OR. COLL.
78
April 1, X
2002 y
APRIL 1, 2002
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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.
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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
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His Music Is "Blues By Choice"
Tribal member Steve Hudson has a new
lease on life after a stay in prison.
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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