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Spilydy Tymoo, W d m Springs, Oregon
March, film raise awareness of abuse problem
B y L e s lie M itts
Spilyay Tymoo
The cold weather did little to
deter those out to support a
cause in late February.
M em bers o f the M adras
High School Youth Develop
m ent Team partnered w ith
com m unity m em bers from
Warm Springs and Madras in or
der to conduct a march against
child sexual abuse.
The march and accompany
ing rally were only a small frac
tion of the work the team has
completed in attempt to com
bat the issue.
M ichael K aiser from the
National Center for Victims of
Crime traveled from Washing
ton D.C. to serve as guest
speaker at the event.
He praised the group, and
said that teenagers are typically
viewed as a problem in the com
munity.
But, Kaiser said, “The fact is
in Madras the young people are
the solution to a problem in
your community.”
The m arch expanded on
progress made by the group af
ter they filmed and premiered
the film, “Silent Message.”
D uke W hite and his son
founded Hudson Productions,
the company that created the
movie with Youth D evelop
ment Team members.
Fie said that throughout the
experience, he has seen many
people stand up in front of
crowds and admit that they suf
fered from child sexual abuse.
“They feel that great lift in
weight o ff their shoulders,”
White said.
White said the experience of
Leslie Mitts photos
Community members
listened to speakers at the
rally on Feb. 19 (above).
Alyssia Meanus spoke to the
media about the team’s
efforts to bring awareness to
the issue of sex abuse
(right).
working with the high school
students will remain unparal
leled as he works on future
projects— especially in terms of
impact.
“It’s been an honor for me
to work with the Madras Youth
Development Team,” he said.
According to Youth Devel
opment Team member Isaac
Zacharias, “We are determined
to raise awareness of tilings that
are happening in every minute
of every day.”
Savenia Falquist, advisor to
the Youth Development Team,
spoke during the rally of her
experience working with the
high school students.
“I’m just so proud of these
kids today,” she said.
Alyssia Meanus co-leads the
Youth Development Team with
fellow tribal member Nicholas
Katchia.
She spoke out to victims of
sexual abuse during the rally,
saying, “I want all of you to
know that it is okay, and it is not
your fault.”
Katchia spoke of his realiza
tion that child sexual abuse is a
drastic problem— and at a vari
ety of age levels.
Though the turnout wasn’t as
big as they had expected, the
crowd o f people yelled and
marched with enthusiasm.
“It turned out pretty good
for what it was,” Meanus said.
According to Meanus, group
ing together is something that
is key for combating the prob
lem of child sexual abuse.
She said, “If we just work
together to break the silence we
can put the abusers behind
bars.”
Overall, Katchia said, they
have hoped to obliterate that si
lence throughout the year.
“I thin k we hoped that
people aren’t afraid to come out
and speak and talk about their
abuse,” he said.
A ccording to fellow team
m em ber M arissa B iggs, the
team’s work has had a positive
impact throughout all the work
they have done.
“The team has actu ally
brought a lot to my life,” she
said. “It’s a serious thing to more
people than you would think.”
In Meanus’ opinion, a lot of
the problem comes from adults
who are unwilling to admit past
problems or occurrences.
“The adults need to just stop
being stubborn and holding it
back,” she said.
With the help of elders and
parents, Meanus said, the prob
lem of sexual abuse can be re
duced— and it’s something that
many people face in their past.
Meanus added, “They don’t
like to believe it either because
it happened to them.”
The Youth D evelopm ent
Team is an anti-drug and anti
violence team made up o f stu
dents who volunteer their time
during lunch one day per week.
Follow ing the m arch and
rally, the students showed “Si
lent Message” at the Jefferson
County Library Annex.
The 30-minute film tackles
the subject of child sexual abuse
in a series of three stories and
is availab le on DVD from
H udson P ro d u ctio n s at
www.hudsonpro.com.
The march was sponsored by
Madras High School’, the Na
tional Center for Victim s of
Crime, the National Crime Pre
v en tio n C o u n cil, Je ffe rso n
C ounty E .M .S., Je ffe rso n
County Commission on Chil
dren and Families, the Confed
erated Tribes of Warm Springs,
Kids C enter, and Jefferso n
County Victims Assistance.
7
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Traditional salmon dinner
Celilo Falls history exhibit
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