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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2004)
4 APRIL 15, 2004 Smoke Signals Women Vets Meet On The Grand Ronde Campus Women Veterans are entitled to many more benefits than they know about; this conference aimed to change that. By Ron Karten More than 300 filled the Tribal gym nasium late last month for the third biennial meeting of the Oregon Women Veterans Conference. I Iosted by Con federated Tribes of Grand Ronde and produced by the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs (ODVA), the event was part outreach and part social mixer for women still seeking to break through barriers in the nation's armed forces. There was a time, said Paula Brown, Deputy Director of ODVA, when the families of women who died in the armed services received no funding to have the bodies sent home. "Other women in the service would chip in to pay for it,'' said Brown. There also was a time when women who wanted to serve had to don men's uni forms to get involved. Today, many services and much funding are available to women Vets from health care to housing to compensation for service-incurred or -aggravated disabilities, from re-employment rights to preference points in public employment. Those seeking to learn about in the service, according to Dr. Irene Trowell-Harris, Director of the VA Center for Women Veterans, and most do not know that demonstrated abuse is compensable under VA rules. Many women think that they are not even Veterans unless they have served in a combat role, said Trowell Harris. The fact is that far too many tration office to address women Veter ans' health issues. And in 1997, the Under Secretary for Health appointed a full-time Director for the Women Vet erans Health Program. Today, 15 percent of the armed forces are women; of 26 million Vets, 1.7 million are women in this coun try; and they are the fastest-growing AW ' A" v ; i 1 Am A rp? .w,,u-V i-Vssi . , , E - k " : . P , -"ir. - ': - f 3 J 1 , - f lift im i MM mam m . L ' : " 1 . " '" liF Vital Information Valerie Conley, Women Veterans Coordinator for the Oreaon Department ofVeterans' Affairs, put together this biennial event that featured dozens of Knmp nf thnco rcinrrn1 frrm OQ year-old Jennifer Davis, an vendors and a large handful of speakers who covered a range of subjects vital to women Army Vet out of Fort Leonard Veterans. Wood in Missouri, to 85-vear- old Lee Hoffman, a MarineNavy Vet out of Arlington, Virginia, the young est and oldest attending the conference. Among them was Army Veteran Laurie Anderson, who learned that Vets with 40 percent or greater disability are entitled to exemptions from a portion of their property taxes. "That was a big one," she said. Reports show that 41 percent of women Vets claim sexual abuse while have no idea either that they are eli gible for benefits or how wide-ranging those benefits may be. This is especially troubling because the sys tem requires that Vets initiate all such benefits. Changes began in 1983, according to Trowell-Harris, when Congress established an Advisory Committee on Women Veterans. In 1988, Congress created a Veterans Health Adminis- segment of Veterans, according to Trowell-Harris. As part of the on-going education pro cess, the room was circled last month with vendors pitching both private and public opportunities for women Vets. The Veterans Oral History Project was there, as was writer Marilyn Johnston, who has written about her and her husband's experiences with his post traumatic stress disorder. Johnston also leads writing workshops through which Vets can express what for many is otherwise inexpressible. Other vendors included Troops to Teachers, an effort to enable Vets to bring their skills to the classroom af ter service, the Northwest Technical Institute for further education, Vet erans of Foreign Wars, Oregon Em ployment Department along with the U.S. Department of Labor, Willamette National Cemetery, the Internal Rev enue Service, Oregon Veterans' I Iome, U.S. Small Business Administration, Construction Contractors Board, Or egon Tradeswomen and YWCA. Along with vendors was a display of uniforms collected and presented by I LA. "MAC MacDonald, the Veterans Display Chairman of the Greater Sa lem Area Veterans Organization. "We women have stepped forward to serve this nation for a very long time," said Tribal Council member and Veteran June Sell-Sherer in her open ing address to the group. "I always felt that what I did was important." Still, with so many unaware of their contributions and the rights that now are conferred for these contributions, the challenge, according to ODVA Public Information Representative Kim Lippert, is "how can we reach the new generation of Vets?" "Everyday is Veterans' Day," said ODVA Director Jim Willis, who paid trib ute to a Civil War surgeon, Dr. Mary Walker, the only woman recipient of the Medal of Honor, and to Rosie the Riv eter, who stood for all women in the ser vices, women who found ways to pre serve medical supplies for field work and women who built ships for war efTorts. And yet, according to Deputy Direc tor Paula Brown, "There are women Vets out there today with very basic needs that are not being met." Youth Campers Brave Weather, Grow Closer ByTobyMcClary On March 24-26, 2004, Youth Edu cation hosted its First Annual Spring Break Camp Out. The camp out was open to the Native Club, Youth Lead ership and Tribal students in grades six-12. They were there to learn lead ership skills, teambuilding skills and become more familiar with their homeland. The event was held at the Tribe's new campground up Agency Creek, just across the road from what locals call "Cherry Park." It was organized by the Youth Education Staff and mem bers of the Youth Leadership Program. On the first day, the children broke up into three groups and worked to gether on creating their own song. This taught the students how to work together and introduced them to one another. Thie was an idea from guest speaker and former Hatfield Fellow, Kevin Simmons, who also spent the weekend camping. e- Marie Heimburg, Youth Education Supervisor, said that despite the three days of showers, 17 out of the 19 stu dents that attended made it through to the last rain drop. "Everyone was really great, even though we were all waterlogged," said Heimburg. "Overall, it was a very positive experience, and I feel it brought us all closer together." Travis Mercier, Youth Cultural Spe cialist, wanted to work more on teach ing the students how to work together in a positive manner, even in cold and wet conditions. Mercier also wanted to teach the importance of water and how it affects wildlife, the environment and the human body. "We are trying to strengthen the community through our young people," said Mercier. "The closer they feel to their Reservation, the stronger they will feel about their culture." E 1 1 s a : F4-V lift' --1 k tr tret' O rwTO -J Road Trip On March 24, 2004, 1 9 students pose for a quick picture before setting off on a three day Spring Break camp trip. -V,'' f I h- Learners Students still found time, despite the weather conditions, to learn the stick game taught by Tony Johnson and Bobby Mercier.
