?E Coosb EEWA: The W3y it is
Page 4 Spilyay Tyrooo August 22, 2002
Parents,
students
ready for
school year
By Tina Aguilat
My kids seem anxious to start
school on Sept. 4. My son will be id
the fifth grade at the middle school
He is already pretty much in the
"know" because his two older sisters havd
attended the middle school already.
He's seen both sides of what can
happen if he doesn't comply with thd
rules, and he knows the rewards ofl
behaving and applying himself, if hd
chooses to follow the straight and
narrow.
I truly hope
some changes
happen for the
better at the
middle school.
Maybe with a new
principal this will happen.
rnmmnnirflfinn is the kev word u
believe. When the teacher, counselor
and parents are all communicating it
causes less confusion.
I'm thankful they have a breakfast pro
gram because at our house we're all rush
ing to get out the door.
But all in all it looks like this will be d.
good year for our children wherever they
may be going to school. That's only mjj
opinion.
By Selena Boise
You know I enjoyed the summer witrJ
my kids, our vacation and I am gettina
myself ready for school to start as well. 1
have four kids and two stepchildren start
ing school this fall.
This year compared to last year, I
feel like I'm ready as well. Last year I
was overwhelmed with the increase
of teenagers in my home; It was hard.
but things have smoothed out some
I can actually say that I am ready foil
school to start.
My youngest son is in Warm
Springs Elementary School in the
first grade and he enjoys school, and
learning.
My youngest daughter will be en
tering the fifth grade at the middle
school. She's a little nervous, because
it's a bigger school and she heard
things that scared her. She's a good
kid, and I hope that she continues tcj
build her confidence while shea
there.
The two in eighth grade are readjj
for school and have talked about get
ting better grades this year. I hope
they receive the encouragement and
support from their teachers, and guid
ance counselors this year as they did
last year.
I am pleased with the assistance
that my high school son is receiving
to keep his grades up. There was a
time when we felt that he was being
pushed through school, whether hd
was ready or not.
We didn't know that he was behind
until it was too late to get caught up
The tracking sheets are an excellent
idea because we can see where hd
might be getting behind, and his
counselor can see it as well. So he's
being monitored by two sources.
He brought his grades up. His
guidance counselor is assisting wit
ways to continue his improvement
Boarding school is going to be a
new experience for my stepdaughten
but she is ready and willing to cxpe
rience something new in her life
Speaking from experience, it gives aj
nerson a different perspective on life
r
in general.
The best of all these schools fon
my kids is their friends. They look
forward to going to school and seeing
their friends and hearing about thcin
summer vacations.
Experiences at school are going id
stay with these children for the rest
of their lives. I hope that they makd
the best of it. Studying and keeping
up their grades is important but it is
just as important to build memories
that will stay with them for the rest
of their lives. That's my opinion!
Spilyay
Speaks
Great powwow
This letter is written in apprecia
tion of those who helped make the
Simnasho Hot Summer Night Pow
wow a good time. The idea was a
simple one: To gather the people,
break bread and have a good time. We
believe we did just that.
We would like to thank all the par
ents for bringing their children down
to dance. There were two girls who
danced right up till midnight. I
thought it was very nice of Nelson
Zomont bringing residents of the Elder
Care center up to enjoy the evening fes
tivities. It was encouraging to see our
elder's Fannie Waheneka, ' Freda
Wallulatum, Annabelle Clements,
Hilda Culpus and Silas Williams take
time to be there. I want to thank Jacob
and Winona Frank for their constant
support, and Ray and Buelah Tsumpti
for being there.
It was with this kind of support
that this one night event came to be.
I was nervous as we were preparing
the meal and I was hoping that it
would turn out okay. As the evening
progressed, and I heard the laughter
and the visiting going on, it made ev
erything worthwhile. The Elston fam
ily made it fun, and we even got to
watch Emerson pour it on.
We would like to thank the follow
ing individuals for the donation of
food, time and assistance in the prepa
ration of the meal: Charlotte
Herkshan, Katie Smith, Guy
Wallulatum, Keith Moody, Mr. and
Mrs. Levi Keo, Terry Keo, Radine
Kirk and Nonie, Tillie and Tamera
Rae.
We would also like to thank the
following:
The two MC's for the evening,
Michael Collins and Carlos Calica.
They did a great job of keeping it fun.
The Austin Greene family for the
use of the hay tarps and the help in
putting them up.
Kathy Quempts for taking care of
the needed paper work. Gene
Sampson and crew for coming down
to help out.
Steve Waldorf of Fire Management
for coming up and cutting down the
brush. Juanita and Scott (and the two
who I don't know) from Fire and
Safety staff for jumping in and help
ing. Officer O'Rielly, for being
present.
Austin Greene, who donated the
use of his PA (it was said you could
hear drumming across the valley.)
Jabbar Davis for providing the gen
Authentic Native American
By Roxanne Chinook
Native American writers Tom Hill
and Richard Hill explain five gifts that
they say Native Americans have re
ceived from their ancestors:
The first gift is our deep connec
tion to the land.
