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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 1999)
NOVEMBER IS, 1999 7 'May yir Amcestoirs l&esfi: Well Wow' The Tribe begins to claim ancestral remains from museums and universities. By Tracy Dugan A memorial service and feast for the ancestors the Tribe reburied last month was held on October 23 at the tribal cemetery. The feast was held at St. Michael's Church. Grand Ronde spiritual leaders, tribal members, and members of other tribes were invited to attend. Butch LaBonte attended on behalf of Tribal Council. The remains of 180 tribal ances tors were blessed and reburied af ter being returned to the Tribe from the University of Oregon museum and Smithsonian Institution stor age areas. These museums are mandated by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatria tion Act (NAGPRA), passed by Con gress, to return human remains and funerary items to tribes that can prove cultural affiliation to these ancestors. Often times, the museum or institution has docu mentation showing where these ancestors were uncovered. This is the first claim the Grand Ronde Tribe has made to institutions to have its ancestors return home. Tribal member Patricia Allen, who came to the ceremony from Warm Springs and helped organize the ser vice, said, "I am really grateful and proud to be part of this event. We have taken care of our people in a way that is respectful. And it is im portant that we hand down this tra dition to younger generations." Jackie Provost, another tribal mem ber and spiritual representative, said, "I am just so happy today. Every thing happened in a good way for these ancient ones. These are the ones who suffered and sacrificed for all of us." Before the feast, Veterans' Com mittee members Marce Norwest and Dale Langley carried the tribal flag and eagle staff into the St. Michael's gymnasium. The invocation was Cultural Resource Protection had special bronze medals made to show appreciation for those individuals who worked hard to reinter the 180 ancestors. They wish to thank the tribal NAGPRA committee: Margo Merrier, Janell Holler, Bob McElderry, Marce Norwest, Dale Langley, Marilee Norwest-Davis, Lottie Child, Peachie Hamm, Jackie Whisler, and Patricia Allen. Also, spiritual representatives: Patricia Allen, Grand Ronde; Carol Logan, Grand Ronde; Louis LaChance, Grand Ronde; Jackie Provost, Grand Ronde; Margaret Boise, Warm Springs; Gilbert Towner, Siletz; and Kelvin Hecocta, Klamath-Paiute. Other thank-yous go to: Dakota Whitecloud, Justin Phillips, Tony Johnson, Tanyia Johnson, Vernon Kennedy, Geronimo War ren, Lenny Logan, JeffKuust, Mike Karnosh, Shonn Leno, and Lynn Robertson. given by Cheryle Kennedy, and Vernon Kennedy led the drum ming and singing of several songs. June Olson and Lindy Trolan of the Cultural Resource Protection program, acknowledged some of the tribal members and visitors who made the reburial ceremony possible. Olson said that this is a joyous day because some tribal ancestors are finally at rest. But there is hard work ahead to bring more of our people home. Olson said the spiritual leaders and mem bers of the Tribe's NAGPRA com mittee should be commended for their "large and caring voices" and concern for returning these ances tors to Mother Earth the way their families intended. The medals (see inset) were engraved with a mes sage in Chinook jargon: May our ancestors rest well now. "We are a very prosperous tribe. It is great to make money and have successful businesses, but all that means nothing without our cul ture," Olson said. New oiltairail site Continued from page 1 ' flat, one and a half-acre site near the South Yamhill River. There will be a covered area for drummers, a bar becue pit and two sweat lodges (one made of cedar and one made of wil low). There will be two fire pits, but no smoking, no alcohol, no motorized vehicles, and visitors will need a per mit if they intend to camp overnight. "For several years, Grand Ronde tribal members have been building and facilitating cultural sites," said Reibach. "In the past, these sites have been a valuable part of the com munity." According to Reibach, the Tribe maintained a cultural site on the cur rent site of the Elders' housing project. Reibach said the site had a sweat lodge, barbecue pit and cov ered area used by drummers during the 1996 and 1997 Pow-wows. "The area was frequently used for ceremonies such as naming, story telling, purification (sweat lodge) and circle talk," said Reibach. Reibach is working on the project as a tribal member and not in his ca pacity as Tribal Lands Specialist. He said the site is a community-based project that was "overwhelmingly" approved by tribal Elders at a com mittee meeting. Reibach said he re ceived letters of support from the tribal wellness facility and the cul tural department. "I brought this idea to the Tribal Council as a community-based project and they approved it as such," said Reibach. Reibach said he is thankful to the Elders and the Council for approv-, ing the site and supporting the cul tural area. "I'm thankful to the Tribal Council for taking leadership in the area of tribal culture," he said. "It is very important and to me, it is a historical time. I'm thankful to be a part, Reibach said several tribal mem bers will use the site for Native American religious practices and those members had input on the project. "I spoke with many tribal members, inside the community and outside the community, before I designed the site plan," said Reibach. According to Reibach, his uncle, Michael Reibach and Bobby Mercier will be the site's lodge caretakers. "The sweat lodges will be built by people who have a lot of knowledge and have built a lot of lodges before," said Reibach. Elder Claudette Parazoo was very helpful in getting the project started. Reibach said his father Jan Reibach, Sr., Shonn Leno and Duke Kimsey have all spent time helping the project along. Tom Bean did much of the work on the project and deserves much of the credit as well. "He (Bean) has worked on the sweat lodges with my uncle Mike since the very beginning," said Rei bach of Bean. "He (Bean) built the very first modern, public sweat lodge around here in a long time." According to Reibach, the site will be looked after by a management team made up of community mem bers. Reibach said next year, a tribal youth crew will be used to transplant I i " r' .v - V , x . . trees and plants from the reservation to the cultural site. He is proud of the site and thinks all the work he put in to make his idea happen has been more than worth it. He said he sees the site as a place where all people from the Tribe can come and spend time no matter what their religious beliefs are. Reibach is getting calls from other tribes complimenting the Tribe on the new cultural site. "Other sweat leaders from other tribes have congratulated us on our cultural pursuits," said Reibach. "It has been great. It has been well worth all the work." Reibach said he has been heartened Left: BBQ pit will be used for meals prepared at the site. Top: Jan Michael Reibach (right) proudly shows the new perma nent cultural site as Shonn Leno looks on. by the others who have supported the cultural site and was happy to see how much it meant to them as well. He shared a story about how Parazoo reacted when he told her Council had approved the site. "She put her hands up in the air and she thanked Creator," said Rei bach of the moment. "That's when it hit me that this is really important to a lot of people." Tribal Council approved the project in September and site preparation began a short time later.
