We look forward to seeing you at our events and connecting at upcoming community events. Please make sure to look at Camper and Worker packets and their deadlines. We look forward to a busy month of May and even busier month of June. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us.

Sincerely,

NATIVES Program Staff

Josh Davies

NATIVES Program Administrator

davies_jo@4j.lane.edu

PJ Martinez

NATIVES and Affinity Program Coordinator

martinez_pj@4j.lane.edu

Sean Himmelman

NATIVES Program Equity Manager

himmelman_s@4j.lane.edu

Becky White

NATIVES Program Equity Manager

youngblood_b@4j.lane.edu

Main Phone: 541-790-5900
Fax Number: 541-790-5905

Wednesday, May 1st (6-8pm) - BINGO Night at Bailey Hill! Students will have the chance to win exciting prizes. Everyone wins! Dinner will be provided.

Wednesday, May 8th (6-8pm) - Brush up on your Powwow Etiquette and learn about different dance styles from student dancers, just in time for the University of Oregon's Annual Mother's Day Powwow. Please bring comfortable shoes or moccasins if you have them, and feel free to wear your regalia. We will have a limited selection of regalia pieces to borrow for the evening.

Wednesday, May 15th (6-8pm) - Native Plant Identification at Wild Iris Ridge! We will start promptly at 6pm from the parking lot at Wild Iris Ridge and hike up as far as we can go (hopefully to the top for the beautiful view!), identifying & sketching as many Native plant species as we can with a representative from Willamette Watershed Council. Permission Slip is REQUIRED and can be found (will put it here when I get the link to the form). A paper version will be available at our Wednesday evening Culture Classes, and as requested.

What to Bring: Please wear pants and sturdy hiking boots or shoes – no open-toed shoes will be allowed! Dress in layers, as Spring weather in the Willamette Valley can be unpredictable, and bring a water bottle. It is also a good idea to bring a bag or small backpack. We will provide a notebook and pen/colored pencils, as well as a flashlight and compass.

May 24 - Sky Camp 2024 Worker Packets Due!!

Saturday, June 1st (12-2pm) – Student Recognition Luncheon! Please join us as we celebrate students who are graduating this year, who are enrolled in the Program and who has participated in their NASU clubs at their respective high schools. Small lunch provided.

June 7th - Sky Camp Camper Packets Packets Due!!

Friday, June 14th – Last day of School!!

Monday, June 17th – Workers report to Bailey for camp orientation

Tuesday, June 18th – Campers arrive at Sky Camp

Friday, June 21st – Everyone returns from Sky Camp

NEED A TUTOR?

Email natives@4j.lane.edu. Please include the students name, best contact information and subject or subjects the student needs help with. We will match students with a tutor.

Flexible scheduling is available.

CLICK HERE

Position Summary:

There are multiple vacancies available for the 2023/24 school year. These are temporary part-time.

The purpose of the NATIVES Program Tutor is to support and assist k-12 students in understanding key academic subjects and concepts through review, practice, re-framing and reteaching one-on-one or small group lessons that cater to individual student and/or group needs. Through the use of positive and constructive feedback, this position is designed to help students build robust study habits and skills intended to build student confidence and improve academic performance. By expanding study strategies, note-taking skills and teaching different approaches to answering questions, this position may be tasked with supporting student efforts to complete homework assignments, academic projects, test preparation, papers, research and other academic tasks.

Camp will be held during the week of June 17th-21st, 2024

Camp is free for Program students and transportation for campers is provided to and from camp. Sky Camp is located near Lowell and is an overnight camp that provides cultural, recreational and social activities for students enrolled in both the NATIVES Program and 4J. Camp is now in it's 45th year while the NATIVES Program is going on 50 years. We are looking forward to this wonderful opportunity for our students.

Students who have a current 506 form on file with the NATIVES Program and are entering 3rd grade through 9th grade, are eligible to submit camper applications. Students will attend camp June 18th - 21st.

Workers interested in applying for Sky Camp, there are Counselor in Training (16 years or older), Counselors and Class Knowledge Instructors (18 years or older) positions available. The number of staff hired will depend on the amount of campers. Workers will attend camp June 17th - 21st.

If you would like to become a volunteer for Sky Camp or the NATIVES Program, please click below.

