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PERMIT NO. 700
Elder Honor Day
— pg. 2
JULY 15, 2017
Powwow promotes esprit de corps
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
C
amaraderie reverberated in the air
along with the powerful beats ema-
nating from Native drums during the
annual Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veter-
ans Powwow held Friday through Sunday,
July 7-9, at Uyxat Powwow Grounds off
Hebo Road near Fort Yamhill State Park.
The esprit de corps among the numerous
veterans who attended the three-day pow-
wow transcended branch of service, as well
as time and place from Hawaii in 1941 to
21st century Iraq and Afghanistan.
Albany resident David Russell, 96, sur-
vived the Day of Infamy sneak attack on
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii that saw his ship,
the USS Oklahoma, sunk by Japanese
See POWWOW
continued on pages 12-13
Navy veteran David Russell receives a Warriors
Medal of Valor from Marcellus Norwest
Memorial Veterans Powwow master of
ceremonies Nick Sixkiller during the powwow
held at Uyxat Powwow Grounds on Saturday,
July 8. Russell survived his ship, the USS
Oklahoma, being bombed on the day Pearl
Harbor was attacked.
Summit marks fifth year of helping veterans
During last year’s Veterans
Summit: Gathering of Warriors,
Army veteran Roberta Davis sat
in on a female Healing Circle,
which gave her the courage
to apply for military sexual
trauma benefits from the
U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs. Because of that, she is
now receiving benefits for her
service to her country.
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
W
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
illamina resident Roberta
Davis is living proof that
Tribal Council Chairman
Reyn Leno’s oft-stated contention
— “If it helps one veteran, then it’s
worth it” — regarding the annual
Veterans Summit is true.
If it wasn’t for the 2016 Veterans
Summit, Davis, an Army veteran,
probably would never have sum-
moned the courage to apply for
military sexual trauma benefits
from the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs.
While attending her second
Veterans Summit last year,
Davis sat in on a female Healing
Circle that was facilitated by
Elizabeth Estabrooks, Women
See SUMMIT
continued on page 11
Tribe hosts Wyden’s 828th Town Hall on July 1
U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden spoke to
about 50 people
during his Polk
County Town Hall
held on Saturday,
July 1, in the
Tribal gym. It was
Wyden’s 828th
Town Hall since
he was elected to
Congress in 1996.
Senator ‘all in’ in fight to protect Medicaid, treaty rights
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
T
he Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
hosted U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s Polk County
Town Hall on Saturday, July 1, and the
current debate over repealing and replacing the
Affordable Care Act was mentioned several times
by the approximately 50 people who attended.
Tribal Elder Monty Parazoo asked if Wyden
foresees the United States joining other western
industrialized nations in adopting a single-payer
health care system.
Wyden said that states already can adopt a
single-payer health care system because of a
provision he included in the Affordable Care
Act and he added that Oregon, Washington and
California could team up to create a West Coast
single-payer health care option.
“My view is there is a variety of different ways
See TOWN HALL
continued on page 9
Photo by Dean Rhodes