2 MAY 1f 2007
Smoke Signals
Plankhouse
The Grand Ronde plankhouse will
be east of the new pow-wow grounds,
2(X) feet up when you cross the bridge,
according to Tribal Elder Don Day.
"Hopefully, it will be finished this
year by the end of October," said Day,
who is leading some 25 volunteers in
the development of the three-year-old
project
It will be east of the new pow-wow
grounds, 2(K) feet up when you cross
the bridge, according to Tribal Elder
Don Day. "Hopefully, it will be fin
ished this year by the end of October,"
said Day, who is leading some 25
volunteers in the development of the
three-year-old project.
He expressed his thanks to all who
have helped.
"I have material (trees) down, felled,"
he said, "but I'm weathered out right
now." Folks at the Willamette National
Forest in the Sweet I lome area tell him
that he might not get into the forest
to retrieve the wood until the end of
April.
Waiting for Day, his volunteers and
the Tribe are three western red cedars
already cut down, that "we're talking
about for wall planks. We might not get
posts and cross members out of that.
Maybe we'll need an additional couple
of trees" but the U.S. Forest Service has
promised him all that he needs.
Overall, the length of the planned
longhouse is 50-60 feet. To make
it more of a longhouse and less of a
square house, Day plans to add 20 feet
to the length, though there is nothing
formal drawn up yet for the design.
"It will be as close to a Kalapuyu
structure as possible," said Day. "It
will be a ridge house."
In 2004, Tribal Council allotted
$40,000 for the project and that amount
still stands, said Day. "We'll probably
need about that."
Day has taken the opportunity to
teach Tribal members how to split the
wood. "Those who feel like they can't
do it right at the moment, I give them
a little practice and it all comes back,"
he said. ,
Below: pounding a wedge into
the cedar log, splitting it in the
traditional way.
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Tribal Elder Don Day, above, gets a plank positioned for what soon will be a Native plankhouse right here at home.
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Always in need of volunteers, skilled
and unskilled, Day asked that those
interested call him at: 503 769-3290.
"Yesterday, the University of Oregon
(UO) contacted me. They want to
bring a Primitive Technology class up
to learn to split the wood. Likewise,
OSU contacted me regarding bringing
classes in."
Day, a graduate student at the UO,
traveled far north to Haidayguwaii,
Canada, up in Prince Edward Province
and 100 miles out in the ocean where
he studied the plank structures and the
history of the Haida people. Beyond
their plankhouses, the Haida were
world famous for their ocean going ca
noes. They were 70 feet long, 8-1 0 feet
in diameter, and carried 40 warriors
and their gear, said Day. The Haidas
also were famous for their plankhouse
structures.
Some are 1 50-200 feet wide and 400
feet in length, said Day. His Masters
thesis is on plankhouse construction
using western red cedar and split plank
housing.
Interpretive Museum
On Tribal grounds at Fort Yamhill
State Park, the Tribe has been planning,
since 2003, to build an interpretive his
tory museum.
The work so far has been funded
principally by a federal Administration
for Native Americans Social and Eco
nomic Development Strategies (ANA
SEDS) grant, with most of the work
coming from Tribal Cultural Resources
staffers. The effort from 2003-05 de
veloped a master plan and site analysis,
and the Tribe's application for a 2007
09 grant aims to develop an economic
feasibility study and a business plan
scheduled for completion this fall.
Interpretive design has been a part
of the project from the beginning and
will continue all through development
of the project, said Cultural Collections
Coordinator Lindy Trolan.
"The bulk of the work has been done
by Cultural Resources staff," said Tro
lan, "but this is a community endeavor
and every step included Tribal staff,
Tribal Council and several community
meetings."
Elders and pre-schoolers are on the
list to add their input to the project.
"We're also hoping to do some out
reach for Tribal members who live far
away or can't get to meetings," said
Trolan.
Fort Yamhill State Park
Although no activities are planned
for this spring at the newly built park,
the on-going project promises new
developments in the years ahead. An
thropological digs and the rebuilding
of existing structures will continue.
The mile-long trail with interpretive
markers will be expanded in the years
ahead.