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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2003)
Smoke Signals JANUARY 1, 2003 Smoke Signals IBEnnagj A Yean? IF JcmpMsIhM2inLfe9 EseasaDnns Tod (S&ts THhsHste JANUARY 1, 2003 Review continued from front page land. Also, for those who would make a case that education is worthwhile, Smoke Signals pub lished a letter of thanks from Valorie Sheker Robertson, when she earned her Bachelor's Degree from George Fox University. As 2002 came to a close, Robertson moved from Member Services to Tribal Council. Throughout the year, Smoke Signals keyed in on many other Tribal scholars from Claudette Parazoo to Leslie Riggs, from Tamie Spitzer to Kevin Simmons all who worked hard and earned the benefits of an education. Count also among that group Tribal members Darci Warren, Jessica Juran and Tim Nelson. Northwest Tribal Youth found another way to extend their education this year they at tended the Leadership Academy held at the ca sino. The Community Fund got some well-deserved kudos both early in the year and again later, as its gifts to the larger community exceeded $17 million. In February, Smoke Signals reported on the Fund's grant which brought artist Rick Bartow's work to the Hallie Ford Museum in , Salem. Smoke Signals also honored the 265-mile walk of Marine Veteran and Tribal member Steve Bobb (the fund-raising for the Veterans' memo rial, that locals will have noticed is now almost completed). February also was the month when Smoke Signals extolled the success of such Tribal in vestments as Gregory Lofts in the Pearl District in Portland. This year, Smoke Signals honored Tribal El ders, the late Ila Dowd (February) and Wilmadene Butler (March). Tribal Elder Hubert Mercier (May) was honored as "one of the last remaining links to the past" by his great grand son, reporter Chris Mercier, and honors also went to Tribal Elder Don Simmons (October), who at 60, may be in the best shape of his life. In March, reporter Peta Tinda covered the - s?A'$,S ?' "v:-, si.'.cV' .i -Jrt- -- c1' y " f ? ? Jfv. Pow-wow Colors Colorful regalia was one of the many highlights of this year's pow-wow season in Grand Ronde. The annual pow-wow was the largest ever, drawing dancers, both amateur and professional, to the event from all over the country. The Veterans' Pow-wow was again one of the main highlights for Vet erans in the area as the three-day event just gets big ger and better each year. Rodeos Can Be Fun Youngsters participated in several events at this year's 7th Annual 2002 Spirit Mountain Stampede on Saturday and Sunday, June 23 and 24 in Grand Ronde the second event held on the new permanent rodeo grounds. Smoke Signals reported on the success of Tribal scholars throughout the year, and in August, the Tribe underscored its commitment to education with the new $6.8 million educa tion campus. Tribal members also pursued edu cational perks on a trip to New York City to visit Tomanowos, the largest meteorite found in the U.S. and the sixth largest in the world. Also in August, a Community Fund gift turned sour when the Sheridan Library balked at accepting the $75,000 gift because it stipu lated that the new library not be named for Gen eral Phil Sheridan, namesake of the town, but nemesis of Indians everywhere. As the fall rolled around, Smoke Signals sup ported the Lummi effort to ferry a gift Healing Pole across the country. It was installed in New York in honor of the victims and to help speed healing for all impacted by the 911 terrorist strike. The paper also paid tribute to this his torical event with Willie Mercier's photo collage and this reporter's collection of views of the event ' V -V-vr 3&,., .-. , ...... J" . f ' J ' V1 .' Vv , " I AM Portland appearance of Spokane Indian Sherman Alexie, the writer and director whose movies include Smoke Signals and The Business of Fancy Dancing. In April, reporter Chris Mercier covered the adventures of Tribal member Dustin Brooks, a foreign exchange student who made waves in New Zealand. The Community Fund also was back in the news in April with a $250,000 grant for the area's first Native American Student and Community Center at Portland State University. Also that month, Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison helped dedicate a Heritage Tree, a white oak, at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. May brought about news of the Tribal Appeals Court, an important addition to the still young Tribal judicial system. Also in May, Governor John Kitzhaber and other state of Oregon offi cials met in Grand Ronde with leaders of all nine Oregon Tribes in a government-to-government summit. And Willie Mercier reported on the ar rival of buffalo in Grand Ronde. In June, Smoke Signals brought Tribal members Matt and Caitlin Zimbrick to the front page for their out standing track and field exploits at the state championships. Also in June, Tinda explored some of the Culture De partments efforts from teaching the stick game to grass dancing. And speak ing of sports, the Grand Ronde Tribe got together in June with Golden Boy Pro ductions to produce "Fight Night" at Portland's Rose Garden. It was brought to you in living color in Editor Brent Merrill's photo shoot. Later in the year Smoke Signals reprised the effort with Fight Night II. In July, Smoke Signals began cover age of the Davidson tragedy on High way 18, and the community-wide effort to raise money for the family. Smoke Signals staff cleaned up again at the Native American Journalists Associa tion awards held this year in San Di ego. Tinda and Merrill