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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1990)
Smoke Signals December 1990 page 12 First Oregonians Tribal representatives from all over the United States were in Portland recently for a three day conference at the newly opened Oregon Convention Center. ' The conference, which was open to the public, was the culmination of a two year project of many Tribes in . cooperation with the Oregon Council for the Humani ties. Funding for the project came from a special National Endowment for the Humanities grant. The grant allows each Tribe to undertake a self-study project to seek more knowledge of the various aspects of Tribal history and culture.- Besides the Grand Ronde Tribe, other participating Tribes were: The Confeder ated Tribes of Silctz, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, Walla Walla, Cayuse, the Burns Paiutes, the Klamath, the Confeder ated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Confederated. Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw. Conference sessions featured a variety of Tribal leaders and scholars. The sessions covered topics like the Recovery of Heritage, Indian Oral Tradition in Oregon, Mistaken Notions, Shapes of Their Thought, The Attempted Suppression of Indian Culture in Oregon, Indian Places, The First Oregonians Today and Teaching About Oregon Indians. An appearance by Pulitzer Prize winning poet N. Scott Momaday, a Kiowa Indian, highlighted the conference. Momaday, who is currently serving as the Regents Professor of English at the University of Arizona, gave a moving talk concerning the current state of Indian affairs and read some moving excerpts from his many published works. Grand Ronde Tribal Chairman, Mark Mercicr, told a banquet audience about the Tribe and its history. After explaining where the Tribe is located and what our elders went through during the massive military roundup that took place prior to establishment of Grand Ronde. Mcrcier told the audience about how far the Tribe has come during recent years and where we plan to go in the future. Most people left the conference feeling that it was a success and made plans to attend similar functions that bring native people together again in the future. World Premiere "Dances with Wolves," an epic film starring and directed by Kevin Costner and featuring a cast of outstanding Native American actors, had its world premiere in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 19. Proceeds from the screening benefit the National Museum of the American Indian and the Smithsonian Resident Associ ate Program. Filmed on the Great Plains of South Dakota, "Dances With Wolves" re-creates the peaceful world of the Lakota (Sioux) Indians before the encroachment of whites and movingly depicts the gradual acculturation of one white man into the Lakota world. Sets, costumes, makeup and plot are carefully documented for authen ticity, and the dialogue spoken by Native American characters is entirely in the Lakota language and subtitled in English. Prior to the evening premiere, Costner was honored on Capitol Hill at a reception held by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii). Costner was adopted by the family of Sinte (jleska College in South Dakota along with the movie's producer and leading actress. Costner noted that "Dances With Wolves" is "just a movie We didn't set off to rc-invent history or to set the record straight." National Museum of the American Indian Director W. Richard West Jr. presented Costner with a bronze bison for 'helping to preserve the history of America... You may see the movie as something to cat popcorn with," he said to Costner, "but lots of us see it as something different. Just as the bison is a symbol of the past, we see the movie as our hope for the future." - 'Wm.: , if . i I i N. Scott Momaday at the First Oregonians Conference in Portland, Oregon. 4l I'- 0 p.fM . to. W MKHJ 19 MW J... i v . .v.l.-av:" ' , t ti i 1 V z Ml I? ; ) I" 'TV 1 -1 f .1);.;., f. j ' This picture of John Hudson, Hattie Sands Hudson, Gertrude Hudson Mercier, Marion Hudson, Martha Sands and Pearl Hudson Mcrcier was taken some time around the turn of the century according to Tribal elder Marion Forstcr. Marion graciously provided the picture to the Tribal newsletter program to add to our growing collection.
