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Photo by Bob Pennell Instructor Robert Owens, left, talks with Portland resident Willow Nunes, far right, while Rocky Gonzalez, Lincoln City, and Chava Florendo, Ashland, rehearse a skit. They are taking part in a weeklong camp in Ashland that mixes American Indian culture and academics. Tales renew Indian connections SOU camp mixes academics, heritage By VICKI GUARINO ASHLAND -- Chava Florendo knows the folk tale well. Her father, Wasco Tribe storyteller Brent Florendo, often tells the story of how the irresponsible young raccoon got his stripes. But other students gathered Monday on a darkened theater stage at Southern Oregon University, like Isabel Yasana, 12, of Coos Bay, had never heard the classic American Indian tale before. And that's the point of the gathering for Isabel and some 30 more Indian middle school students. A weeklong camp at SOU mixes cultural heritage with academics to nurture youngsters and encourage them in school. Called Konaway Nika Tillicum -- meaning a gathering, literally "All My Relations," in Chinook trade jargon -- the camp is organized and run by tribal elders and instructors. Assisting are high school-age counselors such as Florendo, 17, Ashland, who have attended previous sessions. On stage, young actors are working under Robert Owens, Lakota storyteller and Southern Oregon writer, actor and director, to pull together a performance of the raccoon's tale. Owens began by drilling his troupe on movement and gesture and ways to communicate without saying a word. "If you believe it, the audience will believe it," Owens said. As students took on roles from the folk tale, Owens urged youngsters to focus on their character's identity. "It's not what they're doing, but their heart, their mind," Owens coached. "What are they really doing, their feelings?" Elsewhere on the SOU campus, students participated in social studies classes such as "Hollywood Indian," science classes including "Biology, Math and the Great Outdoors," and other classes on subjects ranging from personal finance to computers. "This is the only program of its kind in the nation," says Owens, who has been involved since the camp's creation five years ago. The effort grew from concern about rural economic development in Oregon in general and the conditions of American Indian youth in particular. Owens and SOU Youth Programs coordinator Carol Jensen note high dropout rates among Indian youth, coupled with high unemployment and high incidence of substance abuse and violence. A few years ago, representatives from Oregon tribes, state agencies and higher education held a symposium to share concerns and explore resources. "One of the main concerns was that their youth wasn't interested in their own culture or their education," Jensen said. Konaway Nika Tillicum seeks to change that attitude by connecting middle school-age students to their culture and public school education through classes with older students and adults active in academics, the arts and American Indian culture. The faculty includes director David West of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, who coordinates SOU's Native American studies. West also co-chairs the Oregon Indian Education Council and represents the region on the Oregon Indian Coalition on Post Secondary Education. Participants have come from Siletz, Burns and Portland, as well as Southern Oregon. Isabel Yasana says the camp's blend of academics -- she likes math -- heritage and performance helps her self-confidence and provides cultural lessons she can't get elsewhere. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA