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that permeates the region. The Greene County Archive site has a form people can fill out to help connect Native American bloodlines. The information is also recorded in the Springfield / Greene County Library System for future genealogy work. Estes is also able to direct people to their roots, and show their ancestor’s passage on a map he keeps nearby. The SMIC is funded through an annual Community Services Block Grant and federal aid. They are recognized as a non-profit organization. They receive $46,000 each year, which barely covers the salaries and utilities. Estes has become a master of stretching a dollar. He is painfully aware of how much his families depend on him.
“After you do this long enough, you learn all the tricks,” he said. “We have learned how to get as much food as we can for our money.” He has a vast understanding not only of how the legal operations work, but of the needs he is hired to meet. To give each family his full attention and the best possible service, he usually requests that people make an appointment. The building is small and more than a handful of people would quickly overwhelm the space, and this allows him to chat with people and identify what they need besides basic food. The front room is a hodgepodge of household goods. Estes can find anything in a moment’s notice, and explains how different items help people. Sometimes work clothes can help a family member get
One small change. One big difference.
a better job, or perhaps extra cereal for a family where the kids sometimes have to make their own snack after school. Years of working for the center has taught him to match need with solutions, and sometimes that requires creativity. Of all things that they lack, Estes says hygiene items are the hardest to come by. They are more expensive, and less likely to come through donations. Hygiene is important, especially when working with the public or searching for work. It also is important to children in school, for health and social reasons. Soap, toiletries and grooming items are scarce, and an occasional stockpile is a luxury. Estes loves his job, and plans to do it for as long as he can. In the office, he has several books that he pur-
chased on local tribes, and he will show them to people who have questions about their lineage and roots. He has to be careful, as he has a tendency to run his fingers over the words and a few pages are wearing thin. His knowledge of history, current population and the circumstances of his brethren makes him a protector of Indian culture and a valuable addition to Springfield’s living history.
Native American Heritage Month Calendar of Event Thursday, November 20, 2014 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Missouri State University, Union Club (Plaster Student Union Room 400) Native American Lunch: The Union Club will be serving dishes that are popular and traditional in Native American culture.
November 2014 Volume 24/ Number 11 • A Monthly Publication by Unite. of Southwest Missouri, Inc •
www.unitenewsonline.org
Courageous Conversations on Race Related to “Family and Friends” Springfield, MO—MSU Multicultural Programs will present, Courageous Conversations on Race Related to “Family and Friends” - What Can They Do? Nov. 4 at 8:30 continued on page 2
Bridge Springfield: Brother to Brother November Meeting Moved Up
Breaking an addiction is tough, but taking small steps will help you stop for good. Be replace a cigarette with a walk. Save your cigarette money and plan a family vacation. For more ideas about adopting a tobacco-free lifestyle, please visit hlaspringfield.org
EAT BETTER.
Making healthy living easier. HLASpringfield.org
Events listed on page 10
Building Empowering Connections In Our Diverse Community
realistic with yourself. Don’t expect to break the habit overnight. When a craving strikes,
MOVE MORE.
UNITE.
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month
BREATHE EASY.
Springfield, MO— Please mark your calendars for the next Bridge Springfield: Brother to Brother General Meeting. The meeting will take place on the third Thursday because of Thanksgiving. Please join us on Thursday, November 20 at Missouri State University Campus, Glass Hall, Room 237 from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
Southwest Missouri Indian Center one of two in Missouri by Bon Tindle Unite Contributing Writer November is Native American Heritage Month. Weighing in at less than one percent of Springfield’s population, Native Americans are a definite minority in numbers, yet play a large part in the development and cultural history of the Springfield and Greene County region. Ken Estes, Director of the Southwest Missouri Indian Center, (SMIC) has a vast knowledge of Indian culture and current tribal threads that run through the area. The SMIC has tended to the needs of Springfield’s Native American population since 1996. Estes runs the center, and says they currently assist 30-40 families from the area. The SMIC is a member of the Ozarks Food
Harvest, and distributes other help from their own kind, fellow items such as cookware and Indians who understand the utensils. They have boxes of cultural nuances of living in the clothes and other area. Estes states there odds and ends, all inare several other food tended for local Native pantries in the area, American families in some are even better need. stocked, yet many There are only two prefer to come to him Indian centers in Misfor assistance. Estes, souri. Kansas City’s a proud member of the Ken Estes Heart of America InChickasaw tribe, enjoys dian Center is the only other in helping people and listening to the state. Estes says the need their story. He often collects has grown, and the center runs these stories and shares the at a steady maximum capacity. history that brought the Indians They are a very small operation, of this region together. and after years of cultivating As he will remind you, the community relationships and Trail of Tears passed through getting the word out the center Springfield, along the path that moves at a steady fast clip. is known as Old Wire Road. “We treat them like people,” Cherokee have long since Estes says. He acknowledges regarded this area as home, and that several Native American a lot of that is due to the history families like the idea of getting See Schedule on page 12
Assistant professor researches equity in the classroom Reprinted from Iowa State, College of Human Sciences Research News Oct 13, 2014 By Emily Logan Christa Jackson’s goal is to make mathematics everyone’s best friend. “I want to change people’s negative views toward math,” she said. “I always tell my students:
‘You may absolutely hate it now, “Christa has a stellar record but by the end of the as a scholar in her year, mathematics will discipline,” said John be one of your best Schuh, director of the friends.’” School of Education. Jackson is a new “She comes to us with a assistant professor at number of publications, Iowa State University. grants, and presentaShe is one of about a tions at professional Christa Jackson dozen new hires in the conferences that reflect School of Education. continued on page 9