Photo by Lee Marmon

A tall thin man strolled across the campus. All the students and staff easily recognized the casual gait. He wore a blue jacket with the college emblem and his own special beaded baseball cap. As he walked, his expression changed from one of deep thought to a gentle, friendly smile for the student he stopped to chat with. For most people the walk across the campus was a relaxing break and a chance to enjoy the beautiful landscape. For Jerry, the walk often included making administrative decisions, listening to petty complaints, and stopping to share a cigarette with a friend. Jerry had that rare ability to stay focused on his mission but at the same time acknowledge and stay in touch with those who gave his mission its validity.

Today the campus has an air of quiet gloom and loss. Gerald D. Slater, 59, died Oct. 7, 2002, after a long battle with cancer. The Three Wolves Student Lounge named after Jerry is unusually silent. Jerry will no longer stroll across the grounds, and things will not be the same without him.

I first knew him when he was a young boy working at a small town gas station. It was the spot where teenagers stopped to get gas. We could pool our money and come up with a dollar, which at that time was enough money to “drag the gut” for the entire evening. Jerry, always cheerfully, put in the dollar’s worth of gas, checked the oil on the car, and washed the windshield. We left there feeling we had been treated just as well as the patrons who had enough money to fill their tanks. Jerry had natural talents, and his work at that gas station was probably training for dealing with people later in his career.

He advanced from a gas station attendant to a well-educated college administrator. He helped found Salish Kootenai College in 1977 and for over 25 years was instrumental in its becoming one of the top ranking tribal colleges of the nation. The college grew from a branch of a community college to an independent college and eventually achieved accreditation in four-year programs. I had the honor of working under his leadership for 13 years.

One of the first real challenges of working at a tribal college was the lack of status symbols. There was a very definite element of respect, and it didn’t take long to know who was respected. Titles were of less importance than respect. The president and vice president were referred to as Joe and Jerry and known as helpful friends when they walked across the campus. As the college grew, they didn’t change, but titles became more important. They are now often referred to as President Joe McDonald and Vice President Jerry Slater.

When I think of Jerry’s fairness, I remember a meeting where administration had made a decision that affected my job and me. I was upset and trying to make a point. He finally said, ” I hear you saying that you just want us to listen. If you will put your thoughts down and gather the information needed, we will have another meeting, and we will listen to you. But then you will have to agree to go with our final decision.” I did that and felt he truly did listen to what I had to say; he also created a sense of fairness that made it easy for me to accept and have faith in his final decision.

During the years Jerry’s strolls across campus changed some. The weight of his illness and increase in administrative issues seemed to increase the deep-in-thought expressions. The change in times did not take away his being in touch with people. He was still approachable; it was just that one felt that he probably had important things on his mind.

My last memory of Jerry was last summer. I was at the horse races and after I placed my bet, I saw him and his wife, Lois, hugging each other. I asked if they were consoling each other over racing losses. They just laughed, and it was obvious they were just sharing a moment. It is a very nice memory to have.

One can only be a tribal member by blood quota, but one can learn from the tribal culture. The culture is not learned from books. Many tribal traditions and ways are subtle and unspoken. I learned much more than I taught. I often heard the phrase “he has an Indian heart.” I never got a direct answer as to what an Indian heart is. The more I was exposed to the spirit of it, the less I could define it. One aspect is to judge a person by where his heart is at the moment. If one does something wrong, it is probably because his heart is in the wrong place at that time; he may learn and do it differently another time. Part of having an Indian heart is simply being sincere, for if one is foolish or wrong, he will learn from his mistakes and probably even laugh at them.

An Indian heart includes acceptance of people; it includes giving of oneself; and it includes having a sense of humor. I don’t think that anyone would deny that Jerry had a great big Indian heart.

Mary Tevebaugh recently retired after 13 years at Salish Kootenai College. She worked as lead teacher at the child care center, coordinator for the child care block grant, instructor at Kicking Horse Job Corps, and assistant librarian/cataloguer at the D’arcy McNickle Library.  She wrote an infant curriculum (“The Circle of the Infant”) and “Children of the Flathead,” a brochure published by Salish Kootenai College.  Mary graduated with honors from the University of Montana.