The second gift is the power and
spirit that animals share with our
people.
The third is the spirit forces, who
are our living relatives and who com
municate with us through the images
we make of them.
The fourth is the sense of who we
are, which is expressed and sustained
through our tribal traditions.
The last gift is the creative process
our beliefs made real through the
transformation of natural materials
into objects of faith and pride.
Thus, whether it is basket making,
carving, weaving, painting, pottery,
jewelry, beadwork, or any other cre
ative activity, it is linked to our tradi
tion and culture of the ages.
With this in mind it is imperative
that our tribal casinos be more sup
portive of their traditional and con
temporary tribal and Native Ameri
can artists and craftspeople. The type
of support I am referring to does not
include purchasing a few beaded ear
rings or medallions to sell in their gift
shops, but actually hiring tribal and
or Native American artists as consult
Letters to
erator that lit up the dance floor and kept
our MC's on the air.
The Drums: Quartz Creek, Pine
Grove Jr.s, Eagle Thunder, Wawokya,
and Warrior Society, as they provided
the tunes. Jillene Joseph from Port
land who made a $50 donation to
wards the powwow.
Finally, I would like to thank my
three sons Huston, Antone and Ryan
for helping me with the construction
of the arbor (they stuck by me no
matter how hot it got). If I forgot
someone, it wasn't intentional so for
give me.
If everything goes right, we'll do
it again in September, so look for the
posters for Simnasho's September
Shindig.
Captain Moody
Congratulations
The Talifson family would like to
wish a special congratulations on a
job well done to Nancy Moorehouse.
Mom would have been very proud of
you, keep up the good work and good
luck with whatever the future may
bring you.
The Talifson Family
A great time
Hi, since I'm not able to write to
practically everyone in and from
Warm Springs, here is what I want to
share with you all.
Well I now stay in a low-income
program for head injured folks only.
It's called the Uhlhorn Program in
Eugene.
The Uhlhorn program had its 12,h
anniversary prom at the Hilyare Cen
ter on July 31. I bought myself a real
classy white flowered skirt and pretty
soft pink blouse to go with it. I was
so enthused and surprised when the
Uhlhorn program announced big
winners in certain contests.
. They said,. I Ms. Evette Patt was
or is the one who can make great suc
cess at writing a bookl Again, Ms.
Evette Patt might make a great suc
cess if I ever choose to get myself into
politics.
I'm very proud of myself to hear
those great accomplishments. I know
what I'm able to do now in the present.
It is so cool to know what you can do
now in the present.
The outfit I wore to the prom
brought out the black in hair. I loved
the prom for Uhlhorn's 12,h anniver
sary. It was great, and very excellent.
Evette Patt, 689 W. 13,h Ave., apt.
11, Eugene, OR 97402.
ants during the architectural
and interior design process
of building andor remod
eling tribal casinos.
This also applies to constructing
galleries, purchasing, displaying and
or commissioning only from authen
tic tribal and Native American art
ists, providing art scholarships, art
programs, supporting and or estab
lishing tribal art organizations and
Native American art
forms have attained popularity
throughout the United States and the
world. Sadly this appreciation has
resulted in the misrepresentation and
the appropriation of our cultural
symbols, art forms and motifs for re
production and sale by non-native
peoples.
The popularity has also brought
in craft and art forms that are repre
sented as "Native American In
spired." Many non-native artists claim
they were given permission to incor
porate cultural symbols into their
work, but forsake genuine under
standing and cultural discernment.
However, Northwest coast masks
inspired Picasso, and Jackson Pollock
was inspired by Navajo sand paint
ing, yet neither of these artists chose
to appropriate these cultural art forms
into their work. In a survey of Ameri
cans nationwide, a Zogby news poll
revealed that Native Americans are
Guest
Editorial
the Editor
Reclaiming youth
It is imperative to acknowledge and
thank the following individuals for
their contributions to the "Reclaim
ing Our Youth Camp."
We had a total of 338 youth and 68
adult participants and volunteers.
Geraldine Jim, Terry Courtney, Sam
Starr, Barbara Starr, Bernice Mitchell,
Ellen Thompson, Richard Tohet,
Satch Miller, Wendall Jim, Herb
Graybael, Marvin Meanus Sr., Jimmy
Wesley, Cecil Brunoe, Brian Luud,
Montel Elliot, Russ "Drum Maker"
Alger, Luanne Foltz, Lynn
Tanewasha, Gorky Mitchell, Andy
Leonard, Carlos Calica, Austin
Greene, Emerson Squiemphen, Lori
Mitchell, Lorien Stacona, Miss Pi-Um-Sha,
Rosalind Sampson, Joe
Rauschenburg, Louise K. Jackson,
Chris Elliott, Nicole Main, Kaipo
Akaka, Charlie Berman, Calvin Bahe,
Edison Yazzie,
Tedi Tanewasha, Health Fair, Sa
rah Thomas, Dr. Valerie Ohman, Dr.
Rachel Locker, Dr. Miles Rudd, Dr.
