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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2001)
Smoke Signals Tribal, State Leaders Gather to Honor Harrison 8 OCTOBER 1, 2001 Continued from front page nized her as a leader not only for the Tribe, but for Tribe's across the nation. Atiyeh joked that he was envious of Harrison's retirement party. "I must say I'm a little envious," said Atiyeh. "When I left office, all I got was a ride home. "Some of you know that it wasn't too long ago, this (casino) was not here, it wasn't too long ago that the hotel was not here," said Atiyeh. "It wasn't too long ago the administra tion building was not here. They all sprang forth upon Tribal recog nition. We know what Kathryn and the Confederated Tribes have given to Oregon. The thing that impresses me so much is the cred ibility, the respectability and the admiration of the Confederated Tribes. I think that is something that is really wonderful." Former United States Attorney Kris Olson, who is writing a biog raphy about Harrison's life, de scribed what she has learned about Harrison. "Many of us know the grit of Kath ryn Harrison, the woman," said Olson. "This is a woman who was an orphan at the age of 10. She was placed in a foster home; she left an Indian boarding school into an early marriage during World War II. She was left alone to raise 10 children and at times found herself homeless going around the country as a migrant worker literally down to her last pair of shoes, which were beach rubber thongs fastened to gether with a safety pin." Olson said she was proud of Har rison for what she has overcome. The youth from the Before & Af ter Care program sang songs in Chinook with the help of the Tribe's Language Specialist Tony Johnson. A video presentation was shown in honor of Harrison with inter views from people that knew her best for her work when she was Tribal Chair. Numerous gifts were given to Harrison throughout the night. Harrison said she was very grate ful for the opportunity to lead the Tribe. "I was truly surprised about every- I (I -J i f( New Blanket Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison, who recently stepped down after nearly 20 years of service to the Tribe, was honored by the Grand Ronde Tribal Council with a Tribal logo Pendleton blanket at an invitation-only dinner on Thursday, Septem ber 20 at the Tribe's Spirit Mountain Casino. thing," said Harrison. "All I did was work when I was here. I'm really honored to have helped the Tribe." Shaffer said she is proud of Har rison. "Kathryn, you have given all of us the greatest gift, the gift of your energy, the gift of your wisdom, the gift of your calm patience," said Shaffer at the dinner. "And how fortunate the Grand Ronde people are to have had Kathryn Harrison as their leader." New Tribal Chair Cheryle Kennedy and current members of the council presented Harrison with a Tribal Pendleton logo blanket and a basket made by Tribal member Connie Graves. "It's an honor to be here to cel ebrate the accomplishments of one of our own," said Kennedy. "She has been a fearless leader for us. On a personal level, Kathryn has been someone who has shown me many, many things." . Council member June Sell-Sherer made a special announcement. iiiTfTTTlr. ArtTi On. ,mrn. .iTniStfATinitriTi tlltt., ysr-mr... n, isr. aazi9 'MvWfftw ifatHii&ito vmMmn tUmtfm & itntimnoL' i&niam ilta$-nm 'liana 'iimstf' blessed" on her evening. "I'm proud of my family, I'm proud of my people," said Harrison. "I feel like you have to lose something to appreciate what you had." Harrison closed out by saying she was grateful. . Thank you to everyone, especially to Justin (Martin) and Nichoel (Holmes) for this," said Harrison. "Thank you to the council, I know they will carry on well. Thank you." In attendance from Indian Coun try were members of the Grand Ronde Tribal Council; Dee Pigsley, Chair of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz; Ed Metcalf, Chair of the Co quille Tribe; Ron Brainard, Chair of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua & Suislaw; Nelson Wallulatum, Wasco Chief of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Kathryn Brigham, Board of Trustees of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla. ' " " Atiyeh, Olson and Brown high lighted an A-list of movers and shak ers in Oregon that included six sena tors, 14 former or current state rep resentatives, college presidents, CEOs and a number of corporate sponsors. Jack McGowan, Executive Direc tor of Stop Oregon Litter & Van dalism (SOLV), said he was also very proud of Harrison. "This woman accomplished so much," said McGowan. "By humil ity, people were drawn to, wanted to follow and believed in her. She is a true leader." D l Ml Host Senator Kate Brown acted as the master of ceremonies at Harrison's honor dinner. "The Tribe made a contribution in Kathryn's honor so that her name will be inscribed on the wall of honor at the National Museum of the American Indians at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.," said Sell-Sherer. Harrison said she couldn't believe how many people showed up to honor her. "I appreciate them all," said Har rison. "I just kept asking myself Svhy me' the whole night." Harrison said she "truly felt r-0 f J a J '.A I. . - Pi' u V v Family Ties - Harrison gathered with family, friends and local leaders - both Tribal and statewide - to celebrate a long and eventful career in Tribal leadership. Aristocrat Gaming; Mikohn Gaming; Sodak Gaming; Stoel Rives, LLP; Will iams Gaming; Atronic Gaming; Dave Barrows and Associates; Borders, Perrin & Norrander; Game Cash; Northwest Strategies; Boyd Coffee Company; Edwards Associates, Inc.; Grove-Quirk Insight; Sunshine Dairy; The Ovation Group; Wells Fargo Bank and the staff at Spirit Mountain Casino. Senator Gene Derfler, Senator Kate Brown, Senator Peter Courtney, Sena tor Ted Ferrioli, Senator Rick Metzger, Senator Cliff Trow, Representative Karen Minnis, Representative Dan Gardner, Representative Vic Backlund, Representative Alan Brown, Represen tative Dan Doyle, Representative Al King, Representative Jeff Knopf, Rep resentative Steve March, Representa tive Jeff Merkley, Representative Donna Nelson, Representative Mary Nolan, Representative Carolyn Tomei, Repre sentative Jackie Winters, former Rep resentative Terry Thompson, Western Oregon University President Betty Youngblood and the Director of the Commission on Indian Services Karen Quigley;
