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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1991)
Smoke Signals June 1991 page 6 Summer Youth Employment The Confederated Tribes of Siletz, Salem Area Office will be accepting applications for 4-5 SYEP positions in the Marion, Polk, and Yamhill counties between May 27, 1991 through June 7, 1991. Requirements for all positions. - Between the ages of 14-21 must provide proof of age - Have a valid Oregon work permit if younger than 18 years old - Provide proof of American Indian enrollment or decendcncy from an enrolled member. - Social Security Number - Provide proof of household income or public assistance which meets poverty guidelines andor lower living standard income, (see table below). Figures may change when we received the updated guidelines. 1990 Poverty Income Guidelines for all States Except Alaska and Hawaii: Size of Family Unit Poverty Guideline 1 $6,280. 2 8,420. 3 10,560. 4 12,700. 5 14,480. 6 16,980. 7 19,120. 8 .21,260 For family units with more than 8 members, add $2,140 for each additional member. Participants: Will be paid $4.75 an hour. Work part-time 30-32 hours a week. Provide own transportation to worksite. Adhere to contracted hours. Begin on or shortly after July 1. 1991. Contact Luella Azule at 585-4428 to set up an appoint ment to complete an application between May 27, 1991 through June 7, 1991. ATTENTION: IT IS APPLICANT'S RESPONSIBIL ITY TO PROVIDE ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUESTED ABOVE. FAILURE TO PROVIDE NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION WILL ELIMI NATE APPLICATION FROM FURTHER CONSID ERATION FOR JTPASYEP PROGRAM. Youth not meeting the above poverty guidelines may want to contact the Salem Employment office for summer employment. Ask for Lola Thompson-Hanson at 378-4814 or go to 605 Cottage St. N.E., Salem to fill out the necessary forms. The Mid-Willamette Valley Jobs Council at 1495 Edgewater St. N.W., Salem OR. 97304-4699 also has a summer youth employment program. Applications will be mailed to the schools on April 16, 1991. Education News Burns Paiute Tribe Wins Suit Against Artifact Hunters BURNS, Ore. - The Burns Paiute Tribe expressed great satisfaction with an April 23rd ruling in a lawsuit filed by the State of Oregon against three local artifact hunters. The Tribe intervened in the suit, seeking forfeiture of the artifacts and a permanent injunction, both of which were granted. State law bans people from doing any archaeological excavation on public or private property without first notifying the appropriate Tribe, consulting with the Tribe and reporting results of the dig. Tribal Students Face Budget Reductions By Brent Merrill Students taking part in the various Grand Ronde tribal education programs are paying close attention to the proposed budget cuts brought on by Measure 5. Ac cording to Tribal education director Dean Azule, state schools will be forced to put a ceiling on enrollment numbers. Besides limiting the number of students, colleges and universities will also increase the GPA requirement for incoming students. The bottom line is more students will be forced to attend two-year schools as opposed to a four-year school. Azule said that his program encourages students to register early so they don't get lost in the shuffle. This downward spiral began locally when Oregon voters sought property tax relief through ballot measure 5. "What has happened is that this has really come out of the governor's office," said Azule. Azule also ex plained that the President's higher education budget is also going through some changes. "On a federal level the president's budget committee is looking at setting up a larger PELL grant", said Azule. "The maximum PELL grant right now is $2,600. The increase could make that grant as much as $3,700. for each student, which is good. But, what they are also looking to do is eliminate low middle income and mid-middle income students from PELL grant eligibility. So what they are saying is the PELL grant is for the neediest of the neediest students." Azule said that the Tribe currently has some students who will be affected. "We will have some that are probably going to be without PELL grant assistance." What this all means is that it will be harder to get into an educational institution both academically and financially in the future. Tribal members pursuing a four-year degree will need to meet all deadline require ments and stay out of the lower 10 academically. Students who do finish semesters in the bottom 10 will find their options for financial aid severely limited. According to Azule, the possible cuts are not based on enrollment projections by each school. The State Board ' of Higher Education and the Chancellor's Office for Higher Education made the cuts arbitrarily across the board. They based their budgets on information they received from representatives of each school. The criteria they used for cuts was based on the increase or decrease in participation. "What's happening is they are coming up with a dollar figure and they are doing several things to offset that cost," explained Azule. " They (the schools) are raising tuition and eliminating staff people. What that is going to do is put the burden on the student because they are being attacked at the financial aid level. What ends up happening is you end up eliminating programs." This situation of budget chaos is not unique to our tribe or even to students in Oregon, budget cuts are being felt by students and schools all over the country. Recently, Azule and Tribal Council member Merle Holmes, who is a member of the Education Committee, attended the Tribal Education Contractors Association Conference in Spokane, Washington. Basically, the message presented at this conference was that these budget cuts are being felt all over the country by a growing number of students. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has proposed a reorganization that would hinder the Tribal role in the determination and the dis tribution of federal education dollars. Azule said that he understands the BIA's reorganiza tion proposal but doesn't necessarily agree with it. "Ba sically they are proposing all these changes for the good of education programs but, they have not consulted the Tribe's or the programs and so they have met with a lot of opposition," said Azule. If these changes proposed by the BIA were to be adopted this is how Tribal members could be affected: 1. Right now the Tribal education program tries to meet 100 of the unmet need if they have the money. The program may end up having to set up a maximum award that we can give a student. For example no more than $700 dollars per quarter. 2. The Tribal education program may end up forcing students to apply for all the loans they can. So a student will be in debt right off the bat by a maximum of about $2,000. . They (the schools) are raising tuition and eliminating staff people. What that is going to do is put the burden on the student because they are being attacked at the financial aid level What ends up happening is you end up elimi nating programs.'! Education Director Dean Azule 3. Right now the Tribal education program is currently only needing to fulfill the unmet portion and has not turned anybody away yet. "The program may have to start a waiting list every year. You could see 6 to 8 students on a waiting list each quarter that won't get served if these proposals go into effect. 4. An added burden will be placed on the student and the family. Right now there is confusion between inde pendent and dependent student status. Most students seem to think that when they graduate in May from high school, and move out of their parent's household and start working in June, that they can declare themselves an independent. It doesn't work that way. What's going to happen is that those parents who have a dual income, whether they earn a lot of money or not, are going to fall into that lower or middle income bracket, and they are not going to qualify for financial aid at all. The only things that they probably will qualify for are loans. 5. The timelines. The schools, have set new admission deadlines. They have also set a ceiling on enrollment. What it says is that the schools are going to the point where they want the best students. What they're wanting are students who have a 2.75, or a 3.00 GPA or better. On the average high school students will have a difficult time getting directly into a four-year program. 6. It's going to make a difference where kids go to school. If they can't get a program that's in a local school, they may be looking at going out of state. According to Azule, there is light at the end of the tunnel. "Every year our program has met with moder ate success and we have been able to meet the increased need every year. These proposed restrictions are going to force us to be more creative." Students wanting to participate in Tribal education programs in the future are going to have to be willing to be more responsible and dedicated in meeting educational requirements.
