12 FEBRUARY 1,2013
Smoke Signals
PROFESSOR continued
from front page
intention waa for inclusion and eq
uity to "be infused into the everyday
commonplace interactions at this
university."
However, since Alex-Assenaoh
arrived in Eugene in August from
the University of Indiana in Bloom
ington, those "commonplace in
teractions" have not included the
Grand Ronde Tribal Council, which
received no warning and had no
input regarding the changes.
Neither the Tribes nor anyone
else, it seems, knows who had a
voice in the restructuring. Alex-As-sensoh
did not respond to questions
asking who was involved in the
decision and when it was made.
However, a 1996 gubernatorial
Executive Order made state-Tribal
government consultation the rule.
In 2001, Senate Bill 770 made it
law.
Strictly speaking, said Karen
Quigley, executive director of the
Oregon Legislative Commission on
Indian Services, neither the 1996
Executive Order nor the 2001 state
law codifying the requirements
applies to individual Oregon uni
versities.
"The Chancellor's Office, not
separate institutions, was part of
the government-to-government
process," Quigley said.
Still, the University of Oregon is
not backing away from obligations
in the Executive Order or state law,
saying instead that Tribes were not
consulted because the restructur
ing "largely involved a personnel
decision rather than the elimina
tion of Native American programs
or initiatives on campus."
The restructuring ended posi
tions held by three assistant vice
presidents, a director, an executive
assistant and a support position,
though there was no clarification
on which were strictly personnel
decisions and which were part of
a restructuring that should have
been discussed beforehand with
Tribes.
Since the restructuring was an
nounced, Ball has received kudos
from all over.
"The guy is amazing," said Dr.
CHiXapkaid (Michael) Pavel
(Skokomish), professor of Native
American Studies and Education.
"He is everywhere doing everything
for everyone, and he has been doing
Attention All 6th-12th Grado Students
It's time to start thinking about Spring Break! The Youth Educa
tion Department will be hosting the annual Spring Break trip at
Camp Westwind in Lincoln City on Monday, March 25, through
Wednesday, March 27, for middle and high school students. This is
one of our most anticipated activities every year and space is limited.
Permission slips will be available on Friday, Feb. 15. Students must
turn in a permission slip signed by a parentguardian to reserve a
space. Spaces are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Please
contact the Youth Education Department at 503-879-2101 for more
information.
Attention All Enrolled 6th-12th Grade Students
Please remember that we are offering our Incentive Program to
middle and high school students who are enrolled members of CTGR
for a chance to earn rewards!
For a student to be eligible, heshe must turn in a copy of hisher
report card as well as attendance records. The deadline to turn in
these documents is Friday, Feb. 1. Due to the Willamina School Dis
trict offering a different grading system to sixth-grade students, a
separate program has been established for these students.
Upcoming Rewards:
6th Grade Students-Friday, Feb. 8: Dinner and a Movie Trip
7th-12th Grade Students-Monday, Feb. 11: Snow Trip
Details of these programs may be obtained by contacting the Youth
Education Department at 503-879-2101. D
it for many years."
Tribal member Kevin Simmons,
a 2012 master's in Special Educa
tion graduate from the University
of Oregon and a former Hatfield
Fellow, remembers Ball travel
ing to Bend to lend support to a
presentation of his Oregon Tribal
Disability Project.
Simmons remembers Ball teach
ing his son, Makai, to play stick
games. Most diffusely, but maybe
most importantly, he remembers
the support Ball provided when
times were tough.
"He's paramount around here,"
said Simmons. "He's kind of the
foundation for Native students."
Ball's wife, Dr. Alison Ball, who
is president of the Oregon Indian
Education Association and proj
ect director for the Sapsik'wala
program, the university's well-regarded
Native American teaching
program, also noted examples of
her husband's concern for what
Native Americans consider impor
tant. "A student was homeless," she
said, "and Tom lent her $450 to
get an apartment. Another time,
a student had a baby and couldn't
make class. He went over and baby
sat for her."
"Dr. Tom Ball comes here as
family," said Pavel. "There is no
instance where we see ourselves
as individuals. We see ourselves
as a family."
The university's Native Ameri
can Student Union sent an e-mail
to its members in the wake of the
restructuring.
"If you haven't heard yet, Dr.
Tom Ball's contract is not being re
newed," the e-mail said. "You may
have seen (Ball) opening up our
ISD event, attending our weekly
meetings or jamming with us at
stick game practices. He's always
there with a warm pizza, to offer
encouragement and sound advice.
Maybe he's made a profound differ
ence in your life as a student here
at the University of Oregon. Or
maybe you've been living under a
rock in a far distant land from the
Native community here in Eugene
for the past 10 years. Either way,
NASU is imploring you to help us
combat some serious injustice that
has transpired.
"Why are students not being told
about these decisions that directly
affect us, our programs, our events,
our experiences as students here at
the University of Oregon? Why is
our voice not being taken into ac
count? We want a say in our Native
representation, do we not?"
The e-mail led to many letters
and a protest march on the Presi
dent's Office.
For good reason, the Ball family
is not overly concerned about Tom's
personal future.
"We do have job offers," said Ali
son, getting to what she believes is
the heart of the matter. "It's about
eliminating three high-profile peo
ple of color without accountability,"
she said.
Beyond the blackout on informa
tion, Ball and a close circle of col
leagues also are outraged at how he
was treated after the changes were
announced.
"She (Alex-Assensoh) did offer
me another job (that she did not
offer either of the other assistant
vice presidents)," said Ball. "It was
a demotion. I would no longer be
an assistant vice president, but a
director of outreach or something,"
with apparent responsibility for all
three assistant vice president posi
tions, but with no job description.
'That to me was trying to cause
a split between me and my col
leagues and our communities,"
Tom said. "Why not offer it to oth
ers? I'd be representing the Latino
community, but I don't even speak
Spanish."
"Dr. Tom Ball is an Elder, a re
vered human being by everyone
here at the University of Oregon,"
said Pavel, "and how we treat a man
like that reflects how we respect
and honor the Native people."
"It's not just me," Tom said. "It's
my colleagues too. It's dishearten
ing and shameful, and at the Uni
versity of Oregon, it's a pattern."
Ball said that this episode could
end with the loss of four Native
American administrators in the
last four years. "And they're go
ing to make this a better place for
Indians?"
"Inklings" appeared in recent
years that changes were coming.
Tribal Council member Cheryle
See PROFESSOR
continued on page 13
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