4 FEBRUARY 1,2007
Smoke Signals
KeUlectlDOinis Odd ToriilbaD Resftoiraftiioin), Pair 4
Note: If you missed Part I & II, see the December 1, 2006 and January 1,
2007 Smoke Signals issues.
Talking with many Tribal members about their experiences with termi
nation and restoration has been a great learning experience for me. It has
given me the opportunity to meet new community members, as well become
reacquainted with people I haven 't known since I was a young girl.
In talking with some of the people who were involved in the efforts to
restore the Grand Ronde Tribe, I have learned that this struggle was
greater than most of us, who were not around at that time, could have
possibly imagined.
These people are responsible for restoring our identities as Native
people. They have laid the ground work for all the Tribal leaders who
have followed, and paved the way for a life of self-sufficiency for many
generations to come.
I realize that there were many people involved in the effort of restora
tion; in fact, there were just too many to mention them all.
I would like to say to everyone who played a role, no matter the size,
that your efforts are greatly appreciated and will not be forgotten.
Angie Sears
By Angie Sears, Tribal Mentee
After nearly 20 years of termina
tion, a small group of Grand Ronde
Tribal members got together and
began what would become one of
the greatest achievements of the
Grand Ronde people.
This group began a fight that
would become a decade-long strug
gle. They fought for recognition.
They fought to restore pride, and
they fought to restore identity;
the identity of their ancestors who
once fought a similar fight long,
long ago.
This group of people took on the
United States government in a
fight to restore the federal recogni
tion of the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde.
But what started as a small group
soon became a community effort,
as many Tribal members came
together to represent the Grand
Ronde people as a whole and fight
for what they knew was right.
Many Tribal members recalled
the events of the fight for restora
tion. As they told their stories, they
felt that there were three people
who deserved special recognition
as the people who were instrumen
tal in the beginning efforts. Those
people are Margaret Provost, Mar
vin Kimsey and Merle Holmes.
The efforts of those three people
were immense. They spent many
hours rallying the Grand Ronde
people who had been spread out
across the country. They wrote
letters and talked with representa
tives of Congress to let them know
that the Grand Ronde people were
still among them. They sent the
message that they were still Na
tive Americans and they deserved
to be federally recognized as a Na
tive American Tribe.
"My cousins Margaret and Mar-
vin, predominantly Margaret, had
an idea about restoring the Tribe.
At the time, the Monominees were
seeking restoration. They got
theirs in the early 1970's. That
got Margaret's interest. ..so she
talked with other Tribal leaders
and ultimately called a meeting to
talk about her thoughts to become
a Tribe again," said Cheryle Ken
nedy, Rogue River and Umpqua
Tribal member. "Margaret Pro
vost, Marvin Kimsey, and Merle
Holmes were the first people to
serve on the elected council."
Once the meetings began and
the Grand Ronde people learned
of the idea to be restored, many
people came on-board and joined
the efforts. Because many fami
lies had moved away to find work
phone calls, newsletters, and what
ever was needed. Eventually the
elected Council formed a non-profit
organization that would allow
them to apply for more grants. It
was this effort that allowed them
to make many trips to Washington
D.C. to testify before Congress, as
well as hire five employees to aid in
the efforts, and purchase the Depot
building for an office space.
Among those hired was Jackie
Provost, Rogue River, Umpqua,
and Oglala-Sioux Tribal member,
who worked as a. secretary and
organized the efforts to conduct a
census of Tribal members.
"We went door-to-door and con
ducted a census to learn how many
Tribal members we actually had
living in the community," said Pro
vost. "We set up a trailer to help
families register and determine
how many people there were."
Provost was also responsible
for helping to gain the support of
other Tribal leaders. "We went to
pow-wow's; that's where I learned
to dance," said Provost. "Pauline
Ricks from Siletz taught me the
protocol. But that's how we gained
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Tribal Elder Kathryn Harrison was among a group that helped fight for Tribal
recognition to restore Grand Ronde's identity and pride.
after termination, there were a
lot of people who traveled a long
distance to attend the meetings
and join in the efforts.
"I was living in Amity when
they started having meetings to
get the Tribe restored. My Dad
called me ant told me to get out
here and start working for my
people. That was about 1973,"
said Jackie Whistler, Rogue River,
Umpqua, Kalapuya, Clackamas,
and Chasta Tribal member. "So I
started coming to the meetings and
was elected Secretary of the Tribal
Council at one of the meetings, and
from that point I was immersed in
it. It was just burning inside of me
and I had to see it through."
The group held fundraisers to
help pay for the cost of postage,
the support of other Tribes; by
traveling to pow-wow's and Native
American gatherings."
The Grand Ronde people suc
ceeded in gaining the support of
many federally recognized Tribes,
including Warm Springs, Siletz,
CoosSiuslawLower Umpqua, and
Cow Creek. These Tribes wrote
letters of support to Congress;
persuaded the Affiliated Tribe of
Northwest Indians (ATNI) to allow
the Grand Ronde Tribe to join their
organization prior to being federally
recognized; and provided guidance
with the efforts to be restored.
"I came to Grand Ronde in 1980
and Margaret had already started
the fight for restoration," said
Kathryn Harrison, Molalla Tribal
member. "The biggest issue we had
was money. Every general meeting
was a bake sale or a raffle. People
were buying things from each
other to raise money. The Elders
always gave us their full support.
I remember Esther LaBonte; she
was on social security and every
month she gave us $20."
So the group continued to grow,
and the efforts of the people be
came greater. They continued their
search for Tribal members, and
communicated to the Grand Ronde
people through the use of a news
letter called "Smoke Signals." The
newsletter contained updates of the
efforts, announcements for upcom
ing meetings, and little heartfelt
messages to the community.
Members of the group made ap
pearances on local television and
radio talk shows to tell their story
and talk about the existence of the
Grand Ronde Tribe. They shared
their culture and talked about why
restoration was so important for
the Grand Ronde people.
At this time, there were only a few
members who were making trips to
Washington, D.C. to meet with Con
gress. It was mostly Kimsey, Holmes,
and Harrison. The trio didn't have a
lot of money to spend on these trips,
so they did whatever they could to
economize. They booked "red-eye"
flights; stayed in a Bed and Break
fast, where they made their own
beds; and avoided taxi's.
Throughout their meetings with
Congress, they were given sort of a
check list of things they needed to
accomplish before getting the Res
toration Bill introduced. One of the
items on the list was to show support
from surrounding communities.
The group organized and went
into the communities to begin
meeting with residents, business
people, and community leaders to
ask for their support.
"It was a lot of lobbying for the
State and for the locals," said Jackie
Provost. 'There was a lot of worry
about what would happen if we
were restored as a Tribe. Local peo
ple thought we were going to take
their land, or that tax rates would
go up... People didn't understand
the positive impact that restoration
could have on the community."
In an effort to gain their trust
and support, the group spent a
lot of time educating the commu
nity and letting them know that
if restored, the Tribe would never
take their lands away. It was a
long process, but eventually the
community began to see the "big
picture" and realized that the res
toration of the Tribe could help the
whole community economically.
Once this fear was lifted, the sur
rounding community members began
to offer their support to the Grand
Ronde people. The group received
more than 100 letters of support from
community members, business own
ers, state and county representatives,
and Elders of the Tribe.
"The biggest problem was that
people didn't know what to say in
their letters. So we drafted a form
See RESTORATION
on page 5