AUGUST 1, 2003
Smoke Signals 9
PSU's Native American Center
Heading for September Completion
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's Spirit Mountain
Community Fund contributed $250,000.
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By Ron Karten
At a cost of nearly $4 million, plus
another $300,000 for Native art
work, Portland State University's
(PSU) Native American Student
and Community Center is almost
ready for prime time.
With space for gatherings as large
as 300, the facility also will offer
space for classes and offices, a li
braryresource room fitted with distance-learning
technology, a gal
lerylounge with exhibit space for
Northwest Native art and displays,
a rooftop garden and courtyard
where new graduates will inscribe
their names, an outdoor salmon
bake area and meeting and confer
ence rooms.
Funded by private donors includ
ing the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde (CTGR), state bonds,
federal money and student build
ing fees, the facility will be unique
in this metropolitan area that is
home to some 14,000 Indians.
Three hundred thousand federal
dollars come courtesy of Capitol
Hill testimony in support of the
project by former
Congresswoman
Elizabeth Furse,
according to Erin
Malecha, spokes
woman for the
university. Furse
also is Director of
PSU's Institute
for Tribal Gov
ernment. An inlay of the
CTGR logo will
grace the floor in
side the west en
try off the park
blocks. Art in
stallations commissioned by such
outstanding Indian artists as Warm
Springs mixed media sculptor
Lillian Pitt, Klamath bronze sculp
tor Jim Jackson, Inupiaq sculptor
PSU President
Daniel O. Bernstine
Lawrence R. Ahvakana and Tlingit
glass artist and sculptor Preston
Singletary also will be represented
in the building.
"The completion of
PSU's Native
American Student
and Community
Center marks an
important milestone
in the university's
history and in our
ability to serve Na
tive students and
the larger commu
nity," said PSU
President Daniel O.
Bernstine.
The population of
Indian students at
PSU has more than doubled in the
last decade. The university offers
a number of educational programs
and courses with Native curriculum,
including the Institute for Tribal
Government, and is creating a new
undergraduate Native American
Studies Certificate program to of
fer interdisciplinary studies to Na
tive and non-Native students.
"This is welcome recognition of the
growing importance and influence
of Native Americans in the North
west. PSU's Native American Stu
dent and Community Center will
play an important part as we con
tinue to re-acquaint ourselves with
our culture and ancient traditions
and develop new avenues for pass
ing them on to future generations,"
said Angie Blackwell, Director of the
Spirit Mountain Community Fund.
The Center is located on SW Jack
son between SW Broadway and SW
Park in downtown Portland. With
grand opening ceremonies sched
uled for October 24 this year, the
building is nevertheless expected to
be ready for the opening of classes
for the 2003-2004 school year.
Addiction Services Approved For Continued Services
Tribal Health & Wellness Clinic's Dr. Joe Stone, Joe Cook and Laura Burton improve their credentials.
By Ron Karten . , ,a
The Tribal Health & Wellness
Clinic's Behavioral Health section
received the go-ahead from the
state for another year of service.
The Letter of Approval for the
Tribes' Outpatient Alcohol & Drug
Treatment Program continued the
existing certification from May 31,
2003 to May 31, 2004.
Coincidentally, the certification
update comes at the same time as
three other professional successes
for the Behavioral Health section.
Behavioral Health Director, Jo
seph Stone, Ph.D., Behavioral
Health Director, was awarded Cer
tified Alcohol & Drug Counselor
Level III at the Masters level.
Joseph R. Cook, Jr. MS, LPC,
Mental Health Therapist, has com
pleted requirements to become a
Licensed Professional Counselor in
Oregon. This marks completion of
2,500-hour professional internship.
Cook also has been accepted as a
doctoral student in Clinical Psychol
ogy at George Fox University.
And Laura Burton, CADCI,
Chemical Dependency Counselor,
was awarded Certified Alcohol &
Drug Counselor Level II. In addi
tion, she earned certification as a
Clinical Supervisor in the Alcohol
& Drug program.
All certifications were awarded by
the State of Oregon.
The certification process is re
quired for all programs in the state
either every year or every two
years, depending on the program,
said Dr. Stone.
"Professionals come out from the
state," said Dr. Stone. "They look
at client charts. They look through
our policies and procedures. And
they interview the staff. They ask
about our backgrounds, training,
whether we're remaining current,
how the program's going. They ask
about upsides and downsides (of
the program) and they look for per
ceptions from the staff. They also
sometimes interview clients al
though they didn't do that this
time."
What does it all mean?
"What it means," said Dr. Stone,
"is an increased level of competence
in the program."
West Nile Expected To Make An Appearance In Oregon This Year
Although it is not here yet, the time to learn is now.
By Ron Karten
Diseases carried by mosquitos in
clude Malaria, Yellow Fever, En
cephalitis and Dengue Fever. Not a
friendly bunch. West Nile Virus
(WNV), expected to reach Oregon for
the first time this year, comes with
encephalitis-bearing mosquitos.
"Nothing's happened yet in this
year," said Shirley Walkhoff, the
Tribe's Community Health Nurse.
But we'll probably have some warn
ing when the disease does arrive,
she said, because animals generally
are infected first. For some domes
tic animals, like horses, immuniza
tions are available, said Walkhoff,
although there are neither immu
nizations nor treatments for the dis
ease in humans.
As of July 24, 35 states had re
ported the appearance of WNV to
the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) in birds, horses or mosqui
toes. Seven states had reported a
total of 11 human cases, five in
Texas alone. Last year, according
to CDC, there were nearly 4,156 re
ported human cases in 44 states re
sulting in 284
deaths.
The commu
nity should be
aware of the
ing to the CDC, all those who con
tract the disease, whether symp
toms are severe or slight, are cur
rently thought to be immune from
dangers, but 80 to 90 percent of WNV
cases "result in no illness or only mild
symptoms," according to Grant
Higginson, M.D., Oregon's Public
Health Officer. "In 10 percent to 20
percent of cases, the symptoms are a
flu-like illness with abrupt onset of
symptoms such as fever, headache,
sore throat, backache and muscle
aches. In one case out of 150, the
result is meningitis or encephalitis
(either of which can be fatal). The
incubation period is five to 15 days."
High risk groups include those
over 50 and those suffering with
paralysis or compromised immune
system. On the other hand, accord-
a recurrence.
Last year, according to a recent
Associated Press report, "about 13
people caught West Nile virus from
donated blood ..." It also has been
transmitted during an organ trans
plant. Two new tests are now be
ing attempted on blood donations
to "enhance blood safety," accord
ing to the report.
The disease also has been trans
mitted through breast feeding and
even during pregnancy from
mother to fetus. It cannot be trans
mitted person-to-person through
casual contact such as touching or
kissing, said the CDC.
Less than one percent of people
bitten by mosquitos develop any
symptoms. Relatively few mosqui
toes actually carry the disease.
Preventative specialists continue
to advise individuals to wear long
sleeve clothes in the dusk to dawn
hours when mosquitoes feed, and
to wear repellant where clothes
don't reach. Home and property
owners are advised to empty all ves
sels where water collects and
stands, drill holes in tire swings to
allow the water to drain, and to
change water in places like bird
baths every few days to interrupt
the 5-day incubation cycle of the
mosquito larvae.
WNV was first discovered in
Uganda in 1937. It is thought to
have spread to the eastern U.S. four
years ago. At this writing, Oregon
remains one of only four states that
have avoided any reported in
stances of the disease.