Tribe hosting Veterans' Summit on July 9-12

If you go

Veterans' Summit: A Gathering of Warriors

When: Noon Tuesday, July 9, through 2 p.m. Friday, July 12

Where: Uyxat Powwow Grounds off Hebo Road, Grand Ronde

Admission: Free

More information: 800-422-0232

It will be difficult not to run into a veteran in Grand Ronde between Tuesday, July 9, and Sunday, July 14.

The annual Marcellus Northwest Memorial Veterans Powwow will be held Friday, July 12, through Sunday, July 14, at Uyxat Powwow Grounds off Hebo Road.

And three days before that - Tuesday, July 9, through Friday, July 12 - the Tribe will host a four-day "Veterans Summit: A Gathering of Warriors" being put on by the Gresham-based Native Wellness Institute at the powwow grounds.

The free summit will bring an anticipated 500 to 1,000 veterans and their relatives to Grand Ronde's Tribal powwow grounds for informational workshops, motivational speakers, benefits coordination, parade of color guards, welcome home ceremony, traditional games, health care, talking circles, counseling and more.

"Our Native veterans are too often a forgotten population," said Charles Tail Feathers (Cree/Blackfeet), a Native Wellness Institute board member and visionary of the gathering. "Some of our warriors from prior wars and conflicts still have unmet needs.

"The purpose of the Veterans Summit is to honor them, provide direct services and sources, help them on their healing journey and provide a good time filled with food, laughter, culture and positive camaraderie."

Tail Feathers, who worked for almost 20 years with the Warm Springs Tribe in eastern Oregon, is a Navy veteran with 35 years of experience in providing Native wellness and healing training in Indian Country.

Grand Ronde Tribal Chair Reyn Leno, a Vietnam-era Marine Corps veteran, attended one of the first planning meetings for the summit in San Diego in late November. After returning and talking with the rest of Tribal Council, he pledged the Grand Ronde Tribe's support as host.

"We were invited down because a lot of people know about our Veterans Powwow," Leno said. "They picked Grand Ronde because they recognize that ours is one of the best Veterans Powwows in the country. I've been on council for 17 years and this is the first actual outdoor conference I've ever been involved in. Everything else is always at a casino or something."

Leno said it is an honor for the Tribe to host the Summit.

"I think it was important for Grand Ronde because, number one, it was a great recognition of our Veterans Powwow, which I think a lot of our Tribal members have worked really hard to make one of the best in the country," he said. "And I think it is obviously an opportunity for Grand Ronde to acknowledge that we don't acknowledge just Native American veterans or just our veterans, we acknowledge all veterans."

Many of the Tribe's programs have been involved in the planning process to host the Summit with Social Services Department Manager David Fullerton leading the organizational effort.

Fullerton said Summit organizers are expecting a significant homeless population and numerous disabled veterans.

Tail Feathers said he envisions the Summit as a village where veterans will camp and eat together, receive free health care and haircuts, obtain assistance with coordinating benefits, play traditional games, listen to traditional stories, participate in singing and dancing, attend workshops and participate in activities to promote their personal healing.

"Healing is the spirit driving the Veterans Summit," Tail Feathers said.

According to a 2012 report released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are more than 154,000 veterans who identify themselves solely as American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Registration for the Summit begins at noon Tuesday, July 9, and an opening ceremony starts at 3 p.m. under a big tent erected at Uyxat Powwow Grounds. Tail Feathers is scheduled to give the blessing.

Evening activities for each day will include singing and dancing in the Tribal plankhouse with the Grand Ronde Canoe Family, storytelling, traditional and modern games and horseshoes.

Cameron Smith, new director of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, will be the keynote speaker at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 10,

In the Self-Care Village tent, veterans will be able to partake of massage and chiropractic care, receive haircuts and participate in talking circles, counseling sessions and sweats.

Workshops scheduled for Wednesday include "Teamwork in Today's World" and presentations on suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health, spirituality, healthy relationships and self-care and mentoring.

Thursday afternoon workshops will key in on benefits coordination, the Social Security Administration and dealing with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Friday will feature Howard Rainer as the inspirational keynote speaker at 8:30 a.m. Rainer (Taos Pueblo/Creek) administers the Native American Education Outreach Program at Brigham Young University in Utah and is considered a leading Native American trainer in providing workshops in building self-esteem and enhancing motivation among Native American adults and young people.

 A Parade of Colors, organized by Veterans Special Event Board member Reina Nelson, will occur at 10:30 a.m. and feature a color guard of female veterans from the East Coast.

A powwow at 2 p.m. Friday, July 12, will transition the Summit into the annual Marcellus Norwest Memorial Veterans Powwow.

Transportation is being provided to the Summit from Salem and Eugene at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 9. Return trips will leave Grand Ronde at 12:30 p.m. Friday, July 12.

Meals will be provided starting with a sack lunch and dinner on Tuesday and continental breakfasts, sack lunches and dinners on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday's meals will only include breakfast and lunch.

Leno said that two Navajo code talkers who served during World War II also will attend the Summit.

"The bottom line is if you help one veteran in this whole thing, it is going to make it worthwhile," Leno said.