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MARCH 1,2006
Chemawa Indian School Birthday Pow-wow
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Celebration On Saturday, February 1 8, Chemawa Indian School celebrated their 1 26th
Birthday with an annual pow-wow held in the gymnasium on campus. At right, traditional
dancer and Kiowa Tribal member Kiowa Dougherty helped Chemawa celebrate by participating
in traditional dances. Above, the Eagle Staff stands proud along with the colors of the many flags.
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Tribe Lends A Helping Hand To Contamination Cleanup
CLEANUP continued
from front page
to people and wildlife, and devas
tating to fish and fish habitat."
Thirty-three thousand tons of con
taminated soil have been removed
from the site and a 23-acre soil cap
consisting of 1.2 million pounds of
oil-absorbing clay were placed over
creosote seeps and 130,000 tons of
sand were placed over the remain
ing contamination. "Some 5.5 acres
of riverbank were stabilized with
two feet of topsoil and planted with
native grasses" late last year, ac
cording to the newsletter.
"In October, 2003, I watched as
creosote seeped up from my foot
steps on this site," said Governor
Ted Kulongoski. "Today," he said,
"it's clean and appealing."
But Delora Gellar, a geologist who
lives up the street with her family
and said that they all come down to
the shore to run and play, wasn't so
sure about how clean the site yet
is. "When my dog comes out of that
river, he stinks so bad," she said.
Another neighbor came down
to see that a boat hull had been
removed but laughed when asked
if he would now swim in the water.
"Are you kidding?" he said.
Creosote continues to turn up at
test wells, according to Tribal Biolo
gist Jeff Baker. "They didn't get it
all cleaned up yet."
But Baker also noted that the
solution is not just in the cleanup.
"It also requires changing (public)
behaviors," he said. "If you drive a
car in a car wash, it recycles the wa
ter, but not if you do it yourself."
And he added that Tribal mem
bers have more of an incentive than
others to clean the water up right
and keep it clean. "Tribal members
eat more fish than the average
American," he said. "And fish com
ing to our reservation salmon,
steelhead, lamprey eels come
through here on their way to our
reservation."
An Oregonian report from last
summer said, "In the most sweep
ing report to date, state and federal
authorities say that eating bass, carp
and bullhead catfish from Portland
Treating Site along the way as
well as many other non-point
sources of toxic pollution. I don't
think anyone knows how long the
fish reside in any of these places.
It used to be conventional wis
dom that the young out migrants
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Thankful Oregon GovernorTed Kulongoski was at the superfund site and gave a
speech on the positive aspects of all that is involved. "In October of 2003, 1 watched as
creosote seeped up from my footsteps," said Kulongoski. "Today, it's clean and appealing."
harbor is a health hazard. Children
and pregnant women should avoid
the fish altogether, and healthy
adults should eat them only rarely."
Kathleen Feehan, a Water Qual
ity Policy Analyst with the Uma
tillas, explained why in an email,
"Grand Ronde fish migrate through
the Willamette on their way to sea
and on their trip back to the Res
ervation. Along that route they for
some period of time are in Portland
Harbor (Superfund Site), at Willa
mette Falls which has substantial
mixing zones for toxic chemicals
both above and below the falls,
encounter the Taylor Lumber &
couldn't take up significant toxics
before migrating out to sea, but
that is being called into question
by some recent research by NOAA
Fisheries scientists in Washing
ton. The Pacific lamprey (migra
tory, not resident fish) harvested
by the tribe at Willamette falls and
those that migrate out and back to
Grand Ronde encounter all of the
same sources of toxins. Because
of the lamprey's life history, re
siding in river sediments for long
periods, they are more susceptible
to taking in the toxic pollutants
that they encounter. I have been
told lamprey spend as much as
five or six years in the sediments
and because they are very fatty
fish, their tissues tend to retain
toxic chemicals."And at the same
time, she wrote, "companies with
perfectly valid and legal National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System permits are discharging
toxic pollutants at levels drasti
cally above Oregon water quality
criteria (levels designed to protect
human health), and are allowed to
do so simply because their permit
contains a 'mixing zone.' These
mixing zones are perfectly legal
under the Clean Water Act."
"They'll have to monitor the site
for at least 10 years," said Baker,
"but our involvement' makes it safer
for everybody."
"It will always need to be mon
itored," said Travis Williams,
Executive Director of the group,
Willamette Riverkeepers. "(But)
This is a substantial milestone. It
shows the potential that exists in
the rest of the harbor for fish and
wildlife and people."
"This is just what you want to see
at the end of the process," said Wil
liams, "hope and possibility."
The City of Portland provided the
trees and shrubs.
"It was a bog of bureaucratic
inertia," said Portland City Com
missioner Sam Adams. "Now it's
an opportunity."
"We have great belief and faith
in the Creator," said Cheryle Ken
nedy, "because he provided all of
you today to help us."
"We have to deal with it head on,"
she added, "and from here forward,
we don't let this happen to any
other community."
Kennedy gave thanks "to those
who bring healing back to this
land," and for the only time all day,
the audience of about 100 stood up
to applaud.
"Let's go plant some trees," said
Commissioner Adams.