Learning Through Listening
Web page created by Allan Peterson (Spring 2003)
The Purpose of this course was
to learn about cross cultural Native American issues
through the process of interviewing
stakeholders from diverse backgrounds with in the Newport, Toledo, and
Siletz community. The interviewing sessions were also designed to inform
us about the issues Native Americans have faced in Oregon both historically
and contemporarily. It course was also design to give us a better understanding
of the native American life style believe and what it means to be Indian.
Topics of Discussion:
Through the interviewing process I found several issues that seemed to pelage the Siletz tribal community, as well as the communities of Toledo and Newport. I also learned that the issues differed widely depending on the stakeholder interviewed. Here are some examples as well as brief discretions according to the responses given by the stakeholders and their concerns. After providing these examples I well go on to further explain my thoughts given the overall picture from the collection of interviews from all the stakeholders.
Newport community issues:
Creating health
environment for businesses to succeed
Work on tourism
Economic issues
Visitor center
Manage large
events
Putting in
water treatment
Providing
education to at risk youth
Job training
Providing
benefits to those in need
Description:
These issues mostly foreshadowed
the interaction of businesses and the surrounding community. It dealt with
the matter of uniting efforts of citizens, to try to create healthy working
environments for businesses to succeed in economic development in areas
such as, the development of tourism, visitor management, and the management
of large costal events.
It also targeted young adults
and providing educational opportunities for at risk youth. The focus of
this idea was geared towards improving the community by brining in money,
providing jobs, and provide community members with a better chance for
employment, a better living, and over all bettering the community.
The
group at Newport Oregon Coast
Toledo community issues:
Not many cross
cultural issues
Closing of
Siletz school
Budget crisis
create problems for city funds
Budget crisis
also posed a problem for resources such as recreation for kids
Lack of land
for development
Paper mill
issues
Freeway and
road way issues
Description:
The issues of the Toledo community
seemed to be surrounding the problems involved with the children of the
community. Interestingly there was a comment suggesting that the Ethnic
population of the community was so small that it did not have events that
display issues involving racial tension. It was also suggested that the
inner community protects its community members from what was viewed as
outside racial issues until they leave the community, which would subject
them to racial tension of the outside world.
Other than
the issues involving the children of the community the community seemed
to be struggling economically. There seemed to be a lack of developed land
that could be used for possible employers to come in and do business. A
grate deal of the community budget came from taxis and from the pulp and
paper mill Gorge Pacific. The community depended a great deal on the paper
mill and the resources it provided such as funding and jobs. A lot of the
issues of the community involved the paper mill as well. One such issues
involving the need for construction of Highway 20. This would also allow
trucks easy access to the community and bring the desire for companies
to want to do business in the area as well as provide efficient distribution
of supplies to the paper mill maximizing its economic production.
From left: Sue Ann, Sharon
Branstiter (Mayor of Toledo and Lincoln County School District High school
counselor), and Kanan
Siletz community and tribal issues:
Tribe federally
reestablished
Water issues
Law informant
Schools
Gaming issues
Language restoration
Multigenerational
programs
Traditional
practices, beliefs and rituals
Description:
The issues that the Siletz community
faced revolved largely on the fairly resent restoration of their tribal
recognition on the federal level, and issues of being a Sovran Nation.
The issues plaguing the area go
far and beyond the complexities I will be able to convey in this brief
description. I will say however, that many of the issues involving the
Siletz community and the tribe are directly intertwined with that of the
surrounding Toledo and Newport communities, as well as the establishment
of the Chinook Winds casino in Newport.
Examples of a few of the issues
involving the community was, the issue of school closures, forcing students
to make a difficult commute to Toledo. Issues with the United States conflicting
with the tribe being a Sovran Nation able to self govern and express their
own ways of law enforcement and having their own set of legal documents,
rules and laws. Issues involving the restoration of language, and maintaining
community, and issues of health, and environmental quality.
From Left: Jim, Craig Whitehead
(Siletz Pow Wow coordinator), and Katie
What we were taught as a group:
As a group our focus was to come
together and put aside our differences inorder to focuse on the task at
hand, which was to learn about the Newport Siletz and Toledo area and the
issues that might plage these areas as well. We where to contribute our
own individual special skills inorder to effectively meet the goals of
this course. In the proccess we learned a lot from one and other. We learned
about the topic of racisim, politics, and different issues that affact
Native American communities not just in our own back yard but world wide.
In the proccess of doing all this we also learned a lot about each other
and our limits haha! Some of us managed to develop new skills, and some
of us got to opportunity to sharpened up skills we didn't know we
had and others in areas we weren't so prosperose in.
What I learned:
From the words of Spock "live long and prosper"
Our days were consumed with interviews, recleactions
and dipreafings. We spent hours trying to come up with solutions to use
what little time we had efficiently. although it was hard and frustrating
at times I think we all learned new valualb lessons in which we can take
away and incorporate in our every day lives in order to further educate
and better our communities.
Kurt Peters teaching us the ropes
Racism is still present in todays society,
but the only way to takle that is through education. I also learned that
the world is a very small place with very limited resources. It is important
to respect what little we have and learn and teache other not abouse it
before it's to late. An important consept I took a way from this experience
is that life is a precious thing to waist don't spend all your time worrying
"get what you can and can what you get" live liife joyiously spend time
basking in the moment because you never know what to marrow brings but
that's okey too.
I learned that Native American's had a tough past
and face an equaly difficult future. The issues of knowledge of self, Sovernty,
cultural restoration, environmentals restoration and maintainace, and respect
are a few of the very important issue that make up the lives of Native
Americans.
With all the knew found nowledge I have aquired
from taking this class my only regrete was that it was so compact I wish
we had more time to spend with each of the stakeholders we interviewed
and take time to let all the information sink in.
photo of yours truely, Allan P.
Group photo
Here are some lings that relate to course topic: 
This is where we stayed, it wasn't
exactly the palace suite but I had fun.
This
is a link to the actual web-site for this course, which also contain information
about past courses and information that was gathered by the students, if
you want to learn more about this course and what others who have taken
this class have learned visit this sight.
Find
out more about past classes
What to find out more about
the Confederated tribes of Siletz click the link below
Siletz
tribe home page
Click
here and find out more about tribes in oregon Tribes
of Oregon