JULY 1, 2004
-re.
A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe
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Local Color Grand Ronde Tribal member Perri McDaniel holds her Eagle fan high as she makes her way through downtown Portland as part of the Portland Rose
Festival's Grand Floral Parade, held on Saturday, June 12. McDaniel's elaborate regalia and horse trappings won her second place in the Best Individual Native or
Costume category. Story and more photos on page 8.
S Charlene Hoover
Bob Haller
S Chris Mercier
Wesley West
S Linda Olson
Betty Bly
S Elaine LaBonte
S Mark Mercier
f Angie Blackwell
f Diana George
Dan Provost
Ed Larsen
Val Grout
Nominations for Tribal Council were held at special General Council
meeting held Sunday, June 27 at the Community Center in Grand
Ronde.
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Community of Oregon
961 5 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
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EUGENE OR 37403-1205
Mom Of Deceased Veteran
Seeks Right To Sue
Chris Mercier's son died in the crash of the military's
experimental "Osprey" aircraft.
By Ron Karten
If you want to test an experimen
tal aircraft, like the controversial
Osprey hybrid he
licopter system,
and you want to
know how it will
do with a full
complement of sol
diers on board,
you might con
sider starting out
with sandbags
representing the
weight of the sol
diers, instead of
putting 19 bright
young lives at
stake.
So says Chris
Mercier, whose
son, Lance Corpo
ral Keoki P.
Santos, died in the April 2000 MV
22 Osprey crash in Marana, Ari
zona. In this first crash of an
Osprey, 18 other young soldiers
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Keoki P. Santos
died. A second crash, taking four
young lives, occurred in December
of that year.
"I believe that
putting passen
gers on that
Osprey is abuse,"
said Mercier.
"That Marine
family was sup
posed to take care
of my son and
they didn't do it.
The fact that the
Osprey is still be
ing tested should
say something."
In civilian life,
Chris Mercier,
wife of Tribal El
der Dean
Mercier, would
have had her day in court to deter-
Mercier continued
on page 9