4 AUGUST 1,2007
Smoke Signals
UcflaDD Scholars Bv'mg A WoirDd Off Cm iriios fifty
Amid EimttDDnasiiasm To Gorainid RoddcOg
Udall scholars work with the Natural Resources summer youth crew on another section of the Tillamook Trail.
UDALL continued
from front page
(that got loose and flapped around
for a day), left the thirteen partici
pants unable "to see the forest for
the leaves," according to Martina
Gast, a Red Rock Ojibwe, First
Nation Band, located in Nipigon,
Ontario, who is Tribal co-coordinator
for the trip.
Gast, the only Native on the crew,
nevertheless helped coordinate
visits to a number of Indian experi
ences along the way.
In Louisiana, they visited the
United Houma Nation and trav
eled the bayous; in Kansas, they
learned about the Indian board
ing school system at the Haskell
Indian School; and in Oklahoma
City, they attended a Tribal health
symposium.
"A huge learning experience,"
said Gast.
The bus was fit and forward
thinking, with leather seats still
smelling new and a biodiesel en
gine fueled by a blend of 20 percent
biodiesel and 80 percent ultra low
sulfur diesel, along with carbon
offsets purchased through Native
Energy to make the tour carbon-neutral.
C "
Y
Udall Communications
Manager Eli Zigas
The scholars from across the
country anticipated futures in fish
and wildlife, geography and history
and one a few years out of college
was considering a Masters degree
in business.
"I think they need people like us
in business," said Jennifer Baldwin,
the group's blogger and videog
rapher, who also was considering
further education in Indian law.
Here in Grand Ronde, they
picked up rhineharts, polaskis,
sandviks and mcclouds, and fol
lowed the Natural Resources
interns' bus down Grand Ronde
Road and out past Sharkey's
Bridge to the Tillamook Trail, still
in development.
"The understory (in the woods)
is unbelievable," said Natural
Resources Fish and Wildlife Co
ordinator Kelly Dirksen. "Your
work will give the opportunity
for others to see a part of the trail
that only loggers normally see."
Somewhere about a mile down
the trail, the roots again poked
out and the bottomless hills en
croached a little too close to the
trail for comfort. Interns and
scholars picked up their imple
ments of construction and un
der the direction of Youth Crew
Leader Alyssa Cudmore, they
continued the arduous process of
stretching out and widening the
path.
Working together, they brought
a huge, fifteen foot length of tree
down from the hill to make a border
for the trail.
And here on this path, you could
hear the beginnings of conversation
between the groups. By the time
of the lunch bbq held behind the
Natural Resources building, they
were discussing the relative merits
of Tillamook cheese vs Cabot cheese
of Vermont, and Wisconsin cheese,
that may or may not have an un
earned reputation for quality.
In his 30 years in Congress and
14 as Chair of the House Inte
rior Committee, Udall championed
many Native and environmental
causes.
The Udall Foundation, congres
sionally established in 1992, offers
scholarships, fellowships and in
ternships. www.udall.gov
Photos By Toby McClary
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Covered in leaves and legacy is the Udall bus. Thirteen Udall scholarship alumni traveled for two months across the
country honoring ten years of community service in the name of Arizona Congressman, Morris Udall.