Tre Jackson, Grass Dancer

Atreaux (uh-tray-you) Jackson, also known as Tre, dressed down in his Grass Dancer regalia at the Siletz 36th Annual Restoration Powwow at Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City on November 16. Tre, a member of the Siletz Tribe, (he is also Klamath Tribe and Samoan), started dancing after moving to Siletz, OR from Tulalip, WA when he was five years old. He  is now an eleven year old 6th grader attending Toledo Elementary School. He plays football, wrestles and dances at Ne' Dash (Native American summer and winter solstice celebrations) and Powwows.

Tre studies a Hoop Dance exhibition. He plans to hoop dance someday but wants to learn as much as he can about it first. According to Wikipedia "Native American Hoop Dance is a form of storytelling dance incorporating anywhere from one to 30 hoops as props, which are used to create both static and dynamic shapes, or formations, representing various animals, symbols, and storytelling elements. It is generally performed by a solo dancer with many hoops."

Tre orders a snack to keep up his energy for dancing after helping the Powwow Committee all day. The Restoration Powwow celebration begins at 9a.m. with guest speakers, video presentations, bingo and much more, then Grand Entry (dancing) starts at 6 p.m., which makes for a very long day for participants.

Tre's mom, Elaine Jackson-Butler, talks with Tre and helps him with last minute adjustments while brother, Ebyn, and sister, Lexi, look on. Elaine gives Tre the same talk before each powwow, reminding him that he is dancing in honor of his grandfather who has a terminal illness and cannot dance anymore and in memory of his grandmother who passed away. She reminds him to be respectful and keep an eye out for his elders, offering help whenever needed, such as helping them find seats and getting them food and drinks at Powwow.

Grass Dancer Tre Jackson "stomping down the grass" in the dance arena.
Grass Dancing, originating with northern plains tribes, reenacts the grass being flattened for meeting areas or dance arenas, while moving like the grass, according to one tradition.
Tre designed his own regalia with each color having special significance: black and red for the Siletz Warriors, where Tre plays football and wrestles, orange and black for Tre's favorite team, the Oregon State Beavers, green and yellow for Ebyn's favorite team, the Oregon Ducks, turquoise and yellow, Mom's favorite colors, and turquoise and green for the Seattle Seahawkes, the family's favorite NFL team.

Sports - Wrestling Practice

Seventh grader Santana Hutchinson, first year wrestler, practices rolling out of a wrestling hold.

Siletz Middle School wrestling team practicing at the 'Rec Center' in Siletz, Oregon. Nick Christiansen and Issac Butler in the foreground.

Coach Lee Butler's son, Issac Butler, practices wrestling.

Free Shoot

Mark Weiss has been a counselor at LBCC for 24 years. He works with students who are going through difficult times, personally or academically. He also does a lot of Career Counseling.

Before LBCC he worked primarily with families with young children. He was a counselor at The Old Mill Center for about 9 years and before that was director of Corvallis Community Day Care, for 3 years.

His greatest loves are his wife and his guitar. He loves to play music and has performed a great deal in the area, often in support of fund raisers and altruistic, humanitarian causes.

Mark Weiss

Brick Wall

This past weekend I attended a Christian Women's Conference in Corvallis. The theme was relevant and the main speaker uplifting, funny and well spoken, as were the women who shared their testimonies. This was a very emotional and healing conference and I thought it would be a great photo opportunity for my photojournalism class, where every week I post photos on my class blog. 

I took pictures of the hundreds of women singing, praying and raising their hands to God. I took pictures of the all-woman band, including vocals, guitars, piano, drums, violin and more. I then remembered that I should ask permission before taking pictures so I asked one of the conference hostesses. She didn't know if picture taking was allowed. She said she would find someone in charge and ask them. I took a few more pictures before she came back to let me know that while I could take pictures, I would not be able to post any pictures of the women online.

It seemed there were quite a few women from a local battered women’s shelter attending the conference. These women needed to take every precaution to protect their location lest an abusive husband or boyfriend find out where they were and come looking for them. I put my camera away, deciding to just go ahead and enjoy the conference and not worry about the blog photos. I told myself to have a good attitude about it.

The problem is it’s hard to have a good attitude about domestic violence. How ridiculous is it that domestic violence is still an issue in this day and age? I’ve been in an abusive relationship. I know from experience some of the many reasons the abused person stays: “I can’t make it financially without him”, “I have to stay for the kids” and “I love him."

I’ve heard the excuses from the abuser: “I’m under so much stress”, “I blacked out” and “You shouldn’t have made me so mad”.  And I’ve heard the excuses of the friends and family and neighbors: “It’s none of my business," “She won’t listen to me anyway," and my favorite, “I’m not a cop caller."
 

I’m not a cop caller? Seriously? Do you hear how stupid that sounds?   
                                         

I don’t claim to have all the answers. Awareness seems to be a good place to start. Having the option of a safe place to go is good too. 

Anyway, here’s a picture that I am allowed to post on my blog from the conference.

My Neighborhood

Jacob Butler comes out of Noel's Market, the only grocery store in Siletz, OR.

Kurt Mann climbs on to the forklift at his Lumber Mill in Siletz, OR.

Veteran's Memorial at Paul Washington Cemetery, Siletz, OR.

Domestic Violence Awareness

Siletz C.A.R.E. Program tee-shirts hanging outside of the old Siletz Health Clinic for the Clothes Line Project, an event to raise awareness about domestic violence. October 4th. 

The C.A.R.E. Program offers services to victims and raises awareness about domestic violence in the Siletz area.

Brittany Russell and Kelley Ellis, Siletz C.A.R.E. Program, hand out necklaces and information to raise awareness about domestic violence before the football game in Siletz on October 4th.

Photographer of the Week - Margaret Bourke-White

Photographer of the Week: Margaret Bourke-White

1.      Margaret Bourke-White was born on June 14^th, 1904 in The Bronx, New York. She grew up in Bound Brook, New Jersey. She began her college career at Columbia University studying Herpetology, the study of amphibians and reptiles. Her interests soon turned to photography and after attending quite a few colleges she eventually graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in 1927. She was married and divorced twice. 

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2.      She started her own photography business in 1928. One of her first photography jobs was at the Otis Steel Company, a steel mill, a place where women were typically not allowed. She began working for Fortune magazine in 1929 and a year later became the first American photographer allowed to take photographs of Soviet industry. In 1936 she landed a job with Life Magazine where she would work off and on until she retired in 1969.

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3.      Her famous “American Way” photo seems to capture the period of the Great Depression. However, the picture was taken after the Great Ohio River Flood of 1937.

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4.       During World War II she was the first female war correspondent and the first woman allowed to work in a combat zone. 

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5.       She was in Germany at the Buchenwald concentration camp when the prisoners were liberated. She said, "Using a camera was almost a relief. It interposed a slight barrier between myself and the horror in front of me." After the war ended she wrote a book titled Dear Fatherland, Rest Quietly. 

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6.       One of her most famous photos is of Mohandas Gandhi sitting at his spinning wheel in 1946. She interviewed and photographed him again in 1948, just hours before his assassination.

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7.       In 1956 she took a series of photos on segregation in South Carolina. While she had a reputation for sympathizing with the oppressed, after Life magazine edited her photos and added captions, it appeared that she supported segregation.

She wrote her autobiography, “Portrait of Myself,” which was published in 1963. It was a best seller. She died on August 27^th, 1971 at the age of 67 from Parkinson’s disease.