Saturday, May 18th (12-2pm) - Maude Kerns Art Center & City of Eugene Cultural Services team up with the NATIVES Program for a unique opportunity to help Native teen artists prepare for The Mayor's Teen Art Show! The Mayor's Teen Art Show, which is open to ANYONE ages 13-19, is a juried show, which means that not everyone's art will be selected for the show. In order to make it more accessible and less scary to NATIVES Program students we are hosting an event at Bailey Hill School where we will provide assistance with completing and submitting the form, writing your "Artist Statement," and there will even be a photo backdrop and assistance in taking high-quality photos of your art. Applications are due May 31st. This can be ANY kind of art - drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, weaving, pottery, wearable art, etc. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE OBTAINING ART SUPPLIES - WE CAN HELP! Please reach out to Becky with any questions.

Darcy Dickey

Interim Chairperson

nativesipc@gmail.com

Next Meeting:

May 14th, 2024

6:00pm

Sheldon High School Library

The Indian Parent Committee (IPC) is an advisory committee put in place per the Federal grant the NATIVES Program has been awarded continuously. The IPC’s minimal involvement consists of taking a yearly vote to approve the next years grant funding outline. The vote is held in May at the scheduled IPC Meeting. Prior to the May vote, the only public meeting per the grant is to hold a public hearing in April. This meeting allows community members to voice concerns, ideas, provide information to help support the grant.

We send out a needs assessment that is produced by the NATIVES Program allowing community members, 4J Staff and students to share ideas and express their needs and wants to prioritize and prepare for the next grant year. The needs assessment is used to gather information about specialized and unique educational, social, and culturally related needs of eligible Native students. The assessment provides a clear direction for development of the program to meet specific needs of 4J Native students.

Currently at the NATIVES Program, we are preparing for and looking forward to the creation of a NATIVES Program community garden as well as hosting multiple pow wows, monthly gatherings and community events. We look forward to continuing Wednesday night culture activities that host presenters, guest artists, dance classes, drumming skills, carving, crafts, regalia, tutoring, classroom presentations, and K-12 enhancement activities.

We look forward to building relationships with our 4J Native students whose needs and requests are priority as we continue to strive to make our NATIVES Program beneficial and inclusive to all Indigenous students enrolled with 4J. The program currently has student representation of over 170 Tribes within the United States.

dai sla (hello),

I am working on a project with the Center for the Prevention of Abuse and Neglect (CPAN) called Prevention Education and Advocacy for Childhood Empowerment (PEACE). PEACE is focusing on centering youth engagement in an effort to prevent child maltreatment within Lane County. HERE is some more information about the work.

As part of this effort, we are working to recruit youth ages 14-19 in Lane County who identify as Native or Indigenous to be part of a focus group where we ask for youth input on reducing child maltreatment. All participants will be stipend $25 an hour for participation. Also, there will be a confidential advocate available for those who would like to access additional, confidential support. This focus group will be on May 15th at 6 pm at the Many Nations Longhouse located at 1630 Columbia St, Eugene, OR 97403.

Your support in reaching out to Native or Indigenous youth would be immensely valuable. If you have specific individuals in mind who you believe would be interested in participating, I would be incredibly grateful if you could connect me to them (via text or email). We especially want to hear from youth who may have experienced more barriers than others, although we will not ask youth to share specifics about their own experiences with violence.

If you don’t have any specific youth in mind, some additional ways in which you can support this effort may be to:

o Allow me to come to talk at your staff team meeting

o Share out a flyer with youth you think might be interested

o Share out an announcement to youth you work with to invite youth to participate

Attached to this email is the focus group flyer with a QR code for students to scan and sign up. Please share with your students!

Please let me know if any of this sounds like a possibility. I would be happy to set up a call to talk more about what this looks like.

Thanks for your consideration.

Jorney Baldwin (she/her)

Confederated Tribes of Coos Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians

Native American Outreach Specialist

University of Oregon Counseling Services

Office Hours: 3pm-6pm Tue., 12-3pm Thurs. at Many Nations Longhouse or by appt.

E: jorneyb@uoregon.edu | Web: https://jorneybaldwin.com/

We look forward to meeting you at NASU. Please join us! We want to know more about you and how school is going. NASU is open to assist American Indian, Alaska Natives, and all Indigenous students to help maintain cultural values while pursuing educational goals. Discussion topics may include sensitive issues that pertain to the student and to the school they attend. We want students to use their voices in a positive, meaningful, and empowered way, to build self esteem and become more secure within themselves.

Don't be shy, please stop by and say hi!