Smoke Signals 7
DECEMBER 1, 2006
5
By Angle Sears, Tribal Mentee
The story of the Grand Iionde people is a difficult
story to tell. The Grand Iionde people have a long
history of triumphs and defeats; they have a rich
Native culture, and a strong will. There are several
large families that have remained in the Grand
Iionde community, and many elders with stories to
tell and knowledge to share. I don 't believe that the
Grand Iionde story can be told in just one article.
There are far too many people to speak with and
too many stories to be told.
As I began writing the stories I found difficult to separate myself from the
story as a both a writer, and a Tribal member. lam approaching this story
with much caution to ensure that I don 't offend anyone along the way. But I
am also embracing it as an opportunity to learn more about my heritage, and
my family the Grand Iionde people.
My name is Angela Sears and I am Rogue River, Clackamas, and Rose
bud Sioux. My father is Dennis Sears, who is not Native American, and
my mother was Patricia Petite-Sears. She was an enrolled Tribal member
at termination. My grandfather was James Petite, who was Rogue River
and Clackamas, and my grandmother was Rebecca Reynolds, who was
Rosebud Sioux.
I grew up in the small costal town of Florence, Oregon. Wlien I was a young
girl my mother used to bring us kids to Grand Ronde to visit my grandmother.
She used to take us to pow-wow's, and keep us involved with the Indian educa
tion program in Florence. She did these things to ensure that we knew who
our ancestors were, and where we came from.
The people of the Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde have
demonstrated a great sense
of heart, strength, endurance, and
determination as they fought for
many years to restore their pride,
their heritage, and their identity as a
Native people.
The Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde were formed in the 1850's
when the U.S. Calvary began gather
ing 28 Tribes from Western Oregon,
Northern California, and Northern
Nevada, and driving them by foot to
the Grand Ronde Reservation where
they were forced to live.
Among these journeys to the res
ervation was the journey known
as the "Trail of Tears." This was a
devastating journey for the Grand
Ronde people. On February 23, 1856,
several bands of Indian Tribes were
driven from the Rogue River Valley
at Table Rock to Grand Ronde where
they would join other Tribes. This
was a 263 mile journey in the end of
the winter months. It was cold and
wet, and the Indians, both young and
elderly were forced to make the trip
by foot. The trip would take 33 days
to complete and many Indian people
would lose their lives along the way.
In February of 1887, the General Al
lotment, or the Dawes Act was passed
and 33,000 acres of Grand Ronde
Reservation land was allotted to 270
families as farm land. The idea was
to make farmers out of the Indians.
The Act allowed Indians to live on
their land tax free while it was held
in trust for 25 years. At the end of 25
years the land would be transferred
from trust status to fee status and
would become taxable, in an attempt
to allow the families to eventually
own the land. In 1901 when many of
the families couldn't make the pay
ments, the government declared more
than 25,000 acres of reservation land
as surplus, and sold it to settlers for
$1.16 per acre.
In 1936, the Tribe was able to
purchase residential land under the
Indian Reorganization Act, in an at
tempt to provide homes on the reser
vation for Tribal members. This plan
would soon be set aside, as the federal
government had a new plan for the
Grand Ronde people.
In 1954, Congress passed a Ter
mination Act which void all treaties
and severed the relationship between
Grand Ronde Tribes and the fed
eral government. This meant that the
Grand Ronde people would no longer
be recognized as Native Americans
in the eyes of the government, the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and,
It has been said that Congress pre
sented the idea of termination to the
Grand Ronde people as a "good thing."
Termination would be a way to alleviate
any discrimination or stigmas against
them as Indians. They would be main
streamed into society; allowing them to
become upper class citizens, and in a
sense, to become "free" people again.
After evaluating the great benefits
of termination, the Grand Ronde
people held a "vote" to determine if
they would go along with the idea of
termination. According to the federal
government it was a unanimous deci
sion, and the Tribe was terminated. In
the early 1980s members of the Grand
Ronde Tribe went to Sand Point,
where all of the Tribe's archives were
stored, and found the original ballot
box for the so called "vote." The box
had a total of seven votes, but at the
time of termination there were a total
of 862 enrolled Tribal members. This
is the "unanimous" decision the fed
eral government claimed the Grand
Ronde people had made.
Cheryle Kennedy, Tribal Council
member, Rogue River and Umpqua
Tribal member, was among those
who found the ballot box. "In my opin
ion it was all a farce," said Kennedy.
"There wasn't an election to termi
nate ourselves, or an overwhelming
agreement for that matter."
