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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2007)
Smoke Signals 3 JULY 1,2007 Tribal Members Visit New York For Tomanowos Ceremony TOMANOWOS continued from front page Youth Ariel Bailey, Kerrina Grout, and Jessica Stryker. They spent four weeks in New York working for the museum and learning new cultures. They were chaperoned by Youth Education Coordinator Molly Matthews and Tribal member and Librarian Marion Mercier. On Monday, June 11, around 5 p.m., the doors of the museum were closed to the public and the mem bers of Grand Ronde were the only to be let in. After brief conversation with museum executives and a light snack that included fruit and finger foods, the ceremony took place. Bobby Mercier led the ceremony with prayer, an honor song, and some words about what the mete orite means to the Grand Ronde people. Mercier then asked that everyone be part of the ceremony by feeling Tomanowos and speaking about what the meteorite means to them individually. On the morning of Tuesday, June 12, the museum staff invited Grand Ronde to a breakfast where AMNH President Ellen Futter welcomed the group and shared her thoughts on the significance of the meteorite to the Tribe. There were also gifts handed out by both the museum staff to Grand Ronde members as well as the other way around. The group was then taken to the museum vaults where millions of artifacts have now found a home. The tour of the vaults was focused on Native American artifacts as well as artifacts of the northwest. Also included in the day's events was a brief tour of some of the mu seum exhibits and a 45-minute film in the IMAX theatre. I I ;.r Tribal member and Language Specialist Bobby Mercier led the ceremony for this year's annual meteorite blessing. 4 Cm Youth Education Coordinator and one of the chaperones for this year's New York Youth Trip Molly Matthews, (I to r) poses in front of the meteorite with Tribal Youth Ariel Bailey, Kerrina Grout, and Jessica Stryker. Tribal member and Librarian Marion Mercier was the second chaperone for the youth's four week stay in New York City. Photos by Toby McClary 111 vV s - '- v '"(- Tribal Elder Anna Hannah takes a look at a dinosaur fossil at the American Museum of Natural History during a guided tour on Tuesday, June 1 2. . : , ft j - L
