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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2002)
APRIL 15, 2002 Smoke Signals 5 Heritage Tree Dedicated At The Oregon Garden In Siiverton Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison helped to unveil the dedication plaque. By Peta Tinda The Grand Ronde Tribe and the Oregon Heritage Tree program re cently joined together to plant a new Heritage Tree at the Oregon Gar den in Siiverton. The Oregon white oak sapling was planted near the rest of the trees in the Oak Grove. Kathryn Harrison, Tribal Elder and former Chairperson of the Grand Ronde Tribe accepted thanks from the gathered dignitaries. "I think the trees have spirits and every living thing has a soul," said Harrison. "It's part of our duty to protect these places." She told the crowd about how im portant it is to preserve such places and the importance of trees to Na tives, both traditionally and today. "We Indians always looked after the trees. Now, the planting of this young tree guarantees that this Oak Grove will be there for our kids, so they can enjoy them." Harrison then told a traditional coyote story to the grade school stu dents who were there for the tree planting. The ceremony took place at the Oregon Garden's White Oak Grove, a west-facing slope that runs the length of the garden. With the help of a $235,000 grant from the Spirit Mountain Community fund, the Oak Grove is being restored to con dition that existed prior to European settlement. Invasive species such as blackberry and scotch broom are being removed, which allows the native species to flourish. The Oak Grove is approximately 25 acres with trees that average 150 to 200 years old. The largest and oldest tree, called the Signa ture Oak, is thought to be almost 400 years old. It is 100 feet tall and almost 23 feet in circumference, making it one of the largest white oaks in the Willamette Valley. It has been designated a heritage tree by Marion County. The Heritage Tree Program is the first state sponsored program of its kind in the country. It was begun in 1995 under the auspices of the Travel Information Council. The program was established to in crease public awareness of the im portant contribution of trees to Oregon's history and the signifi cant role they play in the quality of our daily life. Heritage Trees are those trees and groups of trees that have been designated as significant on the basis of their importance in na tional, state, or regional history. They are often acknowledged due to their involvement or inclusion of landscape architecture, forestry, city planning, and culture. For a tree to be included in the program, it must meet certain criteria, like being associated with historical events, or associated with a person or group of people of historic sig nificance, or has age or size that sets it apart from other trees. After the ceremony, Harrison and Cheryl Gribskov, Executive Direc tor for the Oregon Travel Informa tion Council, unveiled a plaque dedicating the Signature Oak as an official Oregon Heritage Tree. "It's an honor to be a part of this," said Harrison. "These trees can teach you things, if you just listen to them." Music Review Indian Trudell May Have Found A Hit With "Bone Days" Release By Peta Tinda Once called "extremely eloquent" by the Federal Bureau of In vestigation, long time Native activ ist and musician John Trudell has a new album released on April 5. Titled "Bone Days" Trudell's lat est musical endeavor will be released on the Deamon Records label. The album is a powerful fusion of tradi tional Native chants and wisdom set against a gritty blues background, with crazy slide guitars. Trudell speaks his compelling, cadenced lyr ics while his band "Bad Dog" cranks out a groovy, thoroughly modern sounding rhythm. Trudell, a Vietnam Veteran, served in the U.S. Navy from 1963 1967, afterwards, he attended col lege for a while, but dropped out. In 1969, he participated in the oc cupation of the Alcatraz prison by the Indians of All Tribes and became their spokesman. When the occu pation ended in 1971, Trudell worked with the American In dian Movement, and became chairman of AIM in 1973. In 1982 Trudell recorded "Tribal Voice" a mix of poetry and Native music, with the help of musician Jackson Browne. In 1986 Trudell released his al bum "AKA Graffiti Man." It was highly successful and was dubbed - si "the best album" of that year by none other than Bob Dylan. In the 1990's, Trudell toured with the Australian band Midnight Oil and acted in the feature films Thunderheart and Smoke Signals, as well as the documentary film Inci dent at Ogallala. Trudell's latest album has songs that are alternately haunting and humorous, sometimes lighthearted and sometimes deadly serious. There are songs about love, war and the casualties of each. Trudell's lyrics and poems contain heartfelt emotion and unmistak able passion. There are deeply felt reflections in the songs, like one titled "Undercurrent." The album draws heavily on traditional Native wisdom for inspiration, like in the song called "Crazy Horse." Trudell certainly doesn't shirk away from addressing long -contentious Native issues, but rather confronts them head on. In other words, Trudell is for real. His plainspoken style and Bad Dog's bluesy musical accompaniment make for an album that's as enjoy able as it is intense. I would put it high on the list for any Native music enthusiast's collection. If you choose to spin this disk, however, be warned: you might be a John Trudell fan before it's done. Beck is New Medical Services Manager at the Health & Wellness Center By Chris Mercier Don't look up "evolution" in the dictionary anymore. Instead, review the history of health care in Grand Ronde, and the definition of progress, quite of ten through trial and error, more often through patient feedback, is evident. All the more reason to have new Medical Services Man ager Linda Beck on board. Beck was recently appointed as Medical Services Manager, a posi tion founded entirely on the idea that there will always be room for improvement. And she brings with her the experience and know-how, not to mention the drive, to very well make a difference in what has be come a concerted effort to improve all aspects of medical services to the community. "Tribal Council wanted members to have their say," explained Beck. "We're trying to make the clinic more open and understood. People should understand how the clinic is run. And we want to know what it would take to get Tribal members back." Hence Beck whose position she calls in the most basic terms pos sible a "networking coordinator." In other words, she works with every entity within the clinic, with phar macists, radiologists, optometry, physical medicine and most impor tantly patients. It is her ears that complaints and suggestions fall upon and her communication skills that relay an awareness of quality control throughout the clinic. She is charged with keeping everybody else on the ball. "Our goal is to improve access to the clinic, to raise standards. . .to be come accredited," she said. "I want to maintain a high level of health care." Beck is trusted in those kinds of duties, evidently. In Klamath Falls she ran a consulting firm called "In terim Management" that special ized in much the same thing she does now. Only hospitals and medi cal centers came to her, and not vice versa. The medical field has long been her vocation, she graduating from Central Missouri State University in 1980 as a registered nurse and having background in same-day surgery, hospice and home health. Beck is a native Oregonian, born and raised in Klamath Falls. Her husband Steven Beck served in the Air Force for 24 years, meaning that she has lived in all parts of the coun try, and other continents. Their moves include Bitburg and Sembach in Germany, as well as Washington, California, North Dakota, Louisi ana, Florida and Missouri. J , J Linda Beck She is able to boast three children Kristin, Katie, and Jeb and from them seven grandchildren. Her oldest daughter Kristin lives in Italy as an Army nurse, a loca tion that thus far has worked to Beck's advantage. Beck came to the area in July of 2001. She has since bought a house in Sheridan, a town she la bels "very pleasant."
