Committee Feature
Pow-wow continued from front page
"Recently I've had people emailing me," said
Mercier. "They want to know about the events,
especially the drumming contests. Drums want
to come here."
Prizes for the drumming and dancing are at
tracting more people. Last year a group of drum
mers from New Mexico made the long drive up
to Oregon. One person called from Louisiana
wanting to know how to accommodate him or
herself and 12 family members for the Pow-wow.
"Our name has made itself across the coun
try," Mercier added. "We're trendsetters."
He could very well be right. Already they've
had to cut back drastically on the number of
vendors. They can pick and choose vendors now
and have done away with the swap meet stuff
altogether. Only quality Native goods now.
"Vendors are very difficult to deal with," said
Mercier. "You have to deal with electricity, and
space, and even politics."
And of course vendors are ultimately only part
of the attraction. The committee must decide
what events will take place and when, juggling
the drumming and dancing contests with vet
erans, royalty and guest
speakers.
The Pow-wow Commit
tee clearly takes great
pride in its job, which ex
plains why they've con
templated other ideas that
likely will increase their
workload, like bringing a
stick game tournament.
Or possibly constructing
an amphitheater, or
maybe even recruiting
more international indig
enous groups, much like a
Maori group that showed
up ten years ago.
"This just benefits the
whole community," said
Ainam. "The Lodge gets
booked up, and the casino
definitely gets a surge in
business." B
A ' (
Young Dancer - People of all ages love to come to the Grand Ronde
Annual Pow-wow. This young dancer participated in the 2002 pow-wow. The
Tribe's pow-wow has grown every year and is now one of the biggest on the
West Coast attracting dancers and drummers from all over the country.
Education Committee
BACKGROUND: The Tribal Education
Committee was founded in 1986 via the Educa
tion Committee Ordinance. The original intent
of its establishment was to create a body that
could act in an advisory capacity to Tribal Coun
cil regarding educational issues. They meet the
first Monday of every month.
PEOPLE INVOLVED: A six (6) person body
staffs the committee. Like most every other com
mittee, when vacancies open, potential members
must submit applications stating reason for in
terest and are ultimately appointed by Tribal
,4
"Sky High" A bird's eye view of theTribe's new
education complex in Grand Ronde.
Council. The position is paid. Tribal member
Candy Robertson is the present chair.
MEMBERS: David DeHart, Fred McGee,
Joann Mercier, Patsy Pullin, Candy Robertson
(Chair), Marie Schmidt. One seat is vacant.
FUNCTION: The Education Committee has
gone through plenty of evolution during its
nearly 20-year existence, taking on new objec
tives and duties, and upholding the original in
tents. Either way its main function is still as an
advisory body, identifying the educational needs
of Tribal members, and developing policies and
procedures for the Tribe as a whole.
"What we first wanted to do," explained
Robertson, who has been involved with the com
mittee for almost its entire life. "We wanted to
find out what students wanted. We wanted to
know how to make education easier."
Yet that was more easily said than done then,
and still is now. Their duties are many. The
committee works with council and with the Edu
cation division setting educational goals for mem
bership, monitoring state and federal legislation
that affects Indian education, recommending
conferences, seminars, and workshops that
might benefit interested Tribal members. They
also help council in researching all available edu
cational scholarships, grants and funding
sources.
They also are responsible for the annual re
view of educational program activities, accept
ing suggestions and proposing revisions. The
committee works with council to draft educational
policies and make sure that those implemented
are consistent with Tribal priorities and federal
requirements. And last but definitely not least
they conduct hearings on formal education ap
peals, grievances and complaints filed by appli
cants and recipients.
And all those of course are just the duties of
the Education Committee. As Robertson ex
plained, the bigger issues confronting commit
tee members today are those dealing with aware
ness and communication. Plenty of opportuni
ties exist for Tribal members living far away,
J ' V; I l
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but making that known is a genuine task. The
recent success and financial independence of
many Tribes nationwide also makes federal
funding less every year, giving even more im
portance to the Tribe for Tribal members seek
ing higher education.
Robertson would also like to see the Tribe have
more say in regional educational issues, perhaps
even getting members on local school boards,
and making more education services like tutor
ing and career advising available to students in
local high schools and colleges.
"I think we definitely need more communica
tion between schools with Tribal concerns," she
said.
That really is it: the issues. More than any
thing the Education Committee is about issues,
she said. And to keep well informed on those is
quite possibly the hardest thing. H
Elders9 Committee
BACKGROUND: July 14, 1993 marked the
birth of Grand Ronde's Elders' Committee when
Tribal Council officially passed the Elders' Com
mittee Ordinance.
PEOPLE INVOLVED: As per the original or
dinance, the committee was designed to have
seven (7) members, one of whom should be a
Tribal Council member. Tribal Elder Val Grout
fills that particular slot. Tribal Council appoints
members to two (2) year terms. Tribal Elder
Louise Medeiros serves as chair.
MEMBERS: Arlene Beck Secretary), Ruby
Bigoni (Vice Chair), Cheri Butler, Donna Casey,
Clarice Ellison, Val Grout, and Louise Medeiros
(Chair).
FUNCTION: Given that the Tribe places a
good deal of emphasis and reverence on its El-
SED
ders, this committee was established to oversee
Elders' activities, from the mealsite to annual
trips to just fostering a healthy community for
the aged. It is, as Chairperson Medeiros main
tains, "a full-time job."
First and foremost of the committee's duties is
the research and recruitment of Tribal members
who qualify for Elder status, which are basi
cally all members over the age of 55. The com
mittee would like to lure those Elders to Grand
Ronde and the assortment of services available
to them by right.
"We have Elders out there with concerns," says
Medeiros. "They just don't know what's out
there for them. There's so many benefits and
they just don't know it."
Elders continued on next page