Smoke Signals 3
JULY 15, 2007
Stoirnes Foot IXteaDoimg)
STORIES continued
from front page
munity Fund recently granted the
group $50,000 to keep its Music Rx
program going for the next year. It
was the result of Community Fund
Director and Tribal member
Shelley Hanson's sugges
tion that Looking Wolf
contacted CCA.
Music Rx is
the program for
which Looking
Wolf produced
an album of
his stories.
They're for
young chil
dren, ages
two to ten.
He used to tell
them to his son,
Tribal member
Shane Michael,
when Shane was
young.
At the time, Looking
Wolf suffered with grand
mal seizures related to a ge
netic condition, and they scared
his young son, then only a toddler.
(Doctors finally found the right
medication for Looking Wolf and
the seizures are gone.)
"I'd tell him stories to get him to
go to bed," he said. "I told him other
stories, and then started making up
the rabbit stories. He really liked
them, and I kept making them up
and telling them to him until he
was seven years old."
That was six years ago.
Then, a group of things came
together for Looking Wolf. "We've
lost some Tribal members from
cancer in last few years: (Tribal
member) Mark Cook, (Tribal El
der) Gary LaChance, and others
and then when somebody told me
that (Tribal Elder) Jackie Whisler
had cancer, on the same day, I was
at the gym and St. Jude's hospital
came on the screen and it was all
these kids with cancer. I had been
going to Emmanuel Hospital to play
for kids with cancer there. And all
those things came
together. I
. y- . 4?
thought,
'Let's do a CD that
they can use as a fund raiser and
that they could give directly to the
kids and their families."
Enter the rabbit stories that he
used to tell Shane Michael.
"Talking to my wife, Rhonda, I
thought, it'll be nice to give some
thing back."
"So, I decided to go for this, and
in one day, I called the recording
studio, music producers, record la
bels, musicians and six hours later,
I had complete support to make this
happen."
His producer, Keith Sommers of
McMinnville, jumped on board, and
Christa Ferguson joined in with
great artwork. Family and friends
helped him refine the stories.
"Keith got me into the studio (In
step Studios in McMinnville) and
30 days later it was done."
Each of the stories is intended to
be "inspirational, healing and up
lifting," said Looking Wolf. On the
back cover, Looking Wolf describes
what's inside: "Six young rabbits,
all a different color, gather round
an old wooden table preparing for
a meal in the home of the Elder
Brown Rabbit... 'Come on, settle
down, it's time to eat,' the Elder
Rabbit said. 'Oh, let's each share a
story before we have our meal.'"
"The funny thing is the connec
tion between Shane and these
stories," said Looking Wolf. "They
were to help him heal emotionally
so it didn't take too much to refine
the stories for kids with cancer."
After pulling the CD together,
the next job was giving it away.
Along with all rights and hundreds
of copies, Looking Wolf offered
the project to CCA for their Music
Rx program, for fund raising and
for the kids with cancer and their
families.
The CD will not be in music
stores. "There are very few copies
out there," said Looking Wolf. "It's
very limited."
'The point is we can all do some
thing good even if it's just treating
each other with kindness. Or making
a small donation to an organization
like the CCA or helping our local
people out when opportunities like
the Jackie Whisler fund arise."
Looking Wolf has recorded 12
albums on four different record
labels, and with this offering, he is
taking a break from recording. He
also is finishing up his performing
schedule. He intends to spend more
time with his family.
And to get back to the beginning,
Shane Michael, who has been
growing his hair long, recently told
his dad that he, too, had a contri
bution in mind. He was growing
his hair in order to give it away
so that wigs could be made for
cancer kids who lose their hair to
chemotherapy.
"If I never do another thing with
my flute," Looking Wolf said, "this
will be enough." H
r
MA
fie ' cr cMipi
n
f
Li LL
t W in
Tribal Council member Wink Soderberg (center) joins other
dignitaries in cutting the ribbon at the opening of the new Tualatin
pedestrianfootbridge. The bridge is named after a Grand Ronde
Chief, Ki-a-Kuts, known for brining people and communities
together. Soderberg was a featured speaker at the event.
(S.E3.G.W. Teamm UoMs ppireciiattioro BBQ
1 !
5" . t P '
7
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1
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Q.
Tribal member and student of the Grand Ronde Occupational Workshop (G.R.O.W.)
Daniel Mooney (I) takes a moment to relax at the "Appreciation BBQ" held on
Tuesday, June 1 9. The event was held at the new pow-wow grounds where the
G.R.O.W. team built the new Elder seating section. Tribal member Natalie Jackson
(above right) helped with the presentation of a Pendleton blanket to a member of
the Willamette Carpenters Training Center.