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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2000)
OCTOBER 15, 2000 9 p ynm rtflPTA grain sive Mm Ears 99 By Brent Merrill One of the best parts of being from a large Tribal family is always know ing that someone who cares about you is close at hand. You don't have to search for acceptance it's there. You don't have to search for love be cause it is already there for you. Grand Ronde Tribal Elder Emma Sell is from one of those large fami lies and she added a large family of her own to the mix. Emma, 82, is the mother of Tribal Council member June Sell-Sherer and the mother-in-law of Tribal Council member Bob Haller. Emma has eight children, 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Nancy is the oldest child, next is Wayne, then LeVeta (who is married to Bob Haller), June, Marlena, Bill, Theresa and then Tom. Emma was married to Joe Sell and they lived in Grand Ronde and they raised their family there. Joe passed away in 1974. They were married in March of 1942. She is the daughter of Marlena Cunningham and Bart LaBonte and the granddaughter of Clementine (LaChance) LaBonte-Jefferies. Her mother Marlena died before Emma's second birthday and her father died when she was three. Emma and her brother Joseph were raised by her grandmother Clementine. "There was a little grade school right beside her grandma Clementine's house," said Nancy. "That is where she went for her grade school years. She never did go to high school. Her grandma didn't think that she needed to go to high school. Her brother did, but her family didn't think women needed to do that. I don't know why. They were always real protective with the girls then." Emma currently resides in the Dal las Retirement Home, but is sched uled to move into the recently com pleted Elders Housing development in the near future. Until recently, Emma lived with family members. Emma tells her family that she gets wonderful care at her current resi dence. The family regularly visits and takes their mom for rides and meals. The family has decided that their mom is always going to be an impor tant part of their life and they are going to cherish every moment. Sons Wayne and Bill will be tak ing care of their mom when she ar rives in Grand Ronde. Wayne will live in the duplex next to his mom and Bill will be providing the day-to-day care and live with Emma. And although this Grand Ronde Tribal family is unique, they are not alone. People in the dominant cul ture continually compliment those in Native communities for their commit ment to their families. 'We take care of our own' seems to be the theme. "Emma is visited often and taken for outings every weekend," said Bonnie Tom, Tribal Wellness Coor dinator. "They take her to General Council meetings; they take her to the pow-wow. They visit with her all the time. For her to get to come home is so exciting." Emma recently participated in a television show produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting Corporation in Portland entitled "Growing Up and Growing Old." The show took four stories of families throughout the nation and followed them as they dealt with the process of aging within their family structure. ! V, ) -ihf U ' ' - I v Ji .. i i -. .... -V. " 1(4, 4i " . ' - --.-r ..... .... .-oyMv - - s. 1 " . w ' 2 , v The Sell Family From left to right: Nancy, Wayne, LeVeta, June, Marlena and Emma holding Bill while pregnant with Theresa. Emma stands next to her husband Joe. This picture was taken before Tom was born. The family is pictured in the Grand Ronde Cemetery. Tribal Elder Emma Sell, 82, will be re turning to Grand Ronde to live in the Elder's Housing development. Emma was asked to participate because her family was used as an example of how the Tribal culture traditionally takes care of their own. Closer to home, when asked about their mom, it was clear their memo ries are vivid. Oldest daughter Nancy Coleman remembers her mom making Indian frybread and biscuits and rolls. "That is one of the best things we can remember about her," said Nancy. "She would cook for us even if she didn't have very much to cook, she always cooked." The family said a healthy sense of humor helped Emma raise her eight children. The girls said their mother like to be entertained so they sang for her. "We remember her always having a joking personality," said Nancy. "She would say things like T have memory like an elephant' then she would jokingly say something about having long ears and we don't know if she was talking about the elephant or herself. She would say things like that and she also instilled within us our morals. "She taught us to honor our par ents," remembered Nancy. "She was Catholic when she was young, but she was later converted to Pentecos tal. She was usually the one instill ing the morals within us kids. "We can remember later, as kids growing up, she especially liked to hear us sing." Nancy said Wayne remembered their mom always getting her point across when she would catch the chil dren trying to listen in on adult con versations. "She said 'little pictures have big ears,' when we were snooping around trying to listen to what we have no business listening to. 'Little pictures have big ears' she would say that." Emma was the kind of mother that inspired her children to want to take care of her in her older years. And they do it with care and pride. Like many families in the commu nity, this one has pulled together.
