October 15, 1998
Tribal News 7
New director has hand on heart of the Tribe
as Grand Ronde cultural center takes shape
By Oscar Johnson, Staff Reporter
The Kwelth Tahlkie Cultural and
Heritage Society Board of Directors has
a new Executive Director bringing
fresh inspiration and a wealth of expe
rience to Grand Ronde and the Tribe's
plans for a new cultural center.
"The way we are approaching this
is that it is the heart of the Tribe. The
cultural center is a way of reclaim
ing traditions and all the things lost
during termination," explains, Lisa
Watt, the Board's newest member.
"This is really a chance for the Tribe
to tell its story."
The Executive Director came on
board in September and is excited
about the opportunity to work with the
Grand Ronde Tribe on this important
project. After a two-year stint with
the Portland Art Museum followed by
two years as Director of Development
for the National Indian Child Welfare
Association, she is eager to get back
to the work she enjoys most devel
oping Native museums.
A member of the Seneca Nation,
born and raised on the Alleghany In
dian Reservation, the graduate of
upstate New York's St. Lawrence
University got her first taste of Indian
museum life at an early age.
"My mother was the registrar for the
Seneca-Iroquois National Museum in
Salamanaca, New York," says Watt.
"So we grew up around museums."
Her professional experience began
at the Smithsonian Institute's head of
fice in Washington, D.C. where she
says she jumped at the chance to learn
the ropes for four years as the per
sonal assistant to Elan Humann
Gurian, the museum's Assistant Sec
retary and Program Specialist. At
that time the Smithsonian was mak
ing some profound improvements by
bringing on what Watt calls "real trail
blazers" who helped make the mu
seum more accessible and inclusive
to the public.
"(Humann-Gurian) was absolutely
brilliant," says Watt. "The way she
was bringing new ideas into a real
staid position getting educators, cu
rators and exhibitors to work together
was amazing."
While with the Smithsonian, Watt
was also on the initial planning team
for the National American Indian
Museum and the New African Ameri
can Museum on the Mall.
Taking advantage of being in the
right place at the right time, however,
did not stop at the Smithsonian.
Convinced that she wanted nothing
more than to move to Kodiak,
Alaska, Watt reluctantly agreed to
visit Warm Springs Indian Reserva
tion just to consider helping the Tribe
develop its museum. Once she ar
rived, however, her fate was sealed.
"When I got to Warm Springs and
Oregon I just fell in love with it," Watt
says. She ended up working for the
Tribe for two years on what she calls
"the hottest project in the country at
the time."
It was here that Watt became keenly
aware of how important and valuable
a museum could be to a Tribe's com
munal and cultural integrity. In ad
dition to members voting to spend
$3.2 million on the project, she says
the Tribe's culture board invited mem
bers to sell their own artifacts to the
museum.
"Now they have the best collection
in the country," says Watt. "All the
effort they made to create their mu
seum was incredible."
Watt looks forward to taking on her
new job with the Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde with the same en
thusiasm and is eager to see what di
rection the Tribe's cultural center will
take. She sees the project as an un
precedented and essential chance
"for people to get reunited and reac
quainted around the common goal of
preserving culture."
But she says she has no plans for
Grand Ronde's cultural center.
"My job is just to bring technical
expertise either I'll provide it or find
Lisa Watt
someone who can," she says. "Ev
erything that goes on in the cultural
center will be determined by tribal
members."
Culture Board outlines plan for new center
The Board of Directors of the Kwelth Tahlkie Culture and Heritage Society gathered
recently in a 1-12 day retreat to talk about their vision for the new cultural center. Two
leaders in the museum field were invited to facilitate the session Don Stastny, princi
pal of Stastny Brun Architects, and Craig Kerger, principal of Formations, an exhibition
design firm. Together, Stastny and Kerger designed The Museum at Warms Springs.
Both firms are located in Portland.
With their help, the Board has made key decisions about the scope of the project. The
following 10 points form the foundation of how the Board will approach this work:
During this initial planning phase, this facility will be known as a "cultural center." The
Board believes that this term best describes their collective vision of serving the Grand
Ronde community with a wide range of cultural education programs. The word "mu
seum" does not fully describe the role of this facility or its Importance in our community.
We believe the cultural center Is the heart of the Tribe.
The cultural center must be located in Grand Ronde, but separate from the casino.
The cultural center building will be at least 25,000 square feet and as large as 40,000
square feet.
The minimum site requirement is 15 acres.
The spaces and exhibits will be designed to have the maximum flexibility possible.
The Tribal Council will make the final decisions on site, level of tribal financial support
and the formal program plan. The Board of Directors will decide the programming
options and make the final recommendation to the Council for adoption.
Community input is one of the Board's highest priorities. Consultation with the tribal
community in Grand Ronde and in other areas where tribal members live will be
conducted throughout this process.
The audience is tribal members and the general public interested in learning more
about the history, art and culture of the tribes of Grand Ronde.
The cultural center must be a self-supporting institution.
With these directives in mind, the Board of Directors will be advertising a request for
proposals to architects, engineers, and exhibition designers for the creation of a master
plan. The entire project will be completed in three to five years. For more information,
please contact Lisa Watt at (503) 879-2076.
Interim judge respects tribes and their families
By Tracy Dugan, Editor
Katharine English has been acting
as Interim Court Judge since July,
and her contract goes through De
cember. She has been working
Tribal Court cases for these few
months, giving the Tribal Council and
the Tribal Attorneys office a chance
to conduct a lengthy search for a per
manent Tribal Court Judge.
Recently retired from the bench,
Judge English presided over Mult
nomah County Circuit Court Juve
nileFamily Court bench for fourteen
years.
"My interest as a lawyer and a judge
has always been children and fami
lies," she said. "In my opinion, there
is nothing more important in society."
In her years as a judge, English has
taken a very strong interest in Indian
Child Welfare (ICW), and even
though working in Multnomah
County, she wanted to be very famil
iar with tribes' rights to hold family
court cases on the reservation.
"In Portland, many juvenile Native
American cases came before me,
from tribes all over. I referred them
to their own tribal court, because I
believe in that system," said English.
Judge English said that the oppor
tunity to work in Grand Ronde Tribal
Court has been a great experience,
and that our court system is one of
the best she's seen.
It's really interesting to be a judge
in Tribal Court," she said. "Prob
ably seventy-five percent of the cases
are Indian Child Welfare cases, but
the court will soon hear its first Gam
ing Commission review case, its first
Employment review case, and its first
Tort Claim."
Tribal Council has seen
the need for court to ex
pand, and has chosen to
open this up to other
things besides ICW, mar
riages, and divorce.
"The Grand Ronde
Tribe will be on equal
footing with the state. The
lawyers here are profes
sional and efficient. The
laws and ordinances for
the Tribe are well-written,
and case histories are well-
documented," she said.
English attended Portland State
University and taught high school for
several years before deciding to pur
sue law. She ultimately received a
jurisprudence degree from Lewis and
Clark Law School in Portland.
"Vhat I like about this Tribe is its
i " r v X
l : V
-'"iUHW,
Interim Judge Katharine English
commitment to its children, and the
professionalism of everyone I see.
Cases are not discussed. That's the
way it should be. Everyone is en
titled to due process of the law. The
same process."