SUMMEft 2004
ducattow Iyyu& 9
By Chris Mercier
Libraries, and books, have always occupied a place in my life, if not my
soul. Like a lot of people, I never knew the Tribe had a Library until
recently, literally walking into it by accident one day. Two months later,
I was hired as the Tribe's first full-time Librarian. Clearly, being a librar
ian and running a library, no matter how small, is one of those jobs that
looks simple from the outside. From the outside...
Needless to say, working in the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Education Library has taken me back to university days, and not just
because so many college students drift in and out of the main Education
building. Mainly, it's the fact that not since college have I been routinely
in the presence of books, of literature, of knowledge. I had forgotten how
invigorating that feels. Thinking back to my time at the University of
Oregon, which incidentally hosts the largest library in the state, it seems
almost impossible to imagine reliving that whole educational experience
without the Knight Library. It was and still is the Library of the Eugene's
people, more than even the Eugene Public Library. With that in mind I
can vouch, as can the dozens of Tribal members who have gone on to
engage in post-secondary education and other educational pursuits, that
there can be few more valuable resources in and to a community than a
quiet, well-stocked library.
What a lot of people don't know is that the Tribe has always officially
had a "library." Ten years ago that "library" consisted of a closet stuffed
with used paperbacks and textbooks. Two years ago, when the new Edu
cation Complex finally opened, we were given 1,500 square feet to house
our collection. Not surprisingly, the space allotted exceeded and still ex
ceeds our present collection. But we're working on that, very quickly I
might add.
Although the present Library came into being in 2002, not until 2003
was it given life. The Education Division scored a handful of IMLS (Insti-
- ,
'?! M '.'''"
f . -
3 """"""' " 1 "
, t
id
u
f
n T7 - i
Tribal students Maria Ramirez and Tana Ainsworth, both of Grand Ronde,
check out books from the Tribal library.
tute of Museum and Library Services) grants that have gotten it up and
going. First there was the Basic Services Grant, which helped fund a
part-time and Saturday Librarian. That was followed by the Professional
Assistance Grant, which provided means to conduct a Needs Assessment
Survey, an invaluable resource in guiding the Library in the direction of
what services to provide, what literature to carry, and what basic policies
are needed.
To date though, the Library's biggest success has been securing the two
year Library Enhancement Grant in October 2003. It is through this
grant that Education Division has been able to hire a 23 time librarian.
Also, we were able train three employees on our newly purchased Follett
Applications Software, a tool that has helped immensely in not only cata
loging our collection, but in allowing us to move past the age of book sleeves
and slow check-out procedures we now have a scanner and barcode sys
tem that automatically tracks check-out periods, overdue items and makes
reservations.
On May 22 the Library boasted its first Open House and more than four
dozen people attended. We brought in a guest speaker who specialized in
Coyote Tales, and a Native artist who traveled down all the way from
Seattle blessed our Library in Kwakiutl.
As Year One of our Library Enhancement Grant nears an end, we are
well on the way to 300 cardholders. We've began a "bookmobile" system
that allows for residents of Tribal Elders' Housing to request books and
have them delivered to their doorstep, in addition to providing service at
the Elders' Mealsite.
With the recent donation over 300 Indian books from Cultural Resources,
our collection to date features 1,500 items ranging from books, periodicals,
videos and DVD's on the way. Of that number, over half are Indian
books, although we also sport plenty of fiction, non-fiction, books-on-tape,
children's literature and reading for young adults. With less than half
our shelf space full, you can count On us adding a lot more to our collec
tion. We hope, as Education Division Manager Marion Mercier has put it,
to become "the Library of the Grand Ronde Community".
You could call the Grand Ronde Education Library a work in progress.
That it is. But it, as well as any other library, can best be summed up in a
proverb I've lifted: "The library is an arsenal of liberty."
f . i it
Luhui Whitebear
By Luhui Whitebear
The Education Scholarship is one
of the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde 's available funding sources for
Tribal members pursuing a higher
education. The scholarships are open
to any enrolled Tribal member at
tending a two or four-year college,
university, trade school, or vocational
school. The scholarships vary by type
and are automatically renewable as
long as the student continues to meet
minimum academic requirements.
Deadline for all Education Scholar
ship categories is April 30 of each
year.
2004 Highlights
The Education Scholarship name changed from Education Trust Fund
Scholarship March 2004.
Scholarship List Serve offers monthly scholarship due dates via email.
To be added to the list serve, please email:
luhui.whitebeargrandronde.org.
Scholarship Manuals available! Scholarships for Oregonians, Schol
arships for Natives, Monthly Scholarships and the Native American Schol
arship Reference Guide offer thousands of scholarship opportunities out
side Tribal funding.
Workshops included: Indian Health Services Scholarship Workshop,
FAFSA Workshop, Scholarship Workshop and College Funding Prep
Workshop.
Upcoming
Advertisements in Smoke Signals for upcoming scholarships.
Various workshops designed to assist you in your search for educa
tional funding.
Scholarship listings on the Tribal website.
In addition to maintaining the Education Trust Fund Scholarship stu
dent files, the Tribal Scholarship Office is a place for students to learn
more about funding opportunities available to continue their education.
There' are countless scholarships and grants available to students that
can be researched.
2004 Education Scholarship Graduates: 7
2004 Education Scholarship Recipients: 21
Total Education Scholarship students 2004-2005 academic
year: 73
If you have any questions about the Tribal Scholarship Office, or
its available services, please contact: Luhui Whitebear at 503-879-1345,
or 1-800-422-0232, ext. 1345.
Email: luhui.whitebeargrandronde.org.
The Education Division would like to send a special thank you to all of
the Education Committee members for all of your hard work and support
throughout the year!
The Tribal Education Committee was established by the Tribal Council
to act as advisory to the Education Division.
Message from Education Committee Chairperson Patsy Pullin:
"The Education Committee has completed a successful year in 2003
2004. Our year includes working closely with the Education Division to
provide educational related services. This includes assisting students with
needs that may outside the realm of the Education Division. The pin
nacle of the year is the review of the student Education Scholarship appli
cations. As we review and read through the student packets, each student
comes alive through their positive letters of recommendation, excellent aca
demic achievements, outstanding sports accomplishments and various
volunteer positions. On top of this, many students are also employed. It is
not an easy process and each year the students are more competitive. Ev
ery student makes us proud. The Committee helps with the planning and
presentations of the annual Honor and Recognition dinner which is an
other key part of our year. It is a time for us to meet and connect with
students and let them know we appreciate their hard work. I felt espe
cially honored this year to assist as spokesperson for this wonderful event.
Each year we travel to conferences and trainings related to Education.
Next year we anticipate more travel. A few of the local universities have
invited the Committee to a day scheduled with a tour of the campus, pro
gram information and to meet faculty. During this past year we had one
vacant Committee seat and one Committee member on leave of absence due
to long term illness. Interested parties can contact me at 503-879-4543, or
the Education Division at 503-879-2275 for an application."
Message from Education Committee member Marie Schmidt:
"I've been on the Education Committee since it first started. The whole
Education Division was only three or four people. I've really enjoyed watch-