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.
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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.
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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
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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.