During the termination era, many
Tribes received large payments in ex
change for their land and their rights
lu ' J m - i ma
Grand Ronde loggers, circa 1950's. From left: James Petite, Melvin Petite,
John Petite and Gus Leno.
unfortunately, the eyes of other Indian
Tribes. They would lose all rights to
their reservation lands, as well as
health, education, and housing ben
efits. This act would prove to be det
rimental to the well being of the Tribe
both individually and as a whole.
as a Native people, but the Grand
Ronde people were not among those
Tribes. The Grand Ronde members
each received a one time payment of
$35; a payment that was supposed to
be a replacement for their identity.
Mike Larsen, 58, Chinook and
Umpqua Tribal member, was just
six years-old at termination. "I don't
think I was old enough to recognize
a difference in the area at termina
tion," said Larsen. "I know we got
a check, but I don't remember how
much it was for. My little brother
wasn't old enough to got a check. ..I
think everyone got a new bed."
After termination, the Grand Ronde
Reservation was reduced to nothing
more than a seven-acre cemetery lot
that was maintained by the families
during the termination era.
By this time, Grand Ronde was
predominately a logging town, and
the majority of the families survived
on logging incomes.
Russ Leno, 79, Umpqua Tribal
member, who started logging at the
age of 17, said he didn't really notice
a difference in the Grand Ronde com
munity between pre-termination and
termination. "Some of the families
moved away, but we survived," Leno
said. "I was a logger before termina
tion, and during termination; I've been
a logger all my life. It's pretty much
the main means of support for Grand
Ronde citizens."
Leno took a short break from logging
in 1945 to enter the service, where he
would remain for the next three years.
He was shipped to Japan, and served as
a personneloffice clerk. Upon comple
tion of his term, he returned to Grand
Ronde and began logging again.
The effects of termination took its
toll on individual Tribal members and
families in different ways. Kennedy,
whose educational background is in
psychology, spoke of the ill effects that
termination had on the Grand Ronde
Tribal members. Among the many
problems brought on by termina
tion, identity issues were prominent,
especially for those who identified
themselves only as being Indian.
"Without your identity you're always
going to have problems. You'll never fit
in, and you will always doubt yourself,"
Kennedy said. "In my opinion it was a
huge obstacle we had to overcome to be
at peace with ourselves. In order to be a
peaceful person you have to have it from
within, and then around your environ
ment. So we weren't at peace."
Look for Reflections On
Restoration Part II next issue.
Cheryle Kennedy,
Rogue River & Umpqua
I was born in the 40's so I was a
child at termination. This was dur
ing the days that were called the
"CC Days."
During the world war, there was
an effort to utilize the skills of the
people in support of the war. At
that time there was a camp called
the "CC Camp." A number of the
people from here were sent there
for training, and then sent to pro
vide support for the war efforts. We
were sent to Portland because my
family became welders on the ships
for the war. So that took place in
the 40's until the end of that era.
My father was an engineer by
trade; my father was a Sioux In
dian. My parents met at the ship
yard, so that was probably around
1942 and my mom married him
during that same era.
My father's job as an engineer took
him many places. We traveled through
Idaho, Washington and Oregon. We
went to various places because he head
ed up projects, but we always came back
here. We never broke those ties. That
was the 50's just before termination.
We were enrolled here at the time of our
birth. It was very important; not only to
my mother and my grandparents, but
my father. He was Sioux Indian, and he
understood the importance of maintain
ing a connection with your Tribe.
All I remember as a child when ter
mination was looming at us was that
there was something terrible going to
happen to us as Indian people. I remem
ber my uncle tearfully meeting with
the families at our home in Salem. It
was awful. He was really heart broken
about it, and was starting to feel really
futile about whether this was actually
going to take place or not. As a child
you don't understand all of that. You
just know something bad is going to
happen to us. So of course termination
did take place.
After the 50's, I began to notice
an impact because again, my father
was an engineer and a lot of the
work he did was for different Indian
Tribes. So we would go to their res
ervations while he worked. These
Tribes received medical assistance
through Indian Health Services,
but if we had a need for medical
assistance we were denied. Physi
cally I looked Indian, but I wasn't
Indian anymore and I couldn't be
served there. I didn't understand. I
wondered why; what is this?
So there was always for me, and
I think for many of the people
who identified themselves only as
Indian, a big cloud over you that
says that's not who you are. Your
identity really becomes damaged
because you can associate within
yourself who you know you really
are, but there's this law that says
you aren't.