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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2000)
2 Smoke Signals D taomiDinii program By Brent Merrill Former congresswoman Elizabeth Furse used the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians conference in Portland to announce a new project aimed at creating a repository for tribal information sharing and an institute for training present and fu ture tribal leaders. Furse announced the formation of the Hatfield School of Government's Institute for Tribal Government (the school is named after retired Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield) and said it would be where tribal leaders will come together and share their stories and their histories. Tribes will also get specially designed instruction in their own tribal history including treaties and other agreements. Furse said the institute will be a place for tribal leaders to come to gether for a week at a time and get intensive training and insight on what it takes to be a tribal leader. Furse, who finished her career as a United States Congresswoman in January of 1999, said she accepted a position on the faculty of Portland State University (PSU). Furse was approached by the Hatfield Institute to take on the project she dreamed up. She said she has received tremendous support from PSU in her vision. "I was approached by the Hatfield School as to whether I would help them work on the development of this Institute for Tribal Government," said Furse. "And PSU has really decided to stick to the priorities of this project. It (the Institute) would be in the Hatfield School of Government and it would be for tribal councils to come and get a body of knowledge." Furse said the tribes' own docu ments would be used for discussion and study. Tribes would be able to examine their own organizations yv' v. . ryjf 1 . x: , County governments, state governments and city governments all have these opportunities. Why shouldn't the tribes?" Elizabeth Furse and break down their history for easier understanding and introspec tion. Tribes would have the ability to examine their relationship to the Indian Reorganization Act and learn about how to change or strengthen their current governments. Start-up funding won't be an is sue according to Furse. She said major potential backers have already expressed an interest in the project. "We have already had a pledge of over $200,000 for scholarships once the Institute is there," said Furse. PSU is seeking a very large federal grant. I am also absolutely con vinced that we have an opportunity to create large foundation dollars. I'll be speaking to the Gates Foundation and the Ford Foundation. We want it endowed. We want it so that you don't have to fund-raise all the time. If we can get a couple of million dol lars in the Institute then we can use the interest off that." Furse said PSU is a major sup porter to the project as well. "What pleases me is how serious Portland State University is about this," said Furse. "This is not the sort of program that they will put off into a corner. I'm going at the beginning of next month to meet with members of Congress. We are going to lobby this thing and get tribal governments treated with respect. County govern ments, state governments and city governments all have these opportu nities. Why shouldn't the tribes?" Furse said she has four or five people in mind to lead the project as executive director, but wouldn't dis close names at this time. She said the project is still in formative stages. "We want to do the planning care fully," said Furse. "We want to make sure we have tribal control over this. The director of this has to be a Na tive American of national reputation. It needs to be somebody who is con nected to tribal government." The Institute's advisory board will play a large role in the selection of the director. Furse sees the Institute as a place for future leaders to train and present tribal leaders to get intensive train ing on the subject of their choice. "I think, when there is a place where you can really learn all of this, people will step forward and run for tribal office," said Furse. "A lot of people don't run because they think 'gee, I don't know a thing about gov ernment.' But, if they are assured that once elected tribal government will spend time gaining all of the in formation necessary. Now that tribes have to deal with all sorts of govern ment and deal at a very high level it is really important that those tribal councils understand what they can lose. I think it's absolutely vital that people feel confident that they can run for an office. "Young people need to run for tribal office because there needs to be a continuum," said Furse. "It inspires other young people in the tribes." Bureau of Indian Affairs Area Di rector Stan Speaks liked the idea of an Institute for tribal learning and training. "I think it is an excellent idea," said Speaks. "She (Furse) invited me to become involved with the (advisory) board in a support role and I was de lighted to do that. Because it is some thing truly needed. It is a program that provides present governments with potential members that want to go into a tribal leadership role young people coming up from col lege. I think it is a forerunner to things to come." Speaks said there is a new face on Indian Country today and this In stitute will be a part of that. "We're changing today," said Speaks. "Tribes are not what they used to be years ago. They have to be outgoing, forthright and they have got to be very active in order to make things happen at home on their reservations. It is a changing time." Speaks said education is vital to today's tribal leaders. He said edu cation is the key to the success tribal governments should be seeking for their membership. Respected tribal leader and former Quinault Tribal Chairman Joe Dela Cruz said the most important aspect of the Institute is the passing on of knowledge to potential young lead ers in the tribes. "Every tribe should document their story and their struggle of the transition of where they got to where they got," he said. "That history is so important for people to appreciate where we are at." Tribe's grant to local elementary will help students Students at Grand Ronde El ementary School will get addi tional help with math thanks to a $33,208 grant from the Grand Ronde Tribe through its Spirit Mountain Community Fund. The grant will be used to bolster math programs and continue the em phasis on reading instruction at the school, which has a high percentage of economically disadvantaged stu dents. "This grant will be used to build on the success we've already had in making our students good readers," said Kathy Sumners, principal of Grand Ronde Elementary. "We'll now be able to give the same kind of individual attention to make our stu dents better at math." "We believe education is the key in turning things around for kids," said Ed Pearsall, Tribal Council Secre tary and a trustee of the Spirit Moun tain Community Fund. "This grant allows us to give back to the commu nity by making sure our children learn the skills that are so important for their success." The money will be used to purchase an Accelerated Math program for the third, fourth and fifth grades. The program allows children to work at their own speed, while effectively tar geting student's strengths and weak nesses so teachers can tailor their in struction. The goal is to bring strug gling students up to grade level while encouraging faster students to move beyond. "We have been using the same pro gram in reading and it has increased our reading scores and the kids' love of reading tremendously," Sumners said. The Spirit Mountain Community Fund grant also will be used to con tinue a classroom instructional assis tant, who was hired as the result of an earlier $7,232 Community Fund grant to the school. The new grant will buy books for the library and fund We believe education is the key in turning fy J things around for kids." Ed Pearsall lf"'- Tribal Council Secretary r. I J o. as incentive program to encourage exceptional behavior and schoolwork. "When we did the state assess ments last year, 94 percent of our third graders were meeting or exceed ing the state standards," Sumners said. "That's extraordinary. Usually, areas with higher poverty rates have lower test scores but we are blow ing that myth out of the water." About half of Grand Ronde Elementary's 167 students are Na tive Americans, up from 25 percent eight years ago, Sumners. The school qualifies for a statewide fed eral Title I educational-enhanced program because so many of its stu dents come from low-income families. The Tribe's involvement and support for the school has been a tremendous aid, Sumners said. The Spirit Mountain Community Fund also funded a SMART reading program for the school, which pro vides free books to children and matches them up with community volunteers for one-on-one reading. The SMART program has been rec ognized nationally for its success and its innovative use of volunteers.
