Community

Overall, I don't really do well at funerals. This is especially true when I knew the person well. I've rarely cried over the last ten years, but that doesn't stop me from getting teary at some of the more moving funerals we've had.
The point of my post here is not to be depressing but to be the opposite. But after attending a funeral last week I really feel the urge to write this, as short as it will be. On observation I've made over the last two years is that we seem to be having more funerals. But on further thought, I doubt that we've had more funerals, but really that the services are getting more attention. Quite a few of them are held at our Tribal gymnasium, and others are St. Michaels. In my time on Council, the level of aquaintence I've had with many of these departed friends ranges from just that, aqcuiantence, to good friend.
I want to say that I am proud of how close-knit our Tribal community has become over the last few years. Nowhere is this more evident than when we all say good-bye to a fellow Tribal member or community resident. Funerals are events. People speak and remember fondly. They meet afterwards and feast together. Daily events are put on hold and large crowds amass to say good-bye, regardless of how well or not well they knew the departed.
It takes years to get to know everyone here in Grand Ronde, in fact I don't even know if such a thing is possible. But to what degree we know or don't know a person here, there is a bond and sense of community here that goes unspoken often. You see that bond when the community says good-bye. It is undeniable.
It reminds me of what a famous writer once said when describing in as few words as possible how life is in a small town. She did it perfectly in four words: You would be missed.

Understanding 24/7

I just read an article on blogging, appropriately. The fellow interviewed is a habitual blogger. He goes on to explain many of the nuances of blogging, but what he focuses on mostly is time, or rather how the hobby of blogging consumes so much of it. His is almost a daily blog. Much of what he actually writes is his own material, but on many occasions he just posts links to other websites, including articles that are pertinent to the subject of his blog, which right now I forget.
Right now I am also not exactly sure of how many readers I still have on this blog. The internet is a tricky thing, especially when used as a mechanism for communication. Like a daily newspaper, you have to have constant change. What people read today they don't want to read tomorrow, or in some cases even a few hours from now. That might be why print media is suffering at the hands of the internet. If people are trully hungry for news, and sports and scores are a good example, they can practically get up-to-the-minute accounts on numerous websites of their choosing. None of us should be surprised what a difference this has made in our country and world over the last decade. It has been particularly interesting to watch the presidential elections/primaries this year, as the polls change daily, one day McCain leads Obama, the next Obama leads him. An ill-advised comment is made and webcast and the polls dip. The effect of some information, it seems, it instant.
I question to what extent our own situation in Grand Ronde might change if we were subject to this kind of ongoing scrutiny. My personal guess is either the politics would be cleaner, our Council would behave better, and more members would be involved, or there would be a complete crackdown on the coverage, kind of like what we've seen happen in places like China or the Soviet Union.
I will undoubtedly sound like a broken record when saying this, but members would be very alarmed over what gets said and done on a daily basis that would forever change their perception of what they know about our Tribe. I don't want people to think we are in chaos over here, but once again certain incidents recently have left me at a loss for words. Nothing that would change people's lives, but the kind of things you have to at least shake your head at, if not in disgust then confusion.
It is funny that the general idea out here is that we, as Tribal leaders are 24/7, because we are not covered like other politicians 24/7. If we were, my own suspicions are everywhere Tribal members would be familiarizing themselves with YouTube. You see, we consider ourselves working 24/7, but not covered and held accountable for what we do 24/7. And while our meetings are generally open to the public, we rarely get taken to task for our decisions or comments, some of which can be doozies, outside of Wednesday night meetings or General Council meetings. It is the time away from those meetings, I believe that many of the most critical decisions or historical turns of events are happening. We just don't have the press corps to report that.
I really hope that one day we can webcast every meeting, and record every word spoken on the record, either publicly or in chambers, in front of only staff. Some day, I think, some historian will be listening to all of our work sessions, and Council meetings. And he'll laugh some times at what he hears.

Lady Washington

I haven't given up on my blog. However, the last three weeks have seen me more on the road than at home. This week I was neither. I was out at sea. A friend from a Washington tribe, the Chinooks, invited me to sail on the Lady Washington for three days from Newport to Astoria, Ilwaco actually, just across the Columbia. Our purpose was to get a feel for the "old days", and I mean really old--Wednesday in Ilwaco harbor we recreated the meeting between Robert Gray and the Chinooks from 1795, if I am not mistaken. Unfortunately, as I was down below in a canoe, I couldn't secure any photos of that event, which took place on deck (I was one of the subordinate Indians).
For anybody how follows the nautical world, the Lady Washington was used in Pirates of the Caribbean. It was the HMS Interceptor. There were many modern amenities missing, which might be part of the charm. On the other hand, going three days without a shower is rarely comfortable.

