Smoke Signals
Wood exhibit aft UO leads tto career-maEring jobs
10 JULY 1,2011
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signal itaff writer
For the last year, an exhibit at the
University of Oregon's Museum of
Natural and Cultural History titled
"We Are Still Here" has featured
Tribal member and recent Cultural
Resources Department employee
Stephanie Wood.
Her piece of the exhibit received
the subtitle, "Stephanie Wood on
baskets and biography."
The exhibit was part of the muse
um's Contemporary Native Ameri
can series that has featured other
Native Americans.
The museum is on the university
campus near the Many Nations
Longhouse.
The 5-by-6-by-3-foot exhibit in
cluded Wood in interviews, describ
ing her activities at the university's
Native American Student Union,
and also the basket project she did as
an undergraduate that was reported
in Smoke Signals in June 2008.
In the interviews, she also de
scribes reasons why she is studying
Grand Ronde Tribal culture and
traditions, and "why I think it's
important."
It included photographs of her
family and a basket made by her
great-great-grandmother, former
Tribal Elder Hattie Hudson, and
passed down through the family.
"My mom loaned it to the mu
seum to be on display with my other
stuff," Wood said.
The display also included photos
of Wood working with baskets.
Wood's part of the on-going ex
hibit went on display in June 2010
and comes down on July 1, 2011.
In very concrete ways, the show
is leading Wood to the career she
has studied for.
"From the exhibit," she said, "I've
been asked to do some consulting
work and the restoration of a cradle
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Photo courtesy of the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History
The University of Oregon exhibit "We Are Still Here" featured Tribal member and recent Cultural Resources
Department employee Stephanie Wood. Her growing expertise on Pacific Northwest Tribal basket making is helping
Wood get jobs while she works on her master's degree at the University of Oregon.
board basket."
Last February, Oregon State
University contracted Wood to do
a three-day basket making work
shop. In the last month, she did a
basket consultation for an Oregon
woman whose great-grandfather
gave her an 80-year-old basket.
"She wanted me to identify it.
It's not a Pacific Northwest or Wil
lamette Valley coastal basket, but it
is beautiful," Wood said. "It's more
like southern Oregon or California
work."
The University of Oregon hired
Wood to do a 10-week basket mak
ing workshop that just ended.
For this project, she will work
with Tribal member Shelby Olson
Arrested development
Photo by Michelle Alalmo
Tribal Council member Chris Mercier collects money that fellow
Tribal Council member Wink Soderberg donated to his "bail" during
the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Lock-Up fundraiser at the
Best Little Roadhouse in Salem on Tuesday, June 21 . Participants
in the fundraiser agreed to be "arrested and had to raise money,
or "bail" to be released. The event raises funds for people with
neuromuscular diseases. Tribal Council members Steve Bobb Sr. and
Soderberg also participated in the fundraiser and Mercier donated
to Soderberg's "bail" in return.
Rogers, who runs the Title VII
Indian Education program for the
Salem-Keizer schools. Wood will
lead an all-day program to teach
basket making for Native American
Title VII students on July 20.
Also this summer for four weeks,
Wood has been contracted by Or
egon State to participate in an
archeological dig at Fort Yamhill
State Park.
Her possibilities have expanded
since leaving the Cultural Re
sources Department last summer
to attend graduate school at the
University of Oregon. She is now
one year completed and 1.5 years
to go for her master's degree.
She also was just hired as an
archival assistant for the Univer
sity of Oregon's Tribal Legacies of
Oregon project, running from Sep
tember 2011 to June 2012.
Funded by the National Park
Service, the project will require
Wood to work with Tribal colleges
and other educational systems on
an extensive collection of Pacific
Northwest Tribal Archives from
university libraries for teaching
learning and research related to
Native American experiences in
the area.
"This repository and research
center would signal the university's
strong commitment to preserving
the all-inclusive historical record of
the Pacific Northwest and integrat
ing it into the curriculum of both
K-12 and higher education," accord
ing to the university's description of
the position. "The team's primary
objective would be to collect, curate
and improve the visibility and ac
cessibility of these rich resources."
"Since the exhibit's gone up,"
Wood said, "I've been real fortu
nate to have these job opportuni
ties come my way. Not only that,
but also the support of the Indian
community in Eugene, the support
of our Tribe and our Tribal Elders,
family and friends. If it wasn't for
everyone's support, I wouldn't be
here today, getting the master's
degree or the job opportunities I
have right now."
'This is kind of what I was hoping
would happen with her," said Tribal
member and Cultural Resources
Manager David Lewis. "When she
worked here last year, it was obvi
ous she wanted to go back into edu
cation. She's always talked about
wanting to learn how to weave and
study baskets and our Native his
tory. This is really something she
feels drawn to.
"This also makes her more valu
able to the Tribe," Lewis added,
"because later on, and even now, we
can draw on her knowledge." D
Artwork for sale wanted
The University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History's
museum store, Past and Presents, is seeking a limited number of artists
interested in selling their original artwork on consignment in the store. Pa
cific Northwest Tribal members interested in the opportunity should submit
five images of their work for consideration to traceyuoregon.edu.
The university's Museum of Natural and Cultural History protects
significant collections, enhances knowledge and encourages stewardship
of human and natural history through research, preservation and educa
tion. Past and Presents offers a comprehensive selection of regional books
and gifts that reflect the museum's exhibits, collections and research, as
well as the inspiration of the Pacific Northwest landscape.
The store features handcrafted goods from local and regional artists,
including jewelry, pottery, basketry, woodworking and more.
For more information, contact Tracey Bell at 541-346-1574. B