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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2002)
OR. COLL. 78 April 1, X 2002 y APRIL 1, 2002 TV7. MA livU A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe www.grandronde.org Education Issue 11 J J ,A by "Good On Ya!" New Zealand Offers A Look At Another World For Foreign Exchange Student Tribal member Dustin Brooks took the trip of a lifetime and earned a championship along the way. . J! up. a. J. On Board For Adventure Foreign Exchange student Dustin Brooks, the son of Tribal member Victor Brooks and Bettejo Lawson and the grandson of Tribal Elder Nadine McNutt and Oliver Brooks and Betty and Joe Wolk-Laniewski, took the trip of a lifetime to New Zealand to help establish an engineering program at the University of Canterbury. While there, Brooks took advantage of the local offerings to get in some snowboarding, fishing and underground kayaking. Brooks even won a weightlifting championship to add to his resume. "It was a beautiful time, when the Moa ran free in the Land of the Long White Cloud." -Old Maori Saying By Chris Mercier You can always detect when somebody really wants to tell something, either a story or secret or some smidgen of informa tion that can't go unsaid. The oc casional person shakes with antici pation, excitement pouring from their eyes and you realize whatever they say will be golden. Other people tend to be more reserved, as in the case of Tribal member Dustin Brooks, who just returned from the trip of his life. He merely shook his head once, raised his hands as if to say something and sat speechless for a few seconds. It was obvious what was going on in his head: Where do I begin? Brooks never did much traveling up until a year ago. Born and raised in southern Oregon, Gold Hill to be exact, he'd been up and down the West Coast Seattle, San Francisco, even a couple of jaunts down Mexico way. But four years at Oregon State University, tough years too, being a Civil Engineer ing student, had him a little bit burned-out and craving something exciting and "new." An offer came from one of his pro fessors How does a year in New Zealand sound, on an exchange program? They needed somebody to help establish an engineering program at the University of Can terbury, in Christchurch on the South Island. Heck, he thought, only need a few more classes to fin ish and my scholarships would cover it. Why not? His research indicated that there was even a dis tant cousin lurking around the is lands somewhere. Brooks quickly found himself buying a ticket, mak ing a one-year commitment with no visits home in that time and won continued on page 6 t Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde PRESORTED Community of Oregon FIRST-CLASS MAIL 9615 Grand Ronde Road y 3 POSTAGE PAID Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347 SALEM, OR Address Service Requested PERMIT NO. 1 78 SERIALS DEPT. - WIGHT LIBRARY m uNfuERsirv gf greun EUGENE OR 97403-1205 His Music Is "Blues By Choice" Tribal member Steve Hudson has a new lease on life after a stay in prison. f 1 c: J lftSKatM,itliefe'-ibry Sioke signals n i By Peta Tinda Steve Hudson knows all about the blues. He knows all about loss, and all about being alone. "My music tells the story of thirty years of self inflicted mis ery," said Hudson, lighting a cigarette and drumming a rhythm on the tabletop with his fingertips. The local musician and Tribal member was recently released from prison after a 25 month stay for assault and drug charges. He used his time in prison to practice playing his guitar, writing songs and getting in touch with his Creator. "I had my own house, (inmate slang for a cell) which very few inmates had," said Hudson. "But this also meant that I was alone a lot. So I basically prac ticed nonstop." Hudson plays blues acoustic guitar and writes songs. He and popular local blues figure Rich ard Day-Reynolds are perform ing regularly at The Summit View at Spirit Mountain Casino. If audience turnout is good, he hopes to make the Thursday night blues a permanent fixture at the casino. The show starts at 7 p.m. and goes until 10 p.m. every Thursday night in April. Hudson was born in North Bend, Oregon and got his start continued on page 7
