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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2005)
JULY 1, 2005 Signals Xrv UtT A c--. - Ail Mu v:Sw.-. . -i. h.pv 5 v yz- 1 :"-? tMTi in n it i i i i -i - i iir- i r i i n hit J V Jf - ' " Outstanding" Tribal Royalty Melissa Biery, Kayla Kneeland and Leah Brisbois share a laugh on their 4.3 mile journey through downtown Portland. Tribe Stars At Grand Floral Parade Spirit Mountain Casino float wins award. nrn By Toby McClary "Taxayam! Hayash-tseqw tilixam nsayka!" "Hello! We are the Columbia River People!," won the Sweepstakes Award for Most Out standing Float in the 2005 Floral Parala rViili Saturday, June 11 in Portland. The Spirit Mountain Ca sino and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's float won the Sweepstakes Award for the second year in a row. This year's float was a life-size replica of a Chinookan village that included two plankhouses, traditional Chinookan statues and artwork designed by Chinook Tribal mem ber and Acting Culture Manager Tony Johnson and Carver Adam Mclsaac. The float commemorated the meeting between Northwest Na tive Americans and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Tribal members Ed Hanson and J.R. Robertson portrayed Lewis and Clark wear ing buckskin outfits and Tribal member Maria Ramirez dressed as Sacajawea. Hanson is the Cor- Tribal Youth Or in John Allen plained that he relies on the Cul tural Resources Department and Tribal member Elaine LaBonte for as much authenticity as possible. "I'd like to credit them for their hard work," said Hanson. There were a total of 14 people on the float. Grand Ronde Royalty accompanied Tribal Elder K a t h r y n Harrison and Tribal mem bers Elaine LaBonte and Pearl Mekemson weaved tradi tional baskets on the second stage of the float. The float was 70 feet long, 12 feet wide and 13 feet high. The Grand Floral Parade is the second largest all-floral parade in North America and the largest, single-day spectator event in Or egon. The parade travels 4.3 miles beginning inside the Memorial Coli seum, continuing throughout downtown Portland and finishing at Lincoln High School. The parade was broadcasted live on Northwest NewsChannel 8 and the Northwest Cable News channel. "I think the process went ex tremely well," said Hanson. "The fact that it was a collaborated event between the casino and the Tribe was the key to success. This float gave the Tribe another point of pride," he said. Hat Trick Grand Ronde community member J.R. Robertson (right), who dressed as William Clark of the infamous Lewis & Clark Duo, traded hats with KGW NewsChannel 8 Weatherman Dave Salesky. 1 5 v-e Li -i-Las. i- i I.,-. r . headed the design S&t K "fi ' V'4 - J f LlMi W"!' and development of AfeSife t 4 'iMW X ,V :'', ' fV 1 , !') S the float. He ex- fcSlt?4l VVPJAWV tf--- - ' . . . '. ',, '.'4 " 1 . , , - . . ' 8 : : : .' - , . . .. . ..n, q Over 500,000 people lined the streets of Portland for this year's Southwest Airlines Grand Floral Parade. Spirit Mountain Casino's float won the Sweep stakes Award for the second year in a row.
