6 AUGUST 1, 2005
Smoke Signals
Elders' Honor Day 2005 In Grand Honde
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The Future Tribal Elder Leonard Vivette arrives at Elder Honor Day with his
daughter, Tribal Elder Leonette Galligher, at left. Members of the HeadStart Philhar
monic, above, entertained the Elders with songs in their traditional language.
ELDER HONOR
continued from front page
Tribal member Elaine LaBonte, Co
ordinator of the Tribal Tourism De
partment. Bingo was big in the
afternoon. Children from the Tribal
HeadStart program and the K-5 pro
gram each performed in a very mu
sical way for the group.
The day also provided an oppor
tunity for Smoke Signals summer
Interns Jack Ham and Spencer
Olson, along with the Governance
Center's Front Desk Intern, Leah
Brisbois, all Tribal members, to cut
their journalistic teeth on inter
views at the event.
Tribal Elder Vicki Tom Lawrence
told Brisbois, "This is my first time
being here and it's also my father's
birthday as well, so we wanted to
come and be with him."
Umatilla Elder Lewis Carter told
Ham, "I like to meet some of the old
friends I've seen in the past years.
Visit. See if they're still alive.
Mourn if they gone. I also enjoyed
seeing the Veterans Memorial after
it was completed."
"I'm impressed with how the
Tribal members go out of their ways
to give to other Tribes," said Rusty
Hobbs. "I wish the rest of the na
tion would do the same."
The day did not present giant sales
opportunities, but there were many
raffles and giveaways. Tribal mem
ber Dana Ainam had a table inside
the gym at the back where last
year's pow-wow t-shirts were going
for five bucks each. In the hall out
side of the gym, Tribal Elder Char
lotte Gray and friend Jeannie
Cameron sold "Renuzit" dolls (able
to store replaceable Renuzit air
fresheners) and Angel dolls.
When Smoke Signals stopped by,
the dolls were getting a good look-
see by Suquamish Elder Mary
Napolean.
In attendance were members of the
following Tribes: Hopi (2), Klamath
(1), Warm Springs (8), Yakama (5),
Swinomish (8), Suquamish (21), Coos,
Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw (25), Siletz
(25), Umatilla (22), Cayuse (7) and
Grand Ronde (86), according to Elders
Committee Chair Louise Coulson.
"I think it went very well," said
Coulson, who led the effort for the
first time as Committee Chair. "It's
just a lot of fun. It's very tiring but
it's fun. I can tell you that the El
ders this year from our Tribe were
wonderful. We asked for donations
for gifts. They responded. It was
overwhelming. We (also) got gifts
from the casino and from Tribal
Council. That was really great."
Tribal Elder Tom LaChance Returns From A Church Mission To Russia
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Visionary Tribal Elder Tom LaChance displays some of the arts and crafts
that he brought back from Russia. With a group from his church, he helped fit and
distribute more than 400 pairs of glasses.
Along with three other members of
the Dayton Christian Church, Tribal
Elder Tom LaChance recently re
turned from a mission that provided
glasses to Russian peasants. The
group spent more than two weeks in
late June and early July in a suc
cession of small towns about 600
miles northeast of Moscow.
LaChance was told that he was
the first Native American to come to
Grace Church in Kirevo, Russia, he
said during the Elders' Honor Day
events. They gave a picture of life
in Russia a homey picture of ice
skaters on a frozen pond to give
to the Tribe. He is planning now
how to frame the oval picture before
making the presentation.
Overall, the group visited three
churches and the villages of
Novovjatsk, Kumyenj, Kirevo and
Yuria before heading to the city of
Kirov where the group shopped for
souvenirs.
During the visits to the small vil
lages, the Dayton group held clin
ics in which they put the
appropriate lenses into eyeglasses
for residents of the villages.
"We were fitting glasses to the
people that could not see," he said.
"They were very poor," he said.
"The houses were like they were .
built in 1940s. Tilting. They were
made of wood. They only had cold
water and outdoor toilets. They
had to heat their water. The only
source of heat is wood and that's
how they get their hot water."
He also said that their attitudes
toward American people were very
good. "They will do anything for you.
They just seem to take life in general
as it goes. Live day by day. They're
so poor they can't afford cars. The
majority walk. Some take a bus, and
every now and then youH see a taxi."
"The first church we went to," said
LaChance, "were non-believers.
They were reluctant to come to the
church but did to get their eyes
checked. Those we fitted glasses,
were really amazed, really happy
that they could see again. Then
they wanted to know how much to
pay for the glasses. We told them
that they were free. We came to
find out after that the non-believers
were going to church.
"One lady at Grace Church, she
hadn't been able to see for years,
when she got the glasses where she
could read, I can't describe, she got
down on her knees thanking us
that she could see. And she hadn't
for years. She was so thankful."
All told, the group fitted more
than 400 pairs of glasses.
Back in Moscow, the group saw
the New Moscow Circus, the Krem
lin and Red Square.
"It was really weird being in Red
Square," said LaChance. "I could
see up there where back in the 30s
and 40s where Stalin and Kruschev
would stand up on the balcony way
above and wave when military
went by."
It was all pretty far up north.
How far? "It started getting dark
around 11:30 p.m.," said LaChance.
"And it starting getting light again
around 3:30 a.m."