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AUGUST 1, 2019
9
‘You are the unsung heroes of this great nation’
Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez
Dental Receptionist Whitney VanArsdel helps a veteran during the second
day of the Veterans Summit: Gathering of Warriors held at Uyxat Powwow
Grounds on Friday, July 12.
SUMMIT continued
from page 8
gender-based sweats and sharing
circles.
The bulk of the Veterans Summit
occurred on Friday with Tribal
Council member Steve Bobb Sr.,
a Vietnam War-era Marine Corps
veteran, welcoming perhaps the
most attendees ever to a summit.
Eighty-six people registered this
year and Social Services Director
Dana Ainam said she thought more
people were in attendance than in
previous years.
“You are appreciated more than
you can ever know,” Bobb said
before giving the invocation. “You
are the unsung heroes of this great
nation. … We hope this event will
bring you peace and a sense of
healing.”
Oregon Department of Veterans’
Affairs Director Kelly Fitzpatrick
called the powwow grounds a “fab-
ulous venue” and said that events
like the Veterans Summit help her
small department aid the more
than 300,000 veterans in the state.
“Our partnerships are indispens-
able,” she said.
Terry Bentley (Karuk), a 32-year
employee with the federal Veterans
Affairs Department and regular
Veterans Summit participant,
thanked the Grand Ronde Tribe for
continuing to host the summit and
announced that her federal depart-
ment is forming a Tribal Veterans
Advisory Committee that will give
Native American veterans a seat at
the table with a direct link to the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Tailfeathers and Air Force vet-
eran Linda Woods (Ottawa/Chip-
pewa) performed the traditional
POW/MIA ceremony to remember
those who never returned from
America’s military conflicts.
Woods also brought her eagle
staff, which she recently took to
Normandy in France and visited
five D-Day beaches.
Friday events also concentrated
on one of the main goals of the Vet-
erans Summit – getting veterans
the benefits that they earned from
their military service.
A Veterans Affairs panel dis-
cussion featured Fitzpatrick, VA
Portland Women Veterans Pro-
gram Manager Sarah Suniga, VA
Portland Primary Care Division
Director Valdez Bravo, National
Cemetery Administration repre-
sentative Jeff Applegate and Veter-
ans Benefit Administration Public
Contact Team Coach Kurtis Harris.
After lunch, scheduled breakout
sessions covered such nuts-and-
bolts issues as disability compensa-
tion claims, spousal and dependent
benefits and a Tribal veteran rep-
resentative workshop.
Surrounding the powwow
grounds dancing circle also were
a variety of resource tables that
included Grand Ronde Health &
Wellness employees offering free
dental checkups and supplies. In
addition, the Tribe’s mobile diabe-
From left, Willimina Veterans of Foreign Wars Post Commander Louis Rober,
James Rober and Todd Swanson go through the food line before the start of
the second day of the Veterans Summit: Gathering of Warriors held at Uyxat
Powwow Grounds on Friday, July 12.
tes clinic was in attendance and the
Tribe’s Emergency Management
staff were on hand.
Vietnam War-era Marine Corps
veteran Reyn Leno, who committed
the Tribe to hosting the Veterans
Summit in 2012 while he was on
Tribal Council, said the seventh
summit was well-attended and
remains worthwhile.
“I always walk away from this
saying if you help one veteran in
the two days you do up here, then
it’s a success,” Leno said. “If you
can change a person’s life just do-
ing this type of stuff, it’s a success
for me because getting veterans
to come forward is difficult. Usu-
ally it is their families doing it for
them, not them. If we can help one
veteran change his life and get
what he has coming, I think it is a
success.”
Jewell Lamb (Gros Ventre) talks with Army veteran Marci Vertner of Dallas
during the 30-second game on the first day of the Veterans Summit:
Gathering of Warriors held on Thursday, July 11.
Oregon Department of Veterans
Affairs Director Kelly Fitzpatrick
was part of a Veterans Affairs
panel discussion with, from left,
VA Portland Primary Care Division
Director Valdez Bravo, VA Portland
Women Veterans Program Manager
Sarah Suniga, National Cemetery
Administration representative Jeff
Applegate and Veterans Benefit
Administration Public Contact Team
Coach Kurtis Harris on the second
day of the Veterans Summit.