that's pretty attempt to help you understand that all the negative things happening in Springs can be impacted by everyone in the community. Driving through various neighborhoods, we see evidence of graffiti and vandalism. How does that make you feel? Is this the kind of neighborhoods we want our children growing up in? Why did they mark up that empty house? What do all those marking mean? , Today we meet and meet and meet, trying to come up with ways to address the many negative things happening in our communities. But, what do we really do once we walk out the doors of that meeting room? Are we actively "doing" anything to prevent our children from from becoming involved in negative behaviors and choices? Or are we turning our backs, ignoring the real issues, and hoping someone else does something? Over the years, research has shown that there are "risk factors" that increase the chances of adolescent involvement in problem behavior. There are also things called "protective factors" that could make a difference in pre-venting our children from taking what we consider the wrong path. First we need to understand what a risk factor is. Risk Factors are those conditions that increase the likelihood that a child will develop one or more behavior problems in adolescence. The risk factors we'll address in this edition are what we call Community Risk Factors. Warm Springs people think about the following areas. Are they part of our lives? Availability of Drugs, (contributes to substance abuse). Most people think drug availability is high in Warm Springs this increases the risk that drug abuse will occur, Availability of Firearms (contributes to delinquency, violence). The more available firearms are the more likely it will be used against a relative or a friend. If you live in the West Hills area, how many times do you hear gunshots ring out in the early hours of the morning? Hmmm. Wonder whose gun it was? Now, many of us have guns in the home because hunting is still a big part of our lives. Are we teaching our young ones to have respect for the weapons as a hunting implement? Are we teaching theproperuseandcarein our homes? Think about it. What's our role, what's safe? What are you teaching? Community laws and norms favorable toward drug use, firearms, and crime (contributes to substance abuse, delinquency, and violence) Hole Wyoming for Leadership Summit good you guy's are doing pretty good I like that they ure being encouraged just by not being ashamed und gelling out und doing it. We started to huve them ut the full gospel church actually, we started here ut our own home, but only started with two young people, then it went to the youth revival. Alter that started going wc Marled realizing thai this is something when the youth revival is over that is just the beginning it is just going to start. So this is something that we couldn't turn b.kk on, not that I wunted to, but of course there is a few times I feel like man oh man you got to be busy, The youth support group (hat we have started it Marled to take action we didn't really have to like make big plans for it or anything it just started to fall in place. Like the younger ones that came to the lord we found out that it was really important to follow up with them. Go to (hem, visit with them and talk to (hem because you need to encourage them to come and take part. Sometimes they want to here that you do not have to belong to a church to make it to heaven. The main thing is having Jesus in your heart, being a peer to him, be true to him, having a personal relationship with him. We call it in the bible your first love, you find your first love you know Jesus. Your hooked, its better than getting hooked on cocaine or marijuana. This is an opportunity for some of the younger ones that can't go on trips we left them not the responsibilities but we arc Idling them take a step up higher and were my position is to were they could keep the youth night going while we are gone. So there arc couple of them that arc going to do it. lis going to be an experience for them and it is the next step to be a youth leader. I didn't get myself in this position, but lot of people arc calling me up and calling me the youth pastor. I don't even know what it is " what's a youth pastor?" I am just trying to be a leader, a guidance and help guide them that they are going the right direction. Its kind of like a cow dog. In Hutch craft's tape he uses it for an example as when you go to hospitals in the emergency room when there is a really bad emergency they call it a code blue and a code blue is when you drop everything, everybody all the doctors drop everything right away and go to that one patient, that's what he uses for an example on the youth people the young today the American young people in the US. or every where. The beginning of young is code blue drop everything it is time to get to this, they say the young people are our future, they are our today there not only our future there our today. What are our community laws? Are they being enforced? When we talk about community "norms" we are stepping into a territory that most people would rather shy away from. Why is that? Community norms are those attitudes and policies our community holds about drug use, violence and crime. Take weekend parties, for example, (Now that I've got your attention) what does that do to our neighborhoods. Over the past month, in. your neighborhood, how many party's occurred? Did you do something to stop the parties, did you turn up your television set and leave them alone, or did you join the party? . What is your personal policy on substance abuse. Do you allow people to come into your home intoxicated? How do you handle these situations? These are called our social practices and they do have an impact on what is viewed as acceptable in a community. As a parent, what are you doing with your children to ensure their safety? Do you do anything at all? Are they allowed to come and go at all hours of the night? Our attitudes set the norms, even when we think we're not getting involved. If we're allowing parties to be held, where alcohol, drugs, and violence occurs, then the message we send to our community is that it's okay to party, use illegal drugs, and allow injuries to occur, because I won't turn you in, as long as you leave me alone. Does this have a familiar ring to it? All of