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A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe SEPTEMBER 15, 1999 TjjTko
The Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde
Tribal Council Election
September 11, 1999
Candidates Total Votes
Reynold Leno 335
Earl (Butch) LaBonte.... 292
JuneSell-Sherer 280
Cheryle Kennedy 244
Eugene LaBonte 236
Jan Denton Reibach..... 229
MarkMercier 217
Margaret Provost 189
Lottie Child 186
Joann Mercier 177
Kathy Aicher (Tom) 160
Orrin (Bud) White 157
J. Ken Gregg 112
Dean Mercier 79
Alan Ham 53
Shawn Hostler 52
Newly elected Council members.
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New camera aids in early diabetes detection
Paid for with
grant monies, the
Fundus Camera is
unique in Oregon.
By Amanda Siestreem
Hidden away in one arm of the
Health and Wellness Center there
is a little office where optometrist
Jerry Sherer has been working. He
is stalking the illness that has been
plaguing Indian country for the last
three generations: diabetes. The re
cent acquisition of the Fundus Cam
era, a state of the art retinal photo
graphing system unique in the
Northwest, has furthered diabetes
detection by light years.
Native People are hit by diabetes
harder than any other group of
people. Due to the changes in eat
ing and exercise which have oc
curred so rapidly, people are walk
ing less and eating more. The Tribe
plans to hire a dietician to work one
day a month who is trained specifi
cally in diabetes planning, and to
continue developing educational
materials. This process of education,
aimed at the younger population,
allows the Tribe to prevent the on
set of diabetes.
But the largest population of tribal
members involved need direct care,
daily monitoring and support for
their existent diabetes. When Jerry
Sherer happened to see the flier for
the diabetes grant on a flip chart,
he remembered the grants he had
worked under before, and notified
Bonnie Tom, director of the Tribe's
Wellness program. Tom, with her
staff, knew what they wanted and
what the community needed and
sent their plan to be written into a
grant. Sherer submitted a request
for a camera valued at some
$15,000.
With the new camera very early
changes in the blood vessels in the
back of the eye can alert doctors to a
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Community of Oregon
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
Address Service Requested
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FIRST-CLASS MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
SALEM, OR
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problem. Diabetes causes the blood
vessels to leak and new and weaker
ones to grow. The blood then can
float to the center of vision, the
Macula, and cause blindness.
But that diabetes grant is allow
ing victims of diabetes to fight back.
Diabetes affects the entire circula
tory system, often damaging the
eyes, kidneys, feet, gums and heart.
When allowed to run wild, diabetes
will cause severe damage ranging
from blindness and loss of limbs to
death.
The battle the Tribe is waging will
tackle many fronts. With the five
year grant monies from the Indian
Health Service, the Tribe looks to
education, prevention and monitor
ing of existing cases.
The very design of the Health and
Wellness Center is suited to the dia
betes education, as the upstairs
classroom is equipped with a kitchen
to be used in the cooking demonstra
tions. Battling diabetes is largely in
the arena of diet, to maintain a bal
anced blood sugar level. The kitchen
even has a six-by-five foot mirror
over top of the cooking range to fa
cilitate the students in viewing the
process.
Education has taken the form of a
new program, one of only four other
such programs in the United States.
The program, lead by a Nambe
Pueble woman, Georgia Perez, was
inspired from a dream the New
Mexico woman had of an eagle. The
education through this program of
two groups of six tribal members and
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Optometrist Jerry Sherer
their spouses will begin in October.
Sherer has been at the clinic since
January 1998 and he has seen
many changes for the better. He
said some of his patients will have
to search a little bit to find him now,
since his offices were just moved.
Sherer currently works at the
Chemawa clinic three days a week,
at Siletz clinic for one day and at
Grand Ronde for one day. He has
worked for the Indian Health Ser
vice since 1975. Having been em
ployed on the Blackfeet Reservation,
Sherer was familiar with the impor
tance of early detection and consis
tent monitoring. His focus is on
continued on page 3
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