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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2006)
MAY 1,2006 MCC Jm A Publication of the Grand Ronde Tribe www.grandronde.org 1 ' 1 i 7 i .. . iT' . f w jb Turn- . i -w a ' m : 'IT . 7 A 4 . 1 " Got Milk? This bobcat, photographed behind the Tribe's Governance Building by Smoke Signals Editor Brent Merrill, is right at home here in Grand Ronde. Oregon is prime bobcat country. According to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, "these small, powerful predators have lived here for thousands of years, preying on small mammals and birds." They play an important role in the ecosystem, and are not considered dangerous to people, but often difficult to see in their natural habitat. All the more reason to enjoy this rare sight. Willamette University Repatriates A Meteorite Fragment Evergreen Air Museum recieves another piece and wants to include the Tribe in the unveiling ceremony. By Ron Karten Last May, Willamette Univer sity uncovered a 2.2-pound piece of "Tomanowos," or Sky Person, the 15-ton Willamette Meteorite, in a supply closet in the school's Olin Science Building. "I am relieved to return it," said Rebecca Dobkins, Willamette Asso ciate Professor of Anthropology and Curator of the school's Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, during a ceremony at the museum on April 17 when a university delegation 'vT2 Hands On At the end of the April 1 7 ceremony during which Willamette University repatriated a small piece of Tomanowos to the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, Tribal Elders and members touched the piece that bears such spiritual importance from time immemorial. Ouonreaerateq mrjes orine orana ionue Community of Oregon 9615 Grand Ronde Road Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347 PRESORTED FIRST-CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID SALEM, OR PERMIT NO. 178 OR mSPFER PRO J. siC! 1299 UNIUERSI7Y OF GRELON EUGENE OR 97403-1205 SVSTEN PFESERU. repatriated the meteorite fragment to the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde. 'Think about the journey it's taken through the universe," said Willamette University Dean Carol Long, "and now the journey to you." For Tribal members, the effort was a great moment in a troubling episode. "This piece is home," said Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy, "(but) it's not a good situa tion because there has been so much cutting on the meteorite. To me, it's like carving up a body." "Tomanowos" was (and is) sacred and priceless to the Indians of the Clackamas Tribe, who watched over it from "time immemorial," said Lindy Trolan, the Tribe's Cultural Collections Specialist. The meteor ite is thought to have landed to the north and traveled south in an ice flow some 10,000-12,000 years ago to its one-time resting place in present day West Linn. In the wake of the Clackamas Tribe's dispersal, mainly into the Confederated Tribes of the Grand See METEORITE on page 6 Spring Time In Grand Ronde In Focus The late spring this year has come with bright tulips. As common as they are, with billions cultivated around the world every year, they are still among the most beautiful of spring's gifts.