took home pres tigious awards for writing and photog raphy. As the summer moved on, Smoke Sig nals covered the Veterans' Pow-wow, the Contest Pow-wow, as well as the All-Indian Rodeo and the latest chapter in the successful Spirit Mountain Stampede, both held this year at the Tribe's permanent rodeo grounds. Also during the summer, the Tribe hosted an important conference describing the benefits of "cool burning." This traditional Native forest practice is returning to use after years of a failed national plan calling for fire suppression. I v fyy ' A. i - V ! ' t, if ' " ft y K a M 'ft- lJ v wm. fL 'til -4 I! i v f I - - - ww Re-Elected Tribal members June Sell-Sherer (left) and Reyn Leno (right), shown here at this year's Veterans' Pow-wow in July, were re-elected to Tribal Council in the year 2002. Sherer serves council as Tribal Council Secretary and Leno serves as Vice Chairman. Tribal member Valorie Sheker-Robertson was also elected to council for the first time during the September elections. One Can Karten - Experienced journalist Ron Karten joined the Smoke Signals staff during 2002. Karten, who lives in Dayton with his family, has fit into the community and pro vides quality, competent copy for the newspaper. J ;y m . r tn )( .. ' . ... 1 r TiT.innh.itiwiimiii.ni " W-.V t n iin-- from many in and among the Tribal commu nity. Also in the fall, the Tribal Council took on a new face specifically Valorie Sheker Robertson's as the Tribe re-elected Reyn Leno and June Sell-Sherer to their positions during Tribal Council elections By October, the Community Fund had passed the $16 million mark, a milestone that meant untold amounts of community growth in terms of helping the hungry, the homeless and so many others lost in the wash of history. Along with building a better tomorrow, the Tribe put a more honest face on history with its contribution to the opening of the Fort Hoskins Interpretive Center in Benton County, and the early work being done to develop something similar a little closer to home about two miles north of the ca sino where Fort Yamhill used to be. A traditional longhouse project and the Veteran's Memorial took shape and moved forward under the watchful eyes (and cam era) of Tinda. The Memorial got a special boost in October when the Tribe brought Na vajo Code Talker Roy Hawthorne to town for a fund raiser. '' " .new" '.'-J- .f-riT , ;' t " '! 6 .! A I I MM I 1 Commitment To Education - The Tribe is com mitted to education and that fact was highlighted in 2002 with the opening of the new Tribal Education Campus a four building complex designed to house the education program's staff and participants. The main building, shown here under construction during last spring's rain, was com pleted at the end of summer just in time for the new school year to begin in the fall. The casino staff celebrated seven years of suc cess this fall, and the Wellness Center celebrated five. In October, Smoke Signals published a spe cial section dedicated to artists both Indian and not that are building the community of tomorrow with their visions and their talents. The Tribe had many visitors during the year, and Smoke Signals was there for singers from the Czech Republic (June), for Oregon's Retired Educators (November), the Reverend Bryan Eaglehelper (November) and a State Depart ment delegation of nurses from Syria (Novem ber). Smoke Signals also was there when some from Grand Ronde left for adventures literally around the world. Marjie Mascarinas, nurse practitio ner for the Tribal Wellness program, left in Oc tober for Turkmanistan, her Peace Corps assign ment. Kevin Simmons, the 2002-03 Mark O. Hatfield Fellow, left in November to serve on Congressman David Wu's staff in Washington, D.C. Native practice faced off against modern in surance requirements this year when the Tribal Council took on the issue of smudging in Tribal buildings. In one of those buildings, the Be havioral Health unit earned its second state cer tification this year. Late in the year, the Tribe celebrated Resto ration with a pow-wow on the new Education gym. The Tribe also celebrated Indian films by supporting the Native American Film Festival held in San Francisco. And if little kids too often get short shrift in this world that seems to belong to adults, Smoke Signals dedicated space to them time and again during the year most recently focusing on their efforts to learn Chinuk in the Tribe's lan guage immersion program. That may be it for 2002, but the tiktik keeps on tiktikking. Proud Memorial This likeness of what the planned Veterans' Memorial in Grand Ronde will look like was on display this year during the annual Veterans' Pow-wow in July. The memorial was designed by Tribal member and Marine Veteran Steve Bobb to honor all Veterans in the Grand Ronde, Willamina and Sheridan communities living or past, men or women from any conflict and whether or not they are Tribal or non-Tribal. i ' MM ; i '' 'l iKj Tough Hitter Tribal youth Nick Kimsey lettered in basketball and football during 2002 for the Willamina Bull dogs. Kimsey played both ways for Willamina during the football season playing fullback on offense and linebacker on defense. rtwuw"-" ill " ' ill'11 "' I it h ir New Flag Poles The Veterans' Memorial recently got new flag poles installed and new guardrails were being installed at press time. The memorial project was highlighted by Steve Bobb's 265-mile journey from Table Rock in southern Oregon to Grand Ronde in February of 2002. The epic walk was part of an overall effort to raise money and awareness of the memorial project.
