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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1999)
2 Smoke Signals EaiD-fcoifii mnioir siappir from Mb By Oscar Johnson A regional 300 member-group coa lition including the city of Eugene, Washington State University and several business, labor and human rights organizations hopes to garner support in Indian Country against minority discrimination. The Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment made a plea at a February 8 Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) confer ence in Portland for more tribes to come on board. ATNI has been a founding mem ber of the Coalition since it began in 1987 to counter the growth of white supremacists-campaigns in the Northwest. But recently appointed ATNI Representative to the Coali tion, Leah Slaney, said ATNI officials see a need to be more involved with the Coalition to address a subtler yet more pervasive anti-Indian senti ment in the, Northwest. "I think it began in 1994 with the republican revolution," she said. Slaney cited examples ranging from lobbyists' attacks on tribal rights to control fee lands and giv ing priority to their own members when hiring, to Congressional bills proposing to abolish federally recog nized tribal status altogether. Despite this onslaught, she said that of all the Northwestern states, including, Oregon, Washington, Idaho arid Montana, only one tribe has become a Coalition member. Coalition Associate Director, Eric Ward, said the group's major areas of concern in Indian Country are bias crimes against Native Americans. According to a February issued Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) re port, each year 124 out of every 1,000 Indians are likely to suffer a violent crime nearly double the national rate. In stark contrast to the other four racial groups sur veyed, more than 70 percent of as saults against Indians were report edly committed by non-Indians (60 percent by whites). He also expressed concern about white supremacy groups looking to take advantage of Native sover eignty by taking up residence on or near remote tribal lands. The Seattle-based coalition direc tor told the ATNI General Assembly that the Coalition was eager to strengthen ties with tribes and learn more about tribal sovereignty issues. Echoing the concerns of Coalition for Human Dignity Research Direc tor, Robert Crawford, Ward stressed that a broad coalition of threatened minority groups is needed to stem the growing tide of mainstream bigotry. He said Sen. Slade Gorton's I I i I : .: ; f From left: NW Coalition against Malicious Harassment (NWC) Associ ate Director, Eric Ward, Coalition for Human Dignity Research Direc tor, Robert Crawford, and ATNI Representative to NWC, Leah Slaney, urge tribal leaders to join a diverse coalition against growing main stream anti-minority sentiments. (R-WA) crusade against Native sov ereignty and a rise in, state-based 'land owner rights" groups residing on or near reservations are signs of a Apolitical shift." "Bigotry has left the dinner table to run for office and is becoming more mainstream," he warned. Ernie Enscar, ATNI 1st Vice Presi: dent and previous founding board member of the Coalition, punctuated the presentation by urging tribal rep resentatives to become active mem bers of the organization. Ceinraefasirv: Kespecfi ffoir past Continued from front page priate behavior continues. Leno isn't the only one who feels strongly about respecting the cem etery and tribal members who have been laid to rest there. Val Grout, who serves on Tribal Council and lives in Grand Mead ows, said that she is upset about cars driving through the cemetery. "I grew up in Grand Ronde. My parents taught me that the cem etery is not a play place. ! We weren't allowed to yell or be loud. I know there aren't a lot of places in Grand Ronde where kids can go to have fun with their friends. But the cemetery isn't the place." For tribal members like Leno and Grout, their personal feelings about ' the cemetery are evident. But they say all tribal members have a stake in preserving the quality of the cem etery because of its historical signifi cance. - ;f; -; "Some markers at the cemetery were placed for the Tribe's people more than 100 years ago," said June , Olson, of the Cultural Resource Pro tection program. "Those are just the . 6 I know there aren't a lot of places in Grand Ronde where kids can go to have fun with their friends. But the cemetery isn't the place. 99 Val Grout Tribal Council member markers. Our people were there long before families started marking their 1 Olson also said that veterans from many wars and battles are buried there, including the famous Indian Cayuse War, World War I, World War II, and Korea. "Disrespecting any cemetery is wrong," said Olson. "But at Grand Ronde, our cemetery holds many tribal people who were not only re vered and respected, but in many - cases helped hold together the fabric of our tribe during times in history when our tribe is being torn apart." Olson said the oldest known -marker, which reads "Magdeline Menard 1879-1883" is located near Menard's grave. She was the baby, daughter of Pierre Menard and i Elizabeth ShanarettatMenard. Other ancestors at the Cemetery in clude: Chief Solomon Riggs, Chief Peter Sulkey, Chief Sam of Rogue River, Martha J. Sands, Mary Nor west, and Winchester Joe. Val Grout believes teaching chil dren tribal history and honoring those who have passed away is an important step in keeping the cem etery a place where everyone can visit to pay their respects, - "I can remember as a girl seeing wild strawberries grow on the grasses around the cemetery grounds," she said. "And my par ents told us kids we were not to pick those strawberries. We were to leave things as we found them, Now, look ing back, it seems like kind of a spe cial thing; that wild strawberries . grew at the cemetery", Leno i says the reason why he knows the cemetery so well is be cause of the walks he takes around the grounds. ' "Sometimes when I pass by the grave of an old friend or family mem ber, T like to" reminisce with them about the old days," he said, "I re " member some of their stories."-, i -r:
