A “Grand” Finale Stop

The final tribal stop of the tour was in Oregon at the community of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. The confederation is composed of tribal communities from the area including the Umpqua, Molalla, Rogue River, Kalapuya, and Chasta. Tribal members totaling 8,000 are scattered throughout the world.

Thanks to Siobhan Taylor, Public Affairs Director, and the Grand Ronde community, we stayed at the lovely Spirit Mountain Casino. Our day began by meeting Angela Sears who directed us to the Natural Resources Division building to meet Siobhan, Kelly, and the Youth Conservation Corps who we would work with during the service project.

Siobhan discussed the history of the Grand Ronde community with us before we set off on our project. In the 1850s the United States government rounded up Native people in the extended area, most of which were hunter, gatherer, fishermen, and put them on reservations in hopes of making them farmers. One soldier said it was the “saddest experience he had ever seen.” The Chinook Jargon was the language that united the Native people that came to be the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Chinook is taught in preschools today and serves as a means of cultural renewal. The Grand Ronde community had to go through the same assimilation process that many Native communities experienced in the 1950s: termination. In the 1954, the tribe was federally terminated and left with the cemetery land and the caretaker shed. Siobhan described this process as a form of “ethnic cleansing.” The community worked together and successfully fought for federal restoration on November 25th, 1983. Land was given back in trust and the community was able to rebuild once again. The first big economic resource on the land came with the building of the Spirit Mountain Casino, which, to name a few, provides funds for schooling, housing, and the natural resource development.

Our service project consisted of helping in the restoration process of the Tillamook Trail with the youth crew who has been hard at work on it all summer. The boys worked extremely hard and put much effort into perfecting the trail. Each had a story or two or many, depending on who it was, to tell which made time fly by. The trail and woods are absolute beauties, and one can only hope that more people will venture out and enjoy it.

Siobhan was at the grill when we returned from our service project flipping burgers. We had a wonderful lunch with the youth crews and Grand Ronde community members and various other employees. We had the special treat of meeting and talking with Chris Mercier, Tribal Chairman and brother of Udall intern alumni Bryan Mercier. It is a tough call on who is the better looking brother. We also shared some laughs and stories with William “Wink” Soderberg, an elder Tribal Council member.

Chris Mercier, Tribal Chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde

We were sent home with not only informational packets and cd’s of tribal member Jan Michael Looking Wolf Reibach, but also memories that will last us a life time. Thank you Siobhan, Kelly, youth crew and all of the Grand Ronde community.

By: Martina Gast

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Up the Bayou, Down the Bayou, and Across the Bayou

The United Houma Nation of Louisiana is a 17,000 member tribal community located throughout lower bayou settlements in St. Mary, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Jefferson, and St. Bernard. We were given the opportunity to tour these communities and meet tribal members July 6th, all thanks to the United Houma Nation.

We spent the day traveling between the five United Houma Nation communities and meeting tribal members at every stop. Brenda Dardar-Robichaux, Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation, began our tour by taking us to the Hurricane Relief Center Office, located in the lower level of her home. There we viewed a slideshow and listened as Brenda discussed the issues surrounding Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Together the hurricanes affected 8,000 of the 17,000 Houma members, not only causing destruction of property but also tore apart families through relocation and interruption of livelihoods and careers. It was nice to hear that most of the immediate post-hurricane help came from Wal-Mart and various volunteers. Brenda noted that at one time there were more than 80 tents pitched on the front lawn with volunteers from all over the country. She also commented on how media like Indian Country Today and public outreach through National Congress of American Indians increased the amount of awareness and attention that came to the United Houma Nation.

Brenda, her son Jason and daughter Felicite, and tribal member Curtis Hendon led us on a tour of the other tribal communities. At one location we met with many tribal members to discuss the history and present situation with the education system. Fair and adequate schooling were not concepts that tribal members were able to obtain. Attending school up the bayou was not allowed until fairly recently, and when it was allowed, discrimination was always there. The teachers that taught down the bayou were those that were ‘brave enough’ to teach Indian students which often resulted in teachers that were not qualified for the position. At one time, close to ninety percent did not finish high school. Along with education, we also learned about the United Houma Nation’s application for federal recognition. They were told in 1984 at the start of the process that it would take around eighteen months. In the beginning they met four out of the seven criteria for federal recognition so they sent in a rebuttal explaining the three that were supposedly not met. They are currently awaiting a ruling after 23 years in the application process.

We went to back to Brenda’s home for a wonderful lunch of local seafood, vegetables, and desserts. Numerous community members were there to eat and talk on a personal level. After lunch and socializing, we set out on a tour provided by Annie Miller’s Son’s Swamp and Marsh Tour. We saw all sorts of wildlife including turtles, jumping fish, Great Blue, Little Blue, and Little Green Herons, egrets, and lots of gators!

We set out for more touring of the surrounding tribal communities after the swamp tour. Our bus picked up Louise Billiot, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Houma Nation, who discussed the importance of how it only takes one to make a difference. In this case she referred to Willamena Hooper who worked to open a community center for the United Houma people.

Finally we met Miss Marie Dean, a treasured elder who has a great skill of basket weaving. Her simple style of living and big heart is one that most everyone can learn from. Our day with the United Houma Nation ended with Brenda welcoming us back into her home for dinner and more socializing.

Riders meet with Miss Marie Dean in her home

I think most of the riders would agree that our first visit to a tribal community was amazing. The United Houma Nation of Louisiana were absolutely wonderful people who offered us not only great food and hospitality but knowledge that we can all use throughout our travels.

By: Martina Gast

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Fun Facts about the United Houma Nation

Demographics (Five parishes of residence)

• Terrebonne 36%
• Lafourche 23%
• Jefferson 20%
• St. Mary 11%
• St. Bernard 7%

Language and Health Care

• 4% report Houma/French as the primary language in the home
• 40% speak Houma/French in addition to English
• 30% of tribal members have used traditional healing

Education

• 43% of the total population have less than a high school education
• 8% of the total population have advanced degrees (associates, bachelors, or greater)

Cultural Events

• Elders Fest
• Festival of Houma
• Jazz and Heritage Festivals
• Pow Wows
• Summer Camps

* Information taken from the pamphlet “The Houma People: Culture, History, and Traditions” *

More information at: www.unitedhoumanation.org

By: Martina Gast

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Cornell University … what!

Ithaca, NY welcomed us with open arms. As we rolled into Cornell, we found Scott Perez, Udall Scholar 2001, waiting there for us. We stayed on the Cornell campus in the Ecohouse and had almost all of our meals catered there thanks for to Beth Fiori, fellowship coordinator. Ding Kong, a 2007 Scholar, tagged along to most of the events. Cornell was our first stop with a tribal emphasis.

On Friday night Beth and Scott took all the riders and Joel to Moosewood Restaurant. Saturday morning we went to the Ithaca Farmers Market and had front row parking. We ran a public outreach project which went very well. Jenny V. bought a plant for the bus. We came back to the Ecohouse and Scott gave a talk on some tribal issues in the Ithaca/New York area. We then took a walk to the Herbert R. Johnson Museum of Art to check out the “Walk in Beauty: Discovering American Indian Art” show. Native people from all across the country had art on display at the museum, which offered a great variety for the public to see. After spending about a half hour there we broke up into different groups to hang out and go on our own. Some went to an organic farm, others went for a walk around campus, and some went to Akwe:kon, the Native American house on campus.

We had a nice dinner on Saturday night with many guests including Jane Mt. Pleasant, Director of the Cornell University American Indian Program.

Cornell was fun and after Ithaca, we headed to Penn State.

By: Martina Gast

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