Smoke Signals
6 JULY 15, 2001
Sisters Travel to San Diego to Compete
in Marathon, Survive to Finish
M4 " ' " ' . ! 1
Inspired by Olympic legend Billy Mills and supported by family
at home, Tribal members compete in ultimate athletic event.
) .t.y
c
e
ID
5
I
a.
) , a .-
s
i 4 4 P
W Y ' Iff
Inspired Sisters Connie Lopez (Mercier) and
Carmen Brown (Mercier) recently participated in the "Rock
and Roll Marathon" in San Diego, California. Connie said
she was inspired by Olympic legend Billy Mills. Carmen,
who competed in her first marathon, said she was in
spired by Connie. Here, they check the race results.
By Willie Mercier
Two Tribal members recently competed in an event
most of us will never even think of doing.
On June 3, Connie Lopez, who lives in Sells, Ari
zona, and her sister Carmen Brown, who lives in
Sheridan, recently participated in the "Rock and Roll
Marathon" in San Diego, California. Lopez and
Brown are the daughters of Darrel and (the late)
Ruth Mercier of Grand Ronde.
This was the fourth marathon for Lopez, but the
first for Brown. Lopez who has been running long
distance for three years and tries to run anywhere
from four to six miles everyday.
"I went to see Billy Mills talk and he really inspired me, I owe a lot to him," said Lopez of her
inspiration to pursue distance running.
Billy Mills, a Native American from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, was
the first American to win a gold medal in a 10,000-meter Olympic race. Mills won the gold medal
at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. Mills set an Olympic record of 28 minutes and 24.4 seconds
and shocked the world.
Lopez finished the marathon, a distance of 26 miles, in 5 hours and 45 minutes with Brown not
far behind at 6 hours and 11 minutes. ,
"I'm very proud of her," said Lopez of her sister. Carmen's first-ever long distance running com
petition. "With this being her first marathon, she did very well."
"Brown has only been running long distances for a short amount of time. She asked Connie,
"who ironically is the Billy Mills-type inspiration of her potential low-key running future, to go
with her in her first marathon.
"As far as future running, I see myself entering half marathons once in a while, but I don't
know," said Brown of her running career. "Ill encourage Connie and then just know that it was
a great thing that we did."
rv-Yjr j ft
I - l A
Sisters Connie and Carmen
4
4 1
ft
TO &
i. J :
Oregon Garden's
grand opening
celebration
is a showcase
for beauty.
v.. r. i r
Tt j n i'
r i . .-w
Traditional Blessing Spiritual Leader F. Travis Benoist, of the Cheyenne
River Sioux Tribe, performed a traditional blessing and a song with his wife Phyllis and
daughter Cheryl. Benoist was part of the garden's weeklong grand opening celebration.
mi
By Willie Mercier
eauty is all around us just take a look.
One of the best places to look for beauty
lis in Silverton (east of Salem) at the Or
egon Gardens.
It was a long awaited time as the Oregon Gar
dens celebrated its Grand Opening in style from
June 29 through July 3. "Come Watch us Grow
was the theme for the opening.
Nearly 50,000 people (48,940) visited the gar
dens during the weeklong event.
Spiritual leader F. Travis Benoist, of the Chey
enne River Sioux Tribe, opened the event with a
blessing and a traditional song. His wife, Phyllis,
and his daughter Cheryl joined Benoist in the
blessing ceremony.
Benoist said he took time to drive through the
park and to ride on one of the carts provided to
people touring the facilities.
"I have seen a lot of different people really, re-
T'r 1 - H zwy zsaiKtv i
mi I
Grand Oak -
. ' 1 theOreoon lili v ; - v j.-'i.
r A Silverton is this irC" - (a 3-"'r
1 magnitontWhite " H , U
Oak tree that is va; ' -s ;
recognized as the . t , v f St'
oldest living Oak L " " tT
tree in Oregon. Sj- ' .. rT f
ally enjoying themselves," said Benoist.
The Oregon Gardens is a showcase for
three water gardens, an Oak grove that
contains the oldest living Oak tree in the
state, the Silverton Market Garden and a
garden patch planted by young people from
Silverton High School.
The 65 acres of the garden's phase one
took just over three years and $20 million
to complete. Over 7,000 individuals,
groups and organizations contributed to
the garden project, including the Confed
erated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Commu
nity of Oregon through the Tribe's Spirit Moun
tain Community Fund.
Water and electricity was brought to the project
by over 1 1 miles of PVC piping.
When completed, the gardens will encompass
more than 240 acres.
S3