Smoke Signals 7
JUNE 1,2011
Foundation holding essay contest
The Public Health Foundation is holding anTm Your Community Guide"
essay contest to increase awareness, adoption and use of the publication
by Tribal health organizations.
If someone has used the "Community Guide," they are invited to share
their experience by writing a story and submitting it to oliviaphf.org
through Friday, June 10.
The top three entrants will receive a scholarship of up to $1,000 to attend
a national public health conference in 2011. The top 15 entrants will win
an "I'm Your Community Guide" prize pack.
Submissions may be made as a completed contest entry form or text
document of no more than two pages. For more information, visit the "I'm
Your Community Contest Guide" contest submission guidelines at www.
phf.org. D
EFFECTIVE MAY 1,2011
Changes to Social Services Emergency Assistance
and Medical Gas Voucher Program
For all income criteria programs, wage verification for past 60 days
(wage stubs) will need to be submitted. If client has not worked for a
period of time, client will need to submit a printout from their State
Employment Office or printout from Oregon Self Sufficiency Office
as verification of income. Rentaldeposit or utility assistance may
be utilized only one time in a 24-month rolling calendar period and
is not to exceed the maximum contribution of $1,000 per household
within any 24-month rolling calendar period.
Medical Gas Vouchers
Social Services will not provide gas vouchers for medical appoint
ments, counseling or drug & alcohol treatment. The only exception to
this is for scheduled treatment plans, (i.e.: radiation, chemotherapy,
surgery, etc.) and has caused hardship on the family, medical gas
vouchers can be distributed to meet the need of the circumstances. A
copy of all scheduled treatment plans must be received before client
is eligible to receive this service. Assistance will end on the date of the
last treatment appointment.
For a complete copy of policy or questions, please contact Tammy
C. Garrison at 503-879-2077. D
M 'i A
Photo by Michelle Alalmo
Mark Johnston, Executive Director of Health Service for the Tribe,
tells Linfield College students about the X-ray machine the Tribe has
in the Grand Ronde Health ft Wellness Clinic during their visit on
Thursday, May 1 2. The field trip was part of the "Introduction to Public
and Community Health"' class and consisted of students from the
McMinnville and Portland campuses who are Interested In the health
care field. One student in the group was Tribal member Amanda
Dorman, a freshman who is majoring in pre-med at the college.
Elders' garago sale seeking donations
Tribal Elders are regularly seeking donations of items for their fund
raising garage sales. To donate an item or items, call Tribal Elder Linda
Brandon at 971-267-0918. B
Datofia wdDD DTDnG be easnDy irspDs)Gdl
DAKOTA continued
from front page
one.
Tribal Council member Chris
Mercier also remembers early
morning chats over coffee with
Whitecloud.
"I will definitely miss our morn
ing chats," he said.
"When she prepares a report,"
said Leno, "she is very detailed
an excellent, dig-down-get-all-the-facts-before-you-present-an-issue."
"She had an encyclopedia-like
knowledge base of this Tribe,
one that probably takes years to
amass," said Mercier. "She was
valuable for that and will not be
easy to replace."
Back in the day, she worked as
administrative assistant to Tribal
General Manager Jim Willis, who
had given her "the dubious honor"
of coordinating the move from the
Manor Building.
"There were four semi-truck
loads," she said. "It took us one
week packing up, two days for the
move, but unpacking took consider
ably longer. We were working out of
boxes for probably a month."
The move had its moments.
"We had to clean out the attic in
the Manor Building," Whitecloud
recalled, "and (former Tribal Elder)
Jackie Whisler was terrified of bats.
We heard a scream. I went in and
rescued the bat."
"Leave it to you," Whisler said to
Whitecloud, "to rescue a bat."
"I took it home," Whitecloud re
called, "and turned it loose.
"Back then on a Friday afternoon,
it was nothing for (Tribal Elder)
Mark Mercier to haul out his bar
becue. It was all potlucks in those
days and you couldn't believe all the
food there was to eat.
"And nobody got paid for being
on a committee's staff. After we
moved up here, Tribal Council
finally agreed to $3.50 (minimum
wage then) payment for their time,
if they chose to take it, and not
everybody did.
"Then gaming came along. At
first, the Tribal Council was dead
set against it. They talked about
it and talked about it and talked
about it.
"Finally Mark Mercier, (who was
Tribal Council chairman then),
said, 'If you won't let it drop, then
let's talk to other Tribes and see
what they think of it.' " Along
with Kathryn Harrison and Merle
Holmes, Mark visited two or three
gaming Tribes.
"They came back, had a whole
bunch of meetings and decided,
Teah, we'll try it.' "
At that time, the Forestry Depart
ment was housed where the casino
is now located, so Tribal Council
went about bringing that land and
the land that Natural Resources
now occupies into Trust.
Whitecloud was instrumental in
bringing in Travis Benoist (Chey
enne River Sioux) to bless the
original casino building.
"We (Benoist, Tribal member
Randy Butler Jr. and Whitecloud)
went completely around and
through the building for the bless
ing," she said.
"One thing I'll never forget," she
said, "is how shocked everybody
was when we got the first month's
numbers, and the numbers of ve
hicles visiting the casino. To this
day, I drive by and see all those
cars. Where do they come from?
"People were so shocked, it was
almost scary.
'They started thinking about ex
panding some of the programs. One
of the first things was to create the
endowments. For the Elders secu
rity, it started out at $50 a month.
Then, it went up to $100 a month.
"In 1997, 1 bought my house and
I was thinking, when I'm finally
an Elder, I'll be able to have a few
more dollars to make my home
payment."
A few years later, Elders pay
ments increased to $500 a month
and then to $1,000, where it is
today.
"It still amazes me that we have
been able to do so much," she said.
"And it's not just the Tribal Coun
cil. It's the staff, the Elders. It's
everybody."
She remembers the first per
capita payments when Tribal mem
bers stood out in the cold starting
at 6 a.m.
"It was like a celebration, al
most," she said.
For the first General Council
meeting held at the Community
Center, Whitecloud remembers
that Tribal Council provided the
meat and Tribal Elder Val Grout
and her family prepared the rest
of the meal. Everybody brought
salads and desserts.
"Everybody was so excited about
the room they had."
Whitecloud initiated the door
prizes that have been a landmark
of General Council meetings ever
since. She started it by buying
gifts as part of a 5050 prize, but
Kathryn Harrison suggested that
instead of gifts, the Tribe should
just give out money. And that's the
way it has been ever since.
Whitecloud also created the sys
tem that allowed Elders to receive
their payments by direct deposit.
She has written five ordinances
for the Tribe, three of which are
still in effect.
"I've written enough policy to fill
this office," she said. "It needed to
be done. I knew how to do it. I just
did it."
"When I first came on council,"
said Bobb, "I was thinking I knew
a little bit of what was going on,
but, of course, I was not even close.
They said, 'Here's your stuff. Go for
it.' Dakota was the only one that
helped me out, got me squared
away. Every day, she said, 'You
need this. You need that for the
day.' She's always been a very good,
helpful friend."
Leno recalls the way Whitecloud
sometimes growls at folks. "I al
ways just think that you growl
louder than what she's growling.
She's one of the most loyal employ
ees to the Tribe."
"She'll be missed," said Bobb.
Whitecloud's last day of work was
Friday, May 27. D