MAY 15, 2003
Smoke Signals 5
Learning Today How To Lead Tomorrow
Tribal mentorship program fills vital leadership need for the Tribe.
By Ron Karten
Tribal member Elaine LaBonte was working
on her Ph.D. thesis concerning native plants
of the original Grand Ronde Tribes.
Tribal member James Buxman had gradu
ated from Southern Oregon University with a
major in Public Relations, but had been wait
ing tables for a year.
Then last September, the Tribe's mentorship
initiative opened up as a two-year pilot program
to "create opportunities for Tribal members to
acquire the necessary education, experience
and skills to perform positions of leadership and
responsibility for the Tribe," according to the
program's mission statement.
Tribal member Denise Ripley was named di
rector, with LaBonte and Buxman chosen as
mentees from a pool of seven applicants.
Buxman, from Portland, had attended
LaSalle, a Catholic high school, two years be
hind Tribal member Kevin Simmons. Both
played on the same football team. Neither knew
that the other was from the Tribe.
But the connection was made, and it was
Simmons who convinced Buxman to come out
and have a look. Then, it was the job in Social
Services that Kevin Simmons vacated to become
the Tribe's Mark 0.
Hatfield Fellow
Smoke Signals 91
02) that Buxman
assumed in his first
placement as a
mentee. Buxman
has since worked in
the Tribe's Public In
formation Office,
Education Division
and Intergovern
mental Affairs and is
serving a stint with
the Community
Fund.
LaBonte, whose graduate work was struggling
for lack of funds, saw the Mentorship Program
as ideal. "I'm able to go to school and get some
real hands-on training," said LaBonte, who
moved her coursework to Oregon State Univer
sity. She started in the Tribe's Human Resources
office and has since rotated through casino de
partments performing all kinds of Human Re
sources functions.
Neither, you could say, has directly or consis
tently fostered their areas of specialization, but
Elaine LaBonte
&
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'TP1 irJ ;.
i f s
Important Program Tribal member Denise Ripley leads the
Tribe's Mentorship Program and works closely with mentees Elaine
LaBonte and James Buxman. Ripley said the key to the program's suc
cess is "communication" and "flexibility."
LaBonte said that a good manager needs to
know "the ins and outs" of many different ar
eas. And particularly for managers working with
different departments, according to Ripley, it is
a great benefit for one to know first hand the
issues of running other departments.
"You have to design (each program) to the
environment they're in," said Ripley. "We're to
tally flexible. Communication with department
heads is key."
"My main focus was on the casino," said
Buxman, "because it's big business. It's a lot of
money. But then once I got here on the Tribal
government side, I realized that there are a lot
of good things about working over here, too. It
changed my whole outlook about just wanting
to work at the casino."
He called his experience with the Social Ser
vices Department "a great learning experience.
I wasn't ever really interested in social services
work, but once I got over there and got inter
ested in it, I found out how much of a need there
is for it."
For LaBonte, with a lifetime of work with In
dian agencies and many years of education cen
tered on Grand Ronde Tribal culture, her in
stincts leaned toward the government side. But
at the casino, she interviewed employees at all
levels as part of a project to help get job descrip
tions and job evaluation questions aligned with
the actual jobs employee do.
"We're getting closer to defining our customer
service standards," said LaBonte.
The program's education features have gone
further, too. The Tribe's mentees
attend regional and national Indian
conventions. "So they are provid
ing me with (an opportunity to
learn about) Indian issues at the
national perspective, regional per
spective and local perspective," said
LaBonte. "I still focus on the cul
tural component. I'm able to net
work with other people on cultural
issues."
Buxman valued learning about
the Native American exhibit, Tn My
Room,' at the Portland Children's
Museum (see Smoke Signals, 1215
02). "You can get the word out
about our culture and what we're
doing for the community, but also
by meeting these people who devel
oped the exhibit, it's nice to see
where they're coming from and what they're
doing to spread awareness."
Shadowing department heads has also been a
help to Buxman. "Going to meetings with them,
to different conferences, meeting with state offi
cials, Tribal Council, those are things I need to
see and be exposed to, because if my goals do
come about, which is getting a management po
sition, then I'll know what to do."
For both, there is a reciprocal nature to the
program. As with the Tribe's support for Tribal
members seeking higher education, the
Mentorship Program instills in Tribal members
a desire to return
the favor to the
Tribe.
"They have
completely 100
percent supported
me," said LaBonte.
And that goes be
yond education
funding and the
current
mentorship posi
tion. "June
(Olson, director of
the Cultural Re
sources Depart
ment) has been
very supportive of
my research, allowed me access to the archives,
the space to work on my project, and the equip
ment to interview Elders support in all ways."
! I V J
James Buxman
Casino's Hall of Legends Will Get A New Look
ByPetaTinda
How do you tell the story of the Grand Ronde Tribes,
from pre-history, to termination, to present day, in
the time it takes to walk 40 feet?
This is the challenge facing Elaine LaBonte and
the rest of the team assembled to work on remodel
ing the Hall of Legends, which connects Spirit Moun
tain Casino with the Spirit Mountain Lodge.
The hallway is to be remodeled into a display show
casing the history and culture of the Grand Ronde
Tribes. It will be more open and brighter with a com
pletely new look. The hall will feature display cases
with basketry and other artisan items, as well as
photographs, audio recordings and large plasma
screen televisions explaining the story of the Tribe.
It is expected to be complete around the middle of
this summer, in late July or early August.
"The exhibit will tell the story of who we are as a
people," said LaBonte.
LaBonte is the management Mentee for Spirit
Mountain Casino. -
She is currently working on her PHD in environ
mental sciences. She has proven herself to be the
perfect go between for the casino management, Tribal
. .. ,
7 'ISS'
" tl.il i V'
The Hall of Legends, which connects Spirit Moun
tain Casino with the Spirit Mountain Lodge, is due
to be remodeled this summer. It will be changed
into a walkthrough display area showcasing the
history and culture of the Grand Ronde Tribes.
Elders and the Tribe's Culture Department, both of
which are heavily involved in the project. Such close
cooperation is vital, LaBonte said, to ensure the area
is as correct as possible.
"We have an Elder's review committee and a cul
tural committee to make sure it's as accurate, sen
sitive and culturally appropriate as possible," said
LaBonte.
The hall is now occupied with a wilderness-type
setting with imitation fir trees and recordings of
generic Native American stories.
"The remodel has been under discussion for a
while. The floors were uneven and there was some
concern about safety. That's the primary reason,"
said Casino Guest Services Manager Randy Dugger,
who is involved with the project.
The display will be more personal, LaBonte said,
in that it will be about the local community and
people, whereas previously it was not specific to
Grand Ronde.
"A lot of the people who come to the casino are
interested in learning about the Tribe," said LaBonte.
"Now the average guest who walks through there
will know there is not just one Grand Ronde Tribe;
that we are many different Tribes and we've been
through a lot to get where we are today."