Smoke signals., April 01, 2004, Page 7, Image 7

Skoke Signals 7
Tribal Teacher Brings Wealth Of Indian Lore To The Job
Kathy Cole grew up without the formalities of Tribal life, but all of the spirit.
APRIL 1, 2004
By Ron Karten
"When I was growing up my dad was very proud
about his ancestors," said Kathy Cole, who since last
October has been a Kindergarten Teacher in the
Tribe's Education Department.
Partly out of pure curiosity and partly to help the
family get enrolled, Cole's sister (Tribal member Lori
Cole Weber) did the genealogy for "all sides of the
family tree." Ultimately, everybody got involved in
the effort.
"We've taken trips to Astoria to find out where
our ancestors are buried," said the Tribe's Kinder
garten teacher, who also has brought her family
along for the Tribe's Chinuk Wawa classes. Now,
she uses that knowledge to teach the kids counting
and many words in Chinuk Wawa over the course
of a day.
"When we were growing up, (her dad, Tribal mem
ber Larry Cole) did a lot of education as far as teach
ing us about his ancestors, the Native Way.
"On our way to church, he would show us a
meadow; then he would explain the picture in his
mind of Native American Day, the horse races that
went on, the games that the children would be play
ing, the things that the women would be doing."
In the process of learning about their history, the
family uncovered a blood relationship with Chief
Concomly who was buried in Astoria, she said.
Her father did a lot of reading, she remembered,
but he also became a carver after the family grew
up and left home, He carved totem poles and masks
and many different things, Cole said.
For the last five years, however, the family mem
bers, including Cole's four children, three siblings
and their dad have become active Tribal members,
"going to pow-wows and as many activities as we
could," she said. "We love it. It's a tradition now."
Her brother, Tribal member Russ Cole, has taken
on the role of the Native American uncle in his
sister's family. "The uncle is extremely important,"
she said. "He's the one who disciplined the chil
dren; and he was the one that took over responsibil
ity for training them." And so it is now in her fam
ily. He gave her children their Native American
(Chinuk) names.
In the case of her son, Zack, now 13, Russ took
him on "a quest to find his vision," said Cole. "He
took him on a hike on Mt. Thielsen all day. Just the
two of them went. It's a little hard to do. When
they came back down, we all met together.
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Kathy Cole
"Because I'm the mother, I'm supposed to gather
the things for the ceremony. I did that. I gathered
the wood and prepared the fire. We had the sage
and we were blowing it in his direction. I was talk
ing to him about my feelings for him becoming a
man. Then, each family member did the same thing.
Telling him how proud we were and what we wanted
him to accomplish. And then at the end of it, my
brother Russ was last, and told him how much he
enjoyed his day, and then he gave him his name."
Russ had given him one name when he was very
young, and gave him a new one when it was time
for him to be a man.
"We had never been to a real traditional naming
ceremony," said Cole, "but we learned from a book
or talking to others. It was our own family's nam
ing ceremony."
She remembers that her Grandmother was Na
tive but never practiced. "She was shy about it,"
said Cole.
Her oldest son, Nick, 20, "went as far as have his
(Indian) name tattooed on his arm."
The four boys are Tribal members Nick, 20, Zack,
13, Chris, 11, and Gabe, 7.
When Cole landed her job at Grand Ronde, every
body was behind her.
"My job is perfect," she said. "I love it. I'm just
thrilled. We have a small class, so it's really gx)d to
be able to teach each one individually, lot of indi
vidual time."
And her father was thrilled, too.
She also has "a lot of help from high schoolers"
who volunteer to help in her classes.
"I break the kids into three groups," said Cole,
"and we break into centers (math, reading, writ
ing). "High school interns (each) take a center so
there are 3-4 in each group, and each child has a
chance to succeed."
School days for Cole start with lunch and then
recess. Then circle time with a calendar, or count
ing. "We usually do an art project or maybe some
physical activity or science."
"I think my biggest challenge is that I love the
kids too much."
Asked their favorite thing about their teacher, five
of the students said, "Recess."
Tribal kids Brianna Campbell and Auburn Logan
said, "Sitting at the table" and "Sitting at the circle,"
respectively. "We do lots of stuff," added Auburn.
"Teacher reads books," said Tribal kid Reece
Ebensteiner.
"Playing legos and making cars out of legos," said
Tribal kid Michael Reyes. "Trying on teacher's
shoes," continued Reyes, who was on a roll.
"She teaches us wonderful stuff" said Tribal youth
Kyoni Mercier, who later went on to say, "Teacher
Kathy thinks about good stuff," and then remem
bered Dr. Suess's birthday celebration, at which,
the children reported, the cat in the hat turned 100
years old.
"Doing art projects," said Tribal youth Nikia
Mooney.
One of the shyest in the class, Tribal youth Tajia
Ulestad, had the last word: "Teacher Kathy gives
me hugs."
"I'm very happy with the work that Kathy does,"
said Education Manager and Tribal member Marion
Mercier. "Parents seem to be happy with her work,
and the kids are happy. She's a good teacher."
For hobbies, Cole can name only her children.
"They're all active in sports," she said, indicating
that she also is involved, and she enjoys continuing
education classes like the Tribe's Chinuk Wawa
class.
"And that's about all the time I have," she said.
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Iiid Stuff Kathy Cole poses for a picture with members of her kindergarten class on a recent afternoon. Her biggest challenge is that she "loves the kids too much."