Smoke signals., November 15, 2004, Page 3, Image 3

Smoke Signals 3
NOVEMBER 15, 2004
Man Of The Unknown
Pulitzer-Prize winner N. Scott Momaday is the headliner at Oregon State University's "Nature and the Sacred" Symposium.
MOMADAY continued
from page 1
phy, and let loose with a sly remark
here and there. At question time,
nobody asked him where he gets
his ideas or how he decided to be
come a writer. They asked instead
how his stories applied to their lives
and about the apparent contradic
tion between the power of words,
which comes from what is revealed,
and the power of mysteries, which
comes from what is hidden. He is
an advocate of both.
He told a story explaining the
gash marks on an old, venerable
tree stump. He said that he had
told the story many times before.
He set the scene with the simple
statement, "This story took place
and the mystery of it, he said, takes
on a special power.
Then, in his way, Momaday said
that he once tried to tell that story
to some grade school kids, but when
he finished setting it up with the
line, "This story took place when
dogs talked," a little girl piped up:
"Those were the days!" and the rest
of the story lay in ruins.
He said that he still harbors a
grudge against that little girl.
"One thing I was very impressed
with," said Peters, "is that more than
one student and more than one com
munity member said later that
hearing his talk had inspired them
to revisit their own efforts at writ
ing. For me, any person who's a
public figure that can create that
sort of inspiration in others is a na-
"For me, any person who's a public figure that can create
that sort of inspiration in others is a national treasure."
Kurt Peters about N. Scott Momaday
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when dogs talked," and went on to
tell about a young boy pretending
to be a bear and chasing girls
around. In the story, the boy actu
ally turns into a bear and the girls
run away even faster. They pass a
tree stump, the one in question,
and the tree stump says that he can
save the girls. They just have to
jump on.
They do, and the tree stump rises
in the air as the bear comes by. The
bear slashes at the girls and makes
the marks in question across the
stump.
The stump continues to rise and
the girls become the stars of the 'Big
Dipper' constellation. "You'll never
look at the 'Big Dipper' in the same
way again," he said.
But being a man of mystery, he
added that the part of the story that
intrigued him most was the young
boy who turned into a bear. The
story goes no further in that regard,
tional treasure."
Peters is an OSU Associate Pro
fessor of Ethnic Studies and Direc
tor of the Native American Collabo
rative Institute (See Smoke Sig
nals, July 15, 2004 issue) at the
university.
Momaday's awards include a
Guggenheim Fellowship, a Na
tional Institute of Arts and lLetters
award, the Golden Plate Award
from the American Academy of
Achievement and the Premio
Letterario Internationale
"Mondello," Italy's highest literary
award. Currently Regents Profes
sor of the Humanities at the Uni
versity of Arizona, he is a Fellow of
the American Acedemy of Arts and
Sciences and holds twelve honor
ary degrees from American colleges
and universities, including Yale
University, the University of Mas
sachusetts and the University of
Wisconsin.
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Power In His Words Kurt Peters, Director of the Native American Collabora
tive Institute at OSU, introduced Momaday. Momaday Is awards include a Guggenheim
Fellowship, a National Institute of Arts and lLetters award, the Golden Plate Award
from the American Academy of Achievement and the Premio Letterario Internationale
"Mondello," Italy's highest literary award.
Financial Officer Reports On Tribe's Budget
With money issues front and center, November's General Council meeting is mostly confidential.
By Ron Karten
The November General Council
meeting was held on Sunday, No
vember 7, at the Tribal Community
Center in Grand Ronde. Here are
the highlights:
Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle
Kennedy called the meeting to or
der. Tribal Elder Cordelia
Kneeland, Kennedy's mother, of
fered the invocation.
Tribal Financial Officer Larry
Kovach gave detailed information
about the budget, but because it is
confidential, it will be described in
the Tribe's Council News publica
tion only.
Tribal members expressed sup
port for Saint Michael Catholic
Church that is now in need of
funds.
Comments also reflected on gar
bage found in
road areas and in
the woods, specifi
cally the rock
quarry area, all a
reflection on
Tribal character.
Tribal member
Butch Labonte
commented on
the use of road
signs for target
practice, and the
safety hazard
that poses.
The $50 door
prizes went to
Ellen Fischer,
Dorothy Leno
and Pearl Lyons.
won the $100 prize.
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Financial Officer Larry Kovach
Trevor Aaron
Announcements:
The Tribe is seeking suggestions
for a Community Development
Block Grant application due on De
cember 13.
Important information about this
$500,000 grant are available from
Planning Manager Kim Rogers,
503-879-2250.
Tribal Restoration dinner and pow
wow is scheduled for Sunday, No
vember 21, 2004, in the Tribal Gym
nasium and Community Center.
Dinner is set to begin around noon
with the pow-wow to follow. Contact
coordinators Jackie Provost or Da
kota Whitecloud for information.
The next General Council meet
ing will be Sunday, December 5,
2004, at 11 a.m. in the Tribal Com
munity Center.
Per capita payment date is Fri
day, December 10, 2004.