Smoke Signals 3
FEBRUARY 1,2008
(Goal is DrnmeDneir, Ibefttieir camxceir care
NAVIGATOR continued
from front page
doctors and, if necessary, assisting
with other family needs.
Bottom line, the navigator helps
patients receive timelier and better
cancer care.
Henderson's new position is funded
by a $5 million National Cancer
Institute grant to the Indian Health
Board for a trial cancer navigator
program. It is part of the Northwest
Tribal Epidemiology Center's five
year research program to find out if
the navigator model used success
fully to improve cancer care in other
underserved communities, such as
African-American breast cancer
patients in Harlem can cut cancer
deaths among Native populations.
In addition to the Grand Ronde
Health and Wellness Center receiving
funding for a cancer navigator, the
Shoshone-Bannock Tribe in Idaho,
the Siletz Tribe in western Oregon
and the Yakama Tribe in eastern
Washington are participating.
Currently, Native American
cancer patients are more likely
to be diagnosed in the later, more
virulent stages of the disease and,
consequently, have lower chances
of survival than other racial or eth
nic groups in the United States be
cause of a lack of access to adequate
cancer screenings and treatment.
Also affecting the Native Ameri
can cancer death rate are funding
limitations in Tribal health care
systems, and cultural, social and
geographic hurdles.
"There is an incredible need,"
Henderson said, citing the number
of Grand Ronde Tribal member
deaths attributed to cancer in recent
months. "I felt sorrow for people who
couldn't get help because the pro
gram was not
yet in place."
The naviga
tor program
does not pay
for medi
cal appoint
m e n t s or
medication.
However,
Henderson,
through net
working, can
help Tribal cancer patients tap into
funding sources to pay medical bills
or find support groups to help in the
battle against the disease.
Currently, Henderson said he has
a list of 15 Tribal members who
are in varying degrees of battling
cancer, from remission to receiving
treatment.
Henderson said he has contacted
17 organizations from Salem to Mc
Minnville to Portland that provide
financial and emotional resources
to cancer patients. In addition to
finding financial support for cancer
patients, one of Henderson's goals is
to start a Grand Ronde cancer sup
port group to provide the emotional
bolstering patients also need.
"There is nothing local," he said.
"Not even in McMinnville."
Among his many goals, Hender
son said outreach and education
are priorities because increased
awareness
about cancer
screenings
can help
lower the
death rate
among Na
tive Ameri
cans. As with
any disease,
the earlier
cancer is de
tected, the
better the chance a patient will
survive.
"Screenings are the first line of
defense against cancer," Henderson
said. "I want to increase awareness
about when and where screenings
are offered."
He said Oregon Health and Sci
ence University in Portland will be
offering free screenings for breast
and cervical cancer on Saturday,
March 1. There will be no fees. For
more information, Tribal members
can call 503-418-4500.
Lung, colorectal and breast can
cers are the top three that affect
Native Americans.
Henderson receives his clients
through a physician referral. When
a patient is diagnosed with cancer,
he or she is given Henderson's in
formation. Patients, however, still decide
how much, if any, of their cancer
journey they want to share with a
navigator.
"I try to help people stay head
strong, in high spirits, and I tell them
this can be a life-changing event, not
a life-ending one," Henderson said.
"The gratification that I get from this
job is in helping people."
As part of the program, Hender
son will collect data that will hope
fully show that the navigator model
is effective in reducing the cancer
death rate among Native Ameri
cans. Those numbers, in turn, could
affect future Congressional funding
for Native health care.
Tribal members, spouses or other
Native American Tribal members
who would like to contact Hender
son can reach him at jasen.hender
songrandronde.org or by calling
503-879-1395.
The cancer navigator service is
available to all Grand Ronde Tribal
members, no matter where they
live, Henderson added.
"I try to help people stay
headstrong, in high spirits,
and I tell them this can be
a life-changing event, not a
life-ending one. "
Jasen Henderson,
Tribal cancer navigator
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Photo courtesy of the Cultural Resources Department
Baskets in the current Grand Ronde collection
MUSEUM continued
from front page
through a competitive proposal
process in 2005.
Jones & Jones is one of the pre
miere native architectural firms in
the country, having worked on the
Smithsonian Institution's National
Museum of the American Indian,
the University of Oregon's Many
Nations Longhouse and Evergreen
State College's Longhouse.
As a part of a two-year grant
award in 2005, the Tribe, with
Jones & Jones, reviewed four po
tential sites owned by the Tribe for
the future location of the museum
and cultural center.
With Tribal community input,
the property adjacent to the Fort
Yamhill State Heritage Area was
selected as the best site and was
reflected in a resolution passed by
Tribal Council.
A forested knoll divides the cho
sen location of the museum grounds
on the south side from the new
Grand Ronde pow-wow grounds
located on the north side of the
knoll. The museum will have a view
of Spirit Mountain and a wetland
meadow in the foreground.
The 2005 project also set aside
space for two additional phases of
development; one building for cul
tural education programming and
another for Cultural Resources De
partment offices and curatorial space
in anticipation of the need for the
department's future expansion.
A series of community meetings
was advertised and held to review
site and building options. Com
munity attendees, Tribal staff,
Culture Committee members,
Tribal Council and the architects
each selected the Fort Yamhill site
and the three-building concept for
long-term development.
In 2007, the Tribal Council sup
ported, through funding a contract
with Jones & Jones, preparation
of a business plan for the museum
and a detailed economic feasibility
analysis.
In the 2008 phase of the project,
the Tribe will prepare the sche
matic design of the development,
alternative site layouts, floor plans
and building elevations with a focus
on the museum building, the com
mon parking area, and utilities and
their relationship to the site.
The museum is the only build
ing planned for initial develop
ment. The museum project alone
will likely require a large capital
campaign for the planned 20,000-square-foot
building.
The project team will prepare
museum concepts by researching
similar sites constructed by the
Squaxin Island, Warm Springs and
Umatilla Tribes, and even some
local non-Tribal museums in an ef
fort to prepare a strategy that will
be presented to the Tribal Council
for its approval.
It is anticipated that the schemat
ic design coming from the new grant
will be used in efforts to help raise
non-Tribal funds for the project. The
project team will present various
funding possibilities and building
characteristics to Tribal Council for
approval as the project develops.
The Grand Ronde Cultural Re
sources Department will be hold
ing museum project community
meetings again during 2008, where
informational material and pre
sentations will be provided and
feedback solicited.
In addition to the museum work
being done as part of the Admin
istration for Native Americans
grant, the Cultural Collections
Program has developed the Ntsay
ka Ikanum virtual gallery (www.
grandronde.orgcultureikanum)
to share collection objects and
historic information.
Program employees are currently
cleaning the entire collection and
moving it to a more spacious and
regulated storage area, and will be
bringing back hundreds of items
from the Horner Collection in the
coming months.
Cultural Resources Manager Da
vid Lewis and Tribal Engineer Eric
Scott are co-leads on the museum
project. They are working with
longtime museum project coordi
nator Lindy Trolan, who is collec
tions coordinator for the Cultural
Resources Department, as well a9
Cultural Resources Department
staff, Tribal staff, Tribal Council,
Elders, youth and community
members. D