4
Smoke Signals
Grand Ronde intern
doctors from clinic to Kenya
Dr. Kristi Seidel is rapping up her med school
residency at her tribe's clinic and is taking her new skills
were she says they are needed most - back to Africa.
By Oscar Johnson
For Grand Ronde tribal member, Dr. Kristi Seidel, helping those most in
need is as natural as going home. The resident physician-in-training has
spent the better part of a decade studying to be a Family Medical Practitio
ner and most of last month honing her new skills while interning at the
Tribe's clinic.
As she nears the end of her residency, her thoughts turn not to the
conventional boons of private practice or the plush positions of corporate"
t i
t
run hospitals but of returning
home to help those who need her the
most.
But Seidel is not returning to prac
tice medicine in Grand Ronde.
The University of Kansas med
school graduate and her husband, ..
Scott, a registered nurse, will return
to, Turkana a remote arid region
in northern Kenya where doctors,
like running water and electricity,
are virtually nonexistent.
"I grew up there and there's just
such an overwhelming need that if
I stayed in the States it would haunt
me," she explains. "If I'm not there,
there's virtually.no physician there
in an area the size of Rhode Is
land." Far from being out of the ordinary,
Seidel is merely following in the foot
steps of her parents, Karon and Dr.
Bob Chapman.
Her mother, the granddaughter of Eva LaChance, shared her husband's
desire to be a medical missionary and the family moved to Ethiopia when
Seidel was just two-years-old.
She recalls following her father around and helping out as needed in
Ethiopia and later in Kenya where the family eventually moved to continue
their work. They still live there today.
Thanks to the financial support she got from the Tribe to get a medical
degree, Seidel hopes to take this family tradition one step further.
This month she will return to the University of Kansas for the rest of the
year to finish her education before spending 18 to 20 months working with
Christian Missionary Fellowship to raise local financial support for her work.
" The interdenominational group works with churches throughout the world
to help coordinate and fund such missions. ..... .
Seidel says she plans to draw on her and her family's experience and
. contacts with Kenyan government and medical officials to accomplish a spe
cific goal.
"My goal is to set up at least four to five main clinics and train people to
handle the main things like malaria, cholera and midwifery," she said. "The
'v.
1
WVs :
I V
- ... w.
3
ABOVE: Dr. Seidel is flanked by
a young patient (left) and her -assistant,
Nasikae, and nurse, ''
Natir, in front of the rural clinic
of Turkana, Kenya where she
will return to practice family
medicine.
LEFT: During her last week of
residency at the Grand Ronde .
clinic, Dr. Seidel examines
patient, Holly Anderson, as the
youth's grandmother looks on.
Photo by Oscar Johnson
idea is to some how set up a system that supports itself."
Although Seidel is looking forward to getting back to the place she calls
home, she says her brief sojourn in Grand Ronde has taught her a lot about
her family and where she is from by attending genealogy meetings and
talking with fellow members.
She says the Clinic has kept her busy seeing patients on average every
15 to 20 minutes and she has welcomed the chance to learn more about
Grand Ronde life and meet new relatives.- -
"People have been very friendly and open to me. They say 'oh we're
cousins,"' says Seidel. She says this is also important to her mother who
"pours over every inch of the Smoke Signals" issues she receives in Kenya.
Most of all. she has enioved eettine a elimDse of Grand Ronde culture bv
v V ij w V A l
attending pow-wows, mocassin making classes and watching the Tribe re-'
learn the Chinook Wawa language. - . - ?
'That's what was really special to me, seeing how they maintain the cul
ture. I would have to say it's all about culture that's where the wealth
is," says Seidel. "I'm proud of the culture I come from and to be going back
to the culture that needs me."
AMVETS
American Veterans
invites all veterans and
families to attend
CHARTER NITE
AMVETS Tri-City Post 2000
August 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Willamina V.F.W. Hall
Refreshments to follow
For further information call:
BUD ABBOTT 876-4540
CARL LAMBERT 879-5895
The Steps to Becoming a Successful Homeowner
Learn about credit, financing a home, building a home,
and whether you may be a candidate for homeownership
Monday, August 1 6 6 to 9 pm
Governance Building, Room 204
9615 Grand Ronde Rd. 4 Grand Ronde
PRE-REGISTRATION:
call Bryan Langley
1-800-422-O232, ext. 2467
(503) 879-2467
Sponsored by:
The Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Authority
0000
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Community
Language
Meeting
August 4 - 6:30 to 8 p.m.
GRAND RONDE
Governance Center
Classroom 204
A draft of the long-term Community
Language Goals document will be
presented for comment.
For those interested, but unable to
attend, the draft document will be
available by mail for comment.
Contact Tony Johnson for further
information at (503) 879-2084.