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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2008)
Smoke Signals 3 APRIL 1,2008 State Fish & Wildlife Commission to consider Grand Ronde ceremonial harvest request on April 1 8 'I I) .X, Photo by Toby McClary Tribal member Shonn Leno is one of the 17 hunters approved by Tribal Council to be a Tribal ceremonial hunter. The state Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider on April 18 a request by the Grand Ronde Tribe to conduct ceremonial hunts outside of state-sanctioned hunting seasons. By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The state Fish and Wildlife Com mission will consider on April 18 a request by the Grand Ronde Tribe to conduct ceremonial hunts out side of state-sanctioned hunting seasons. The commission will begin its meeting at 8 a.m. at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's headquarters at 3406 Cherry Ave. N.E. in Salem. The Tribe is seeking return of its sovereign right to hunt for cer emonial game outside of state-sanctioned hunting seasons, a right the Tribe surrendered during its effort to gain state support of Restoration in the early 1980s. Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Fish and Wildlife Commission mem bers, including Chairwoman Maria Rae, toured the Tribe's timber lands in August 2007 and signed a proclamation in support of Tribal ceremonial hunts. The Tribe is now seeking a Fish & Wildlife administrative rule for malizing the proclamation. If all goes as expected, ceremonial hunting tags will be available on written request by the Tribe. They will be valid in the Trask hunting area, generally for periods when no other big game hunting is allowed. The Trask Game Unit includes more than 1,000 square miles of big game habitat and runs east and west from the Cascades Range (in cluding Mount Hood) to the coast, and from McMinnville and Grand Ronde on the south to Forest Grove and Tillamook on the north. On Jan. 30, Tribal members met at the Community Center with Tribal Council Chairwoman Cher yle Kennedy and Vice Chairman Reyn Leno, and Tribal Attorney Rob Greene, to find out more in formation about the process and apply to become a Tribal ceremo nial hunter. Tribal Fish & Wildlife Commit tee Chairman Harold Lyon said 19 Tribal members applied to be hunters and 17 were approved by Tribal Council. As the effort to regain hunting rights has progressed, the Tribe received the support of the Mult nomah Anglers & Hunters, who said in a letter to the Department of Fish & Wildlife that more animals are lost to poaching than the Tribe will take in its ceremonial hunts. The Tribe negotiated a minimum number of tags with the state to start nine elk, 15 deer and three bear. The number of tags remains negotiable, however, which is why "it's critical this first year to fill every tag we can," Leno said at the Jan. 30 meeting. t Tribal members are encouraged to attend the April 18 meeting to show their support, Lyon said. Lyon said Tribal representatives who are knowledgeable about the ceremonial harvest effort will tes tify at the commission meeting. Leno said those who might testify include himself, Tribal Council Chair woman Kennedy, Tribal Council Sec retary Jack Giffen Jr. and Tribal staff members, such as Cultural Resources Manager David Lewis. For more information, call the Department of Fish and Wildlife Director's Office at 503-947-6044. B 'TcfiLbal (Satiltoeiriiinig' Grand Ronde featured on 'Little People, Big World' By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde received national TV exposure on March 17, and again on March 24 in repeat, when "Little People, Big World" featured Tribal members build ing a miniature plankhouse and blessing it afterward at Roloff Farms near Hillsboro. In September, Grand Ronde Tribal Elder Don Day and Cul tural Resources Manager David Lewis built the miniature plank house at the home of Matt Roloff, patriarch of the family featured on TLC cable channel's show about a family dealing with dwarfism. Half of the six-member Rol off family Matt; his wife, Amy; and son, Zach are little people, while two sons and a daughter Molly, Jeremy and Jacob - have grown or are grow ing up to regular height. Last spring, Matt decided he wanted to expand the set pieces at Roloff Farms to in clude a Native American theme. The show's producers contacted Grand Ronde Tribal Public Af fairs Director Siobhan Taylor to inquire what would be an appropriate "set" for Northwest Indians. Instead of a teepee, which Matt had tried unsuccessfully to build himself, Day, Lewis and Tribal member Toby McClary, who was taking pictures for Smoke Signals, constructed a scaled-down plank house using traditional methods. Then, in November, a procession of Tribal members and Roloff friends and family returned to Roloff Farms for the blessing. Tribal member Bobby Mercier offered a blessing in Chinuk Wawa and English, and the Tribe served an Indian feast of salmon, squash, fry bread and huck leberry jam, traditionally prepared for the group by Tribal members Greg Archuleta and Jon George. In addition, Tribal royalty and war riors, drummers, dancers and Canoe Family members, Elders, staff and Tribal Council members Kathleen Tom and Chris Mercier participated in the making of the show. Tom made gifts of bead necklaces to many among the Roloffs and their family and friends. The two days of visiting Roloff Farms outside of Hillsboro were edited into a 30-minute episode, which shared time with a story about Molly practicing for and par ticipating in a flag drill team during a Beaverton parade. "Peter was just beside himself," said Tribal member Reina Nelson, whose son, Peter, is a Grand Ronde Warrior and was shown explaining the origins of his regalia to Matt Roloff. "It's amazing how they can take a whole day and edit it down to 30 min- It ' ' ! i, i w I mm :: a H i f V" utcs and make it cohesive," Reina said about watching the show. According to the TLC Web site, the episode, "Tribal Gathering," does not repeat again in April, but it will invariably be included in the box set of the current season. D Photo by Toby McClary Tribal Elder Don Day works on a miniture plankhouse at the home of Matt Rolloff, patriarch of the family featured on TLC cable channel's show about dwarfism, In September.