Tom CreelmanNo Ears, Shawn
Gaddy, Nancy Collins, Laura
Spalding, Winona Stwyer, Connie
Johnson, Joy Harvey, Betty Taylor,
Jaunita Simpson, Kathie Jim, Yvonne
Earl, Rosanna Sanders, Minnie Tula
Lakus, Bob Cronkhite, Jim Quaid,
Urbana Manion, Annie Kalama,
Carolyn Ribiero, Kelli Picard, Cap
tain, Keith, Nonie, Tillie, Tamera,
Huston, Antone, Trevor, Ryan,
Anita, and special thanks to Art
Ochoa
Thomas Morning Owl; Amanda
Old Crow and Bobby David.
Tribal Arts and Crafts, Youth
Leadership Skills and SportNutri
tion. Sincere gratitude to all the donors
for their contributions: W.S. Forest
Products Industries; W.S. Composite
Products: Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert
Resort and Casino, I.H.S. for the
Healthy Indian Taco lunch and
Health Fried Bread Skit. I was in
structed by my elder and mentor to
"walk the walk," as there are many
people in our Community and
county that "talk the talk" and that
it turns out to be "hot air".
Reclaiming our youth turned out
to be a most positive experience for
many tribal youth and family mem
bers. Inquiries from participants:
1. Is there going to be another
work shopcamp for youth?
2. Is it possible to have a family
day camp (young adults feel they have
not had an opportunity to learn tribal
art helps preserve culture
the most historically op
pressed group of people in
America.
The unemployment rate
on a typical reservation is between 40
and 50 percent, a figure that may
reach 80 or 90 percent on some of the
poorer reservations.
The lack of jobs and economic op
portunity on reservations is a major
contributor to the high levels of alco
holism, suicide and helplessness.
These factors perpetuate a continu
ing cycle of social and economic de
spair In turn, each art form or craft that
resembles or is inspired by Native
Americans that is reproduced, mar
keted andor sold by non-natives can
only impact the impoverish levels
found in Native America today; dep
rivation on some reservations com
parable to poverty-stricken nations of
the Third World.
Many of the tribal and casino gift
shops throughout the states of Or
egon and Washington are filled with
mass produced so-called native art
forms and fine art creations by non
native artists.
If our own people and tribal casi
nos continue to support non-natives'
mass production and marketing of
Native American art forms and mo
tifs, how can we expect our own cul
tural arts to survive?
It seems like all this would be a
arts and crafts.)
3. Can we have this camp when
it's cooler?
If there is anyone (group, club, or
ganization or department) that is
planning to sponsor a positive event,
there are some very energized people
(as mentioned) in our community
who can enhance with positive en
ergy, fun and lots of Laughs.
Respectfully, Char Herkshan
Work program
I don't know what kind of mes
sage we are sending out to our young
girls. My granddaughters every year
are turned away from the Summer
Youth Work program, for whatever
reason. . .
Do you realize that we have mul
tiplied in tribal memberhisp, a popu
lation explosion that truly has our
tribe in a financial demise? Babies
having babies should not be encour
aged. Since the children having babies
are more often counting on Welfare
checks, they become dependant on it.
My grandchildren were hurt, so was
I, but I will take all measures to en
sure that they don't have unplanned
pregnancy.
I truly love children, but it is just
too sad to see very young ladies stroll
ing down the road, pushing baby
strollers....
I will continue to love my grand
children unconditionally, and con
tinue to teach them traditionally to
value themselves. Yes, babies are pre
cious, but the children need to be
encouraged to be prepared before hav
ing babies.
Neda Wesley
Purchaser sought
As I misplaced her name, will the
Native American lady, short in
height, who bought a blue chairai
my yard sale, July 12 or 13, please
contact June at 546-3801, so she may
pick it up. The sale was just south of
Metolius on the Culver Highway.
June Miller
Reminder regarding
letters to the editor
It is the policy of Spilyay
Tymoo to print Letters to the
Editor from any and all tribal
members. Because of space limi
tations, letters should not exceed
350 words.
given, but sadly it's not. The western
art market is overrun by non-native
artists who appropriate Native
American art forms, imagery, styles
and motifs, such as: Robert
Tanenbaum, Jim Nelson, Martin
French, J.D. Challenger, Marian
Anderson and David Craig.
It is important to understand that
when you purchase an authentic Na
tive American traditional or contem
porary art form or craft you help to
preserve the Native American cul
ture. We believe through proper educa
tion and promotion we can create a
greater recognition of the continuity
of Native American art, and a better
understanding of how the appropria
tion of these art forms impacts the
survival of our culture
Please implore our tribal leaders
to help support our tribal and Na
tive American traditional and con
temporary fine artists and crafts
people.
Come and visit American Indian
Art from the Pacific Northwest
website: www.cbuynativeart.com.
(Roxanne Chinook is a member of
the Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs, a professional artist, and Di
rector of the Art Marketing Program at
Northwest Indian College, located
within the Lummi Nation in
Belingham, Washington.)
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