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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2005)
2005 Veterans' Pow-Wow Insert AUGUST 1,2005 2005 Veterans' Pow-Wow Insert Veterans Honored At Annual Pow-wow "Super-good" event despite ominous clouds and no frybread. c c AUGUST 1, 2005 Photos and Story By Toby McClary On the weekend of July 8-10, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde hosted its Annual Veterans' Pow-wow. The honorary event was held at the pow-wow arena in Grand Ronde. On Friday evening, the crowning ceremony was held at . ...... W ' . a jr.- the Community Center for the 2005-2006 Veterans' Royalty. Orin John Allen was elected as Senior Warrior, Leland "Brother" Butler as Junior Warrior, Halona Butler as Junior Queen and Miranda Provost as Senior Queen. Tribal Elders Kathryn Harrison and Diane Lane and Tribal member Bobby Mercier served as judges for the pageant. "People are really impressed with the addition of the Young Warriors," said Eillie LaBonte who orga nized and directed the pageant. "The parents are very co operative and helpful and the pageant went beautifully." Friday evening, after the crowning ceremony, the roy alty held a "thank you" give-away in the Tribal gymna sium to honor the people that volun " teered their time. On Saturday, after a long wait under a potentially hazard ous sky, grand entry began at about one in the afternoon. The arena filled up quickly during the first grand entry of the weekend. About 300 people including Grand Ronde's Honor Guard, Veterans' Royalty, Siletz Tribal Royalty and the many Veterans participated. A special area beside the emcee's stand was furnished with chairs and designated for the World War II Veterans that were unable to walk during grand entry. After the colors were posted, 272 Veterans lined up for their opportunity to introduce them selves and the military branch in which they served. Following each introduction was the sound of beating drums and a large applause from the crowd that could be heard throughout Grand Ronde. Nearly 500 Medals of Valor were handed out and 13 Medals of Honor were given to the proud mothers of Veterans. The thunderous roar of the motorcycle clubs started shortly after the introductions as 118 motorcycles entered the pow-wow grounds. The motorcycles made a lap around the arena before parking and allowing people to take pictures and visit with the owners. "I loved it," said Tribal Elder and President of the Veteran Special Event Board Gene LaBonte. "All See POW-WOW on page 3 Place of Honor, Respect Grand Ronde Princess Nakoosa Moreland, above, smiles for the camera during the evening grand entry on Saturday, July 9 . Moreland is running for Junior Miss Grand Ronde. She is the daughter of Tribal member C.C. Kneeland and Bill Moreland. The crowning ceremony for the 20052006 Royalty will be held in the Grand Ronde Pow-wow Arena during the Annual Contest Pow-wow on the weekend of August 19-21. - ..v r"..:- hit - - - A wrmrf 1 ' ' 1 - 1 - ' - ... x A Til 'V Hardo Frutos - Warm Springs y . rTrv.wv i M V Pride In Our People Top Center:Nevrly crowned Veterans' Royalty: Senior Queen Miranda Provost, Junior Queen Halona Butler, Senior Warrior Orin John Allen and Junior Warrior Leland "Brother" Butler. Center: Hundreds of Veterans lined up and participated in this year's afternoon grand entry on Saturday. The Veterans in attendance introduced themselves and the military branch they served. Bottom Center:Neaxly 500 Medals of Valor were handed out including the one given to Paul van Uchelen who served in World War II. Jim "Three Eagles" Edwards (Adopted Apache) honored Uchelen with the medal shortly before their honorary salute. Get Your Motor Running 118 motorcycles entered the arena, did a quick lap, and then posed for photos. V HWAArlllKlMalKiMtAMMIlii km Ill A ' -i , 7,. I Wl. ;4r f V f 1 !i'ft 'hi,: u'-.r' POW-WOW continued from page 2 of the bikes were blessed and the bikers are really good people. They didn't harm one blade of grass on that arena," he said. Despite a lack of frybread, which some substituted with el ephant ears, those in attendance seemed to relax and enjoy the events that took place. After four short hours, the elephant ear stand had to close the doors due to exhaustion and a shortage of supplies. There were a total of 24 vendors at this year's pow-wow. Among the vendors was Carolyn Wagner (Oto), who pulled in Friday morn ing and was camping for the weekend. Wagner was selling items that she had accumulated from an online business. 'This is my third Veterans' Pow wow," said Wagner. "I love it. I see more and more Veterans every year and it seems this year, people have been more respectful." After a few hours of "pow wowing," it was time for dinner break. There was a complimen tary spaghetti dinner held at the Community Center for all that were hungry. The evening grand entry kicked off at about 7:00 p.m. At dusk, the Eagle Beak Singers formed a circle in the middle of the arena and used their hand drums to sing Owl Dance songs. The pow wow went on late into the night, though Smoke Signals wrapped things up at about 11:00 p.m. Sunday's grand entry began about noon and was held in the Tribal gymnasium due to bad weather. "Overall, the pow-wow was super-good," said Gene LaBonte. "It was a real success." Nick Sixkiller (Cherokee) and Tribal Elder Bob Tom emceed this year's pow-wow and Signal Butte was the host drum.