these attitudes and behaviors place our young people at risk of becoming involved in alcohol and drugs, and other behaviors that may not be safe. Why? Because, in essence, when we allow things to happen, we are giving a message that it's okay to do it. This part, involving community norms and laws favorable toward drug use, firearms and crime begins to make a lot of us shift nervously. It's starting to hit just a little too close for comfort. Media portrayals of violence (contributes to violence). Oh, no! It's Freddy the 50th! Another movie that depicts the use of violence in almost every scene. Did you know that movies, radio, music, television, etc. all carry a certain degree of impact on the behavior of viewers? As always, children learn from watching. Over time, violence portrayed in the media does play a part on the behavior of children. We're getting right down to it now tim to take a look at our very own families. More and more aggressive and violent behavior is being reported. We're going to have to come to V- V 'J. a. I 1 . f ' . J' : Youth from Full Gospel Church and other members of congregation enter the parade at Pi-Ume-Sha. They also held fund raising for trip to Jackson Hole. Summer Gathering "In Tune with Thoughts of Healing" August 21st, 1997 at the Warm Springs Community Center Registration at 8 a.m. Session to begin at 9 a.m. Closing at 5 p.m. All welcome to attend Lunch provided to all that are registered. Guest speakers: Louie Dick "Wiping Our Tears" Claudia Ennis "Batterea Women victimization" Armand Minthorn "Transition: Indian Style" This Gathering sponsored by: The Men's Wellness committee & C.H.E.T. terms with our being parents and what we have allowed, before we can move on to the real work clearing up the whole issue of violence. Some us get angry, some of us get quiet, but we all have emotional reactions. Again, what are we willing to do? Complain about the treatment of our kids? But where were we when they were little, supposedly getting their values instilled into them. Were we there spending time with them? Or out partying it up? Were we there to comfort them, or was Grandpa and Grandma the ones they sought out for love? Now that our kids are getting into adolscence we're running around wondering why they won't listen to us. Hmm. To even admit to something like this is very difficult, huh? Well, it's time to think about things. Another risk factor is called Transitions and mobility (contributes to substance abuse, delinquency, school drop out). When children move from from elementary school to middle school, or from middle school to high school, significant increases in that rate of drug use, school drop out and anti-social behavior is more likely to occur. Now that has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it? This increases the risk of children becoming involved in both criminal behavior and drug-related problems. Low neighborhood attachment and community disorganization (contributes to substance abuse, delinquency, and violence). Having this increases the rates of drug problems, delinquency and violence, plus higher rates of drug trafficking in communities or neighborhoods. Do you know your neighbor well? Do you talk with each others a lot? How involved are you in your community and with your neighbors? Do you talk with each other to keep an eye on each other's homes when one is out of town? Some factors to think about: Where do our key players live? If merchants, teachers, police, human and social service personnel live outside of neighborhoods, then they have a lower sense of commitment to the community. Now, that's something to consider! Where do our local key players live? Makes you think. If vandalism, graffitti and violence are happen-ing in local neighborhoods, but our key players live outside the area, are our concerns really being heard and considered. Or is it another out of sight, out of mind situation? (Remember, this observation is one that has come about as a result of research, not this writer's personal opinion). The last community risk factor isExtreme economic deprivation (conributes to substance abuse. delinquency, violence, teen pregnancy, and school drop-out). Children who live in deteriorating neighborhoods characterized by extreme poverty, poor living conditions and high unemployment are more likely to develop the problems mentioned in the above paragraph. They have bchaviororadjustment problems early in life and are more likely to have problems with drugs later on. The community risk factors shared here are to help you think about a lot of things. Take a look at our reservation, our little communities, and our individual homes, our personal values and commitments for providing a safe environment for our people, especially our youth. How many of the risk factors mentioned, can you name that are right here in our community? Alarmin, isn't it? But things can be done to make changes. It takes a commitment from you, and every individual who lives here and we can make the changes happen. There are a lot of good families on our reservation, raising great children, teaching wonderful family values. But, we are facing fast changes, living double-standards, confused already by what's been placed before Native American people since first contact. Now we must learn how to save ourselves from ourselves. Our survival as Native American people has endured many things. As the role of alcohol and drugs takes a toll on our people, the role of change, of sobriety, of postive healthy lifestyles can also change to make a future for our children, and the generations to come. Understanding these risk factors means being honest with ourselves; it means being willing to take a stand, and giving a real commitment to our children and their future. The change is here, it's happening. In future issues of Spilyay, read about Family Risk Factors, Individual Risk Factors, Social Risk Factors and Constitutional Risk Factors. To learn what they are, you must be willing to be patient and read Spilyay for more information. In the future, you will be reading about Family Risk Factors and Individual Risk Factors. All play a part in the concerns of alcohol and drug use, and violence. If we can take time to understand these risk factors, then we can prevent our children from becoming involved. It takes everyone working together; everone making healthier choices.