D.C. Days, again

Washington, D.C. is very very expensive. I would compare the cost of just being in D.C. with some of the more expensive places I've been fortunate enough to travel to, including New York City, Tokyo, and Switzerland. The cost of three days at my hotel is more than what I pay for rent back in Oregon. The restaurant I ate at with my fellow Council members had entrees which ranged from $28 to $100 for a five-ounce Kobe beef steak. The price only reflects the dish. The usual accompaniments, salads, potatoes, pasta, what have you, cost extra, as does dessert and drinks, which is not all that unusual. A pint of beer, something that I use to measure the costs of different places, costs at minimum five dollars, and if you like microbrews, like me, then you're looking at six maybe even seven dollars. Breakfast at my hotel is never less than $10 for the usual suspects--french toast, eggs benedict, eggs florentine, granola and yogurt.
Some people reading this are probably scratching their heads and wondering what on Earth I am whining about. But if you live in Oregon, which I am convinced due to lack of a sales tax must have one of the lowest costs of living in the country, then these prices are kind of steep. Not break the bank expensive, but complain on a blog costly. Really, that is what I can't help but think about every time I go to D.C., money. More specifically, how money is time and time is money, and everywhere in D.C. somebody is vying for both from somebody else of importance.
It may sound as if I don't like D.C. Truth is I don't. But that is not to say I dislike D.C. However I just see the pluses and minuses, the pros and cons of a city that is basically the eight-cylinder engine of our national government, with all the gears and mechanics to boot. There are though plenty of reasons to like our nation's capitol. For one you feel as if you are right there in the heart of everything of pertinence in this country. Cab drivers all seem to have their radios set on public radio or some news station. For a city with teams in almost every major sport category, I've heard almost no talk about any of them, even in bars and restaurants with games being broadcast live. Conversation everywhere seems to be about politics, during this week Barack Obama's pastor is getting more attention than anything, really.
That still doesn't stop me from carrying his red, white and blue pin on my Timbuktu bag. But that two-inch diameter discus draws a lot of glances, ones that I can't help but notice. Very few people say anything, although one Oregon representative with whom we met was genuinely excited about it. I might even say it was a major icebreaker, as his face and posture lit up. On the other hand, a couple of Hillary supporters find it fuel for jokes, telling me that is why I keep getting stopped by security at every other building entrance, ya know, because in supporting Obama I am basically supporting Muslim extremism. Speaking of security...
Many people don't know this, but at the entrance to almost every government building in D.C., at least the ones we visited, there are security guards and metal detectors, just about the same as in airports. I can't count how often we must repeat the ritual of emptying our pockets of cell phones, removing our belts, and walking through those detectors. Some times this is not a big deal, but if you are unfortunate enough to get behind a tour group, then pray you've got a nice time cushion.
What may also don't know is that a lot of these same buildings are connected by a network of underground tunnels and passages, some of them quite old. Not all of them are the walking variety either, there are some weird trams carting people in between buildings as well, roofless but with glass sides. I must admit these remind me somewhat of an amusement park more than our Federal government. In some ways I doubt that comparison ends there either.
Before flying to D.C. for this trip I stopped by Macy's and forked over a couple hundred clams for some new dress shirts, jackets and pants. I still don my chocolate matte Skechers when throwing the new suits on, which like my Barack pin attracts some odd stares, but given the amount of walking we do during these trips maybe I can be allowed a minor rebellion to make it easy on my feet.
The funny thing is that while it I feel pretty proud of myself for the step up in professional attire, an afternoon on Capitol Hill reminds me of how what is a special occasion for me is a daily endeavor for many of Washington's residents. The man that doesn't wear a business suit would really stand out here. I would like to know the total value of tailored suits walking around D.C. on any given day.
on second thought, maybe not. That whole money thing again...

