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.