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April 1,
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CHASTA
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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
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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-
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University of Oregon Library
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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
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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.