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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2006)
4 DCCCMDCR 1,2000 Smoke Signals Tribe's Culture Department Holds First "Webinar" The interactive seminar on the web drew participants from as far as California and Boston. w v f Educational Specialist and Tribal member Leslie Riggs (I) and Cultural Collections Coordinator Lindy Trolan By Ron Karten On Novomlx-r H5, the Tribal Cultural Resources Department launched an other milestone into the web-o-sphere with an event that was part welxiast, part online seminar and all cool. Information Systems' Web Design er Willie Merrier along with Culture staffers Ix'slie Riggs, Lindy Trolan and Kim Mueller joined with ISITE Design's President Paul Williams and Managing Director Jeff Cram, in hosting the virtual gallery and the webinar that presented it. Riggs is Educational Specialist and a Tribal member. Trolan is Cultural Collections Coordinator. And Mueller is the Special Projects Coordinator. RSI J & , v.,. lv With a grant from Administration for Native Americans, a Bureau of Indian Affairs granting arm, along with the sweat equity of the Cultural Resources and Information Systems staffers, the Tribe enlisted the help of the Portland web design firm in creating the virtual gallery, and run ning the webinar. Interested participants followed the event via the Internet and tele phone. They came from across the country and connected to the virtual Culture department webpage. Par ticipants also tuned in on an 800 telephone number through which they could listen and contribute. The subject of the webinar was the Cultural Resources Virtual Gallery, unveiled in August after about eight months of development. While signups indicated 24 partici pants had logged on, said Riggs, "we don't know how many were listen ing at each site. Could have been a whole roomful." And when a question came in from a group in California, there was an understanding of how widely the Tribe's project is being watched, and the sense that some of the signups at least, were serving multiple par ticipants. Calls also came in from ISITE's Boston office, and from a group in New Mexico. The Portland and Eugene Tribal offices as well as many here in Grand Ronde also tuned in. The Cultural Resources website has received much publicity in re cent months, most recently during the Restoration celebration. Listening while in the office, with the phone speaker on and the computer screen showing the webpage with the cursor dancing to each presenter's tune, it felt strangely normal to be there and here at the same time. You could tune in and tune out with ease as the work day continued, though part of the project was taking place on the other side of campus, while another part came from across the country. One of our wide-eyed goals," said Willie Mercier, "is to reach out to those Tribal members not in the area." He suggested that the goal might be fulfilled in part by hav ing the forms Tribal members need available on the web for download, and later, to be returned by email. Listening in from the office, it all just seemed so normal, like we'd been doing it for years, yet not all Tribal members have such easy ac cess to the internet. It's technology on fast forward, with all the chal lenges that that entails. Grand Ronde Tribal Cemetery Treat It With Reverence And Consideration By Cultural Resources Protection Staff The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Or egon Cemetery has been an integral component of the community since the establishment of the reserva tion. Located on Grand Ronde Road, this was the only piece of land that connected us to our past dur ing termination. Possession and administration of this property was the cornerstone of restoration. Cemeteries are repositories of unique genealogical, historical, reli gious, cultural and societal informa tion that may not be recorded in any other format. Like museums, ceme teries are filled with irreplaceable his tory and artwork, and provide habitat for birds and wildlife. They are places in which one has an opportunity to commune with our ancestors. Broken gravestones, missing markers and vandalism, as well as historic gravestone preservation are common problems in many cemeteries. The Tribal Cemetery shares similar concerns. Therefore, one must remember to be respectful to all who use the Tribal Cemetery, as well as the grave items left in memory of those who have gone before us. If you did not provide the item, do not remove it; this is theft. Besides the laws protecting cemeteries, Indian people have taboos associated with remov ing items from gravesites. We must also avoid anything offensive to the standards of the community. Cemetery staff will regularly prune trees and shrubs, but gen eral care and maintenance of each gravesite is the responsibility of the individual family. While one may assume that we can clean our own family's markers because we surrounding soil. Another source of surface disfigurement is chemicals such as iron and copper in the wa ter supply. Chemical cleaners have other problems as well. Marble and limestone, for example, are easily A, A- Mi. If i o O Grand Ronde Tribal Cemetery have purchased them, but, using chemicals to clean them can dam age them. The chemicals that you use may absorb into the surface of the stone or run off into the ground and affect other grave markers. Stone is composed of minerals and salts. Gravestones in direct contact with the earth are con stantly wicking water from the ground and evaporating it along its surface. Drawn with this water are dissolved salts and minerals present in, or introduced to, the dissolved by acidic cleaners, even in diluted forms. We recommend caution and re search if a family proceeds with cleaning a marker. A thorough understanding of the physical and chemical properties of the specific masonry can help avoid inadver tent selection of damaging cleaning methods and materials. Examine marker for flaking, scaling, cracks, or eroding granular surface. If any of these conditions are present DO NOT CLEAN, seek professional assistance. For the historic markers, profes sionals should be contacted for any extensive cleaning or any repair. These markers are extremely frag ile. If a family member would like to replace any grave marker, the original should remain, even if engraving is deteriorated. A rubbing of the grave marker may be desired by the family, but this damages the stone. Therefore, rubbing grave markers is discour aged. In fact, many cemeteries have banned this activity. Although plants shrubs and trees are a beautiful part of the land scape, please remember to contact the cemetery manager prior to all work or services. Large rooting trees and shrubs may impact mark ers over time. The Tribal Cemetery is an im portant historic part of the com munity that survived through the years of termination. For all who have helped care for it, your work is greatly appreciated. Hayu masi (many thanks) Khani, Eirik, & Daniel Site Protection Program Cultural Resources Department Cemetery visitation is from dawn to dusk. Cem etery maintenance hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Phone 503-879-5525.