Old Growth

For the most part, I grew up "green". What that means is I grew up learning to appreciate the earth, animals, to not do anything that causes unnecessary harm to the environment. The funny thing is that this was almost an inherent part of my upbringing. It wasn't set amidst the new "go green" trend that is so pervasive in the world and America today. It was just the way I was taught.
There are probably a number of reasons to explain that. Among them I grew up in an environmentally conscious family. But what is mostly responsible, I really do believe, is that I was raised in Oregon. You could probably argue where exactly the ecological movement began in this country, and I'm not going to do that here. But Oregon was one of the first to take environmentalism seriously, and that was exemplified in the early 1970's under Governor Tom McCall and his creation of state-sponsored recycling, the "bottle bill", and efforts to make areas of our state's natural beauty untouchable, meaning not subject to exploitation.
Ecology and environmentalism, I think, are well on their way to becoming the norm in this country. This is just my theory, but after seeing those new series of commercials involving such well-known conservative figures like Newt Gingrich and Pat Robertson calling for citizens to become green, I can't help but wonder if what was considered a radical new way of thinking has crossed what seemed like uncrossable party lines to gain new and recognized converts. Environmentalism is becoming mainstream, no longer just some far-left hippie conspiracy championed only by democrats. I am perfectly comfortable with that too.
That Earth Day just passed is only part of the reason I write this. A few weeks ago we had a Council meeting in which we passed a resolution to do something in my college days I would have hung myself for doing. Basically, we waived a policy to allow for the harvesting of a 200-year old tree on the reservation in order to help build our plankhouse. There were a couple of comments, and one Tribal member even implored us to reconsider. But we didn't, and during the meeting I suddenly felt really bad. My conscience nagged because I approved ending the life of a 200-year old being. A non-sentient one, but alive nonetheless.
In college I was yet another idealist. In fact I can even remember thinking to myself how that if I ever became president I would mandate compulsory recycling, and not another tree would ever be logged in Oregon, much less the country. Yet here, ten years later, I was taking action that really was doing quite the opposite.
I chuckle looking back on it now, because one of the things I learned over the last ten years is that drastic changes, no matter how well-intentioned, should rarely happen overnight. To end the logging industry in Oregon one day would be disastrous, as the business is a huge part of our economy. The fact is logging will never end, as long as people like wood products like furniture, houses, and paper. I have come to terms with my university idealism and reality.
Having said that, I don't think we need to start logging our national parks and forests. Furthermore, I think the logging industry needs to give up its efforts to gain access to those tracts of land. They, like many older industries which harvest limited natural resources, need to come to their own terms with the fact that the "gold rush" is in its twilight, only a shadow of what it once was. They, like other industries, just plain need to adjust.
I realize I haven't completely given up my ideals, obviously. In the near future a 200-year-old tree will fall, a testament to my own realizations of practicality. Not that I enjoy it.

