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-
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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.
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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
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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;