4 JUNE 15, 2004
Smoke Signals
Spirit Mountain
NPR& Rodeo
June 26, 7 p.m. June 27, 1 p.m.
Spirit Mountain Arena, Grand Ronde
Admission: $5, under 5 FREE.
Events open to the public. Call 503-550-4897 to pre-register.
Events include: Stick horse racing, the "Stampede," adult ring toss,
junior ring toss, junior steer riding, junior barrels, donkey races and
calf deribboning.
Vendors: First come, first serve basis. 20 foot spaces available.
Cost for both days, $50 for non-Tribal, free to Grand Ronde Tribal
members (must show Tribal I.D.). For more information, call 503-537-2602
Camping area available. No alcohol, drugs or firearms on Tribal
land. These are sanctioned rodeos. For more information, call 503-550-4897.
Native American Applicants Sought
For Hatfield Fellowship
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde announces that applications for the
Mark O. Hatfield Congressional Fellowship are now available. Each year, a Hatfield
Fellow serves as an intern for a member of Oregon's Congressional delegation.
The Hatfield Fellow is selected from adult Native American applicants, who are
enrolled members of a federally recognized Tribe in Oregon. If there are no qualified
applicants from Oregon, enrolled members of federally recognized Tribes in Washing
ton , Idaho and Montana will be considered. The candidate will intern in Washington,
D.C. for nine months and will receive a monthly stipend, relocation and travel ex
penses, and tuition for the American Political Science Association orientation.
Applicants will then be notified if they qualify for interviews. Late applica
tions will not be accepted. Application packets may be obtained by contacting
Paula Cook at Spirit Mountain Community Fund 1-800-422-0232 ext. 1400, e
mail at paula.cookgrandronde.org or by mail at 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand
Ronde, OR 97347.
The Fellowship honors Mark Hatfield for his accomplishments as a United
States Senator, a former Governor of Oregon, and for his mentorship of many
leaders in their own communities.
Deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Friday, July 16, 2004.
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Tribal Elder Care Facilities Moving Forward
ELDER FACILITIES
continued from front page
simple (whether to have a view win
dow above the kitchen sink) to the very
delicate (whether the buildings ought
to have a separate room for those at
the end of life) to such functional mat
ters as how long to wait after the death
of one resident before allowing another
to move into the space.
Details of the plans for the buildings
are still wide open, but the starting
place is a large shared room surrounded
by six smaller bedrooms - five for in
dividual Elders and one for a care-giver
who will perform like a facilitator, han
dling basic tasks and setting up ap
pointments with and transportation to
specialists as needed.
The intent is to work towards giv
ing caregivers the flexibility to refer
for all levels of care.
The concept for these buildings
comes from the traditional long house,
said Hussey. Extended families lived
in various rooms of a larger building
and they came together for meals or to
warm by the fire.
"It's a traditional model that's been
left behind," said Ginter.
Among features also being consid
ered are enclosed garden areas, sau
nas in place of a sweat house, a Tribal
ceremonial room, a chapel area, fire
places, computers and phones in indi
vidual rooms.
LRS Architects Inc. of Portland,
project designer, previously created a
larger, 38-bed facility for the people of
Warm Springs. On that project, resi
dents change rooms as their level-of-care
needs change, according to LRS
Partner Bill Ruff, a member of the De
sign for Aging Committee of the Ameri
can Institute of Architects.
Many existing projects in the field
have been large facilities with many
rooms, many floors, and different
places to go for the different physical
and emotional problems that aging
brings.
Sadly, large layouts tend to confuse
some Elders, and because there are
many subgroups (folks with
Alzheimer's is an example) in need of
special care, larger facilities often
have to leave out some service areas
to afford others.
"The big difference," said Hussey,
"is that every facility we've looked at
has ended up having to be a community-wide
facility (to keep all the beds
full). And what that means is that
the Tribal member becomes another
tenant in a community facility, but
what we're trying to do here is build a
Tribal facility. We don't have to go
outside (the Tribe) to keep it rented."
In fact, said Hussey, the Grand
Ronde project as envisioned will keep
moving Elders closer to the center of
the Elder community in Grand Ronde
as they age and need new services.
This is a case where what is better
for individual Elders also creates a
better project.
It will mean "not leaving their
friends, their homesites, their reser
vation, their (landscape) views or the
connectivity to the land that they live
on," said Hussey. "They are always
connected back to their roots, and will
not be very far from their families."
The Tribe benefits because it only
builds facilities as the needs arise.
This particular project works well
in other ways. Because Tribal hous
ing efforts for the poor are federally
supported, the Tribe will be able to
build some units with federal funds,
and then, using Tribal funds to build
units for higher income Elders, the
opportunity will be there to mix El
ders of different income levels.
The Master Plan calls for seven or
more similar buildings along with an
Elder ActivitiesAVellness Center on part
of the 29-acre property west of the exist
ing Elder Housing project (Hip Tilixam).
To date, Tribal Council has autho
rized funds for the design of the El
der ActivitiesAVellness Center, one
home, and the infrastructure for the
Master Plan's entire 4.4 acre site.
The Housing Authority is still work
ing to ensure funding for an initial
four buildings (the Elder Activities
Wellness Center and three assisted
Elder homes).
The Housing Authority's vision
could ultimately provide opportunities
to bring Elders together with Tribal
youth, opening all kinds of mentoring
and support possibilities. Under the
vision, Elders will have a place to
share their experience and their tal
ents, and youth will be on hand to
contribute their strength and energy.
But that's in the future. This plan
takes a step-by-step approach. It fills
the Tribe's current needs for Elder
care. And it will be able to grow in
the right direction as Tribal and El
der needs grow.
When the project is done, said Ruff,
"we'll know we were successful if the
residents are saying that they're see
ing what they thought they would
see."
A j , t. - . .r-r . -
L t-n , -1 tib f: - e 1
sL. ; ''
A View Of The Future Tribal Development and Construction Coordina
tor Duane Hussey, (standing, left) consults with Tribal Elders on the design of the
proposed Tribal Elder assisted living facilities. The new buildings will have a
large central room surrounded by six smaller rooms, five for individual Elders
and one for a care-giver who will look after the Elders and help them with basic
tasks. Plans are in the works for seven or more buildings along with a Wellness
Center and an Elder Activity facility, located on 4.4 acres adjacent to the
existing Elder Housing in Grand Ronde.