OCTOBER 15, 2000
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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.
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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.