Smoke Signals 5
DECEMBER 15, 2007
Tribal Council Christinas Party
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Left, Tribal librarian and Tribal member Marion Mercier
holds open a book while entertaining her grandchildren,
Tribal members Joshua Henry, top right, and Ava Fagundes,
in her lap, during the Tribal Council Christmas Party held
Dec. 8 In the Tribal gymnasium. Leaning over behind
Marion is the children's mother and Marion's daughter,
Tribal member Candy Henry. Kneeling in the brown sweater
at right is Tribal member Sage Torres. At top right, Tribal
Council Vice Chairman Reyn Leno holds his grandson, Tribal
member Bryson Leno. Below right is Santa Claus, played
this year by Tribal Council Secretary Jack Giffen Jr.,
with Tribal member Ashley Mercier with the big
request for Christmas. Below left, a group of Tribal
community children sang carols for the Council and
the hundreds who showed up for the event.
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Photos by Ron Karten
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By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
Father Albert Krueger, Indian
missioner for the western Oregon
Diocese of the Episcopalian Church,
recently took another step on a dif
ficult journey.
He leads an effort in the church
to gain the return of the "Sum
mers Collection" of Grand Ronde
artifacts from the British Museum
in London.
"It is the most significant, well
documented collection from Grand
Ronde," said Lindy Trolan, Cul
tural Collections coordinator for the
Grand Ronde Tribe.
"(The Rev. Robert W. Summers)
was an avid collector. He estab
lished good personal relationships
with the people in Grand Ronde.
He took thorough notes and made
detailed drawings. Plus, we have
notes from his diaries and oral
memories from people who knew
him. The collection shows the diver
sity of Grand Ronde lives."
Standing in the way, however,
is a British Museum that returns
pieces from its sprawling inter
national collection only by acts of
Parliament spelled out in the Brit
ish Museum Act of 1963.
A Tribal delegation, including
Tribal Council Chairwoman Cher
yle Kennedy and then Tribal Coun
cil Secretary June Sell-Sherer,
learned that in an official 2002 visit
to the museum.
Trolan and Cultural Resources
specialist Kim Mueller photo
graphed and catalogued the collec
tion on that visit, and the Tribe has
continued to pursue repatriation of
the artifacts.
3 ;
Photo by Ron Karten
Cultural Collections
coordinator Lindy Trolan
The collection was formed in the
hands of Summers, the first Epis
copalian priest in the area. He lived
and worked in McMinnville from
1873-81. While in Oregon, he pur
chased, collected and documented
hundreds of objects obtained from
Grand Ronde Indians.
When Summers was nearing death,
he reportedly gave the collection to a
friend, the Rev. S.C. Freer, for safe
keeping. Freer had a connection at
the British Museum, and on Sept. 6,
1900, he passed the collection on to
museum representatives.
In more than 100 years of holding
the Summers Collection, however,
the British Museum only
has displayed three of some
400 pieces, Trolan said.
She joined Krueger dur
ing a workshop at the Nov.
9-11 Episcopal Diocesan
Convention held in Salem.
She described the collection
and Tribal efforts to repa
triate these pieces of local
and Tribal history.
For the Episcopalians, the
effort helps fulfill a resolu
tion proposed by the Epis
copal Indian Commission
"to provide a window into
the historic relationship
between Native Americans
and the Episcopal Church,
and a process of reconcili
ation between church and
Tribes," Krueger said.
The Episcopalian rela
tionship with Indians came
about in the mid-1800s when
Catholics and Methodists
also got involved, Krueger
said.
"The U.S. parceled out missionary
work to Catholics, Episcopalians
and Methodists," Krueger said.
The question nevertheless comes
up: What will enable the Tribe
and Episcopalians to gain release
of these artifacts after the British
Museum has possessed them for
more than 100 years?
Kennedy, Grand Ronde chair
woman, didn't see the bar as all
that high.
"We needed an act of Congress to
get the Tribe restored," she said.
"What's an act of Parliament after
that?"
"It comes down to changing peo
ples' attitudes," Trolan told work
shop attendees, "that they don't
own these things."
Krueger said he thinks the Epis
copalians may have the inside rail.
"The Episcopalians are part of the
Anglican communion," he said.
"Since the Summers Collection is in
the British Museum and the Queen
(Elizabeth II) is head of the church,
we have a connection."
"Tradition, royalty and the church
are important in England," he add
ed. "That's why I'm encouraged to
pursue it."
Krueger said he also sees some
precedent in the National Museum
of Denmark repatriating some
35,000 aboriginal artifacts taken
from Greenland when the huge is
land country was a Danish colony.
That exchange began in 1979 when
Greenland became semi-autonomous,
and the effort to repatriate
all artifacts continues today.
He sees another precedent in the
work of the Canadian Indigenous
Anglicans of Canada led by Native
Bishop Mark MacDonald, who pre
vailed recently on the Archbishop
of Canterbury to intercede with the
British government to smooth out a
problem between British Petroleum
and Canadian First Nations Tribes.
"Don't underestimate the power
of tradition in England, and how
far it can go toward making things
happen," Krueger quoted Mac
Donald as saying after his success
with BP.
"It still may not work out,"
Krueger conceded, "but the walk
ing with is what this is about. It's
an unprecedented opportunity for
us to walk that walk."