November 15, 1998
News 5
Wisdom Of the Elders Tribal member sets commendable
Culture event highlights concerns of some tribal Elders sample at accident SCeriG
Story and photo by Oscar Johnson
Wisdom of the Elders (WOTE), a
Native organization dedicated to pre
serving and teaching traditional In
dian wisdom and spirituality, last
month gathered in celebration, song
and spoken word to raise funds and
promote plans for the groups upcom
ing projects.
After being inactive for three years
following the passing of WOTE's
founder, members and guest re
grouped at Portland State University
on Oct. 24 to share prayers and take
in some lively cultural entertainment
ranging from African Latin drum
mers to traditional Irish music along
with Native performers, crafts and
foods.
The benefit also aimed to attract
potential new members to help WOTE
compile both a book and a video that
members hope will help further their
mission. The Making of Respect and
Honor is the planned tittle for a biog
raphy of Martin High Bear, Medicine
Man and spiritual leader whose tire
less efforts to teach traditional ways
lead to the creation of WOTE in 1992.
In addition to holding regular El
ders gatherings and writing High
Bear's biography, WOTE is also pro
ducing a video documentary inspired
by High Bear which will feature 26
interviews of Native Elders of the
Northern Great Plains. The group
hopes that such projects will pass on
traditional Indian values and provide
relevant role models for Native youth
and adults alike.
Many in attendance seemed to
agree with Oglala Lakota Medicine
Man, Charles Fast Horse's sobering
words of wisdom highlighting the
need to preserve and promote tradi
tional Native ways.
"Today many Indian people have
a low esteem for Indian traditional
medicine how we ceremonially
took care of ourselves, because of
global financing and technology and
new scientific medicine," said the tra
ditional artist and healer. He added
that before such technology Indians
did not suffer from spiraling rates of
diabetes, tuberculosis and unemploy
ment like today. "If we believed in the
traditional ways we could be the miss
ing link to the medicine of today. We
must do something about that disbe
lief. Why have we lost faith? Why is
it we are so pressured to be told how
to believe, where to go, what to do?"
Declining belief in traditional medi
cine is not the only Native cultural
value endangered of extinction, ac
cording to Fast Horse. He also
stressed the need to respect the keep
ers of tradition Elders.
"These Elders have a great wisdom
that goes back to the ages. We must
respect them. I don't care who they
Oglala Lakota Medicine Man, Charles
Fast Horse, urges attendees of a Wis
dom Of The Elders benefit at Portland
State University to respect Elders and
rekindle their faith in traditional Na
tive ways.
are, what they have become, how
they live I don't have power to
judge them. They have that power
within them," said Fast Horse. High
lighting the link between tradition,
Elders and the self, he added, "we
should not only respect the Elders,
but respect ourselves who we are
and what we are."
Grand Ronde Elder, Louise Coul
son, who was on hand for the event,
agreed with Fast Horse. She said she
was particularly concerned because
"children should listen to and respect
their Elders, but a lot don't."
"I was taught not to talk back to
Elders," recalls Coulson. "I think it's
not getting any better now because
now a days kids talk back they
don't listen. They need to be taught
more."
Although Coulson said she was not
sure how to tackle the problem,
Cherie Butler, another Grand Ronde
Elder who attended the event, be
lieves the Tribe could benefit from
the examples of other tribes.
"When we go to Warm Springs for
their tribe's Honoring of Elder Days
(celebration) we should bring a cam
corder so we can show it back at
Grand Ronde. They have all ages
attend, even the babies in strollers.
They start (teaching cultural values)
when their kids are very young," said
Butler. "Here's our kids going to
white schools they don't see these
things."
But, recent efforts by Grand Ronde
members, staff and Tribal Council are
already working to address the issue
through such efforts as Chinook jar
gon language classes, including cul
tural aspects to a vocational rehabili
tation program and building a tribal
Cultural Center.
Butler also hopes the Tribe's El
ders' Board will soon begin an Elders
Day tradition in Grand Ronde.
However, she adds that, "we've
never done it before so it's going to
take a lot of work."
By Oscar Johnson, Staff Reporter
You're in the passenger's seat of a
four-door sedan. It turns out into
heavy traffic only to collide nearly
head on with another car. You are
dazed, your driver is stunned and the
other car, with two children and the
driver bloodied and unconscious,
seems to be filling with smoke.
Quick what do you do?
In this situation many would panic,
go blank perhaps fade into a state of
shock, but for tribal member Frank
Grammer, a raw instinct to help took
over.
Slamming his shoulder against the
jammed car door, he freed himself,
helped the driver out and told her to
call for help.
"After that I ran over to the other
vehicle," said Grammer. "I saw
smoke and steam coming from the
hood I didn't know if the car was
on fire or not but I wasn't going to
take any chances."
He pulled the children from the
smoldering car, handed them off to
another good Samaritan instructing
him to take them inside a nearby
store.
Fearing that the unconscious driver
was too injured to be moved,
Grammer told another bystander to
apply pressure to her head wound to
stop the bleeding while he stabilized
her head and neck with both hands
until paramedics arrived.
What was going through Gram
mer 's mind the whole time? .
"I just kept thinking, 'why is this
happening?,'" he recalls. "I'd rather
have it be me than them." That fate
ful Oct. 27 afternoon saw traffic on
Highway 22 near Salem backed up
for five miles north and south of the
accident for two
hours.
It was reported m
that the driver
Grammar assisted
until paramedics
came, a Salem
women, was criti
cally injured and
was initially in a fe
coma before re-
Her eight-year-old daughter was
immobile from the waist down and is
expected to benefit from physical re
habilitation, says Grammer. The girl,
and her five-year-old brother were
treated at Salem Hospital before be
ing transferred to a children's hospi
tal in Portland, according to media
reports.
Grammer and Oregon Army Na
tional Guard Recruiter and driver of
the other vehicle, Sgt., Dawn Shu
mack, were not seriously injured.
Grammer was returning with
Shumack after being sworn in to the
Army National Guard in Portland
earlier that day.
The incident, which Grammer says
"was like a test," came less than two
months before the 22-year-old Grand
Ronde resident starts a new life slated
to begin with boot camp.
Afterwards he plans to work on
such military projects as building
bridges and using explosives to clear
roads as a Bravo 12 Combat Engi
neer then eventually move on to a full
time member of the United States
Army.
"He was like a rock," commended
Shumack. "During the whole time
he kept his senses about him he
was level-headed and he was con
cerned." Preferring to focus on his future
rather than focus on praise for past
deeds, Grammer says it's not a big
deal at all.
"Anybody there would have done
the same thing. I look at a person
who finds a cure for AIDS or some
thing like that as being a hero," he
insists. "Anybody can go and help
somebody else out. It's just called
respect, decency and being human."
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