MAY 15, 2001
Smoke Signals 9
Ottawa Tribe Revives Language,
Offers Language Camp
MANISTEE, MI. (AP) - Many
years ago, when they were the domi
nant population in Northwestern
Michigan, local members of the Ot
tawa Indian Tribe spoke Anishinaa
bemowin to each other and to mem
bers of other Tribes.
However, that voice for communi
cation declined during 170 years of
American rule, leaving few Tribal
members fluent in the language.
That trend is changing now that
classes in the language are being of
fered by the Manistee-based Little
River Band and taught by Kenny
Pheasant.
Pheasant said Anishinaabemowin
is a language spoken by American
Indians, although he added that dif
ferent Tribes use different dialects.
He said very few Tribal members are
fluent in the language anymore.
One of those people is John Sam, a
Little River Band Elder who serves
as Pheasant's consultant for his regu
lar Tuesday night classes.
"We used to be a liello,' 'good-bye,'
'how are you' Tribe, and now we can
speak more words than we did be
fore," Sam said.
Sam said he learned Anishinaabe
mowin as a child from his parents as
he was also learning English.
He is glad that several members of
the Tribe are now learning their
Native tongue.
"We need it, the members need it,"
he said about the lessons. He said
several young Tribal members are
doing well in the class and he hopes
they share the knowledge with their
families.
Pheasant's Anishinaabemowin les
sons started in Manistee about 14
months ago and he now offers regu
lar Tuesday classes for members of
the community, including people who
are not members of the Tribe.
He also provides special lessons for
members of the Little River Band's
Tribal Council.
He grew up on Manitoulin Island,
Ontario and is an Ottawa Indian, al
though he is not a member of the lo
cal Tribe. Pheasant began teaching
14 years ago and during that time
he has taught at Northwestern
Michigan College in Traverse City
and in Grand Rapids and Petoskey.
"My goal is for people to become
speakers of the language and then,
maybe, some can speak the language
well enough that they can teach," he
said.
Pheasant is impressed with the in
terest his local students have shown,
and also in the interest his classes
have generated in the community.
"There has been a great interest
and just about everybody wants to
learn the language," he said.
Tribal member Mike Snyder at
tended some of Pheasant's classes last
year before work kept him away for
several months. His interest brought
him back again this year.
People will have the opportunity to
attend the Little River Band's four
day Language Immersion Camp
that will be held for the eighth time
this summer. Pheasant said the
camp attracts people from through
out the country and he expects at
tendance will be in the range of 500
to 600 people. This year's camp is
July 26-29 and is open to the public.
Commercial Gill-netting
Long Awaited by Tribal Members
PORTLAND, OR. (AP) With the
largest run of spring chinook expected
since 1938, the Columbia River Tribal
commercial gill-netting season had a
brief, but impressive run.
Tribal fishers pulled 17,000 spring
chinook from the river during a 60
hour commercial season. Altogether,
25,510 spring chinook had been
caught when a decision to reopen the
gill-net fishery was made.
"It's overwhelming," said Charles
Hudson, a spokesman for the Colum
bia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commis
sion, which represents four Colum
bia River Tribes with treaty rights to
salmon. "People have been waiting
a long time for this."
State, federal and Tribal biologists
raised their official forecast for the
upriver spring chinook run from
364,600fishto417,000fish. Thatwould
be the biggest run since record keeping
began in 1938, though most now are
hatchery-born rather than wild.
Last year, 178,600 upriver spring
chinook spring chinook that
spawn east of Bonneville Dam
entered the Columbia River, and
Tribes had their first commercial
spring chinook season in 23 years.
Fewer than 2,000 fish were caught,
however and one Tribe, the Nez
Perce, did not participate.
The Columbia River Compact, an
agency of Oregon and Washington
officials, also voted recently to allow
Tribal fishers to sell salmon and steel
head caught by hook and line or hoop
net through the end of May.
Sport fishers are allowed to keep a
total of two hatchery-born chinook
and steelhead a day, identified by a
missing adipose fin.
About half of the Tribal harvest is
being sold to wholesale buyers.
Tribal members will continue to sell
salmon directly to the public.
Salmon caught during open sea
sons can be sold at any time.
NICWA Leader Passes On
Eloise King (Wenatchee) from Omak, Washington and President for the
National Indian Child Welfare Association, passed away on Wednesday, April
4, 2001. Eloise had a deep dedication to children and their families. She was
a founding member of the organization and will be greatly missed.
Professional Boxing Returns to Oregon
Chinook Winds Casino hosts Commotion at the Ocean II.
By Brent Merrill
LINCOLN CITY, OR. - Chinook
Winds Casino in Lincoln City,
which is owned and operated by the
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indi
ans, was the site for the second ever
"Commotion at the Ocean II" pro
fessional boxing event.
Appearances by legendary world
champion fighters "Sugar" Ray
Leonard and Roberto "Hands of
Stone" Duran highlighted the event
and brought the crowd to their feet
with their new found ability to pro
mote fights rather than participate
in them. Leonard was still as pretty
as he ever was, but Duran looked
like he could still throw down if
pushed into a corner.
Several local professional fighters
filled the event's card with fresh, ea
ger pugilists willing to trade blows
and entertain the capacity crowd.
And, although the traditional guy
fights were entertaining, it was the
girls who really excited the crowd.
Challenger Lisa Holewyne and
former Women's International Box
ing Federation J unior Welterweight
Champion Marischa Sjuaw Ja
traded blows and kept a breathtak
ing pace throughout the evening's
main event. The champion Sjuaw
Ja was tough and connected with
several heavy-duty shots to the
more experienced and prettier
Holewyne. But, in the end, it was
Holewyne's constant pressure and
big, powerful punches to Sjuaw Ja's
head and body that won her the
world championship.
On the undercard, Portland
fighter Ron Weaver knocked out
challenger Bryon Mackie in the
sixth round. Mackie, who took the
fight on three days notice, was
bloodied and battered by Weaver
before getting knocked out.
i&n en
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DOWN FOR THE COUNT- Canadian Welterweight Champion Bryon Mackie was bat
tered and bloodied after being knocked out by Portland's Ron Weaver. Weaver is the
International Boxing Association's World Welterweight Champion and won the Inter
continental Championship by knocking out Mackie.
SUGARAND STONE Former
World Champions "Sugar" Ray
Leonard and Roberto "Hands of
Stone" Duran recently hosted
the "Commotion at the Ocean
II" boxing event at Chinook
Winds Casino in Lincoln City.
Leonard said he loves Oregon
and hopes to return soon.
Duran said he spends most of
his time promoting and man
aging fighters including his son
Roberto Duran Jr.
Photos by Brent Merrill
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SHE'S TOUGHER THAN YOU ARE New Women's International Boxing Federation
Champion Lisa Holewyne poses for the traditional post-fight photo with former cham
pion Marischa Sjuaw Ja after their main event fight.