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.