Medley

One of the most useful things I have done over the last two months is set up a Google account. Many people don't know this, but in setting up such an account you aren't necessarily starting a new email address. What you are doing is setting up an on-line version of some of the same services you rely upon with your desktop. For example, my Google account has a photo section, where I can create photo albums. Or Google Docs has become my default Microsoft Word, since it has many of the same features, which for my simple writing purposes isn't very much. Most importantly, I can access it anywhere the internet is accessible. The blog entry I am writing right here, before your eyes, is Google Docs, saved in my own private folder on the world wide web. I simple cut-and-paste from Google docs onto my blog. What can I say, technology is great.
Most of the time I write a blog entry, some idea has already struck me. Often I try to stay on one subject, viewing this blog as a space for columns. Tonight though I can't seem to stay focused on any single subject. We've got a lot going on at the Tribe right now, and as I've learned to read more about other tribes nationally, it continues to amaze me how often our problems and challenges mimic one another. I've followed a series of stories recently involving a tribe in the mid-West that went so far as to enact a "Slander Ordinance", potentially penalizing Tribal members known to have stated something unflattering and untrue. Given how often rumors seem to be effective at taking root here in Grand Ronde, I could see how some Tribal leader might tire of damaging gossip. But creating a law to ban it isn't necessarily the answer though, either. As expected, the "slander ordinance" didn't last long.
Over the last two months, exactly two tribal members who I speak to on a somewhat regular basis revealed to me that they were appalled at the lose system of communication and dissemination of information in the tribe. One told me that based on his observations and experiences, he has worked on numerous occasions with some Council members, he is convinced that at least one member of our Council has lied a number of times during business. The second told me that from what he can see, there are really two major political groups in the Tribe, and both of them have their version of what is going on in Grand Ronde. The constituents of both, he pointed out, can only decide who to trust and hope they are being told the truth.
As I've watched the presidential primaries, I have become more convinced one of the biggest flaws in our Tribal government is the lack of any sort of watchdog entity, notably a free and unrestricted press corps. Public officials in America have little margin for error, at least when it comes to what they say and do on public record. Candidates who contradict themselves will almost always get caught, as there is a large press group poring over every interview, blog entry, video, and really any form of communication. That is why staying consistent in message is so vital. You can't campaign against a war if you voted for it. Well, you can, but you will get dinged for it.
I say all this because I've noticed over the years the differences between what people said then and what they say now. When I say people I don't mean only fellow Council members, but the various Tribal members who choose to speak at our Council meetings. Now there is nothing illegal about people contradicting themselves, but I openly question how seriously to take somebody when they say one thing one day, only to uphold the exact opposite at a later point. But I guess people are free to change their minds. There have certainly been some occasions in which I've done that.
Still, I think that as politicians we have it pretty easy in Grand Ronde. Our screw-ups aren't front page news, at least not in Tribal publications. Our dirty laundry at worst gets brought up during "Other Business" of Wednesday night and General Council meetings. Even then, personal attacks don't last long.
There are drawbacks to this though. Mostly, there might be occasions when our screw-ups should be front page news, because if some mistake we make is big enough to affect every Tribal member then those same members need to know. Second, is it me or is there something implicitly dishonest about keeping the truth under wraps because it might be politically damaging? Lastly, most businesses have an obligation to inform their shareholders accurately of what is going on, in fact to not do so these days can land a person in jail.
Of course, we are a government, with a large business that funds us, and our shareholders, the membership. And that may be where the ultimate answer lies. Are we a government, a business, or both? And how does that effect the manner in which we inform our constituents? I wish I knew the answers, because there are models of practice for both, and we seem ever reluctant to choose one...

"Into the Wild"

"Into the Wild" (2007)

It must have been close to ten years ago that one of my cousins from Grand Ronde, who I spoke with while up during the summer from college, explained to me the premise of "Into the Wild", which at that time was a best-selling book by Jon Krakeuer. Young guy, after college, gives his life savings to charity, disappears. Some time later, his body is found in Alaska in an abandoned bus far from civilization. How and why he ended up there is the story.
I honestly question whether this is one of those tales that appeals strictly to my generation. On further reflection, that is simply not the case. Anybody who has had dreams of real-life adventure will be smitten with this film. I was. In fact, given that what Chris McCandless did all took place in the year after his graduation from Emory University in 1991 struck a particular cord with me. When being told about the book, and the basic idea, ten years ago to me seemed one of the coolest things imaginable, maybe because I too was nearing the end of my college career, and was thinking more of the possible adventures that lay ahead now being free from 17 straight years of school. What McCandless did, to me in 1997-1998, was not in any way nuts. It was practically one of my many boyhood dreams.
Interestingly, the film was directed and the script written by Sean Penn, a well-known Hollywood eccentric, to put it mildly. The movie also has a number of accomplished actors, from Hal Holbrook, to Catherine Keener, to William Hurt. They all do an admirable job of filling in the roles of supporting actors to Emile Hirsch, who plays McCandless. The film starts with McCandless graduation, and then his willing "disappearance", which turns out to be an act of protest against his parents and their materialistic beliefs.
For what seems like an eternity McCandless hitchhiked around the country, staying the majority of the time in the West, in California, Washington, and even Oregon. Alaska is his ultimate destination because he wants to go "into the wild" and live. Early on he burns all of his cash and identification, and abandons his trusty car, preferring to see how far he can get on foot and rides from strangers.
There is something about this film that resonates with the yearning side of all of us. McCandless just wants to meet people, get by without money, and see how long he can live off of the land and generosity of others. The fact that a large portion of what you see in this film actually took place makes it all the more entrancing. You can feel the pain and hopes of those he encounters, their losses, their ambitions. You even feel like a friend of McCandless yourself, and sense his loneliness. His discovery of one of life's simplest truths towards the end of the film will put a lump in your throat.
If I am gushing over this movie, then by all means rent it yourself and see. Already I have gone on to Amazon.com to order the book. It is that moving. Plus the soundtrack rocks. There are very few movies that I will see more than once. This is one of them, in fact it is already one of my all-time favorites.