r
Lr. coll.
E
78
Los
S66
E
Q.
March 15,
1HASTA
vIPQUA
)LALLA
APUYA
fJIVER
MOCC
A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe
March 15, 2000
6 L
r" i '
- ..Mi,
'MM
.v .vixyyv ....
lv . i m ! alii-,.,- ; - I
J
THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES
OF THE GRAND RONDE
COMMUNITY OF OREGON
t:.
J;L.
i -
university of Orennn I i hvavu
(Received on: 03-14-2O00
jSaoke signals
I
Commojinin com memoir
mow,
and some are hidden and
some are practically lost
We're among the latter.
We haven't had a chance
to practice our culture.
Marvin Kimsey
: : 7
i
By Brent Merrill
In an effort to honor the past and
recognize the importance of sharing
the Oregon Trail of Tears story with
, future generations, the people of the
Grand Ronde Tribe relived an im
portant piece of tribal history on Fri
day, Feb. 25.
In 1856, three of the Grand Ronde
Tribes' main bands were forced to
walk from their temporary reserva
tion in Southern Oregon to the then
69,000 acre Grand Ronde Indian
Reservation. The journey from the
Table Rock Reservation to the Grand
Ronde Reservation covered 263
rough, muddy miles and took 33
days beginning in late February
and continuing through most of
March.
According to the journal of the In
dian agent in charge of moving the
Indians to Grand Ronde, it rained
throughout the trip up, the Apple
gate Trail and was very cold at night.
Eight people died on the journey
and eight babies were born. A total
of 325 members of the Rogue,
Chasta and Umpqua Tribes made
the walk after their land was claimed
by settlers through the country's Do
nation Land Claim Act of 1850.
The Tribe's first annual Trail of
Tears Commemorative Walk, featur
ing the participation of local young
people from Grand Ronde Elemen
tary School, began at the school and
proceeded up Grand Ronde Road to
the Tribe's Governance Center.
A colorful array of umbrellas and
raincoats stretched out as young
people, Elders, Tribal Council mem
bers and community members
walked in the rain. The Veterans'
Color Guard led the way and par
ents and teachers kept the children
in line.
They walked past the Tribal Cem
etery, where many descendants of
those who made the walk are buried.
Tribal Elders Merle Holmes and
Marvin Kimsey greeted the children
as they arrived at the Governance
Center. Both spoke about the walk
and why it was important for people
to remember the sacrifices of those
who made the journey.
continued on page 6
Social Services: Changing more than just its name
Department has new emphasis on family well-being and skill development.
By Brent Merrill
The Tribe's Community Resources
program has recently made some
changes. The program will now be
known as the Social Services depart
ment. Department Director Anthony
Gagliardo said the name change re
flects a new emphasis on helping
tribal members get plugged into so
cial service programs aimed at im
proving their lives and the lives of
their families.
Gagliardo said the department is
also undergoing some internal re
structuring of staff and their respon
sibilities. Although emergency services and
benevolence fund checks are still
available to tribal members in cer
tain situations, Gagliardo said the
program will renew its emphasis on
finding workable social service pro
grams for tribal members.
"I hope the name change will re
flect what we are actually doing
here," said Gagliardo. "Emergency
services and benevolence is a very
small part of our budget. Most of
our budget and our grants are aimed
at services. What we've done now
is make the services the emphasis
rather than the money. Money is
still available under certain situa
tions like evictions or utility turn off
notices anything that is going to
effect the basic need."
Gagliardo described basic need as
housing, food and warmth. Eviction
notices must now be official docu
ments and department personnel
must communicate with the prop
erty owner or manager to make a
determination in each tribal
member's case.
The department will continue to
work with their Indian Child Wel
fare Program (ICWP) cases, their
foster care clients and their domes
tic violence program clients just like
before.
"The ICWP sees that the tribal
member children are being treated
okay in their homes," explained
Gagliardo. "We don't go out polic
ing that, but we take reports just like
the state would. We do investigate
allegations. We also oversee what
the state is doing with the tribal
member children. So, they can't just
do what they want without first
checking with us. There is a good
partnership right now between the
state and the Tribe."
continued on page 4
fjjijl
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Community of Oregon
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
Address Service Requested
PRESORTED
FIRST-CLASS MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
SALEM, OR
PERMIT NO. 178
Serials DePt - Kni9ht Library
1299 UNIVERSITY OF 0REG0H
EUGENE OR 97403-1205