Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2000)
E 78 .06 M S66 Tf April 1, 000 I V I CHASTA UMPQUA MOLALLA KALAPUYA ROGUE RIVER UMru A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe April 1, 2000 Adults and youth learning to speak Chinook Jargon ECU By Brent Merrill The tribal languages of our Elders was passed down to them from their Elders. As those Elders entered into a new world, a place where the im portance of ancient languages was being lost, they looked for young people to pass on the old words to. As many of our Grand Ronde tribal Elders have passed away, they ; have taken much of the Tribe's an cient trade language, Chinook Jar gon, with them. Historically, tribes in the North west were extremely diverse in lan guages. Many tribes were brought to Grand Ronde beginning more than 150 years ago. Each tribe had its own languages which were even tually lost, forgotten or voluntarily no longer spoken. A need for a common language led to the use of Chinook-wawa or Jar gon. Non-Indians also used the lan guage to communicate with mem bers of the tribes. Chinook-wawa is a blend of sev eral tribal languages. Jargon con sists of a series of unmistakable and unique pronunciations of dialect and throaty, sharp and repetitive sounds. continued on page 4 S V. - -;;rr o i , j r 1 - J5AKyt-5 .rVv . -f ! ,13 9 ii. li sJ K It II lililii i . Chinook Jargon class, sponsored by the University of Oregon, are once again being taught by the Tribe's Language Specialist Tony Johnson. Classes are being held in the Tribe's newly remodeled Community Cen ter. At least 20 adults are attending the current classes. Retiring GRTHA members honored at a special dinner By Brent Merrill Retiring Grand Ronde Housing Authority Board members Robert Watson and David Foster were hon ored at a special dinner on Tuesday, March 21. The dinner was hosted by the Housing Authority and honored Watson and Foster for their years of service and valuable contributions to the board. Housing Director Linda Layden said the current housing projects so vital to tribal members, especially the Elders, would not have been possible if not for the contributions of Watson and Foster. She said both had served as mentors to her and that she relied on each for advice and counsel. Layden said Watson and Foster were tireless in their efforts to assist the Tribe's housing endeavors. According to Layden, Foster main tained the Tribe's vision of recreat ing the homelands throughout the time he served on the board. Layden said despite the fact that Foster is not a member of the Tribe, he didn't let that get in the way of sustaining the Tribe's housing vision and best interests. Foster, who is the manager of the community resources section of the Oregon Housing and Community Services Division, has served on the Housing Authority since its incep tion in 1996. "He has been invaluable to us be cause of his expertise in planning areas," said Layden. "He has a real strong commitment to housing, not only in the State of Oregon, but to tribal housing as well. This was ap parent by his regular attendance to over 50 meetings in the last four years." Layden said Watson had been es sential to the establishment of the Housing Authority and that he also attended over 50 meetings since the board's beginning. "Bob has just been a real key per son in the whole shaping of the Hous- K University of Oregon Library Received on: M-es-SOM Smoke signals ing Authority because he is a strong leader," said Layden. "He has a good understanding of the Tribe and the tribal needs which was essential in developing the planning that we were doing. He was always very support ive of the staff and gave us confidence -to know we were on the right track especially when we had really diffi cult decisions that we were making. He was always available to us and always gave us wise counsel." a. Tribal Housing Authority members Bob Watson (left) and David Foster were recently honored by the Tribe for their years of service to the Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Authority. Photo by Brent Merrill Foster said the Housing Author ity was the most committed and dedi cated board that he had ever been associated with. Watson, who recently accepted an interim position as Spirit Mountain Casino's top executive, said he is con fident the Tribe's vision of housing is in good hands and thanked Fos ter and the other board members and staff for their hard work and willingness to learn. . fifjjl 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 I 99 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON EUGENE" OR 97403-12O5 0000000000 id mt m mmmmi- Tuesday, April 4 6:30 p.m. Community Center We would like all the veterans who can, to plan on attending this meeting. For questions please call Mike Larsen at (503) 879-2407 or 1-800-422-0232.
