Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current, March 15, 2000, Image 6

Smoke signals., March 15, 2000, Page 6, Image 6

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Newspaper Page TextSmoke Signals TraiD off T mm 6 Continued from front page Kimsey said he feels the honoring of those who walked the trail has been a long time coming. He said he would like to see the recognition be come an annual event. "We have been wanting to do it for years, even during restoration the 12-plus years we worked on restora tion," said Kimsey. "We either didn't have the time or the resources to do it. Now, I feel the circle is somewhat complete and I would like to see a yearly event. I don't think it should be a pow-wow just a tribal gath " ering." Kimsey said the inclusion of the general community is a key element in the future of the recognition cer emony. "It (recognition of the suffering of our ancestors on the journey) is as important as the restoration of the Tribe itself," said Kimsey. "It should be a gathering of tribal people and community people a way to bring them back together. That (our sense of community) is the only culture we have left, because most of it was left at Table Rock. Every Tribe has a culture and some are hidden and some are practically lost. We're among the latter. We haven't had a chance to practice our culture." Kimsey said the most important thing for the young people to remem ber is not to forget what happened to their ancestors. "I think they should remember why it was brought about," said Kimsey. "Their teachers have done a good job explaining to them what this is all about. They need to know the suf fering their ancestors went through. They were brought here 144 years ago against their will. They had to go. I think they should really re member what it was for and who it is dedicated to and who we were try ing to remember." Holmes agrees with Kimsey on the importance of remembering what happened. Both like the idea of a plaque or statue being placed at the Tribe's cemetery to honor the survi vors of the walk. Although Holmes remains deeply bitter and resentful about what he sees as an extreme and unforgivable injustice against the people of the Rogue, Chasta and Umpqua, he greeted the children upon their ar rival at the Governance Center with ..v Cxi I 1 r At V Jib. A A. 1- & I W" J -s V ' i Ws j, i - ft W. l j li A r -N ill j m in 1 . r ' Kr .. "-iV - II II- J V I " I II r a smile and a warm message about honor. "I think this is a historic day," said Holmes. "An important day. In 144 years I wonder what our descen dants will think of this. I think they will be proud of us." Holmes spoke to the children in a soft voice and tried to keep the mood light and celebratory. "I didn't harp on it too much but the suffering those folks endured on that long trek," said Holmes. "I said that I was deeply bitter and com pletely unforgiving. The whole thing is what would it have hurt if they (the Indian agent and his troops) had waited three more months? There would have been springtime weather and there would have been forage for the livestock and the whole trip wouldn't have been suffering it would have been grueling all right, but there wouldn't have been near the suffering. It was just a matter of 90 days. If you look back at the basics of it you can't farm in the winter anyway. They already had the land and every thing. I just can't forgive them for not waiting until summer. I'm just saying a little good sense would have helped a lot. V1 .... - a. a'HMiw 1 Yi A1- 'E a; Z j c P in sz a J MI . . ' o 1 Umbrellas, raincoats and hats kept participants dry as a steady rain came down during the walk. An estimated 350 people took part in the 1st annual Trail of Tears walk. Photo by Kim Mueller "The underlying thing is maybe they wanted more of them to die but only eight of them did," said Holmes. "Maybe they figured they would lose more." Tribal member Jackie Whisler, who helped coordinate the event along with Michaelle Kimsey, said she could only imagine what the real walk must have been like. "One of the things that I noticed in just that little, tiny space that we walked was how cold I got and I can't imagine what our ancestors went through," said Whisler. "So, that in itself was a tiny bit of per spective that I probably would have never had if I hadn't walked from the school up here." Whisler said she thinks the com memorative walk was good for the children who participated from an educational standpoint. "I think the walk was really impor tant for the kids and the adults be cause I don't think there is many people that even knew that it hap pened," said Whisler. "They knew we TOP: Tribal Elder Merle Holmes talks to the children after the com memorative walk was completed. MIDDLE: Everyone who walked was presented with a Sacagawea one dollar coin. BOTTOM: Two of the event's co ordinators, Michaelle Kimsey and Jackie Whisler. were driven up here, but I don't think they knew the specifics the dates and how long it took and how many we lost and how many were born. I think this is kind of restoring some history as far as the kids are con cerned. They get to learn. And, I can't stress enough how important it was to include the whole community be cause a lot of the Tribe's restoration was based on community support and the Tribe's efforts still are supported by the community." Whisler said the recognition of the past and the opportunity to bring awareness to the surrounding com munity was the important part of the event. Whisler would like to see the tradi tion of honoring the people who sur vived the journey passed on through families. "I love that idea," said Whisler. "I think if we do this and if we keep doing it, eventually those children's children will do the same thing and the history won't go away and we won't lose that part of it." .