American Indian Heritage Day
9/30/2015
By PARKER SEIBOLD
The clock chimed 7 a.m., people gathered around a fire outside the Payne Family Native American Center on Friday morning to kick off American Indian Heritage Day at the University of Montana.
The ceremony was led by Patrick Weasel Head, a member of the Blackfeet Indian Tribe, Missoula City Council member and University of Montana Alumni. The fire crackled as Weasel Head spoke, and people listened intently. He asked each person to hold a pinch of tobacco and to cleanse in smoke of the sweet grass he was burning. One by one each person participated as he walked around the circle fanning the smoking twist of grass with a feather.
Weasel Head spoke about the importance of the ceremony to Native Americans. Every morning a campfire is lit and the ceremony begins. It is used to wake people, give news and wish health and wellness to one another. The sunrise ceremony represents the beginning of a new day, and of life.
The ceremony ended with a prayer in the Arapaho language lead by S. Neyooxet Greymorning, professor in anthropology and Native American studies at the university.
American Indian Heritage Day recognizes the original inhabitants of this continent, and more specifically of Montana. It celebrates traditions, styles and beliefs of American Indians, and it reminds people that the University itself if built on Salish land.
“It’s important to remind folks that there is a community who was here when the university was first built, and that the U shares and celebrates this space with Native people,” Theodore C. Van Alst, assistant professor and co-chair of the Native American Studies Department, said.
The university has a diverse community, which includes a number of Native Americans. Joseph Grady, member of the Blackfeet Pikunii Indian Tribe, and Program Advisor at the university, said he would like this day to aid in reducing the uncomfortableness and hesitance on all sides when it comes to learning about different cultures.
“I encourage people, if you don’t know, take the step to go out and ask,” Grady said, urging people to take the initiatives in learning about each other.
Looking into the future Grady said he hopes to see more “we” and less “us vs. them” in different cultures. Days such as American Indian Heritage Day can be a resource for educating people about different cultures in an inviting way, he said.
Living With Less
2/2/2015
By PARKER SEIBOLD
After seven years of working at the Poverello Center, and four years of being the homeless outreach coordinator, Travis Mateer is done. Saying he feels burned out and jaded, Mateer plans to step down at the end of February. It marks the end of a four years of walking Missoula’s alleys and underpasses, of mediating the divide between the people who live downtown and the business owners who try to make a living there.
Mateer began working at the Poverello Center in 2009 and homeless outreach efforts started in 2011. Until this year, Mateer held the only paid position that the Homeless Outreach Team offered. Through his work he has become well known within Missoula’s homeless community.
Mateer, a creative writing major with a quirky sense of fun and curiosity, found himself in college spending his free time with a homeless man who lived on the Kim Williams Trail. That relationship encouraged him to balance the privilege he knew growing up.
His years at the Poverello Center have made Mateer cynical about the Homeless Outreach Team’s ability to improve the lives of those living on the street.
“I have a lot of baggage when it comes to clients, and so they know me pretty well, I know them pretty well, which means I can be a little blind, I think, to the new opportunities to try and help,” Mateer said.
The HOT works to create a healthier community for everyone living and working downtown. That requires working closely with the homeless population and listening to what individuals say. It is here Mateer feels he has lost his way. “I’ve heard so many of the stories, I know the background of so many folks, I am going out with other volunteers and I’ve realized they’re getting parts of the stories that maybe I’m just not even hearing anymore,” Mateer said.
Kristin Border Patton, office coordinator at the Poverello Center, has worked with Mateer for seven years. She said the creative curiosity Mateer has brought to a difficult job has made him stand out. Mateer has a custom Lego man that wears a bright orange shirt with Mateer’s last name on the back and the HOT logo on the front.
At home, he makes Lego scenes for “Lego Travis” and brings pictures of them in to work. “Travis is one of the quirkiest people I have ever met, he loves poetry, he loves Legos, he loves blogging. He brings a lot to our group that is just pure quirkiness,” Patton said. “I think when dealing with a hard situation it is helpful for him to be able to go home and zone out on little projects.”
Mateer said he hopes to get back to poetry and writing. He wants to continue working with the homeless but he has alo considered starting an afterschool program that uses Legos to work with children who may need a safe space.