Smoke Signals September 1991 Page 5
OUR APOLOGIES
During last month's issue of the SMOKE SIGNALS
Newspaper, we listed all Higher Education and Adult
Vocation Training students for the 1990-1991 school
year. We did not include Mr. Tracy Howerton, who is
attending Lane Community College and is enrolled in
the Aviation Maintenance Technician Program. Sorry
Tracy.
GOOD JOB STUDENTS !
Concluding the 1990-1991 school year students earned
outstanding grades in both the Higher Education and
Adult Vocational Training Program:
HONOR ROLL SCHOOL GPA
June Olson x UofO 330
ChadStryker x OSU 3.69
AngieLeno x WOSC 352
Chris Leno x OSU 3.50
PerriMcDaniel Clark 333
Marcee Peterson Grays Harbor 3.05
AdamHenny OSU 3.00
AngieBedortha x CCC 3.75
Jill Jeffers CCC 3.07
Tina Nichols x Trend 3.70
Lunita Renfrow x Phagans 330
Tracy Howerton x LCC 3.33
Other students who successfully completed the '90 -l
school year and maintained satisfactory GPA's were:
Tracy Olson
Karen Olson
Trevor Aaron
Cecile Kneeland
Daniele Norwest
Heather Davidson
Maria Trevino
JoeTurman
Brian Howerton
Elisa Crawford
Debbie Mudgctt
Eric Jordan
David Holmes
Teresa Pearsall
UofO
UofO
WOSC
WOSC
CCC
CCC
EOSC
EWU
PSU
LCC
Clark
Dartmouth
Cornish
Western Medical College
These students have graduated.
Students who did not submit grade reports per Spring
Term 1991, may not have been listed.
Congratulations students! We look forward to hearing
of your success during the 1991-1992 school year!
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OREGON INDIAN
COMMUNITIES AND
TRIBES
HOST CONFERENCE
President Bush through P.L. 100-297 is calling for a
WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON INDIAN
EDUCATION to be held in January of 1992. In
preparation for this conference Oregon Tribes and
Indian Communities are banding together to host a
PRE-CONFERENCE to identify needs, concerns and
recommendations affecting Indian Education in Oregon.
On September 20th (afternoon) and 21st, 1991,
Willamette University, the Confederated Tribes of
Siletz, Warm Springs, Umatilla, Grand Ronde, the
Klamath Tribe, the Coquille Tribe will host a gathering
of educational leaders, parents, students and tribal
representatives.
Currently there is an established Steering Committee
comprised of representatives from both the tribal and
Indian communities working toward finalizing an agenda
for the September gathering. If you have specific
recommendations or ideas for the upcoming Pre
Conference, please share this information with Commit
tee Chair, Mr. MORRIE JIMENEZ, 364-5922.
Tribal members who are interested in learning more
about the Oregon Pre Conference to the White House
Conference on Indian Education, call Dean at 1-800-422-0232.
f
WILLAMETTE
UNIVERSITY
ANNOUNCES
THE 1991
AMERICAN
INDIAN
CAREER
FAIR
On October 4, 1991, Willamette University is hosting
a Career Fair in the Putman Center on the Salem
campus. The fair is being sponsored by the Confeder-'
ated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes
of Siletz and the Oregon Indian Coalition on Post
Secondary Educaiton. The workshop will feature
sessions dealing with careers in: Health & Medicine,
Law, Forestry, Educaiton, State Government, Journal
ism, Scholarships, and College Programs.
If you are interested in attending cotact the JOM
Program at 1-800-422-0232. The Program will be
sponsoring junior high and senior high school students
who want to participate. If you need more information
regarding the Career Fair, call Joyce Greiner at 370
6265, Willamette University.
Indian Adolescent Mental Health
by Senator Daniel K. Inouye
During my visits to Indian Country, I have been
impressed with the tremendous talent, great knowledge
and wisdom, and the variety and richness of the Indian
cultures. Yet, in these communities where unemploy
ment can reach as high as 85 percent, it should come as
no surprise that the lives of American Indian and Alaska
Native children are filled with stress from poverty and
social deprivation. I hear tearful stories of people who
also grieve for the loss of their lands, their heritage, and
of family members to the conditions of life there.
In an effort to address some of the problems affecting
American Indian and Alaska Native children, the Senate
Select Committee on Indian Affairs called upon the U.S.
Congress Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to
examine the mental needs of Indian adolescents and the
services available to them.
From that report. American Indian Adolescent Mental
Health (OTA, 1990), we have ample confirmation that
Indian adolescents suffer from more serious mental
health problems than any other population group in the
nation. For example, at least ten studies conducted
since 1959 show that school dropout rates for Indian
students range from 15 to 60 percent, far exceeding the
rates among the general population.
There are other distressing revelations. The OTA
found significantly higher rates of alcohol and drug use
relative to non-Indian adolescents. Neurosensory
disorders (damage to the nervous system that often
results in learning difficulties such as dyslexia) and
certain developmental disabilities appear to be 400 to
1300 percent greater among American Indians than
other population groups. And, anxiety is the fourth
most common mental health problem among youths
seen by Indian Health Service doctors -nearly equal to
the frequency of depression.
problems among Indian youth is suicide. Suicide is the
second leading cause of death for American Indian and
Alaska Native adolescents. In fact, the rates among 10
to 14 year-olds is about four times higher than that of all
races.
Suicide and attempted suicide by these youngsters has
a profound impact on a community, particularly small
communities such as reservations. A recent survey of
Indian adolescents conducted by the University of
Minnesota disclosed that nearly one-third of the girls
and one-fifth of the boys had friends who had attempted
suicide. One out of ten Indian adolescents had success
fully committed suicide and about one-fifth of the
students surveyed reported that a family member had
either committed or attempted suicide. Researchers
blame social disintegration and social alienation as a
result of pressures to assimilate, as potential causes of
suicide among the young in Indian Country.
There are also a number of environmental health
conditions such as fetal alcohol syndrome, child neglect
and abuse, parental alcoholism and school problems
that affect Indian adolescents. With all of these stress
factors that Indian children and adolescents experience
at rates usually exceeding those of their non-Indian
counterparts, it is astonishing how many young Indian
people overcome these conditions and go on to thrive
socially and psychologically.
Unfortunately, the OTA findings also disclose the
failure of our government to respond to this alarming
picture. In the entire nation, only 17 mental health
workers trained to work with children or adolescents are
available to address the needs of more than 400,000
Indian youth. If this situation is to be corrected, at least
200 more mental health workers are needed to achieve
parity with mental health services available to the
general population.