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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 1995)
OR . COLL . E University of Oregon Received on: 05-18-95 Smoke signals Tribal members offered special price on maquettes When the Spirit Mountain Ca sino opens to the public this fall, visitors will be greeted in the en trance rotunda by a monumental bronze statue of Martha Jane Sands, a symbol of the Grand Ronde Tribe's early history and ancestor of many current tribal members. Born into the Rogue River Tribe, Martha Jane survived a U.S. Army attack on her. village by hiding in a beaver dam. After emerging from her hiding place, the eight-year-old Martha Jane was captured by the soldiers and forced to join the Trail of Tears march to Grand Ronde. Martha Jane survived these tragedies to give birth to 14 chil dren, seven of whom reached adulthood. Martha Jane became a famous basket weaver, support ing herself and her family by sell ing her exquisite baskets at mar kets in Portland, Salem, and McMinnville. Her baskets are characterized by features associ ated with Grand Ronde and by sty listic elements unique to her. The statue being created for the Spirit Mountain Casino will be twice life-size and shows Martha Jane with a granddaughter weav ing baskets on a river bank. The sculpture is based on a graphite drawing by her great-great-grandson, Lon Mercier. Oregon sculp tor Rip Caswell won the right to produce the statue in a competi tion. Mercier and Caswell have succeeded in capturing Martha Jane's strength, character, dignity, and hard-earned wisdom. Librar i If A special moonlight pour will highlight the 23-step bronze cast ing process. Resurrecting a tradi tion of blessing statuary at the time of the first pour, Caswell will un dertake this crucial step at a post sunset ceremony. When the mol ten bronze cools, the mold will be broken away to reveal Martha Jane's face. In addition to the casino statu ary, Caswell is casting a limited edition series of smaller sculptures (called maquettes) identical to the Martha Jane monument. The im pact of the Spirit Mountain bronze and the quality of Mercier's and Caswell's works are expected to make demand for the 150 maquettes very heavy. Spirit Mountain has obtained the permission of the sculptor to offer the maquettes to Grand Ronde members at deep savings. After installation of the Spirit Mountain statue, the maquettes will cost $2,400; the pre-installa-tion price to the public is $2,250. Prior to installation of the large statue, tribal members may pur chase maquettes through the Spirit Mountain Development Corpora tion for $1,975. A reproduction of Lon Mercier's drawing of Martha Jane may be viewed at the Development Corporation office. Pre-installation purchasers of the maquettes will also receive ( 1 ) a Lon Mercier print of the same edition number, (2) a videotape of the monument process from start to finish and, (3) an invitation to the moonlight pour ceremony. Administration's Quarterly Report, page 3 mmimmm May 7 General Council Meeting Fourteen nominated for Council; Eagle Feather holds open house By Tracy Dugan Tribal Council nominations were held May 7 at the last Gen eral Council meeting of the sea son. Fourteen tribal members were nominated. Lydia Mathena nominated Joyce Kirk; Andy Jenncss nominated Jancli I laller; Evelyn Quinelle nominated Randy Butler, Sr.; Jon George nominated Kathy Tom; Dorothy Lawe nominated Kathryn Harrison; Mike Larsen nomi nated Ed Larsen; June Olson nominated Joyce DcHart; Bryan Langley nominated Tom Jones; Cheryle Kennedy nominated Margaret Provost; Scott Lane r -m A Pri- lit , lit Eagle Feather Construction and workers, from left: Ken Schmid, Lenny Logan, Tim Hutchinson, Thomas Ainsworth, Travis Stewart, Mike Barton, Tom Legachinsky, Tom Bean. Sitting: Duke Olson, Linda Olson, Simone Copley. Not pictured: Chris Diick, Jim Wilson, and Toby McClary. Health and Education news, pageS nominated Earl Floyd "Butch" LaBonte; Terry Warren nomi nated Albert Jeffcrs; Emma Sells nominated June Sherer; Donna Casey nominated Pain Warren; Darlene Aaron nominated Reynold Leno. Cliff Adams, Natural Resources Division Manager, gave a pro gram report on the status of the tribal timber, and how much cut ting will be done in this year, lie also spoke about the fish and wild life habitat and the types of ani mals that are living in the reser vation wilderness. Also, Eagle Feather Construc V N J . V- It "7 I .. mim' m5i ? f J?t tion, along with the Tribe, hosted an open house for all tribal mem bers who wanted to see the com pleted modular building the Tribe purchased. It will be used for of fices and a training center. Those who worked on the building arc pictured below. What started out as an inexpen sive investment has rapidly turned into one of the nicest buildings the Tribe owns. Eagle Feather would also like to thank members of the cleaning crew who worked so hard on the building. Tribal mem bers are welcome to stop by and walk through the new facility. A. V - W i. s .' V .'Mum ij
