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Page 5 March 1992 Smoke Signals
f FAMILY FORUM H
IN THE VOICE OF OUR PEOPLE
contributed by June Olsen
The following is a selection from the memoire of
Mary's River man named William Hartless who was the
last of the Kalapuyan speaking people. It was recorded
at Grand Ronde in 1914 and translated in 1936 by John
B. Hudson. 2.
Long ago only Indians lived in his country. They did
not labor for their food as we do now. It merely grew on
the prairie and in the hills. Then, they did not split apart
the earth as we do now. Our way of living long ago was
good. Even the wood which we burned did not have to
be chopped. We merely gathered it up. 1 f N i f
In the winter when the cold wind came, we had
quantities of wood. The Great Creator made our wood
for us and that is what we burned. J?
Everything was good long ago. The children all played
together. The boys swam and the girls swam. They all
swam together. Even though 20 years of age, the girls
and boys swam together. There was nothing evil in their
hearts! Each took care of his own heart
Now,' once in a while when I go to church I hear the
priest say when God made the Erst; people, they had no
garments. That is the way we Indians were indeed. As
they were not ashamed that they lacked garments, that is
the way we, also, went about Neither were we abashed
about not having garments.-"-
Neither did these two people that God made labor.
Food merely grew for they who were named Adam and
Eve. V ' j:m,
Our own Indian ways were good. To be sure we paid
our shaman when we got sick. But we were not always ill
like now.
When a shaman doctored a person and that person
died, the shaman did not get paid. But now even if we
die, the American shaman still must be paid. That is
how things are now.
On the other hand, long ago we became well before a
shaman could collect his pay. The shaman would see
after awhile the one he had doctored walking around.
He would say I want my pay and he would be paid at
that time just like the American shaman.
Americans want their pay before they will give a sick
person even a little medicine. If the one doctored should
die, they still want their pay just as much. Even if it was
that they killed the person they were doctoring, they still
want their pay.
Long ago, we who are the Indians had different ways
indeed.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
FOR CONTRACT HEALTH SERVICE
USERS
This is a reminder from Contract Health Services that
you need to be sure to send all PREAUTHORIZED
medicaldental bills in for payment as soon as possible.
If you have insurance, medicare etc., you need to be sure
to send any explanation of benefits andor bills you are
receiving-- Note: Contract Health will not pay for
. patients with insurance or medicare if we do not receive
an explanation of benefits.
We will be closing Fiscal Year 1991 and all pre
authorized bills need to be submitted to Contract Health
before March 31, 1992. Any bills not submitted by this
date for Fiscal Year 1991 will be considered your
responsibility.
'Brother Eagle' packs a powerful message
courtesy of Ann Hicks, Statesman Journal
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky. Illustrated by Susan Jeffers.
(All ages.)
Chief Seattle's thundering environmental message of
more than 100 years ago still rings true today.
The respected leader of one of the Northwest Indian
nations wrote or spoke, no one knows for sure, words of
warning for generations to come: "What befalls the
earth befalls all the sons and daughters of the earth."
Joseph Campbell brought attention to Chief Seattle's
words in his book Power of Mvth. Illustrator Susan
Jeffers brings his message to children with Brother
Eagle. Sister Skv.
"How can you buy the sky?"
"How can you own the rain and the wind?"
And "You must give to the rivers the kindness you
would give to any brother."
Chief Seattle's thoughts are accompanied by Jeffers'
exquisite paintings of Native Americans, trees, forests
and animals.
This beautiful book packs a powerful message.
Amazing Americans: 1492 Rediscover America 1992
courtesy of Time, Inc.
He was the only man in history to win
the ten-event decathlon at the Olympic
Games-and the five-
event pentathlon, too.
He played major-league
baseball and professional
football. He was a college
football All-American twice,
kicking field goals, punting
and running with such
strength and speed that he
once returned an Army
kickoff nearly the length of
the field for a touchdown and,
when it was called back on a
penalty, did it again on the
next play. "Sir," the King of
Sweden told him at the 1912
Olympics, "you are the
greatest athlete in the world."
And he was. He was also a
symbol.
An American Indian, born
on the Sac and Fox territory
in 1888, Jim Thorpe was a
forerunner of minority men
and women who would find
opportunity and identity in
sport. The nation first
"A celebration
nation's pride"
focused attention on him at his college, the Carlisle
Indian School, and amplified it during his unprec
edented performance at the 1912 Olympics. His
accomplishments,
however, were removed
from the official Olympic
records in 1913-and his
gold medals confiscated
when it was discovered he
had played baseball for
money on summer
vacations. The rules
against professionals
competing in the Olymic
Games were strict then,
but in time Thorpe was
perceived as an unjust
victim. In 1982 his name
was returned to the
record books, a triumph
as rich as when the King
of Sweden's compliment
was certified by a 1950
Associated Press poll of
experts who overwhelm
ingly declared that of all
the men who had partici
pated in sport, Jim
Thorpe ranked as the
greatest athlete of the
half-century.
If 3
J?"
of people who have lifted our
rJim Thorpe
1 .
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