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75 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, August 4, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 22, 2004 Participants in Southern Oregon University�s Native American Youth Academy are learning about college life and sharing in cultural experiences like this drum circle. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Teens keep Indian tradition alive By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune For Isabel LaCourse, eight days at Southern Oregon University’s academic camp for American Indian teens is both a retreat and a challenge. Back home in Portland, the 16-year-old doesn’t get many chances to drum and sing traditional songs, and history classes often leave out the story of her Colville Confederated Tribes ancestors. "It’s hard to be a minority," she said. At the camp, Konaway Nika Tillicum — named for a Chinook phrase meaning "all my relations" — she settles into traditional drumming, dancing, beading and storytelling with 27 other teens who know the feeling of being different, of being left out. Advertisement "Here is a retreat," LaCourse said. "This camp also demands you to step up. "It gives me confidence to go out and do things I wouldn’t do otherwise." Not only has she grown into the role of junior counselor during six years attending the camp, she now teaches at a summer school for younger children in Portland and volunteers with search and rescue. She’s also looking forward to college. That is exactly the point of the program, now in its ninth year, said David West, co-director of SOU’s Center for First Nation Studies, which sponsors the camp. Since his own student days at the University of Oregon in the 1980s, West had worried about high dropout rates among American Indian high school students. "I realized I wanted to do something to make sure these kids got to college and succeeded," he said. In 1995, after meeting with leaders and educators from Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes and other American Indians in the state, the university started the youth academy to combine cultural components and classes teaching academic basics. "Even though it is academic, it’s fun," said Aryel Harrington, 13, of Medford. Science class isn’t lectures, she explained, but exercises to build a container that will protect an egg dropped from on high. "Now I want to keep up my grades so I can go to college, and come back here," said the Klamath Tribes member who lives in foster care. Students must have a 2.0 grade point average to attend and statistics show that kids who attend the camp each year boost their grade point averages by half a point after each academy, West said. The kids take classes in science, theater, American Indian history and communication skills. They write daily journals, learn research skills for scavenger hunts at the college library and attend an Oregon Shakespeare Festival play. They also join drum circles, sing, dance, hike, learn beading and shoot hoops. "Grades are important, but here you learn to be well rounded," said Vanessa Jackson, a Lincoln City 13-year-old of Siletz, Grand Ronde and Klamath heritage. "I like to be around kids going through the same things I am," she said, noting that she has overcome shyness and now can talk easily in groups. Jim Fowler, 63, a Cherokee from Phoenix, helps guide the youth as an "elder grandpa." He listens to teen troubles — fights with mom, anger at school — and shares traditional wisdom. "We share the knowledge we’ve gained through the years just as our elders shared stories to help us make good decisions," he said. "Our main goal here is to get kids interested in continuing their education and going as far as their talents can take them." Performance offered Students from Konaway Nika Tillicum will present a program of song, dance, drumming and history called "Voices — Telling a Story That Has to be Told" at 1 p.m. Friday at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Green Stage and at 2 p.m. Friday at the Lithia Park bandshell. Both performances are free. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times