Image provided by: The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Warm Springs, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1997)
m w m m Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs XXX 1995 and 1996 Annual Report AaA Profile: Carol Wewa "My happiest time was when I was with my family in the early years. I would wake up with the sun, and we would play in the hills all day....coming home only when we heard the dinner Dell at noon." Carol Wewa grew up in auiet, peaceful Upper Seekseequa on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. "We didn't have to wear shoes, and we would play until the sun got hot. I remember my brother wrapping sagebrush under my feet so I could walk home." It was a light-hearted time for a small child growing up in the 1950's. "We were taught not to wander too far away when we were in the woods," Carol says. "That's where we were taught about Stick Indians and Water Babies. I remember my dad growing alfalfa hay, rye grass, rounding up cattle and chasing wild horses." Reflecting on those days so long ago, Carol continues, "I remember hearing the horses' hooves thundering over the land. Any little movement the horses see, and they pick that up." Carol laughs as she reminisces, "I remember standing by a juniper tree with those horses thundering by. My idea of being safe was to climb the tree....the movement changed the direction the horses were going." Carol remembers getting scolded really bad" because her family had to go back and round up the horses again. The young girl who loved to roam the hills or Seekseeaua lived with her parents and siblings, only a quarter mile from her grandparents and three miles from an aunt. Melvin "Bull" Wewa and Ella Battise Wewa were her parents. Bull was born on the Reservation, and Carol's mother was a full blooded Coushatta Indian from Elton, Louisiana. Ella came to work at the Warm Springs Health Clinic after graduating from Crulocco Indian School. She never returned to Louisiana. Carol has two older brothers, Ron Kalama and Jerry Wewa, and two younger sisters, Vivian and Lois. "I remember being around my grandparents, Sam and Maggie, a lot. We were always around when they were cattle riding," Carol said. Recalling those days conjures up memories of boiling beans in a big black kettle, baking pan bread, and cowboys. Carol recalls traveling to the mountains with her family, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins to pick huckleberries or to the root digging areas in Central Oregon. It is this sense of family unity that has remained a continued value in the Wewa family today. Her father, Bull Wewa, was one of the few Indians who competed in the county fair rodeo circuits throughout Oregon. Carol smiles as she remembers riding in the back of an old pickup with a wood canopy, staring at the pavement and the horse trailer. He was a pretty good calf roper and team roper, competing with the best cowboys in Oregon. Perhaps Carol's serene feelings for green grass, tall trees, shimmering summer sun, the smell of horse flesh and sound of flying hooves lies in the lingering spirit of her ancestors. Her great-great grandfather was the celebrated Weyawewa, Chief of the Mule Deer Eater Band of Paiutes and the Northern Paiutes' most noted diplomat. Weyawewa's brother was the feared Chief Paulina and his cousin was Chief Oitz, who led 38 Paiutes to the Warm Springs Reservation from Vancouver Barracks in October of 1879. Carol's world changed dramatically when she started school at age six. The boarding school in Warm Springs was her new home. "My parents talked to me and prepared me for going to school. It was a real big change....a new world of a whole bunch of people." Carol says she learned tribal racism at boarding school. "I didn't understand it then," she says. "My parents didn't speak badly of other tribes, in fact, they would comment on how someone could speak both Paiute and Wasco, or whatever the language was." Wewa attended boarding school for four years, but she says, "it seems like I was there forever." The family lineage and propriety has always been important to the Wewa family. When her grandmother was still alive, Carol periodically traveled with her to visit family and friends. On her first trip to Owyhee, Nevada, Carol said her grandmother told her the Owyhee people would treat them very well. "Because of the family we are from they will ask us to eat with them, and we must." Carol said that after the third or fourth house of visiting, with people bringing food out, she said, "Grandma, we can't handle this anymore." Maggie responded, "You HAVE to!" Carol says her grandmother taught her that when people come to visit, you offer them coffee or food. When you go to visit other people and they offer you coffee or food you take it even if you've just eaten "This is to show your appreciation." Carol began working at age 14. Her first summer job was at the Day Care Center when it first opened. "They found funds to carry me through the school year. I worked an hour-and-a-half after school every day." Other summers, she worked for the Tribal Council steno pool. Her very first day on the job, she was sent in to take minutes of a Tribal Council meeting. Her ability to accurately record meetings landed her assignments on the Timber Committee and the Fish and Wildlife Committee. Carol said that Delbert Frank and Ed Scott used to go out of their way to encourage her. "I'm sure they knew I was nervous." Referring to the Timber Committee, Carol says, "My first day they were talking about so many board feet of timber and millions of dollars. I thought, 'I'm never going to get all this right.'" Carol graduated from Madras High School in 1970, and completed three years of college at Eastern Oregon State College in LaGrande. Returning to Warm Springs, Carol had difficulty finding employment. "I didn't have any experience and I didn't have a degree. It was a real frustrating experience." During this time, Carol experimented with alcohol and drugs. "One day, for some reason, it hit me that I was put here to do more with my life," she recalls. "A spiritual thing was happening to me....I started to look at my lire and what I was doing. I made a decision t put aside "using" at the age of 23, and it was the best decision I've ever made." Reflecting on that period of her life, Carol recalls that a lot of friends her age didn't want to be around her because she was sober. "I was tempted many times to revert back to using, it would have been so easy to do. I refused to become involved in a relationship with someone who was using. To turn and walk away from someone like that at the age of 23 was about the hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life." During this time, her grandmother Maggie became a very influential person in her life. "Grandma and I would be alone. She would speak to me about my behavior, how to carry myself in the community, my family lineage, and things she called "woman" teachings. She spoke about ways that were not followed in these times, and how it troubled people today. She told me things meant only for my ears. All of it has helped me through the years." Carol was married in 1976 and became a homemaker. Ten years and two children later, the marriage ended in divorce. One of the values that had been instilled in her was the commitment to marriage. Carol viewed her ex-husband's relapse into substance abuse as one of the contributing factors to the breakup. The divorce threw Carol into a situation where she had to come to terms with the changing value system of today's society. This was the beginning of a tough time in Carol's life, but also a time when she gained strength through her spiritual beliefs. She credits Maggie, and her friend Carol Allison, for helping her deal with this loss. "I had a lot of support from my parents I still get choked up when I think of what wonderful people were in my life at that time." "I'd like to mention that today, my ex husband and I are very god friends. We get along very well, and have done some talking to heal ourselves, and to keep a positive relationship for our two boys, Kelly (18) and Aaron (13)." Carol's siblings also continue to think well of their ex-brother-in-law. "To them, he'll always remain apart of the family because he is Kelly and Aaron's dad. I think that's pretty cool it shows what a great family I have." ' To help make ends meet, Carol got a part-time job that ended up being 40 hours a week. Tnat job was in Mail and Reception at the Tribal Administration building. From there, Carol transferred to the Public Safety Branch as Executive Secretary. It was a position she held for 'seven years. She worked for three r different police chiefs, in a highly structurea environment. Carol resigned from Public Safety and transferred, as a Counselor, to a new department that was very unorthodox in dealing with family crisis. Family Preservation assisted families encountering various adversities and obstacles. That could and did include such basic things as teaching women how to clean their kitchens, and improve on the sanitary conditions of their homes. Carol says, "I really liked that job. We used a creative approach to problem solving and did things that normally weren't done in the counseling field. We had flex hours, and it was fun being innovative while still conducting intense one-on-one counseling, and using traditional or cultural means whenever we could." The job came to an end when Carol made a decision to transfer. Family Preservation later ended due to lack of funding. The skills she learned from the family unity model of counseling continue to influence her community education today. It was one method that fit into the Indian way of living, and dealing with people, naturally. In February 1993, Carol went to work for Community Health Education as a Community Health Information Specialist. For the past year, she has served in acting supervisor capacity working with three specialists in the program. Through experience, Carol has become very focused on health issues. She currently serves as a member of the Tribe's Health and Welfare committee, appointed by Tribal Council. The committee has been involved with Indian Health Service's attempted to redesign how they deliver health services. "We are trying to assure that Warm Springs health services are not cut, or impacted significantly," Wewa states. The committee works closely with the Northwest Indian Health Board. Tribal Council relies on the committee to keep them informed on a wide array of health issues. Perhaps it was her experience as a counselor that reawakened a desire to help people, or maybe it was something her grandmother instilled in her long ago. Years ago, Maggie appointed Carol the head tsuga (koush) digger at the Agency Longhouse. In naming Carol, Maggie gave up the position she held for many years. Carol says, "My responsibility is to appoint other tsuga diggers, make sure the roots are gathered, brought back to the Longhouse, peeled and prepared to serve to the people." Carol praised Caroline Tohet for nelping her learn. "Caroline was a positive person who would tell you things in a good way, and always had encouraging words." Carol Wewa is a person who attacks every project in her life with a zest that almost automatically assures success. Her grandfather, Sam Wewa, served on the first Tribal Council; her father, Melvin, served one term on Council, as well as her Aunt Christine. Her uncle, Wilson "Jazzy" Wewa, Sr., currently represents the Seekseequa District. Carol remembers listening to her grandfather talking to her dad about things going on in Tribal Council when she was a girl. "I remember seeing my grandfather with all his tribal council papers spread out on the kitchen table," says Carol. "My ambition for leadership started when I was young (21) to be on Tribal Council. People think they can go sit on Tribal Council without any experience." Carol says that isn't true. As her father told her, "you have to be smart enough to make good decisions, but mature enough to handle some of the behaviors that are displayed by some tribal councilmen." Melvin encouraged her to wait. Carol ran for a position on Tribal Council in the last election. After being approached by several Seekseequa district members, they convinced her to run as a write-in candidate. She didn't win a seat on Council, and she has since had a change of heart. "I really don't think I'll run for CounciL..it's really hard to admit that the beliefs my grandfather tried to pass on to us are no longer valid. The way it used to be, Grandpa spoke of how they all worked together, making decisions for the best interest of the whole tribe. Now, I see some Tribal Council people making personal choices and decisions for the benefit of their families, relatives, or strictly for their district," Carol laments. She feels there are other ways to help people. "I can help people heal the hurts and traumas they ve gone through, by allowing them to see that they have the choice to help themselves." Although alcohol or drugs have never been a problem for her, Carol says, "if I'm working in the health field, I should be able to say that alcohol is no longer an option for me." To underscore her point, Wewa quoted former Alternative Education Director, Art Ochoa, "Walk your talk." Carol says that she wants to live her life in a way that sets a good example at making good choices and also enables her to help people. As to what the future holds for Carol Wewa...."I will always live here on the reservation. My commitment to myself, my family and the people is here at home. I would like to go back and get a college degree and a Masters." Carol goes on to say, "not to brag or to say I need it, but because it would be a personal accomplishment." Another dream for Carol is owning a shop where she could design T-shirts and use her graphic arts skills. She would like to develop a performing arts group, and be able to get people into the different arts. "There are a lot of things I would like to do....but you only have one lifetime to squeeze them in." One thing you can be sure of.... wherever you find Carol Wewa, you'll find her nelping people. CO i