Ron Pond Receives Distinguished Alumni Award from Eastern Oregon University

Ronald (Ron) Pond, associate director for the Plateau Center for American Indian Studies and clinical assistant professor of music at Washington State University, was honored by Eastern Oregon University (EOU) in La Grande on October 12 at their Alumni Honors Ceremony, where he received the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Pond, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, enrolled in Eastern Oregon State College after being seriously injured in 1968 working as a firefighter and smokejumper for the USDA Forest Service. As a nontraditional student, he majored in anthropology and sociology, graduating in 1974.

EOU honors alumni for their professional and community accomplishments and contributions.

About being honored by EOU, Pond said, "The special alumni award was truly a moving experience for me and my family."

An outstanding record of achievement and service is evidence enough for the award, but it is the lives Pond has touched that speak the loudest. Heavily involved with Native American youth organizations, he and his wife, Anne Jane, are strong advocates for keeping younger generations connected to their heritage and to their culture.

Pond, who was instrumental in establishing the Speel-Ya Native American Student Council at EOU, said, "Since I am traditionally oriented and devoted to working with Native American youth, I travel to the Umatilla reservation and take part with all traditional tribal ceremonies and Indian religion services that are held throughout the year."

Barbara Aston, interim director of the Plateau Center, WSU tribal liaison, and special assistant to Provost Robert Bates, said, "In his quiet and unassuming manner, Dr. Pond generously shares his knowledge, time, and talents."

Aston continued, "His role as instructor extends well beyond the classroom to all of his interactions within the WSU community, where he is a role model for traditional leadership and decision making. He encourages all who seek out his advice, especially students who desire to learn more about Native cultures. Through his teaching, mentoring, and encouragement, the WSU Palouse Falls Intertribal Drum has grown and developed to a point where they share their drumming and songs at university and regional events."

Pond earned his doctoral degree in interdisciplinary studies from Washington State University in 2004 and went on to serve as interim director for the Plateau Center until 2006. Said Pond about the center, "In 1997, our (university) president signed a memorandum of understanding between Washington State University and 9 signatory tribes in the Plateau cultural area. We, as Native American representatives of the Plateau Center, are obligated to serve the educational needs of those tribes."

Aston said, "Dr. Ron Pond was instrumental in promoting the creation and signing of an MOU between WSU and tribes from the Plateau region. The MOU created a Native American Advisory Board to the President and set into motion ongoing dialogue and consultation with tribal leaders at the highest administrative level of the University."

As a Native American faculty member, Pond's interests include tribal ceremonies, music, song, and dance among Plateau peoples. He currently serves as advisor for the Indigenous Graduate Students Council and the Palouse Falls Intertribal Drum Group. He continues his work at WSU evaluating the Native American studies minor and certificate programs relative to the educational needs of the MOU tribes.

Along with tribal attorney Dan Hester, Pond coauthored chapter 4, "Assimilation and Acculturation," in the newly released book on Umatilla tribal history As Days Gone By.

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Native American Research and Outreach Expo
April 18–19, 2008
Beasley Coliseum, WSU Pullman