4 MARCH 15, 2003
Smoke Signals
Tribe's Culture Department Connects Members With Their Heritage, Past
Preserving for and sharing with future generations is the goal.
By PetaTinda
The Grand Ronde Tribes' Cultural Resources De
partment does many things from returning sa
cred objects from museums, to protection of cultural
sites to educating the membership about their fam
ily and Tribal history. But the most important thing
the program does, said Tribal member and Program
Manager June Olson, is to provide a direct connec
tion for Tribal members to their Native heritage.
"We do this in a variety of ways," explained Olson.
"Our focus has been collecting and returning every
thing we know was of value - arti
facts, photos, documents, knowl
edge of the people and Elders.
These have all been focal points of
our attention."
When the Tribe's Culture De
partment was formed in 1995, its
primary goal was to facilitate the
return of artifacts and objects from
universities, museums and archi
val institutions.
At the height of the 19th century,
because of international preoccupa
tion with race and racial classifi
cation, museums around the world
gathered enormous collections of
Native artifacts and information.
Through the department's work at
reclamation, many significant lo
cal artifacts and documents have
been returned, such as Tribal heir
looms and tape recordings of Tribal
ancestors, which are vital to pre
serving the oral tradition.
"It's important for us to have that
information in our possession," said
Olson.
Now that they have collected and
returned a lot of that material, the
goal is to provide access to Tribal
members so they can share that
knowledge, either to educate, or to
teach it to their children.
An ambitious project is in the
works to scan and catalog all of the
department's material and put it on
the Internet, no small task considering the thousands
of documents and artifacts in the department's care.
"We want to create a web-link so that anyone with
access to a computer can access us, either in the
United States or around the world," she said.
The site is expected to be up and running in as
little as 12 months.
Another of the department's responsibilities is to
establish a dialogue with local communities.
"We do a lot of public awareness for state and pub
lic communities and we also extend this to the mem
bership," said Olson. The department has been do
ing more exhibits, like the one showcasing Grand
Ronde basketry at the Mission Mill Museum in Sa
lem and there are also plans to put up an interpre
tive display at Spirit Mountain Casino.
Further plans include recreating a turn of the cen
tury village site at Fort Yamhill in Grand Ronde.
The department hopes to enlist the aid of Tribal
members and Elders with the project.
Protection, both of cultural objects and sites, is
always high on the list of the department's priori
ties.
"We have a collection of many different things,
artifacts, site information, tapes of old power songs,"
said Olson. "We also have a lot of sacred objects
that we have retrieved over time."
Traditionally, Olson said, those songs and prayers
were owned by the family and passed on to the de
scendants. Now many of those same songs are in
the program's care. The question, Olson said, is
who owns those songs?
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The Grand Ronde Tribal Cultural Resources Department is charged with the respon
sibility of preserving, protecting, and teaching the Tribes' Native heritage. Since
1995, the department has worked to gather and disseminate ancestral knowledge to
Tribal members. A display of traditional baskets at the Mission Mill in Salem is part
of the department's effort to increase understanding of Native Americans. The small
basket at right is a very old example of traditional basketry, while the one next to it,
with its vase-like shape, represents the influence of settlers.
"Do we have the right to share that material?"
she said. "Eventually we need those songs to pass
on as part of our revitalization effort. That said, the
protocols surrounding sacred objects need to be hon
ored." There are strict rules in place when it comes to
the handling of sacred objects or ancestors' remains.
This requires the cultural specialists to be aware of
the spiritual significance of the objects or songs they
work with, many of which are sacred. Many taboos
accompany sacred objects. For instance, some power
songs can only be sung in the winter. With many
objects it is considered disrespectful to photograph
them or even have them out in the wrong setting. -Places
must be properly purified before certain ob
jects are to be used.
Many Tribes believe that the mishandling or dis
respect of such objects can bring sickness or misfor
tune to a person or their family. The Cultural De
partment takes the utmost care to treat all objects
with the proper respect and appropriate consideration.
The protection of culturally significant sites is
another of the department's priorities. There are
literally thousands of sites under the department's
protection, all of which need to be mapped, docu
mented and cataloged, as well as protected from con
struction projects and looting. The location of cul
tural sites is not made public to lessen the risk of
looting. Looting of sites occurs to such an extent
that laws have been enacted to curb it.
"A lot of folks don't realize it, but it is against the
law, on public or private land, to dig
for artifacts," said Olson. "Such
things are better left where their
ancestor dropped it. Then the place
and the artifact become that much
more significant."
If there is a situation like a con
struction project, where the destruc
tion of the site is unavoidable, then
the department agrees to let quali
fied archaeologists excavate the site
under the scrutiny of trained Tribal
site monitors, who make sure that
if and when remains or burial items
are found, that they are reburied in
a good way, at an appropriate place.
"In all other situations," said
Olson. "Our policy is to leave things
where the ancestor left them."
Another element in the Cultural
Department's mission is the educa
tion of Tribal members about who
their ancestors were and the things
they did. Prior to the department,
Tribal members had no way of ac
cessing their history and no place to
go for that information. The termi
nation of the Tribe in 1954 left Tribal
members without the traditional vil
lage and Elder based way of learn
ing. "Now," said Olson, "you have a lot
of Tribal members interested not
only in acquiring information, but
involved."
Many more people are participating in cultural
activities coordinated in part by the department
like Chinuk class and basketry and moccasin classes.
"This is great for us because our efforts at revital
ization are multiplied, as are our efforts to work to
wards common goals," she said.
The final component in a successful Cultural De
partment, said Olson, is balance.
"We have to be very careful weighing out tradi
tional values and ways with the practicality of what's
happening today," she said. "Much of it is highly
sensitive and the results affect not only our Tribe,
but all other Oregon Tribes as well. We need to be
sure we do the right thing."
The success of the department's efforts, said Olson,
will be measured in the Tribes' children. If they have
a strong sense of identity and a good understanding
of Tribal history and culture, then the department
will have succeeded.
"Our purpose is to perpetuate things down to fu
ture generations. We are all going to glean some
knowledge along the way, but ultimately it's what
we pass on. I know the ancestors wanted that, too."
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(Record of (hange: Western Oregon Easketry
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in part
nership with the Mission Mill Museum are hosting
an exhibit of baskets from both collections entitled,
AA Record of Change: Western Oregon Basketry.
Basketry has forever been an integral component
of Native life.
Located in the gallery at the Mission Mill Museum
in Salem, AA Record of Change: Western Oregon
Basketry runs from February 7th to April 1 7' Ad
mission is FREE to Grand Ronde Tribal members.
Grand Ronde weavers Connie Graves and Sam
Henny will be teaching weekend workshops.
Connie Graves will teach ANative American Bas
kets: Juncus Basket Basics on Saturday, April 5
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ($45 for Members; $50 for Non
members). Sam Henny will teach ASongs of the Basket
Weaving with Hemp and Yarn on Saturday, April 12
from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ($65 for Members; $70 for
Non-Members) and ASongs of the Basket: Intermediate
on Saturday, April 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ($65
for Members; $70 for Non-Members). For more informa
tion, please visit www.missionmill.org or contact Tracy
Stroud at tracysmissionmill.org or call -503-585-7012.
MISSION MILL MUSEUM
131 3 Mill Street SE Salem, Oregon
503-585-7012 www.missionmill.org
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