Smoke Signals 3
OCTOBER 15,2007
Beginning with this issue, Smoke
Signals will begin charging for
business advertising, but will con
tinue providing as a free service
to Tribal members milestone ads
announcements celebrating
birthdays, weddings, anniversa
ries, graduations, etc. as well as
classified ads to sell items, such as
houses and vehicles.
Instituting Tribal Council-approved
advertising rates for com
mercial businesses is in reaction
to escalating printing costs and
the need to recoup some of those
costs by not giving away valuable
space in a Tribally-funded publi
cation, thereby subsidizing those
businesses.
Smoke Signals will not charge
for ads from other Confederated
Tribes of Grand Ronde entities,
such as Spirit Mountain Casino or
the Tribal Housing Authority, and
will provide a substantial 50-percent
discount to Tribal members
who want to advertise a business
in Smoke Signals.
"We print more than 8,000 copies
of Smoke Signals twice a month,"
Tribal Publications Coordinator
Dean Rhodes said. 'The newspaper
circulates in the immediate area,
where there are about 100,000
people from McMLnnville to Lincoln
City to Salem. Space in Smoke Sig
nals has advertising value to busi
nesses wanting to attract Tribal
members' dollars, and the Tribe
should recoup some of the print-
For more information
or to receive a copy of
Smoke Signals' ad rates,
contact the Publications
Office at 800-422-0232 or
send an e-mail to kristen.
raviagrandronde.org.
ing cost by charging businesses for
that space.
"But we also want to continue
providing a valuable, free service
to Tribal members and will not
charge for milestone ads or classi
fied ads. The Tribal Council agrees
that those ads are important an
nouncements for Tribal members
and should not require a fee."
Ad rate space in Smoke Signals
will be $8 per column inch with
discounts provided to advertisers
who want to take out quarter-,
half- and full-page ads. Tribal
members advertising a business
in Smoke Signals will receive a
50-percent discount on any ad, no
matter the size.
Commercial ads submitted to
Smoke Signals must be ready to
run and pre-paid. There will be no
space reservations; Smoke Signals
reserves the right to place ads
where they best fit in an edition.
Smoke Signals also reserves the
right to reject an ad based on ap
propriateness. D
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Photo by Chris Mercier
A number of isolated small lakes are spread throughout Willamette
National Forest. It is not uncommon for campers, like the recent trio from
the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, to have entire lakes to themselves
while camping.
By Chris Mercier
Special to Smoke Signals
Two years ago, I mistakenly packed
an older pair of hiking boots for a trip
to the Obsidian Cliffs region of Wil
lamette National Forest.
Upon arriving at the Ranger
District office, I realized that the
pair bore a huge tear in the front,
making them highly undesirable
for the trek. The next best thing in
my car trunk was a set of Adidas
Samba indoor soccer shoes. Those,
I thought, would have to do.
Two of my co-hikers this year
remembered that because the blis
ters I suffered then were among
the worst they had ever seen. I
remember them, too, because after
a few miles every step of the more
than 20-mile hike over three days
caused me to grimace in pain. My
socks were blood-stained.
I suppose such tribulations are
what make these hikes fun. If you
don't suffer some cut, bruise, scrape,
sting, bite or malady, then you're
really not camping. That is how I
rationalize it anyway.
This year, nothing dramatic oc
curred; no bear attacks, gruesome
injuries or anything newsworthy
other than a chance to escape the
office and enjoy an area of Oregon
that still looks fairly untouched and
few people see.
To find the trailhead about 20
miles southeast of Sisters, one
drives through the lava fields and
turns right into a gravel parking
lot. We hiked about three or four
miles in and up, and encountered
a series of evidently ancient lakes,
one named Tanas, and some oth
ers bearing no names. All have the
beautiful deep blue hue that large
bodies of water at high altitudes
possess. Some of the trails seem
hardly used and the region as a
whole is gorgeous.
We elected to try a milder hike
this year. Obsidian Cliffs tended
to be ranked more difficult. The
year's hike took us within view of
Obsidian Cliffs, especially from the
top of Mt. Cooper.
We twice encountered little cach
es of obsidian flakes. The piles were
methodic looking, which to our
guide, Eric Bergland, signified that
some time ago a person had prob
ably hovered around one area to
make arrowheads and spear points,
and take advantage of the stone
that can be as sharp as metal.
Bergland was working for the
U.S. Forest Service two years ago,
but has since retired. He gladly
came out of retirement to help
guide us myself, Tribal attorney
Rob Greene and Tribal Elder and
Council member Jack Giffen Jr.
His presence, as well as Mary Al
lison's, was valuable because both
know the region well, including
plants, animals and, in Bergland's
case, stone, especially obsidian. Our
discoveries excited him immensely
as he quickly marked cache coordi
nates, hopefully to return later.
He also said that the trout forag
ing in the lakes were introduced
by men. Many of the area's lakes
were not teeming with life, hav
ing no streams or rivers draining
into them. The fish were flown in
via helicopter years, maybe even
decades, ago. I would have never
guessed that.
Monty Ramp once again served as
our mule man, bringing along the
usual cadre of mules to carry gear.
While unpacking the next day, I
learned that some ropes resemble
snakes, and mules don't like snakes,
and these cute animals can be pow
erful brutes when provoked.
Giffen, Allison and I talked about
what to do next year. For as much as
we enjoyed the hike, it was a breeze
compared to Obsidian Cliffs. There
was something about that trip, and
that area, you can't quite get over.
We talked about making the hike
an annual summer rite of passage,
not simply part of the Tribe's Memo
randum of Understanding with Wil
lamette National Forest, but a real
event, like the Canoe Journey.
Of course, it can never reach that
magnitude, with only 30 hiking per
mits allowed per day and parties of
more than 12 prohibited. But it can
be something that once the sign-up
sheet is out, people can clamor for.
If it happens, the weekend after
pow-wow seems the logical choice.
We'll keep you informed. Maybe
the photo will whet your interest.
There aren't many areas that have
seen little change since the time of
our ancestors and where you can
actually find untouched evidence
of their labors.
But this is one of them, and that
is reason enough. D