12
Smoke Signals
April Campbell is New Education Specialist
New Career in Education
program for Tribal member.
By Chris Mercier
She came, she saw, and now she
hopes to conquer.
Grand Ronde Tribal member April
Campbell is beginning her career as
the Tribe's new Education Special
ist, bringing with her no shortage of
ambitions. Some Tribal members
may already know her. She teaches
ONABEN classes at the Tribal Gov
ernance Center every Tuesday, and
previously worked as a Project Man
ager for the Spirit Mountain Devel
opment Corporation.
Campbell holds a Bachelor's degree
from George Fox University in Man
agement of Organizational Leader
ship, as well as an Associate's degree
in Supervision. She moved to Wil
lamina from Wenatchee, Washing
ton three years ago, wanting to be
closer to her family and the Tribe.
Campbell lives with her husband
Brian, and 1-year old daughter,
Kiona Her own parents are Corean
Cureton and Weldon Finney, and
her grandmother is Phyllis Haller.
Her interest in education began
while a student at George Fox. She
served on the Education Committee
and had regular contact with the
Education department.
"That was when I realized how
much educational opportunities
there were for Tribal members," she
said. "And I also saw how few Tribal
,
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members knew about it or even took
advantage of it."
Campbell knew nothing of the Trust
Fund Scholarship, or the Adult Vo
cational Training both programs
accessible by all Tribal members. Now
she intends to spread the gospel.
"I would love to increase awareness
of the Higher Education program
within the Tribe, so students will look
to further their education after high
school," she said.
And there are a number of ways
through which to accomplish that,
she claims. For starters, an educa
tional resource center would fit the
bill. This center would be a library
of information on scholarships, col
leges and other educational oppor
tunities, not all of them affiliated
with the Tribe.
"This would help so students don't
always need to rely on the Tribe," she
said.
What she would also love to see
would be an annual Career Fair in
would love to increase
awareness of the Higher Education
program within the Tribe, so
students will look to further their
education after high school"
April Campbell
Grand Ronde, complete with aca
demic advisors from Oregon colleges
and universities to help steer would
be students on the right career paths.
Or how about a financial aid and
scholarship workshop, to help kids
through the potential confusion?
"I remember filling out those FA
(Financial Aid) forms," she said.
"Those can be confusing."
The possibilities, Campbell will tell
you, abound. But the first step that
every person needs to take on the
path to education is simply to realize
that the process of education is not
nearly as complicated as most people
think. Filling out paperwork, mak
ing phone calls, talking with advi
sors, choosing a career all of it can
be a bit intimidating to the inexperi
enced. But, that is Campbell's job
to help people through it.
"I'll put in a blurb right now," she
said. "Any Tribal members interested
in higher education or adult voca
tional training or scholarships. . .come
see me."
"I'm excited about this! I really am,"
she added. "I look forward to seeing
new students start off and compete
their degrees."
Study Skills,
Life Skills to be
part of
Chemeketa
Community
College Program
Chemeketa Community College
has designed a Student Support
Services program designed to help
students develop "academic fit
ness." The program offers several
benefits including two classes
Study Skills (HD 112) and Life
Skills (HD 220). Classes are worth
credits tuition-free.
Eligibility for membership:
D Be a first generation college
student (neither of your parents
has a four-year college degree).
Q Meet federal low-income eli
gibility requirements (qualify for
a Pell Grant).
Have a documented disabil
ity (current documentation on file
with Disability Services).
To request a further information
or an application please call (503)
315-4293 or write:
TRIO Student Support Services
Chemeketa Community College
4000 Lancaster Dr. NE
Salem, OR 97309
Interested individuals may also
contact Marty Branch at the
Grand Ronde Tribe's Education
Department at 1-800-422-0232,
ext. 2288 or 503-879-2288.
Tribal Elder Remembers Scooping Up Eels by the Armfuls
By Chris Mercier
i
Leonard Vivette knows of a place a
river, not too far from The Dalles and
60 or 70 years ago a man could walk right
in and scoop the fish with his hands. They
were that plentiful. Yet the white people
never bothered. And even the local fisher
men didn't clamor for them.
You see, they weren't salmon. They were
eels.
Contrary to popular belief, many Indi
ans of the Pacific Northwest didn't always
live and die by the salmon, nor by deer for
that matter. Some other food sources were
too good to pass up, and one of them was
eel.
"I can remember a llllooooonnngg time
ago a buddy of mine called me up one day, and
we went down to those falls near Oregon City,"
Vivette said. "Brought back a whole washtub of
them."
Eels, Vivette explained, have long been a
mainstay of indigenous people in the Northwest.
The Siletz have been enjoying them for centu
ries. And in Yakama, where Vivette lived be
fore relocating back to Grand Ronde, it was cus
tomary at funerals to give a bag of eels to the
family of the deceased.
Vivette remembers many expeditions as a
young man. The eel runs would begin around
Easter, and there were numerous spots to catch
them. In the Siletz River, they would take a
boat out at night, with a gaslight and donning
canvas gloves (they are notoriously slippery), the
eels were literally plucked from the water. Or
in Rock Creek near Otis, the eels would return
to spawn, but rather than jump up the rapids
like salmon, they would slither up the rocks on
the edge of the rive;; easy pickens. But 15
Mile Creek, that same one near The Dalles, was
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EELS ON ICE: Tribal members and visitors gathered
around Grand Ronde Elder Leonard Vivette at this
year's pow-wow to share their stories of preparing
and eating eels a staple in the diets of some Grand
Ronde families in the past.
the motherlode.
"There, you could just get scores of them," he
said. "It was too easy."
A few lucky Tribal members were on hand at
this summer's pow-wow to see Vivette prepare a
few of the legendary eels. And although reviews
may have been somewhat mixed, the versatility
of the fish was obvious.
"You can... roast them, barbeque them, grill
them," Vivette said. "In Siletz, they would even
dry them in the smoke house."
Of course, as if the taste were not a deterrent
enough, cleaning them, as Vivette would say, is
the "hardest damn part." The flesh is tough and
oily. And so slick were the eels' skins that one had
to pour vinegar over them just to neutralize the
oil and get a decent grip.
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SOME TRADITIONS SURVIVE: Vivette, pictured here
with his daughter Leonette, gave a demonstra
tion on how to prepare and cook eels in a tradi
tional way.
Yet all these factors worked to the advantage
of Natives. White people to the region were
never turned on to them. And not all Natives
were thrilled about eating them. But for those
more open-minded, they added a nice variety
during the year. That is until they, like many
others, gradually disappeared.
"What happened to them," he said. "I just
don't know."